Builds 1995 HZJ77 wagon build - Japan sourced (2 Viewers)

[Pip Bernadotte]

After that, another first for me: adjusting the valves. (February 2021)
I had no idea when they had last been checked, and they were a bit clickety-clackety when it was cold out, so I figured that I should go ahead and do them.

It's not so hard to do (especially with the FSM right in front of you haha ) Just take your time, and keep everything organized.
Oh, and having the right valve tool helps a lot too. Thankfully a really nice seller on Ebay.au was willing to ship the valve tool and an injection pump timing tool from Australia to the US for me!

Injection pump tool - minus the gauge - (top) Valve tool (bottom)

The cruiser ran sooooo much better after doing the valve shims. I could actually get it all the way to redline without it feeling like it was gonna shake itself apart. Not that I do that regularly, but I wanted to see how much the valves had changed how it ran. It's much smoother along the whole RPM range now~

 

[Felde]

Next up: November, 2020. After having to call around a bit, I finally found a company that would come replace my cracked windshield for me. It took them quite a while, because apparently most of the techs haven't had any experience with the older "gasket" style windshields... But we got it done~ (after a little bit of rust clean up on the frame)

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Hi
I had my windshield replaced this year, too. My truck had a rust issue at exactly the same spot. Funny...
Just a hint:
Did your glassing guys put sealant under the gasket's outer lip (glas to frame)?!
This is indicated in the maintenance manual and I found it to be very important for the windshield to seal.
Regards Ralf

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Hi
I had my windshield replaced this year, too. My truck had a rust issue at exactly the same spot. Funny...
Just a hint:
Did your glassing guys put sealant under the gasket's outer lip (glas to frame)?!
This is indicated in the maintenance manual and I found it to be very important for the windshield to seal.
Regards Ralf

He did not put any sealant there. I noticed in the FSM that there's supposed to be sealant, but haven't gotten around to putting some in there...

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Up next: a wiring project - fog lights

I got this set of PIAA from a friend in Japan who originally had them on his 80 series.
I upgraded the bulbs to 24V Hellas and rewired the plugs to Deutsch connectors.

They look pretty decent, but don't put out as much light as I had hoped, even with the Hella bulb upgrade... Guess I'll have to upgrade to LEDs at some point ^_^

 

[jayp2]

The problem, I found, is:
A. that cap isn't removable
B. the piece that holds that cap is PRESS FIT into the transmission

I messaged Kurt again, and he said that: yeah, you can't just use the original breather end like the axles - but we do sell a replacement press-in connector that you can put hosing on. So I ordered one. Part number: DIFF36149 - OEM Toyota T-Case/Trans 90* Breather Pipe - $12.50

After much finagling - (with me under the car holding a pry bar head onto the cap - and my dad prying it while trying not to mash my fingers between either the prybar and transmission or the pry bar and transmission tunnel.... ) we finally managed to get it off.

Here it is with the new pneumatic hosing installed. (just clean out the hole and tap it GENTLY in with a hammer)
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After getting that installed, I was able to finish up the breather hoses and plug them all into the breather block I made and mounted in the engine bay.
Sadly, this saga doesn't end there.

My shift boot cover kept coming off, so I put a hose clamp on it. (easy fix)
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And but when I pulled up my carpeting to access the transmission tunnel to start this project - oh god... the horror...
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So... hammer and chisel time -

Sorry to ressurect this but I'm struggling with location of H55 breather location

Isnt the breather you referenced in the photo actually the transfer case breather?

Having trouble locating where the eff the transmission breather is actually located and have poured through megazip and pdf's of fsm's I have to no success

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Sorry to ressurect this but I'm struggling with location of H55 breather location

Isnt the breather you referenced in the photo actually the transfer case breather?

Having trouble locating where the eff the transmission breather is actually located and have poured through megazip and pdf's of fsm's I have to no success

Not a problem ~ I've just been lazy with posting...

It seems the transmission doesn't have a breather.

Is there a vent on the H55F tranny?

If so, where? I am having a massive gear oil leak only while driving. It does not leak when stationary. It's driving me MAD!:mad: Oh, and how are the vents removed? Press in or threaded? Thanks!

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[jayp2]

Not a problem ~ I've just been lazy with posting...

It seems the transmission doesn't have a breather.

Is there a vent on the H55F tranny?

If so, where? I am having a massive gear oil leak only while driving. It does not leak when stationary. It's driving me MAD!:mad: Oh, and how are the vents removed? Press in or threaded? Thanks!

forum.ih8mud.com

That explains why I cant find it lol

 

[coldtaco]

I’m pretty sure there is a breather. It’s on the top forward near where it mounts to the transmission. I have seen pictures of it. I haven’t spent much time looking for it on mine since it’s difficult to look at

 

[svsisu]

I thought the H55 breather was incorporated in to where the shifting stalk stabs into the transmission? Basically "breaths" into the cab.

 

[JDM Journeys]

He did not put any sealant there. I noticed in the FSM that there's supposed to be sealant, but haven't gotten around to putting some in there...

This seems common. My installer didn't either, so once it was parked in the sun and all settled, I did a perimeter of masking tape then windshield specific sealant under the outer edge. Just in case...

Thanks for posting about your valves. I missed it when you did them, but I appreciate the post report. I have the tool but I've been putting mine off. It's time to get on it.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I’m pretty sure there is a breather. It’s on the top forward near where it mounts to the transmission. I have seen pictures of it. I haven’t spent much time looking for it on mine since it’s difficult to look at

Not on the H55F fwiw.

