1979 BJ40 Story and Modifications

[FJ40Jim]

Mechanically, the only thing "wrong" with this transmission is that all the endplay measurements are loose. No surprise as every selective fit snap ring is the thinnest available. So correct lock rings are ordered from toyota, to go along with the rebuild kits and sync rings Alberto has already provided.

We're left with this cosmetic mess. Wire cup brush in the die grinder is brought to bear on the outside of these parts, but with no real effect.


So these parts are delivered to the machine shop to go through the dishwashing machine, followed by the oven and then the big-azz tumbler.
Sadly, no pic of the clean bare metal parts. They were already starting to flashrust when I got them back to the shop. So they were wire brushed and wiped off, then primed & painted.
Ta-da:



Actually, the BH is still in bare aluminum.

The end (for now).

 

[OGBeno]

Wow. Great work Jim. Awesome.

Alberto--you slacker....I was expecting you to do this work! Outsourcing already?

 

[crushers]

what brand of bearing puller is that?
that also answers my misunderstanding that you need to dismantle the guts to get the input gear out.
thanks

 

[ferportu]

very very nice

 

[FJ40Jim]

Reassembled H55

Back at this tranny. Got busy putting it together and forgot to take pics.


Here's what the back end looks like mostly together (upside down for assembly purposes):




Frt end all buttoned up:




And the money shot:



Compared to :


And compared to:



So that's a mostly complete H55. It just needs a clean shift cover and some fill/drain plugs to be complete.

Next: Transfer case...

 

[FJ40Jim]

Open up the box containing the transfer case, and this is the beauty we have to work with:



Another ball of rust & corrosion. Harumph.

But wait, there's another box here from Georg at Valley Hybrids.

It contains a beautifully cleaned outer case, and a set of spiffy new AA low range gears.



The case has also been machined for clearance (a necessity for the extra large low-range gears), so it is ready to be stuffed with the big gears.
Machining visible on inner ribs here:



Interestingly, the case halves are not an original matching pair. The front is Feb. 88 FJ62 and the rear is April 84 FJ60.




This is not a problem because George has already drilled & tapped the vacuum shift frt case to accept the manual shift detent ball. It is the closer hole in this pic, with the shiny new thread.



The front drive parts have been pressed out of the old case & run through the tank. Tomorrow they will be installed into the frt case, then it can be bolted to back of the tranny.

It's time.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Thank you for posting all this, Jim!

Fantastic, simply fantastic. Very clean and very organized. Truly impressed.

Can't wait to see how the gears do on the BJ40.

Thanks again!

-Alberto

 

[FJ40Jim]

And a few bolts are missing from the disassembled T-case. Some others are too rusty to reinstall.
Will be waiting a while for new hardware to get beamed down from the mother country.

 

[orangefj45]

Which bolts do you need? I have "a few" spares.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Thanks Georg.

The rusty case was such a mess, that I've ordered almost every steel bolt from Beno. At least all the visible hardware will match now. Will let you know if anything doesn't come in.

 

[FJ40Jim]

There was a change of plans. Many of the rusty, broken off bolts are NLA, and getting umpteen rotten steel bolts out of the AL case was gonna take too much time. Instead of trying to salvage the ball of corrosion T-case, a much less corroded 1987 FJ60 T-case was sourced to be used for hardware, shifters, rear bearing retainer, speedo, etc.

Here is a pic of the AA low gears (note the huge size disparity on the idler gear), inside the clean case halves from George, with bolts and parts from 87 FJ60 case.




And case closed up with FJ60 rear bearing retainer, rear cover and good used FJ60 bolts in every hole.



Getting close to being all done with the H55 & T-case section of the project.

Still need to clean & install a few more parts. Will receive a few small parts (reverse switch, drainplugs...) from Toyota in a few days and be able to return a completed assembly to Alberto.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Got the parts from Beno to finish this. Some fill & drain plugs and a new reverse light switch. Alberto will pick it up tomorrow, so expect to see him driving it around any day now.

Porn pics:

 

[AlbertoSD]

As JimC mentioned, my friend Chris and I picked up the transmission last weekend. It looks even better in person.

Thank you, JimC, for the hard work done on this drivetrain. I really appreciate it.

-Alberto

 

[Vae Victus]

Like the disk-ebrake. Is there a write up on that @FJ40Jim ?

That's been the holdup on the 5speed tranny. Wasn't aware of this soln.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Disk e-brake was purchased as a complete kit from TSM Mfg.

http://www.tsmmfg.com/4066mb3.html

 

[carreta]

Disk e-brake was purchased as a complete kit from TSM Mfg.

http://www.tsmmfg.com/4066mb3.html

Jim,

Will that parking brake work with 4 speed of a 1984 Fj40?

 

[AlbertoSD]

Jim,

Will that parking brake work with 4 speed of a 1984 Fj40?

This kit is designed for any split case that does not have provisions (from Factory) for a regular drum parking brake.

I should be able to provide a review on how this works once the truck is running (which might take a while )

Hope this helps.

-Alberto

 

[AlbertoSD]

It has been almost 5 months since I've done anything significant to the 40. Regular job and regular life activities have prevented me to spend time on the truck.

About 9 months ago I agreed to complete a frame swap on this 1965 Land Rover Series IIA. The old frame has seen better days, it had rust holes the size of my hand, and it had a terrible patching job done a few years ago. The owner bought a brand new galvanized frame and paid my friend Chris and I to complete the frame swap. This is a photo of the completed project. I had many more photos, but my phone crashed and lost all the files I had in it

Then also in June, my friend Omar @omarluis and I drove from Cincinnati, OH to the Rubicon Trail in California to attend the 26th Annual Rubithon event in honor of Marv Spector (R.I.P).

I will share some photos of the Rubithon prior to posting a progress report on the BJ40.

 

[AlbertoSD]

We did a lot of driving in Omar's FZJ80. We took the Northern Route driving through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and finally California.

 

[AlbertoSD]

We started the trail in Wentworth Springs with Bruce @basfire and Dick @reddingcruiser and camped at Buck Island for a couple of nights. We met with Alvaro @alvarorb, Brian @gifu, Pablo @PabloVTA, and David at Buck.