Builds 94 FZJ80 - Let the Adventure Ensue (2 Viewers)

[Fj80oregon]

Make sure to buy the rapid pump floor jack! I have two of the 3ton Daytona rapid pump and they are great jacks.

 

[NeverFinis]

1. Do you rotate all 5 tires or skip the spare?
2. What kind of jack do you use for your lifted cruiser?

1) Rotate all 5
2) I converted a HF 1.5 Ton Jack with a 911 Motorsports kit.

911 Motorsports sells a vehicle mount as well, which reminds me, I need to mount it to my truck...

The 1.5T is fine for lifting one corner but it is pushing it to lift one end completely.

I have the Badlands 3.0T off road jack, which has been great, but it is really too big to pack it to go.

 

[FMC80]

I've really changed my opinion about Harbor Freight. When I was in my 20s I would just go buy cheap stuff at Harbor Freight cause I didn't have much money and told myself that when it broke, I would buy something from a legit brand because that meant I was using it enough. I went through a bunch of HF stuff and seen my fair share of junk (don't buy torque wrenches there haha) but over the years I've seen their quality improving. Now they have a couple different lines of tools. The Pittsburgh stuff isn't amazing but the Icon tools are really pretty nice.

And yes like @baldilocks said, a lot of people are saying that HF stuff is very similar to Snap-On stuff or could be from the same factory. I have zero hands-on experience with Snap-On so I can't say but I've been using HF jacks for a long time with no problems. This HF Badlands jack looks like a copy of the Pro Eagle offroad jack but actually seems to have better features, and is also probably made in the same factory.

Their smaller jackstands did get recalled a few years ago because of some catastrophic failures but the new jackstand design seems solid. I've been using 12-tons for 10 years now with no issues.

I was shopping around for a new tool chest and hadn't even considered HF until I stopped in one day and was blown away by the quality of their new US General modular tool chests. Better than Home Depot stuff in my opinion, with some cool features.

Long story but I ripped out my old stairs when I remodeled my garage and wanted to DIY some new ones. I don't have too much experience with carpentry so I was learning as I went. When I was just about done with the stairs I decided I wanted to add a surface mounted cable railing but all my plans had used 2x boards for the steps on some steel stringers. Couldn't increase the height of the landing or modify the stringers so I couldn't add thicker stair treads. I didn't know if that would be enough depth for the railing to mount to so I threw a couple extra 2x pieces on just the outer edge for the railings.

Anyway don't mean to clog up @FMC80 's thread anymore - I've got a little more about my garage endeavors over here - Suburban 3 Car Garage "Shop" - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/suburban-3-car-garage-shop.1338471/

No worries on clogging up my thread with amazing information. Keep it coming. I spent most of my adult life overseas, so no Harbor Freight to frequent. I appreciate the info, especially from OG cruiser wrenchers like you, Wes, Steve, Rich, not me, etc. I’m the guy that had no idea how to lift a short block out of the crate. Lmao.

Make sure to buy the rapid pump floor jack! I have two of the 3ton Daytona rapid pump and they are great jacks.

I’ll check them out, but that badlands off-road jack looks functional as all get out!

1) Rotate all 5
2) I converted a HF 1.5 Ton Jack with a 911 Motorsports kit.

911 Motorsports sells a vehicle mount as well, which reminds me, I need to mount it to my truck...

The 1.5T is fine for lifting one corner but it is pushing it to lift one end completely.

I have the Badlands 3.0T off road jack, which has been great, but it is really too big to pack it to go.

Right on. All five it is. I ain’t going to lie. After I got my spare up on the rear bumper, in fact, I remember when I got it slung up there, I said, “**** that!” Well, guess I’ll lift with my back and make rapid, twisting motions and see where it goes. Should be a good time.

 

[baldilocks]

No worries on clogging up my thread with amazing information. Keep it coming. I spent most of my adult life overseas, so no Harbor Freight to frequent. I appreciate the info, especially from OG cruiser wrenchers like you, Wes, Steve, Rich, not me, etc. I’m the guy that had no idea how to lift a short block out of the crate. Lmao.

I’ll check them out, but that badlands off-road jack looks functional as all get out!

Right on. All five it is. I ain’t going to lie. After I got my spare up on the rear bumper, in fact, I remember when I got it slung up there, I said, “**** that!” Well, guess I’ll lift with my back and make rapid, twisting motions and see where it goes. Should be a good time.

You need resistance training in your life.

 

[FMC80]

@ikarus I forgot to mention ton, I bought a husky tool box from Home Depot about 5 years ago. I think I paid about $6-700. Well over the weekend the top drawer broke. Upon inspection, the bearing on the sides of the drawer rail gave way and the weight distribution shifted in a way that derailed the whole top drawer. Anyway, research showed a relatively easy fix/replacement, but I’m annoyed. The drawer wasn’t weighed down. It’s just poorly constructed. I think company called Geelong actually makes the box branded as Husky. It’s Chinese crap.

