And X never ever marks the spot.
65 FJ40 - Doing it the Easy Way
- Thread starter TreadingLight
- Start date
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TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #42
Once the excavation was complete (enough), I rolled the new axle into place, cleaned the diff and painted it up.
Ooooh, shiny.
But then i had to get the old axle out. I quickly found that it hadn't been apart in decades. The springs, shackles, bushings, and pins are fused together into some unholy rust/steel/rubber sedimentary rock. The front hanger pins are blocked by the exhaust headers. And the spring plates are bent, making the ubolts a chore.
Glad to see this 40 was used enough to bounce off something hard. Hope it was a rock and not some playground equipment.
Bringing down the hammer.
It is fighting me every step of the way. I considered letting some suspension scope creep into the project and get new shackles, springs and bushings.
But no. Later. After I drive it and know more about what I want.
So for now i want to reuse the old s***. I decided to just drop the shackles, slide the built axle into place, and bolt it back up.
But the shackles wouldn't cooperate.
Screw you shackles!
I don't want to start a rubber fire in the garage to burn them out, so this is what I've settled on.
One side done.
But then i had to get the old axle out. I quickly found that it hadn't been apart in decades. The springs, shackles, bushings, and pins are fused together into some unholy rust/steel/rubber sedimentary rock. The front hanger pins are blocked by the exhaust headers. And the spring plates are bent, making the ubolts a chore.
Glad to see this 40 was used enough to bounce off something hard. Hope it was a rock and not some playground equipment.
Bringing down the hammer.
It is fighting me every step of the way. I considered letting some suspension scope creep into the project and get new shackles, springs and bushings.
But no. Later. After I drive it and know more about what I want.
So for now i want to reuse the old s***. I decided to just drop the shackles, slide the built axle into place, and bolt it back up.
But the shackles wouldn't cooperate.
Screw you shackles!
I don't want to start a rubber fire in the garage to burn them out, so this is what I've settled on.
- Chop off shackle using grinder. Bonus points for insufficient PPE.
- Use hammer and drift and EMT conduit scraps to pound the bushings/pin out of the hanger on the frame.
- Attack visible bits of bushing with 1/8" drill bits to weaken it. Break 2 bits per bushing.
- Use tie rod puller to force the pin and bushings out of the spring
One side done.
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TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #43
It ate 3 more drill bits and the forcing screw tip on the puller. Definitely using greasable shackles and pins in the future.
The aftermath.
I took the old housing out and drained some more sludge. I'm going to bring it and the rest of the original axles to the Valley Hybrids Swap Meet and hopefully not bring them home.
All this and more could be yours!
And while I still have some work to do on the axles/suspension, I'm also turning some attention to brake lines. Since the old lines are ancient, I plan to replace them all. And since i'm adding a dual circuit master cylinder and newer axle housings, i think it makes most sense to model the routing on a 1976ish disc brake 40.
Something like this:
Along the firewall
Front axle
To the rear
Dang that's a lot of fittings to track down. I imagine I'll need a proportioning valve. And I need to get soft lines.
I was just at a lowrider car show so I have visions of stainless steel braided lines and chromed engine bays. A guy can dream ...
The aftermath.
I took the old housing out and drained some more sludge. I'm going to bring it and the rest of the original axles to the Valley Hybrids Swap Meet and hopefully not bring them home.
All this and more could be yours!
And while I still have some work to do on the axles/suspension, I'm also turning some attention to brake lines. Since the old lines are ancient, I plan to replace them all. And since i'm adding a dual circuit master cylinder and newer axle housings, i think it makes most sense to model the routing on a 1976ish disc brake 40.
Something like this:
Along the firewall
Front axle
To the rear
Dang that's a lot of fittings to track down. I imagine I'll need a proportioning valve. And I need to get soft lines.
I was just at a lowrider car show so I have visions of stainless steel braided lines and chromed engine bays. A guy can dream ...
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #44
Inspiration
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #45
Time to assemble the rear axle. Of course it is presenting some mysteries.
The threads on one of the spindles were pretty mangled. Patience and a thread file took care of that.
Then I went through my collection of axle bits and bobs to make sure I had the right parts.
