Builds An HJ61 followed me home to Texas

[bottombracket]

Well, it’s been a year. Let me provide a quick update on what I’ve done with the truck in the past 12 months.

Last spring the front wheels were barfing gear oil all over the place. Time for a knuckle rebuild.

Soup’s on.

Problem number one: the hard lines on both sides were completely corroded to the soft lines.

No wonder the steering was a little notchy.

 

[bottombracket]

Nice wheel stud. Someone had booger welded a bolt into a rough approximation of a wheel stud in the past. Needless to say I replaced all new wheel studs. I bought new Terrain Tamer rotors and knuckle kits from @orangefj45. Beeeefy stuff.

Marlin Crawler inner seals.

Tie rod ends were shot, so Georg provided a full set of Terrain Tamer tie rod ends as well.

 

[bottombracket]

I also decided to upgrade the braking to 4runner calipers and FZJ80 master cylinder. Georg to the rescue again.

There were minor clearance issues for both the calipers and the pads. I had to grind the squealer tabs on the pads to make them fit.

The stock backing plates had to be ground down slightly as well, but overall it only took a few minutes to bolt everything up.

Thirsty Goat approved.

 

[bottombracket]

Between ordering parts, making changes, weird work schedule, and it being my first time at a knuckle rebuild, the first side took 3 1/2 weeks.

I had the white truck scooted over as far as possible to make it easy to do the right side. I was going to put the wheel back on and move it over to do the left side , but then I got lazy and didn’t want to take everything off jackstands and move it, so I found out that you can do a knuckle rebuild with about 14 inches of space between vehicles. Even though the quarters were cramped, the second side took 3 1/2 hours. Now that’s more like it.

Here’s my five-year-old daughter helping torque the hub bolts on. She actually tightened them to spec and did a great job.

 

[bottombracket]

When my daughter came out to the garage to help me, she was still eating a chocolate popsicle. Being five, it was all over her face, hands, and arms. When she was done, she pulled out of her tiny work glove and had some gunk on her fingers.

I asked her if it was chocolate or grease.

She stuck her index finger in her mouth and promptly went, “blech....GREASE.”

 

[bottombracket]

Knuckles, brakes, calipers, tie rod ends were done, but I still had one big problem. The soft lines were corroded to the hard lines. Those suckers were welded together. Nothing I could do could get them off.

I was left with the choice of buying some stock metric brake line on my own and bending them, or flaring some new ones from tubing. I reached out to @Rainman who has reproduced every brake line for the 40 series. He has a deal where if you send him your brake lines and he can use them for a pattern and keep them, he will make your new lines for free or at a highly reduced cost.

So I pulled the front and rear hardlines off and sent them off. Even though he was in the middle of starting his own business from scratch, he found the time to bend me some beautiful lines. As a bonus, he now has the patterns for a North American spec 88-90 FJ62, as my HJ61 has a semi float rear and the lines are identical to my FJ62.

A good friend of mine from college runs a high-end body shop. When I showed him the lines, he said, “There are guys who are obsessive, guys who are compulsive, and your guy’s work is way over-the-top.” I completely agree.

Each of the four lines that Rainey sent me bolted up perfectly on the first try. He is the kind of resource that we as a group need to support because his work is truly top notch.

 

[bottombracket]

Things were coming together. However, I thought the left rear wheel cylinder was leaking. When I pulled the drums off, it wasn’t brake fluid…

Luckily, my good friend AJ @aljollano came to the rescue and we pulled the diff cover, pulled the rear axle shafts, and replaced both rear axle seals. And the e-brake cable that was about to totally give out. Thanks also to @tucker74 who loaned me a diff cover gasket until I can get a replacement so I could finally get the truck on the road.

Somewhere along the way, @davegonz helped me put in the FJ80 master cylinder. Amazingly, I don’t have pictures. We finally have bled the brakes and the old truck who is roadworthy once again.

All in all, between all of the learning curves, parts needs, and my weird work schedule, the truck was off the road for about five months. I’m pretty sure this is the longest birf job ever recorded.

 

[bottombracket]

The AC was blowing hot so I found a local shop who recharged it. R134a for the win.

The BFG’s that were on the truck were from 2004. I’d say that someone in Spain got pretty good mileage out of those tires. I upgraded to a set of KO2s, and moved up in size to 33x10.5x15.

The Tough Dog lift that came on the truck doesn’t seem very tall, but the tires don’t rub, so I’m going with it for now.

 

[bottombracket]

That brings us up to today. I started to get some belt squeal and realize that the old belts are cracked and crappy. I have a new set from @beno to put on. Also, the old steering stabilizer is shot so I’ll be ordering a new one of those soon.