I like the look of your general tool box. I’ll hit up a HF this week and grab a jack, and check out them boxes. So to speak.

 

[FMC80]

Alrighty fellas. I changed the oil on the old girl. I still have a slow drip from the back of the block. Maybe the oil pan? Idk. I can’t tell but it’s slow and I have t needed to add oil in between changes. Granted I’ve only changed it three times not including the first 500 miles, after the engine rebuild.

Either way, blackstone will get this sample and I’ll report back.


Also, I decided to downsize from 37s to 17s so I can rotate the tires easier. I’m also going to slam the cruiser so I don’t have to use 6x6 on a jack to lift her. Should be cool. Slinky’s for sale. Lmao.

In any case, the cruiser seems to run smoother than before. Just butter smooth. Even my kids noticed it. I don’t know why it happened but let’s go with it. Love it.

Also, got the off road jack from harbor freight like was suggested here. Thanks for the help, fellas.

 

[BILT4ME]

Add in the spare in the rotation. It adds 25% mileage use to the overall rotation sequence.

If you don't have a factory jack, one from a 2006-ish Tacoma will work. I will slide it under the truck, chuck the rod in the drill, and use the drill to raise the factory mechanical jack when I'm not in the garage. The Tacoma kit and jack will actually go about 4" taller than the OG LC jack.

I bought a brand new Tacoma jack from an online auto salvager from a wrecked truck. It had never been used.

 

[FMC80]

After two years of it sitting on my shelf in the garage, I finally installed my heavy duty Whiteline rear sway bar and I realized immediately upon backing out of the garage, that I should’ve done this two freaking years ago. The cruiser drives like a new car. Planted. Stable. No more feeling like or needing to make constant corrections. Holy smokes, one of my best mods.

Also, the surface rust is unsightly annd I don’t want it progressing…anyone have any trustworthy sources for undercarriage dry ice/or other method of restoring/protecting services they can recommend?

 

[baldilocks]

Good to hear from you Pell. The rust will take care of itself. Feelings only tell us where the trade offs went.

 

[Broski]

Not sure what my friend Steve is talking about but the rust is not going to take care of it self.
At this point it looks like a wire wheel on the end of a drill motor would take care of most of it.
IMO totally worth the effort, especially how clean your rig is.

 

[FMC80]

Not sure what my friend Steve is talking about but the rust is not going to take care of it self.
At this point it looks like a wire wheel on the end of a drill motor would take care of most of it.
IMO totally worth the effort, especially how clean your rig is.

I’ll clean it up and paint it or something…maybe a winter project.

My cruiser is nice, but it isn’t pristine. I want to use it and not worry too much about the body and paint. Besides, I can always paint it again!

Have fun on your trip, Rich.

 

[Broski]

I’ll clean it up and paint it or something…maybe a winter project.

My cruiser is nice, but it isn’t pristine. I want to use it and not worry too much about the body and paint. Besides, I can always paint it again!

Have fun on your trip, Rich.

It’s pristine!
As you know mine looks cleaner underneath than on top

 

[FMC80]

Picked up one of two 1FZ-FEs from about 1.5 hours south of me in NC.

I ordered two, got to the dealership and the first one’s box was ripped out from under the block. Then it appeared someone picked up the block and dropped it back down on its side; hard enough to break through the pallet. Maybe the pallet gave way from the weight. Either way, I refused it and just took the one.

They have another one nearby; I’ll grab it soon. I’m in no rush.

This is the new 1993 I picked up. It has a new short block on standby for now.

 

[FMC80]

Hi mud. Been a while, my life on the homestead keeps me busier than when I was l serving.

I acquired a 1994 Mustang skid steer with a bunch of attachments for tree removal, and moving lots of earth. She’s a big bitch and I towed her up from Claremont, FL back in Nov 2024. I haven’t used her much because of the winter months but now that it’s time to get to work, she broke on me. Intermittent no start condition. Anyway, traced it to a bad ground and asked @Fourrunner to hook me up with some new cables. Great dude to deal with.

Cat’s name is Pistol.

Along with those cables, I bought a new set of FZJ80 battery cables and grounds from him too. This set will go on my son’s 1993 Cruiser I just acquired not too long ago.

This is at the Evening Breeze arena in TN for my daughter’s competition. She swept it.

Also, what do you guys know about this black hub fan clutch? I read on here that it’s supremely valuable and basically makes me Bezos’ financial peer. What the hell should I do with it?

Opt 1: Crack it open, drain/fill 15k cst and use it
Opt 2: sell it for a bajillion rupees
Opt 3: it isn’t special, keep it in a box and reopen it in another 5 years after forgetting it’s a used black hub like I just did.


Anyway, jest aside, I am going to begin a baseline on my son’s 1993. Yes, he is helping work on it, but also paying to earn it.