Earlier in the thread I mentioned this appeared to be a late 70s 40 series FF rear. It has an 8-bolt flange so I figured that would mean the smaller style spindle, early style bearing adjuster, and the axle seal integrated into the nut.
Like this: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/full-float-axle-infrequently-asked-questions.962126/#post-10698332
But I seem to have an 8-bolt 40 series FF axle with the larger spindle that shares parts with the late 40/60/70/80.
While confusing, this is a good thing as I was going to have to do a lot of hunting to find the early style bearing adjuster, and now i can share parts with the troopy.
Later adjuster threads on
Takes the later axle seal (just a test fit, I'll press it flush).
The early spindle should be the same size as a front. Mine is not, proven by this front wheel bearing nut being too small.
The threads on one of the spindles were pretty mangled. Patience and a thread file took care of that.
Then I went through my collection of axle bits and bobs to make sure I had the right parts.
Earlier in the thread I mentioned this appeared to be a late 70s 40 series FF rear. It has an 8-bolt flange so I figured that would mean the smaller style spindle, early style bearing adjuster, and the axle seal integrated into the nut.
Like this: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/full-float-axle-infrequently-asked-questions.962126/#post-10698332
But I seem to have an 8-bolt 40 series FF axle with the larger spindle that shares parts with the late 40/60/70/80.
While confusing, this is a good thing as I was going to have to do a lot of hunting to find the early style bearing adjuster, and now i can share parts with the troopy.
Later adjuster threads on
Takes the later axle seal (just a test fit, I'll press it flush).
The early spindle should be the same size as a front. Mine is not, proven by this front wheel bearing nut being too small.
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #46
Any thoughts from the peanut gallery? I've never see or read of an 8-bolt FF rear with the later spindle.
What did this axle come from?
What did this axle come from?
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #47
I'm pushing to get this thing rolling, with a stretch goal of running, so I can move it to a new spot and tackle some fab work.
Progress up front. Tldr; front axle is reinstalled.
I still need to connect brake lines, mount wheels, reattach the front driveshaft, fill with fluids, and re-torque everything.
I kinda hoped I could use this 70 series front brakeline, but this axle housing is lacking any and all mounting points. I'll tackle adding some later.
For now, quick n dirty.
Starting from the caliper, I dunno if this retaining bracket is bent or oriented funny but using a 12" steel line from Oreilly's, I bent this hard-line to do a 180. The soft line (a Dorman H36937, a hair over 10" overall) is not in the greatest position either, but it doesn't stretch or pinch so I'm moving on.
OK, so this is ugly. Embarrassingly so. I will address this later. But anyhow, I needed a coupler for the male hose end to the male hard-line fitting, so this one is held in place by zip-ties. Same thing on the other side.
I don't have a bracket with a captive nut on top of the housing to use the more common bracket for this t-fitting. I took this one from a breather so it already had a 3/8" hole. I reshaped the bracket so it could fit on a diff nut, and bent the bracket in a vice to point it to the rear.
I ran the rest of the lines using the easily bendable copper-nickel tube and terminated using a bench vise flaring tool.
Since I have no mounting points or clamps on the housing, I got these 3/16" tube clamps with 3/8" mounting holes from inline tube.
The breather is from a 60 series.
Much of this will need to be redone, but if it doesn't leak, maybe I'll drive it rather than tow it.
Progress up front. Tldr; front axle is reinstalled.
I still need to connect brake lines, mount wheels, reattach the front driveshaft, fill with fluids, and re-torque everything.
I kinda hoped I could use this 70 series front brakeline, but this axle housing is lacking any and all mounting points. I'll tackle adding some later.
For now, quick n dirty.
Starting from the caliper, I dunno if this retaining bracket is bent or oriented funny but using a 12" steel line from Oreilly's, I bent this hard-line to do a 180. The soft line (a Dorman H36937, a hair over 10" overall) is not in the greatest position either, but it doesn't stretch or pinch so I'm moving on.
OK, so this is ugly. Embarrassingly so. I will address this later. But anyhow, I needed a coupler for the male hose end to the male hard-line fitting, so this one is held in place by zip-ties. Same thing on the other side.
I don't have a bracket with a captive nut on top of the housing to use the more common bracket for this t-fitting. I took this one from a breather so it already had a 3/8" hole. I reshaped the bracket so it could fit on a diff nut, and bent the bracket in a vice to point it to the rear.