 

[bottombracket]

I’ve also started to hear a ticking coming from the top of the motor. I thought it was just a valve that needed to be adjusted, but today @Spallet quickly realize that it was a broken manifold stud. New studs have been purchased and it will soon be time to start pulling things apart.

 

[Jentuh]

You're doing a thorough job!!
For my info, do you have type numbers on brake callipers/booster? I'm looking into the same mod, but I'm not sure exactly what type will fit.

How's you braking compared to before?

 

[bottombracket]

I don’t have the exact match for the part numbers. I just called Georg.

I’m pretty sure I still have air in the system. I need to adjust the rears and believe everything a couple more times. I’m pretty sure there’s still air in the LPSV.

I also need to check vacuum at my booster. I definitely need a new hose clamp and probably some new hose coming off the vacuum canister.

Overall, even though it’s not perfect, I have longer pedal travel but better braking at the end of pedal travel that is certainly better than before.

 

[mongoose2231]

Great work, nice truck!!! Keep it up...

 

[bottombracket]

Front end refresh: cooling system, manifold bolts, etc.

I stared pulling things apart to get to the exhaust manifold.

Coolant was gross.

I pulled the radiator because the hoses were....crunchy...in addition to the gross coolant. Though I had run hot but had never overheated, I figured it was time to find a radiator shop.

Getting everything out while keeping the condenser in place was a pain in the a$$. I’m cutting the fan shroud in half ASAP.

There was enough sludge inside that even the radiator shop guy was disgusted when he upended it in the shop parking lot and it piddled black crud onto the ground. I assume that grossing out a radiator guy is hard to do.

They are going to take off the top tank, rod it, pressure test it, and will have it done in 4 days, including Christmas. Nice.

 

[VX 12HT]

yes taking a radiator out on a 24 volt 12ht hj61 is not the most enjoyable thing to do in saying that it would take a nuclear explosion for a radiator to fall out......

 

[OGBeno]

New OEM radiator is available in the US market and quite reasonably priced.

 

[bottombracket]

Well then, I’ll call tomorrow and see if they have started in on it.

If they haven’t I’ll call @beno

 

[kevin in okinawa]

LEDs part two:

I double checked my wiring, and then just plugged in the low beam headlight to the adapter...and it lit up.

I plugged in the high beam to the native wiring harness, and found that it worked if I reversed the plug black for red.

View attachment 1569581

Everything works as it should: low beam, low and high beams on together when high beams are selected, high beam dash light, high beam flash feature. I don’t see any obvious wiring hacks or relays tucked in the fenders anywhere.

View attachment 1569583
High
View attachment 1569582
Low

Is there a difference in headlight wiring between Euro spec and the rest of the world? Are the Euro trucks positive switched? Or did someone convert mine in a way that I do not yet recognize?

Please, anyone else chime in. I’m confused but happy that I have finally have LED visibility (JW Speakers are amazing and worth their weight in gold).

View attachment 1569586

View attachment 1569584

man you are not alone. These led beams continue to confound me with their non-sensical, not obvious, weird, somehow-crossing of signals. At your esteemed convenience, can you explain how you corrected it in a easier-to-understand write up? I feel like I've tried all of the different pin combos, and now a 'custom' set up that I'm not totally sure about. I'd be eternally obliged, and my wife would stop giving me that look when I begrudgingly tell her that "...I'll get it figured out soon..."

 

[bottombracket]

Kevin,

Read this thread. If your headlights are negative ground switched (like virtually every Cruiser), these instructions will work:

Instructions for LED Headlight upgrade

Here are the basic steps, copied and pasted from the linked thread:

Step 1: Identify which wire is power and which is ground on your truck's high-beam headlight connector.

The power wire on your truck's high-beam headlight connector will have power going to it during both low-beam and high-beam operation. The ground wire on your truck's high-beam headlight connector will only be grounded when the truck is in high-beam mode. Try plugging one high-beam LED headlight into the truck's high-beam (2 wire) connector in different orientations until it works. The red wire on the headlight is the power (+) wire, so whichever wire in your truck's high-beam headlight connector is connected to the red wire is the power wire.

This worked in my Federal spec, 12V FJ62. It DID NOT work in my Euro spec 24V HJ61.


Step 2: Verify that the power wire on your truck's high-beam headlight connector is powered during low-beam and high-beam operation.