The deal is, I buy it now. We buy all the parts. We work on it together. And he’ll get the keys but if ever he wants to sell it or trade it in, I take it back and pay what he has into it maybe more if I’m feeling generous.

My wife’s been driving the white 1993 and it recently pissed a bunch of rad fluid out of the overflow bottle. I checked the rad cap, seems fine, no sludgy oil or creamy dipstick (so to speak), last oil analysis from blackstone indicated healthy engine with some higher Iron content. No fuel or water.

Seems logical to think it could be the thermostat and not the head gasket but I’ll tear into her and see what I find. I’ll do the radiator exhaust leak check today and begin teardown. Maybe I’ll start another thread too.

 

[baldilocks]

I’ve only ever ran black hub fan clutches because I’ve only ever had 93-94 models. I have two of them that both work. Am I a rich man??? I do know that they can be more aggressive than the blue hub clutch with the same viscosity oil because of a greater oil shearing area. I’ve never heard or read of a request for a black hub clutch though so I’m not sure where you heard it is worth so much.

I bought a new blue hub clutch for my current super slow practically standing still build but have mulled over the idea of installing the last black hub I was running containing 10k oil and the factory timing. It worked well but has over 300k miles on it so I wonder how much life it has left.

The skid steer is a beast but the operator looks like a pussy…..

Your 80 looks sweet Pell.

 

[FMC80]

I’ve only ever ran black hub fan clutches because I’ve only ever had 93-94 models. I have two of them that both work. Am I a rich man??? I do know that they can be more aggressive than the blue hub clutch with the same viscosity oil because of a greater oil shearing area. I’ve never heard or read of a request for a black hub clutch though so I’m not sure where you heard it is worth so much.

I bought a new blue hub clutch for my current super slow practically standing still build but have mulled over the idea of installing the last black hub I was running containing 10k oil and the factory timing. It worked well but has over 300k miles on it so I wonder how much life it has left.

The skid steer is a beast but the operator looks like a pussy…..

Your 80 looks sweet Pell.

Steve, thanks for the response and kind words…sort of

In case it was missed by the few viewers of this humble thread, I’m sarcastic as often as I can be. My wife loves it.

Anyway, in reference to the black hub fan clutches being better, I read an obscure reference on this forum that it is better than the others because, “Black hub is the best given the larger volume (very hard to find),…”

Another member stated, “The Aisin black hub, which was installed by the factory on 93-95 models and has a lot of shearing area, in addition to what I would call a more aggressive valve design. These generally don’t need to go above 15k, sometimes as high as 20k, but that’s rare. The clutch will pull air hard from the moment it comes “on” given the little boot-shapes design of the valve opening.”

I read this last night after I found my black hub fan clutch hanging out in a new box.

I’m just buying a blue hub and throwing 15k cst in it. Worked well for my 94

 

[baldilocks]

The black hub that I described in my last post roared hard upon start up and for the next couple minutes then would shut up but when it engaged at 190 it pulled lots of air then disengaged at 185. My engine could idle in the driveway all day and I could hear the fan cycling like clock work. I’ll try the blue hub with probably 20k cst oil but have the old black hub in the center console ready for duty.

 

[FMC80]

Another horse show for my youngest this time.

My oldest daughter rides English, Hunter/Jumper specifically.

My youngest went from English to Western. Definitely a difference in the type of crowds at each event. The western shows start with our national anthem and a prayer.

God Bless the USA.

 

[MrMikeyG]

Speaking of spending someone else’s money, just bought this stuff for my buddy. He wanted his 93 cruiser lifted slightly. Hope he this setup gets him where he wants.
The cruiser outfitters box is full of knuckle rebuild stuff with Koyo bearings.
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His mechanic took him for a ride recently by changing his head gasket when his symptoms showed signs of a failed I forget what it’s called but not the head gasket. His symptoms were coolant in the passenger floorboard. You guys know what I’m talking about. I counseled him on these symptoms but since I was too busy with my house reno, he never approached me to help him. Not that I want to tackle removing his dash but I wouldn’t have forked him over like this tool. He also broke his rad shroud, broke his EGR valve, timing was over 15° advanced, cables routed wrong, and he threw away his valve cover top plastic pieces and hardware.

You really have to do work yourself if you want quality.

Anyway, he has a new HG but still smells rad fluid when he drives. Floor is dry though weirdly enough. Just waiting at this point for it to fail.

I feel like at some point there's deliberate effort put into messing up that bad. There's not using a torque wrench on everything which might be forgivable, but throwing parts away? WTF?

 

[FMC80]

I feel like at some point there's deliberate effort put into messing up that bad. There's not using a torque wrench on everything which might be forgivable, but throwing parts away? WTF?

Hey brother. I’m not so sure nowadays. It’s hard to find good help and even harder to keep it. And not using a torque wrench makes my skin crawl…makes me feel weird inside. Like not wearing a condom for the first time with a hooker. It must be the ol’ jet engine mech in me. So to speak. Hahahahaha