It's top cover is sealed, it "breathes" via the shift tower (under the white shipping cap in our photo below)

m

 

[coldtaco]

Not on the H55F fwiw.

It's top cover is sealed, it "breathes" via the shift tower (under the white shipping cap in our photo below)

View attachment 3347627m

My apologies, for some reason I thought he was asking about the split case

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Well, it's been a hot minute since I've updated this... and I have LOTS to update!

I didn't like how the gaskets on the bolts looked on my rear swing out windows, so I replaced the hardware on them and cleaned up the seals. Also did a bit of paint repair where the window had been rubbing. You have to access the "hinges" through the holes in the head liner that are covered by the C-pillar covers. Not hard, but DON'T DROP the bolts/nuts. I'd also suggest having a friend there to help catch the window

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Next up: 6 relay/fuse accessory box wiring and install.

For this build, I grabbed a "Wire it yourself" accessory box from Amazon. It was $25 and fit the bill for what I wanted. Also takes regular sized automotive relays, so easy to replace if I need to.

I wired it all up, and added a 6-pin socket so I cold remove the whole box fairly easily for service. I also labelled the outside of the box for future trail repairs~ ^_^

In looking for a place to mount it, I found the Front Left hand side, right behind the headlight has the exact amount of space needed and some unused captured nuts in the fender that you can bolt it right to without having do drill any holes Also room to add a dedicated grounding block for grounds for all the accessories too

The plan for this is to connect the previously mentioned PIAA light units, and leave room for future accessories too

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Next up: wiring and mounting the PIAA lights.

I had to make some aluminum spacers for the lights because I didn't want to drill into the bumper for the "alignment" pins that keep them from spinning due to vibration/wind. Thankfully the bolts on them were long enough to go through the bumper and the spacer.

I then made a dedicated wiring harness and ran it out the front accessory port and across the chassis to plug into both sides. Turned out pretty well ^_^

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

And then the fun begins: Wiring trailer lights.... Thankfully another MUD member had already figured out this particular conundrum (I'd mention them by ID, but it's been almost three years since I wired this, so I've lost their post and even googling it, I can't find it (TT_TT) Sorry...)

They figured out that to run 12v trailer lights off of a 24v system, you need a 24-12v step down. But to make it work, you also need to have that 12v run through relays that are triggered by the 24v tail light circuit.

First up though, Running a dedicated 24v power circuit from the batteries (fused at the battery for safety) through the passenger door grommet to behind the glovebox. Also, you don't want the 24-12v step down to kill your battery when the vehicle is off, so you need to add a relay to be triggered by keyed power. I decided to make the trigger the cigarette lighter.

Then: making the relay assembly that will be triggered by the rear light assemblies. The fun part being that the regular 4 pin connector is: ground, running, brake and signals... but the signals interrupt the brakes, so you have to get funky with how the relays for brakes & signals are tied together...

You should be able to see how they're wired in the pictures, but if you need I can post a wiring diagram for how they're wired.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Installing it into the rear quarter panel and splicing it into the lighting circuit.

I wanted it easy to access, so I made a bracket that I could screw to the inner part of the quarter panel with a wing nut. It's worked out pretty well so far (3 years at this point)

The splices are tied in directly with the brake light wiring to the relays. So the lights trip the relays, which allows the 12V from the step down in the dash to flow through to the 4 pin trailer connector. Works pretty well ^_^

I'm just glad to be able to pull the little utility trailer I made in highschool around and not get rear ended. The easiest hitch to add to an HZJ77 is a Curt13091 just in case anyone was wondering. I've pulled 2500 lbs with it just attached to the rear frame between the bumper pieces where the OEM pintle hitch mounts. I can't how well it will do pulling much more than that because it's a decent bit of leverage due to the way it's mounted, but I've definitely pulled that much repeatedly while moving my stuff to a new house.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Next up: Rear door hinge rebuild.

Thankfully there's a company in Australia (Tojo 4WD Center) that makes pin and bushing replacement kits for the 70 Series rear door. The pins are stainless, so they won't rust and be a total PAIN IN THE A$$ like the OEM ones... It took me nearly 3 days to rebuild these stupid hinges... T_T

I had to drill out the original pins and then tap out what was left of the bushings. Which means aligning them so I can drill them straight down.

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

Hinge rebuild continued.
There are 4 hinges... and each one took two plus hours a piece to rebuild, because even after drilling them out, sometimes you have to snap what's left of the pin without damaging the hinge, and then still had to hammer the remainder out... They really were a pain in the butt.... Still worth it to rebuild because when I looked new ones ser 80-120 a piece T_T

Even when I was finally done with them, I then had the fun of aligning the doors properly so they latch well... haha

 

[Pip Bernadotte]

While I was doing some other maintenance, I decided to check on why my coolant reservoir kept dropping. I looked and looked and found the culprit. Now one, but TWO slowly leaking corroded hoses. So new ones were ordered and put on. That fixed the problem for a good while.

I also figured out that several (most?) of the LEDs in my third brake light had burned out. So I got the great idea to try and open the unit and fix it.
That projected ended up with me cutting all the way through my thumbnail from cuticle to finger tip with an exacto blade... So... don't do that. Just go buy a new one. Which I did, and it's a GREAT improvement. Even with my upgraded bulbs, the third brake light definitely makes it easier to see that I'm braking