I ran the rest of the lines using the easily bendable copper-nickel tube and terminated using a bench vise flaring tool.
Since I have no mounting points or clamps on the housing, I got these 3/16" tube clamps with 3/8" mounting holes from inline tube.
The breather is from a 60 series.
Much of this will need to be redone, but if it doesn't leak, maybe I'll drive it rather than tow it.
Last edited:
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #48
Turning my attention to her rear, this time I planned to build the axle largely in place, making it much easier to move around solo.
Shiny new studs, nuts n washers.
My plan was to drop in the third member, remove the bump stop, and slide the axle housing into place without dropping the leaf springs. I dont have a transmission jack (yet) and I wasn't confident I could muscle the third member in horizontally with my floor jack.
bump stop removed for clearance.
I'm glad I did as I learned two things. One of the studs was too crooked to line up. I'd tried to clean and retap the threads but this one had been suspect. It was removed and replaced with a bolt.
And also that gravity was not going to be sufficient to slide the third member onto the studs. I beat that diff within an inch of its life with a deadblow and a hammer/drift to get it seated.
Finally, I had to figure out just what I'd meant by slide it into place. My floorjack was too short and I foolishly decided i didn't want to make blocks.
So I had a brilliant idea involving jack stands and wheel dolleys.
The diff shop switched to grey paint. Now I mismatch.
I got everything ready for the final push.
What could go wrong?
One smashed finger and two wheel dolleys launched across the garage floor later, I had the axle in place.
No time for painting, so just reusing rusty hardware for now.
Shiny new studs, nuts n washers.
My plan was to drop in the third member, remove the bump stop, and slide the axle housing into place without dropping the leaf springs. I dont have a transmission jack (yet) and I wasn't confident I could muscle the third member in horizontally with my floor jack.
bump stop removed for clearance.
I'm glad I did as I learned two things. One of the studs was too crooked to line up. I'd tried to clean and retap the threads but this one had been suspect. It was removed and replaced with a bolt.
And also that gravity was not going to be sufficient to slide the third member onto the studs. I beat that diff within an inch of its life with a deadblow and a hammer/drift to get it seated.
Finally, I had to figure out just what I'd meant by slide it into place. My floorjack was too short and I foolishly decided i didn't want to make blocks.
So I had a brilliant idea involving jack stands and wheel dolleys.
The diff shop switched to grey paint. Now I mismatch.
I got everything ready for the final push.
What could go wrong?
One smashed finger and two wheel dolleys launched across the garage floor later, I had the axle in place.
No time for painting, so just reusing rusty hardware for now.
Last edited:
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #49
Since I don't yet have an end vision for this project, and thus a design, and I'm trying to contain scope, and I'm dealing with an early cruiser, I keep finding myself facing things like this.
8mm driveshaft bolts.
The flange on my freshly rebuild third member has 10mm holes. The flange on my old ass driveshaft has 8mm holes.
I could drill them out and get 10mm driveshaft hardware, but I suspect I'll be swapping out this tcase and building new driveshafts in the future.
So screw it. I'll let you guys know before I get on the interstate so you can avoid the roads
What could go wrong.
Kidding. It just needs to make it onto the trailer.
8mm driveshaft bolts.
The flange on my freshly rebuild third member has 10mm holes. The flange on my old ass driveshaft has 8mm holes.
I could drill them out and get 10mm driveshaft hardware, but I suspect I'll be swapping out this tcase and building new driveshafts in the future.
So screw it. I'll let you guys know before I get on the interstate so you can avoid the roads
What could go wrong.
Kidding. It just needs to make it onto the trailer.
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #50
Sonofa...
Coarse-threaded my eye!
I go to all the trouble of tracking every piece of take-off hardware to ease reassembly and of course the new housings would have m12x1.25 threaded lower shock mounts while the original axles (and thus my hardware) had m12x1.5 threads.
It may be better off without these shocks connected anyway. It's starting to look like I may need to bite the bullet and update the suspension.
Or maybe just some cheap shocks and new nuts for now. Scraping the bottom of the fleabay barrel that's $85-120 for 4 shocks.
Coarse-threaded my eye!
