Build 1st FJ40, '76 - SMOKEY - Puttin’ her Back Together

[Vae Victus]

Ha! Figured out how to speed things up. Don't soak the Birf in the degreaser. Just wipe it down and keep moving. I think the degreaser has too much grit in it right now. Need to change it.

Second one went from this:

To this:

In about 8 minutes.


...via IH8MUD app

 

[Weber Sarge]

I just popped all the parts out , wiped them off and a quick rinse with brake cleaner , then re-grease the whole thing including packing the inside of the bell pretty good . It's messy but worth it in the long run . Once you figure out the angle to re-load the balls it goes a lot easier .

Pay attention to velocity versus volume with blasters - generally around a 3/16" nozzle and correct air jet should work good in your cabinet / compressor combo .
Sarge

 

[Vae Victus]

I just popped all the parts out , wiped them off and a quick rinse with brake cleaner , then re-grease the whole thing including packing the inside of the bell pretty good . It's messy but worth it in the long run . Once you figure out the angle to re-load the balls it goes a lot easier .

Pay attention to velocity versus volume with blasters - generally around a 3/16" nozzle and correct air jet should work good in your cabinet / compressor combo .
Sarge

When blasting body panels, what's the preferred tip, PSI, and size of media to use - just for reference? I know I'm not set up for that, but I'd like to prove it to myself by trying it.

If I blast outside the cabinet, how large a tip can I go up to with 25 CFM and be able to remove material a little more quickly without totally out-"tipping" the compressor? The big blasters use 1/2", 3/4, up to an inch even. I can push maybe a 1/4" nozzle, and may have to stop every 5 minutes or so. Compressor definitely cuts off more than on right now with a 1/8" tip, so I have some capacity left (and that's between 70-90 PSI) to go to a larger tip.


Re Birfield: Yes, that's what I did both times but first time I put them in the degrease tank. The cage and race was much harder to manipulate the first time. Second time, no tank, just cleaned with rags and a little carb cleaner. Went together much faster.




...via IH8MUD app

 

[Weber Sarge]

Nozzle and air jet combinations are rated by it's gun manufacturer , there is a certain range they can carry and you'll have to stay within that range . Look up the specs on your gun and go from there . It's almost more about media selection versus speed , more aggressive media removes paint , ect a lot faster but at the risk of damaging the surface finish of the part . Larger nozzles don't always work better since they lose velocity pretty easily , the speed of the media is what makes it cut the surface . I've fine tuned my cabinet setup to work with the Scat gun and run 150psi line pressure but it does wear tips pretty quickly .
Sarge

 

[Vae Victus]

Time for an overdue update. Been working again on the front axle, trying to get all the pieces and parts cleaned and gathered, ready to reinstall.

Found out after I repacked my Birfs that the c-clip that holds the axles in the birf are hard to find, so I was going to do a Martack on the axles instead. As I was figuring out where to do the tack on the axles, I remembered that I was going to replace the diffs as well, so I decided that it would be best to replace the diff first (3.70 gearing), then measure the location of the tack. I read on Coolerman's site that I could take one of the spider gears and insert the axle, measure the depth when the axle is fully seated. Fortunately, @Roma had provided me a nice, clean diff with the spider gears still removed, so I could measure from that.

My axle and spider gear measured within a 1/16th either way of 1 3/8" for where to put the tack welds. I have not done the deed yet, but I know where it goes now.

(reading how to do a Marfield tack on the internet by the way, is getting hard, as all the original threads from Marlin are gone, and so are all the later ones except for a few details here and there that I found while reading many other threads).

Just found this. Recording for future explorers:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/marlin-tack-aka-martack-80-series.473637/
and Coolerman's method:
http://www.globalsoftware-inc.com/coolerman/fj40/14D.htm

Anyway, so I removed the old diff (used the lift to pull it free), cleaned out all the gunk, fought like heck to get the old gasket off the lip of the axle (whatever that was, please, no one use it - I had to take an angle grinder to it). It was black, and looked like a formed gasket. The grease in the diff was a bit thick, clinging to everything inside. I wiped it out 2-3 times and sprayed with carb cleaner to get all the gunk out and the debris from the gasket.

After locating where I hid the diff (hard to lose a 5 gallon bucket, but I did), and getting it into the garage, I started figuring out how this thing worked. I found that the shafts and spider gears were not installed, but the bearing caps, adjusting nuts and main ring gear were installed. Thinking I had to take them off to the the spider gears in, I did so. Oops, come to see that those were all setup properly and were in as new condition. Oh well, I needed to understand how to adjust those anyway. I put it all back together, carefully, and adjusted the nuts to remove the play for the ring gear. Fortunately I marked where the adjusting nuts were originally, and kept it close to these marks.

I did not have any Red Lead or Prussian Blue, so I had to stop at the step to measure the wear pattern on the gear teeth until I return from the trip to Naples, FL, but at least I'm at the steps to measure backlash and teeth meshing.

When I get back, I will use the Dykem Steel Blue brush on 4oz stuff (Amazon again) to try and see the gear meshing on the ring gear. Hopefully I can then get the diff installed, install the knuckles, get the Martacks done, measure preload on the knuckles, install the birfs and axles, and wrap up the front end.

Seems like one step forward and 3 steps back.

 

[Yellow Jacket]

Marlin sells all three front axle c clips

https://www.marlincrawler.com/axle/...rdware-front-hilux/front-axle-outer-snap-ring

 

[Vae Victus]

Marlin sells all three front axle c clips

https://www.marlincrawler.com/axle/...rdware-front-hilux/front-axle-outer-snap-ring

Good to know. SOR has them too, but I thought since Toyota doesn't carry them, it might tip the scale to do the Martack.

Are there negatives to doing the Martack beyond tearing the seal and doing the Martack in the wrong place which leads to issues down the road?

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Believe it or not, that black seal that is such a bear to get off the differential/axle is actually just the paper gasket. It gets baked into the pores of the metal. Oil + Paper + Heat = Glue - who knew! It was a nightmare for me too. I opted for a drill-powered Brillo pad - I was worried about a grinder or even a wire wheel removing metal at the sealing surface. A wire wheel is probably safe though, and would certainly make shorter work of it.

When I reinstalled, I put a thin coat of Permatex on both sides of the paper gasket. I theorize, from my previous work with permatex, that this silicone/rubbery stuff will be easier to remove in the long run than baked-on paper, so coating the paper in rubber should make for easier removal in the future (albeit probably more difficult original separation). Time will tell whether this: 1. Sealed. 2. will remain sealed and 3. will be easier/more difficult to remove. In typical Clustertruck fashion, I full anticipate having to undo at least 50% of what I've done in the near future!

 

[subzali]

I'm going to go with just buy the c-clips.

I also believe Rick is correct, that is the original paper gasket you were dealing with there. I believe I took a wire wheel to mine and it is fine. A slight layer of permatex on the new assembly will surely seal the housing.

 

[djcfj40]

Very impressive write up Vae.
If you are doing a lot more sand blasting you may want to try "speed bead" from TP Tools.
It gets the job done quickly,but leaves a nice finish and seems to last a lot longer.
BTW be careful blasting body panels, Japanese sheet metal will warp at "warp speed".
Dont get too close and keep your nozzle moving to keep your heat down.
Just my $.002
Keep up the good work,Love your posts.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Go to a local GM dealer - they sell nice decent size tubes of gear marking compound , and it doesn't dry out over time either . For those types of gaskets - Napa sells a product call Syl-Glide in a spray can . Lay the gasket out on a sheet of cardboard and coat both sides liberally - that gasket will not weld itself to aluminum , steel or cast metal of any sort . I do this with water pumps , thermostat outlets and gear set gaskets all the time - nice to make them pretty much re-usable .
Speed Bead from TP is pretty good or McMaster Carr carries either crushed or bead form glass that seems to last quite awhile . The junk stuff from TSC (80 grit) doesn't last long at all and produces twice as much dust in the cabinet .

That gear needs to be dialed in and preloaded on the carrier bearings , btw . ..
Sarge

 

[Vae Victus]

Marlin sells all three front axle c clips

https://www.marlincrawler.com/axle/...rdware-front-hilux/front-axle-outer-snap-ring

Decided to follow advice and ordered the clips. Thanks for the link YJ.

 

[Vae Victus]

Very impressive write up Vae.
If you are doing a lot more sand blasting you may want to try "speed bead" from TP Tools.
It gets the job done quickly,but leaves a nice finish and seems to last a lot longer.
BTW be careful blasting body panels, Japanese sheet metal will warp at "warp speed".
Dont get too close and keep your nozzle moving to keep your heat down.
Just my $.002
Keep up the good work,Love your posts.

Thanks for the props! I'll check out Speed Bead. The crushed glass is impressive. I've not changed it out yet but it is getting very fine.

