A few restoration questions 1980 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

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Ok so my 1980 FJ40 is at the body shop. The body shop owner called and said the pitman arm was leaking and the transfer case output shaft was leaking on his shop floor. I went to the shop and confirmed there are two leaks. I figured I would be fixing some leaks after the rebuilt engine went in. I chose not to rebuild the transmission or transfer case at the time as they appeared to not leak and work fine.

So now....

1) Transfer case output shaft leak- I went to Specter offroad and looked for the seals that seem to be leaking. I was blown away. There are tons of seals that it could be. Any ideas on which seal could be the culprit? I know this is vague but some of you guys have done multiple cruisers....I would rather not put the case and replace every seal unless all if these seals eventually go. My gut feeling is that there are maybe 2 or 3 seals in the case that go out on a regular basis.

2) Pitman arm leak- When I looked for pitman arm seal I found nothing at SOR. Is the pitman called something else?

3) Worn rear axles? I need new rear axles and I have a spare from a 1978 FJ55 I had a few years ago. Isn't it the third member that makes the 1978 4/11 gears. Are the axles the same?

4) the speedometer arm in the gauge cluster is loose and appears to be slightly tweaked. I am trying to keep this thing 100% stock so should I try to fix the gauge cluster or simply buy a used one. Mileage is excluded from the licensing in WA state as it is older than 1986.

I have a huge list of things to get from CDAN and SOR.

thanks

Aaron
 
You should be able to find the seal you're looking for on this page: SPECTER

Your transfer seals: usually it's one of the 2 outputs, front or back. Once you get it home just spray it off and clean it all up then wait and see which one it is...

You can find used clusters on Ebay sometimes. Don't know about taking one apart.
Sbox.gif
 
thanks Hawkdriver & Spotcruiser

Spotcruiser- I am in Spokane, WA. thanks. The Seattle, WA cruiser folks would have a heck of a drive to help out. We have been trying to get a club started here in Spokane, WA with limited success. 3-4 folks max so far.

I understand the information on the t-case seals. I will order the seals when I get to steam clean the underside and see exactly where the fluid is coming from. Same goes for the steering box. That is exactly why I asked. I didn't want to order a bunch of seals that usually don't leak.

As far as the axles goes. I was rebuilding the front axles hub to hub anyway and I was thinking the rear axles need to be serviced. Recently we were flat towing it to the body shop as I had taken it apart for painting and it wasn't driveable. The car following out tow rig said the rear wheels were wobbling and the lug nuts were tight. But they were not acor lugs rather they were longet lugnuts for what I call "bling wheels" that I had lying around. I wonder with correct lugs if the wobble might go away? Ok now I also know to not use the old spare exle I have.

thanks

Aaron
 
Aaron,

If the race is grooved on your rear output shaft the new seal will leak also (ask me how I know). My old '80 FJ40 had a leaking rear output shaft. I rebuilt e-brake and replaced the seal and then also had to use a speedi-sleeve in there to account for the minor groove. NAPA sells them and they are pretty easy to install.

On the steering box (if its sector shaft seal), I have the same leak and have heard its a PITA to repair. I believe others here have commented that they use grease in there which is thicker than the fluid to prevent/slow leaking and also to keep the internals lubed while you wait for the full repair. Maybe others here can comment on that approach - I recall reading this before but may be wrong.

AndrewT
 
Aaron,

The stock '80 diffs are 3.73:1 ratio. The stock '78 are 4.11:1. Don't mix them. If you swap one, swap both.

Don't know what the problem is with your rear axle. Bearings and seals are relatively easy to replace. If you have mismatched wheels and lug nuts, fix one or the other.

If you have aftermarket wheels, check to see that the brake drum retainer bolts are removed. The stock drums have bolts to hold the drum to the axle flange. Stock wheels are shaped to accomodate the bolt head. Aftermarket wheels are not, so they usually will not sit flush with the face of the drum. The retainer bolts serve no purpose, so they can be removed and left out. This is likely the cause of your wobbling wheels.

As NJFJ40 mentioned, you may need to sleeve your seal surface when you replace the rear xfer output seal. Search here on Mud and read up on it before you do the work. Also good to have the FSM when performing work. There are other places where the xfer case can leak. The front output seal is also relatively easy to replace. Complete seal kits are available.

Replacing the steering box seal isn't harder than replacing any other seal, in my opinion. Getting the pitman arm off can be a bitch. Best to have a Snap-on puller, gas torch of some sort for heat, lots of Kroil or PB Blaster, and an impact wrench when trying to remove the pitman. NJFJ40 mentions the use of grease rather than gear oil, but that is for manual boxes. I assume you have PS. If your box needs rebuilding, check the vendors here on Mud to see if any of them rebuild PS boxes.

Good Luck.
Todd Bull.
 
Yup - I was referring to manual steering boxes only - should have posted that before.

AndrewT
 
thanks

Ok so the truck has manual steering. As far as I know it never had PS, AC or a radio. Pretty bare bones. A ton of interesting points mentioned. I have a manual that covers much of this. I like to get the MUD opinion first before I start reading. I usually learn enough to rule out a few areas then start working on the problems.

thanks again,

Aaron
 
RIDDLER said:
Ok so the truck has manual steering. As far as I know it never had PS, AC or a radio.

I'm confused.

You did say it was a 1980 FJ40 in your first post, didn't you? US spec? If that is the case, it should have had PS and AC as far as I know. I don't think I've heard of a post-'78 US FJ40 without PS.

If you have a manual steering box, you can lube it with grease instead of oil as a temporary fix. That being the case, though, you can also replace the seal or find another manual box in better condition.
 
spotcruiser said:
I'm confused.

You did say it was a 1980 FJ40 in your first post, didn't you? US spec? If that is the case, it should have had PS and AC as far as I know. I don't think I've heard of a post-'78 US FJ40 without PS.

If you have a manual steering box, you can lube it with grease instead of oil as a temporary fix. That being the case, though, you can also replace the seal or find another manual box in better condition.


Power steering was always an option '79 and later, not standard. Same with air.
 
My old '80 FJ40 did not have power steering and never did from what I could tell.

AndrewT
 
Of course I wish it had PS and Air but from my end beggars can't be choosers right? It was the least cost and most rust free square bezel I had ever seen. If I look at EBAY these days it would only cost about $2000 USD to add PS and AC right?

I figured those things can be added if I need them.

thanks

Aaron
 
honk said:
Power steering was always an option '79 and later, not standard. Same with air.

I didn't know that. I always thought PS, at least, was standard on post-79 trucks.

I bought my '78 new and I think the only factory options were an AM radio and snow tires. Seems like everything else was a dealer aftermarket add-on (hubs, winch, decals).
 
spotcruiser said:
I didn't know that. I always thought PS, at least, was standard on post-79 trucks.

I bought my '78 new and I think the only factory options were an AM radio and snow tires. Seems like everything else was a dealer aftermarket add-on (hubs, winch, decals).

Nope, PS on the FJ40 was always optional, not standard. I have an '82 (purchased by my parents) that I'm converting to factory PS, and some of the parts are rare as hens' teeth.

Even the AM radio was usually put in by the dealer - I have the original "blank" for mine for the radio hole, complete with Nordic Blue overspray, and the instruction package for installing the radio, still sealed. Guess the dealer knew how ;)

Now, on the FJ60, PS was standard (watch me be wrong :eek: )

Kirk
 

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