I go to all the trouble of tracking every piece of take-off hardware to ease reassembly and of course the new housings would have m12x1.25 threaded lower shock mounts while the original axles (and thus my hardware) had m12x1.5 threads.
It may be better off without these shocks connected anyway. It's starting to look like I may need to bite the bullet and update the suspension.
Or maybe just some cheap shocks and new nuts for now. Scraping the bottom of the fleabay barrel that's $85-120 for 4 shocks.
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TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #51
Well, tldr; the Hot Rod 40 is now parked next to his cousin from the wrong side of the tracks, 1125.
Two very different beasts.
The next steps on this project requires some fabrication, so we'll see if @hairy_apple will let me use his welder.
Back to the project, I just had to finish building the rear axle, run brake lines, replace the master cylinder, bleed, test drive, and cross my fingers that the hokey shocks and driveshaft hardware didn't get me killed.
Instead, @orangefj45 showed up to save the day with a trailer. Land Cruiser community at its finest!
All I had to do was make it run and roll.
Backing plate w/new hardware (because I lost the old hardware).
Added brake shoes, springs, and retainers.
Greased spindle
I had the takeoff axle shafts from my hzj75 project and was able to reuse them here.
Two very different beasts.
The next steps on this project requires some fabrication, so we'll see if @hairy_apple will let me use his welder.
Back to the project, I just had to finish building the rear axle, run brake lines, replace the master cylinder, bleed, test drive, and cross my fingers that the hokey shocks and driveshaft hardware didn't get me killed.
Instead, @orangefj45 showed up to save the day with a trailer. Land Cruiser community at its finest!
All I had to do was make it run and roll.
Backing plate w/new hardware (because I lost the old hardware).
Added brake shoes, springs, and retainers.
Greased spindle
I had the takeoff axle shafts from my hzj75 project and was able to reuse them here.
Last edited:
TreadingLight
"Overlanding is Sh*t"
- Thread starter
- #52
Then I installed the axle seal into the spindle (got a little too aggressive pressing it in, hence inset not flush), slid on the hub, then the outer wheel bearing, preload adjuster and lock nut.
All the hub/spindle parts are surprisingly the later style, sharing parts with my hzj75 or an 80. I set the preload to 60-nm, rotated the hub, backed it off and set it again, 2 or 3 times, then forward to line up the locknut per this very helpful diagram: Full floater bearing adjustment... - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/full-floater-bearing-adjustment.226090/post-3395959
Now with hub
Then the paper gasker, the axle, conewashers, lock washers and nuts. And antiseize like butter on toast.
Ooh, new washers.
The POR15 goes on thick and and often causes parts to interfere. I had to really pound the drum over the hub.
Looks new. Isn't new.
And then, just like that, she was back on the ground, sitting on these tires and rims from my old 60.
Finally off the jackstands
I never installed the master cylinder and worked out if I need a new/modified pushrod, ran lines from the MC to the frame, or along the frame to the rear axle.
Next step I plan to add mounting points to the axle for period-correct (late 70s 40) brake routing, extended breathers, etc. Then I'll tackle the aforementioned list of hydraulic tasks.
And I should make a decision about suspension.
All the hub/spindle parts are surprisingly the later style, sharing parts with my hzj75 or an 80. I set the preload to 60-nm, rotated the hub, backed it off and set it again, 2 or 3 times, then forward to line up the locknut per this very helpful diagram: Full floater bearing adjustment... - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/full-floater-bearing-adjustment.226090/post-3395959
Now with hub
Then the paper gasker, the axle, conewashers, lock washers and nuts. And antiseize like butter on toast.
Ooh, new washers.
The POR15 goes on thick and and often causes parts to interfere. I had to really pound the drum over the hub.
Looks new. Isn't new.
And then, just like that, she was back on the ground, sitting on these tires and rims from my old 60.
Finally off the jackstands
I never installed the master cylinder and worked out if I need a new/modified pushrod, ran lines from the MC to the frame, or along the frame to the rear axle.
Next step I plan to add mounting points to the axle for period-correct (late 70s 40) brake routing, extended breathers, etc. Then I'll tackle the aforementioned list of hydraulic tasks.
And I should make a decision about suspension.
Last edited: