Builds 77 FJ40 Build, It begins...and may take a while (2 Viewers)

[64Rotorhead]

Got a question for ya. How do you center the knuckle on these Diamond housings? I've just discovered that the SST does not work with these housings, as due to the added thickness, the inner part of the SST that is supposed to fit where the seal is located, does not fit in there.

 

[franklin40]

do you have the diamond axle aftermarket knuckles? i had toyota knuckles used because they didn’t have their own ones yet when i bought my axles. i haven’t tried centring them yet though

edit: oh wait i think i understand what you mean. what seal are you talking about though?

 

[64Rotorhead]

Yes, Diamond billet knuckle balls. Apparently they are different as that part of the SST doesn't fit in where the seal would be.

I've got an email in to Diamond to see what they say. All I can figure is to measure for the total thickness of shims and divide evenly, but...not sure that works. I believe I did read somewhere though that the later model Toyotas are like that, just equal shims. And as this whole build is designed around later model, maybe that's the thing to do.

I'll await their reply though

 

[franklin40]

maybe ill play with my SST this weekend if i get some time and let you knew what i come up with!

 

[64Rotorhead]

maybe ill play with my SST this weekend if i get some time and let you knew what i come up with!

I took another look, looks like I just need to remove about .0085" in the diameter of the SST and it would fit, not much at all. I'll probably see if a local machine shop can do it.

Just a slight difference which I'll let Diamond know about. They should check all their housings before they go out to make sure the SST fits. I'd rather not modify my SST but it will just have to be specific to this housing I guess

 

[franklin40]

let me know what they say!! ill probably be ok i’m assuming but best to have that knowledge just in case!

 

[franklin40]

so the OM617 has a fairly long water pump. the 200d motor has a shorter pump but exactly the same internals. i figured to save the one inch of clearance i need i would experiment with modifying the pulley to fit on a shorter pump. here’s what i did...

i made a jig that would hold the long pump and keep the pulley at the right height. then i put the short pump in the jig and cut the nose of the pulley off. then i cut the centre section out as it has the perfect location of center pin and screw holes. i then made a ring to fill the gap and with a bunch of grinding made it fit. then i mounted the centre piece in the pump and put the ring and pulley in the jig and tack welded it in place. then finished the welding and grinding. now painting it and a few motor accessories

this modification should give me the one inch i need to be able to run the black magic electric fan i have

it feels really good working on a different part of this truck knowing the frame and driveline mock-up are done!

 

[franklin40]

some paint really makes these parts look good!!

i have some sanding to do on the pulley i modified. then i’ll paint it up too and hopefully start putting the motor together this weekend.

 

[Jclhammer]

Keep up the good work Franklin. I saw your Diamond axle in one of the last photos. What WMS width did you end up with?

 

[franklin40]

i kept stock fj40 width. i didn’t want to outrigger spring mounts and i had about 5 inches of lift before and it felt really stable. with the spring over i’m not going to be more than 6 inches so i figured it’ll be good

 

[DPV7070]

Hey buddy, glad to see you're still kicking ass on this project. My OM617 is still running like a boss, albeit a bit slow, but hey--I'm driving something with the aerodynamics of a brick.

Still can't be the MPGs though. I'm averaging around 20city/25hwy. I park in the "fuel efficient" spots to piss everyone off.

 

[franklin40]

more painting today. used a ceramic paint on the exhaust manifold and heat shields after sand blasting them. i also brushed the bell housing and clear coated it. lastly i repainted the silver on the transmission covers as it was starting to peel. it’s looking good. also painted the bare metal on the adapter. i want to try keeping dissimilar metals apart

once the paint is dry i can put the adapter back on and do the clutch. then it’s time to start finding the bolts i took out 4 years ago to put these parts back on the engine. do you think i was smart enough to label them!! they are at least in yogurt containers in my “mercedes pile”. ...ill figure it out

 

[franklin40]

Hey buddy, glad to see you're still kicking ass on this project. My OM617 is still running like a boss, albeit a bit slow, but hey--I'm driving something with the aerodynamics of a brick.

Still can't be the MPGs though. I'm averaging around 20city/25hwy. I park in the "fuel efficient" spots to piss everyone off.

thanks so much. yep still slowly moving along. invested too much into it to let it go now. i still love it anyway. but yes i’d like to be reporting the fuel economy instead! glad yours is running well. makes me feel like it’ll all be worth it.

 

[franklin40]

reinstalled the adapter plate and then the new fly wheel. torqued to 60 ft/lbs. now on the chevy crank there’s a dowel that goes into an extra hole and lines up the fly wheel in a specific position. there’s no dowel on the adapter so i assume i can put it where ever i like. if anyone thinks otherwise let me know.

new pilot bearing installed

after loads of brake cleaner and clean rags the pressure plate and clutch were installed over the centring tool. i used a star pattern to tighten down the pressure plate making sure the centring tool was easy to move in and out. torqued to 35 ft/lbs. lock tight on all bolts as per chevy clutch installation.

this is the first time i’ve ever installed a clutch so please tell me if i did anything wrong!!

it seemed to work properly.

 

[franklin40]

and lastly for today bell housing reinstalled

 

[franklin40]

i got a call from the galvanizer today. there’s too much undercoat and crap on the frame to dip without risking having spots that are not clean. he said he’d give it a try but in the end we both felt getting it blasted first was the way to go otherwise it would have been done today. he’s going to send it to a blaster monday so hopefully next week it’ll be done!!

 

[DPV7070]

i got a call from the galvanizer today. there’s too much undercoat and crap on the frame to dip without risking having spots that are not clean. he said he’d give it a try but in the end we both felt getting it blasted first was the way to go otherwise it would have been done today. he’s going to send it to a blaster monday so hopefully next week it’ll be done!!

I agree. If you're going through all this trouble, no since in cutting corners now.

 

[franklin40]

@DPV7070 what did you do with your SLS pump? are you running your vacuum pump as well? i’m planning on deleting my SLS unless you’ve got a better idea of its use. i’m trying to decide if i want to get rid of my vacuum pump. i plan on running a hydro boost for brakes. i have an electric shut off switch for fuel coming. i just need to see if it runs in the vacuum line or something else before i make that final decision.

 

[40FOX]

Great build up thread, You have put a lot of work into your 40, look forward to following your build.

 

[franklin40]

Great build up thread, You have put a lot of work into your 40, look forward to following your build.

thanks. it’s taken a lot longer than most guys. i just don’t have a lot of time each week to work on it. hopefully it’ll start moving forwards at a pace that i can see continual progress. it can get discouraging when it seems to stall out for months. this last week has really got me going again though. i’m really having fun putting it together.