Builds 1988 BJ74 “Number 1”

[PabloCruise]

Ended up scoring an old Norcold fridge/freezer last night for cheap. Ive been wanting to get one of these for a long time now so finally scored.


It's a little beat up, chipped used, much like the land cruiser it's going in. Its an MRFT-640c. So not real big but should be good and better than ice coolers. I plan to use my rear power that's already wired, so I either need to switch to the screw on marine power, or create an adapter to make it work.


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That fridge is awesome!!!
And you are 12V, yes?

 

[FJBen]

it was 7F here this morning, thought I'd show somewhat of a comparison to a 24v 3B that's cold starting. I guess this is the magic of 24v, 20:1 compression vs 17:1, and 7 degrees warmer in temperature.

Exactly. Add on altitude and the starting gets harder.

 

[FJBen]

That fridge is awesome!!!
And you are 12V, yes?

Yep 12v so should be easy as I already have power to the back.

 

[PabloCruise]

Yep 12v so should be easy as I already have power to the back.

Nice! You scored! Having a fridge is pretty sweet for trips...

 

[FJBen]

Found my limit of the cruiser sitting outside and not starting. No plug-in, just the front end pulled in under a hay shed in a field.

Yep, -15f, -26C. That 12v system just doesn’t have the power without a block heater or something else. -15f was in the town near us, it’s usually a little colder at our place.

3 10-15 second cranks was all that battery had in this weather. With a jump she got much closer to starting but I decided to let it “warm up” today and try starting in “warmer” weather this afternoon.

I really need to get a Zero-start or a radiator hose heater. Would make life so much easier.

 

[AirheadNut]

I just replaced my battery due to a no-start at 0ºF. The coldest unassisted start I've had was about -15ºF. Definitely looking into getting some sort of block or coolant heater. There's a person in Hungary who sells standalone control boards for the CAN-bus controlled Webasto ThermoTop C's that came in a lot of Northern European spec diesels, makes getting a Webasto much cheaper than the normal $1000+.

 

[FJBen]

Coming to ih8mud looking for advice on no-start be like...

 

[FJBen]

I just replaced my battery due to a no-start at 0ºF. The coldest unassisted start I've had was about -15ºF. Definitely looking into getting some sort of block or coolant heater. There's a person in Hungary who sells standalone control boards for the CAN-bus controlled Webasto ThermoTop C's that came in a lot of Northern European spec diesels, makes getting a Webasto much cheaper than the normal $1000+.

I usually have garage to park in so it's not too terrible to start at even 0F or a little below. But outside ant -15F was just too much for the old girl. The clutch was stiff as well. It's cold lol. I know the zero starts are big in the VW TDI world and works good. The Webasto seems like the best idea, but it's a bit pricey. I'll look into that stand alone setup.

 

[AirheadNut]

The Webasto setups I was seeing would be in the $400-$450 range for a control board, wiring and used/tested working heater. Still a lot more than something like a zero start, but when there's nowhere to plug in there's no substitute.

 

[FJBen]

The Webasto setups I was seeing would be in the $400-$450 range for a control board, wiring and used/tested working heater. Still a lot more than something like a zero start, but when there's nowhere to plug in there's no substitute.

That's not bad at all. 99% of the time I would be completely fine with a zero start.

 

[FJ73Texas]

I usually have garage to park in so it's not too terrible to start at even 0F or a little below. But outside ant -15F was just too much for the old girl. The clutch was stiff as well. It's cold lol. I know the zero starts are big in the VW TDI world and works good. The Webasto seems like the best idea, but it's a bit pricey. I'll look into that stand alone setup.

I am not sure if my cruiser even remembers 0F or below temps. At those temps, more than just cars not starting will be a problem here in South Texas.

 

[FJBen]

Another cold morning and another no-start sitting outside. That battery just doesn't have the juice to spin it.

Although I did have a bit of a duh moment. Driving my tundra over to jumpstart it and I have 2 batteries. Why don't I just jump from the 2nd battery. yeah that worked. Much better starting power.

So my isolator is a Redarc SBI12. According to redarc, you have a few options for wiring it to "self-jump"

So off to the store to grab some wire and a momentary switch to test it out.

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

I've thought about adding a jumpstart feature as well, I wonder if a regular old starter solenoid would do the trick as well.

I installed one of these last year, works great. I plug it into a programmable outlet at my house.

https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Heaters/Kats-Heaters/KH13100.html

 

[FJBen]

I've thought about adding a jumpstart feature as well, I wonder if a regular old starter solenoid would do the trick as well.

I installed one of these last year, works great. I plug it into a programmable outlet at my house.

https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Heaters/Kats-Heaters/KH13100.html

That's most likely the route I will go. I hate messing round with coolant so I might wait until summer to deal with it.

 

[Rigster]

That's most likely the route I will go. I hate messing round with coolant so I might wait until summer to deal with it.

That's the exact same heater I put into my cruiser. I just took the opportunity to flush and change the coolant at the same time.

What I like is that the moment you start the engine, the heat in the cab is already blowing warm. You also get a nice uniform distribution of heat throughout the engine. Just remember to turn the heat up to full in the cab before plugging it in! That way the coolant can flow freely.

 

[FJBen]

I've thought about adding a jumpstart feature as well, I wonder if a regular old starter solenoid would do the trick as well.

I installed one of these last year, works great. I plug it into a programmable outlet at my house.

https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Heaters/Kats-Heaters/KH13100.html

I think as long as it's rated high enough, I would think a starter solenoid would work.

Where did you plumb the lower hose to?

 

[FJBen]

That's the exact same heater I put into my cruiser. I just took the opportunity to flush and change the coolant at the same time.

What I like is that the moment you start the engine, the heat in the cab is already blowing warm. You also get a nice uniform distribution of heat throughout the engine. Just remember to turn the heat up to full in the cab before plugging it in! That way the coolant can flow freely.

Yeah, plus I think it's some much easier on the engine starting warm than really cold weather starts.

 

[FJBen]

speaking of cold weather.

The clutch got really stiff as I stated before until it warmed up. Well, the past couple days the clutch felt a little weird. Yesterday it was almost gone. No leaking from slave, master was mostly full. Some slight seeping inside on the firewall which to me says Master cylinder. I chose to rebuild it 2 years ago and it's worked fine until this cold spell we had.



Me, happily driving my BJ74 yesterday being interrupted by my clutch master seals

The awesome news is that we have some great vendors on here. Dropped my cruiser off at home at lunch before the clutch fully went, drove the Tundra back in, a 5 minute call to @cruiseroutfit and in 2 days I'll have an Aisin clutch master at my doorstep for a 35 year old vehicle that was never in the USA. Another big shoutout to mud vendors like @cruiseroutfit @orangefj45 and others that make owning these cruisers so much easier.

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

Mounted the unit on the frame, under the starter, it needs to be lower than the drain (operates with natural convection), heats the coolant and circulates back to the top of the loop at the water pump.

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Block drain fitting:
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And water pump return:

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I think as long as it's rated high enough, I would think a starter solenoid would work.

Where did you plumb the lower hose to?

 

[FJBen]

Got a package in 2 days from cruiser outfitters. Sweet! Open it up and find this.

Hmm...looks like a slight communication problem. Got a Brake master, not clutch master. No worries they took care of me right away and got this on the way within a few hours of my call along with a return label. Awesome service.

However I may go ahead and just keep them both as 2 years ago I did a brake master rebuild so either they are psychic and through some OG @cruiserdan voodoo they know it’s going to fail soon, or just having the new part ready it will last forever.
Probabaly smarter to just keep the part.


Finally scored me one of these stickers.