Since the flow is only 24 CFM, and the pressure is around 100 psi, it's not getting hot right now on the small aprons that I tested. A larger tip with more psi and with more coarse media might get hotter. My regulator on the pressure pot is limited to 100 psi.

 

[Vae Victus]

Go to a local GM dealer - they sell nice decent size tubes of gear marking compound , and it doesn't dry out over time either .

Trying the blue stuff first. Already bought it. Tried a bit of spray paint. Didn't create a wear pattern that I could see.

For those types of gaskets - Napa sells a product call Syl-Glide in a spray can .

Have some in a tube...

That gear needs to be dialed in and preloaded on the carrier bearings , btw . ..
Sarge

Yep - have that left to do.

 

[Vae Victus]

FINALLY put the passenger knuckle back on today.

Knuckle pulled 6.5 lbs on the fish scale with the original shims.

Also meticulously cleaned the diff cover and painted it.

Next up - left knuckle. Decided to buy the c-clips for the axles. Gotta wait on those, and on a Beam type torque wrench to measure pre load on the hub bearings. Found a cheap one on Amazon. $9. Better than borrowing one.

I bought but can't find a rebuild kit for the calipers. Need to paint and rebuild those as the rubber around the pistons is shot. I sand blasted one of the calipers. We will see if that was a mistake.

I'm going to mess with the diff next. Gotta put it back together. Not worried about the backlash on the front diff, but I'm going to measure it anyway to learn how to do it. The rear will need adjusting after it's is rebuilt I'm sure.

I don't plan to leave anything unpainted. I'm going to completely disassemble the rear diff that I bought. It needs all new bearings and seals (the new front one didn't, Roma had just rebuilt it). This time I get to blast the diff case instead of tediously scrub and scrape it. I was using a rag and mineral spirits on the front one - what a pain. I'll have to be careful to flush the rear diff cover completely so I don't get sand in the gears.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Just a tip about getting a pattern to show up on the ring gear - hold some serious tension on the pinion side while turning the ring gear , it will easily show the pattern . Hold the ring gear with some hard pressure and turn the pinion for the other half of the pattern....ect .
Lipstick , believe it or not works in a pinch for marking compound . Cheaper the better , more oils/wax in it along with a fairly dark color - yeah that got some looks at the local store...

Chapstick , specifically Cherry flavor for whatever reason makes gaskets non-stick . We used to use a lot of on Alky carbs in our dirt Late Model on the Holley's end float cans ....
Sarge

 

[Honger]

Very cool build... I'm enjoying the level of detail. Hoping to pick up a 40 here soon so I've been reading lots of build threads. Subscribed and watching this one now.

 

[Vae Victus]

Just a tip about getting a pattern to show up on the ring gear - hold some serious tension on the pinion side while turning the ring gear , it will easily show the pattern . Hold the ring gear with some hard pressure and turn the pinion for the other half of the pattern....ect .
Lipstick , believe it or not works in a pinch for marking compound . Cheaper the better , more oils/wax in it along with a fairly dark color - yeah that got some looks at the local store...

Chapstick , specifically Cherry flavor for whatever reason makes gaskets non-stick . We used to use a lot of on Alky carbs in our dirt Late Model on the Holley's end float cans ....
Sarge

Good tips Sarge - thanks. I have already realized that holding pressure on the ring gear while turning the flange might help. Unfortunately the Dykem Steel Blue Layout Fluid is too resilient to show a pattern with just a turn or two. I'd have to hook it up to a drill and wear it off. I will need to pickup some lipstick or some of the non-drying stuff like Prussian Blue or the stuff that you above mentioned at the GM parts counter.

Chapstick - I love the simple solutions. I wonder how many other lip products we can use!

Dykem Steel Blue. (Don't worry, It's on both sides of the teeth):

 

[Vae Victus]

Well crap on a stick. I was putting on the drivers side knuckle last night when it slipped off the axle and hit the floor. It must have knocked one of the cone washers that was lying on the ground waiting to be installed, because I can't find that sucker anywhere.

That's one more tiny little piece of metal that I have to order and wait on.

 

[Vae Victus]

I decided to try sandblasting the wheels tonight so that when I get the axles done, I'll have the wheels ready too and can get a rolling chassis. I'm going to powdercoat them- the color is the question.

Since I'm going to paint the truck Spring Green, I'm thinking I should paint the wheels white.

I'll tell you what - a 1/8" tip is effective on small parts but a larger tip and more CFM is needed to do large parts. Takes about 40 minutes per wheel. I ran out of light after 1 and 3/4 wheels.