Switch the headlights to low-beam and then connect only the red wire of the high-beam LED headlight to only the power wire of the truck's high-beam headlight connector. You can do this with a jumper wire or by aligning the two connectors in such a way that only the one pin is mated. Then touch the ground pin of the LED headlight to a grounding point on your vehicle by touching it to the chassis or using a jumper wire to the chassis or the (-) battery post.

I suggest that you take power from the truck's high-beam headlight plug to operate both the low-beam and the high-beam headlight, this will leave the truck's low-beam headlight plugs free for getting your high-beam indicator working again.

Step 2 ensures that your lights will be lit in low and high beam. Remember, the high beam positive is always hot (in both low and high beam operation) and the high beam ground is only connected (forming a functioning circuit) during high beam switch engagement.


Step 3: Connect the power wire of the truck's high-beam headlight connector to both the Red wire of the LED high-beam headlight AND the White wire of the LED low-beam headlight

Step 3 is where you provide power to the high beam and low beam off of the high beam wire only.

Step 4: Connect the ground wire of the truck's high-beam headlight connector to the Black wire of the LED high-beam headlight.

Step 4 grounds the high beam circuit.

Step 5: Connect the Black wire of the LED low-beam headlight directly to a grounding point on the vehicle.

At this point both low beam and high beam headlights should function properly, but I expect that your high-beam indicator will not work.

Step 5 grounds the low beam circuit. Now you need to build a relay to switch the beams and get the high beam indicator and flash function to work.

 

[bottombracket]

LED's, step 6: the high beam indicator and flash function:

Step 6: Here is how you fix the high beam indicator:

Here is the list of items that you will need to get your high beam indicator working again:

• One male H4 pigtail (mentioned in my previous email)

• One 12V Relay and Socket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JPPQH6

◦ Any 12V relay and socket should work except for “NC” (normally closed) type relays. Relays and sockets should readily available at any auto parts store

• One resistor (this is where you get to make a decision)

◦ I would suggest a 10ohm resistor capable of handling 5 watts, similar to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087ZE402

◦ The resistor can have a resistance anywhere from 1 to 50 ohm (I don’t recommend less than 5 ohm or more than 30). The resistance you choose will determine how bright your high beam indicator light is. A 5 ohm resistor will make the indicator about as bright as it was with the original headlights. Increasing the resistance to 10, 20 or 30 ohms will reduce the brightness of your high beam indicator by roughly 10, 20 and 30% respectively. Some people find that the high beam indicator is brighter than necessary with the original headlight setup.

◦ The catch with this resistor is that, due to the Toyota wiring setup, the resistor gets a full 12 volts when you use the “flash mode” of your vehicles headlights (pulling the high/low beam lever towards the steering wheel briefly). If someone were to hold the lever in flash mode, the resistor would get very hot and burn out. If you want to avoid this possibility, the resistor must be able to handle the full 12 volts indefinitely. In order to calculate what size (wattage) of resistor is necessary, you must take the voltage squared and divide it by the resistance that you choose (P = V2/R) P = Power in watts, V = voltage, R = resistance in ohms. If you choose a 10 ohm resistor and assume an operating voltage of 14.4 volts, the resistor must be able to handle at least 20.736 watts. A 10 ohm, 20 watt resistor (similar to www.amazon.com/dp/B0087YHQLW) would probably be very safe. If you aren’t concerned about someone holding the flash mode on for more than a few seconds at a time, I think a 10 ohm 5 watt resistor would be more than adequate. In most cases where the flash mode is only ever used for a quick flash, a 1 watt resistor would probably be just fine. The system will operate just fine with no resistor in place until you try to use flash mode, at which time you will blow both headlight fuses.

Terminals 85 and 86 are the “activation” side of the relay and terminals 87 and 30 are the “switched” side of the relay. When you apply 12 volts across terminals 85 and 86 (in either direction), the relay closes the switch connecting terminals 30 and 87. You should hear the relay click when you apply power to the activation terminals.

The common (+) terminal of one of your truck’s low beam plugs must be connected to one terminal on the activation side of the relay AND one terminal on the switched side of the relay. The high-beam terminal of must be connected to the other terminal on the activation side of the relay. The low beam terminal must be connected to the other terminal on the switched side of the relay with the resistor connected in-line.

There's a lot of words in this section. Here's how to wire it:

On the low beam switch:

Common wire to relay terminals 86 AND 87 (printed on the relay itself. You will need a 24V relay!)
High beam wire to relay terminal 85.
Low beam wire to relay terminal 30 with the resistor in line.

I used a 25W 10ohm resistor on my 12V truck. For a 24V truck, operating at 28.8V, you could use a 10ohm, 90W resistor to be safe.

Here is my relay circuit.