Builds Another OM617 in an FJ40 thread (2 Viewers)

[daner]

Now that I've got the major components of the diesel swap under control, thought I'd take a step back and give a brief summary of what it took, just in case someone else is thinking of doing a similar swap:

I purchased the truck in late February, and it is now early December. So basically, it took 9 months of weekends to get it running.

This includes axle swaps, new springs, all new bushings, brakes and tie rod ends. Fabricated motor mounts, transmission mounts, new radiator and misc. lots of misc...

In all, the swap, including the truck, parts and new tires/wheels cost a little over 5k-and that's only because I was fortunate enough to get great deals on the drivetrain and truck. If I were to do it over, probably could not have got this far for less than $7-8k.

Hard to put a price on the labor, sometimes it was fun, other times not so much.

Figure it will take another six months to work the bugs out. Overall, it's a big commitment to do a diesel swap, and it doesn't pay dividends unless you plan on keeping it for a long time.



Didn't expect this: Drives straight! No hands on wheel!

 

[RAYJON]

just a thought on your valve cover, some machine shops have a large belt sander for surfacing cylinder heads, if the cover is warped it would only take a couple of seconds on the sander to square it up...

great build so far really like the progress...

 

[daner]

That's a great idea-after swapping in a new gasket the leaking stopped. If it does leak again I will run it by a machine shop.

 

[daner]

Took the truck by the scale today, and the weight without top or doors (OM617 5 speed and Toyota mini-truck axles etc) is: A smidgen over 3100lbs.

Stock fj40 fst is 3250.

Still need an exhaust and rear shocks, so it will pretty much be a wash as far as weight goes. Except that this old 40 should get twice the mpgs as stock. Surprisingly, the om617 drives more like a gas motor that the original F motor. Much more response and rpm range than the F. The F is smoother at low rpms, though.

 

[daner]

I've decided to use the stock FJ40 transfer case lever as a shut down switch for the motor until I can install the vacuum activated shut down. It's basically a cable that activates the manual motor "STOP" lever. It's temporary, but it works:

 

[daniel.watters]

Great call!

 

[Kief]

Cool, I would think the old choke would be good permanent connection.

 

[daner]

Cool, I would think the old choke would be good permanent connection.

Hey Kief-I'm looking at permanent options and may try to use the choke cable.

 

[daner]

Haven't got much done lately, but finally got around to fixing one of the bigger issues keeping the truck from being drive-able:

Since I had moved the engine and transmission back an inch or two, then installed new springs, then found a pair of stock shackles to replace the ridiculous 8" long rear shackles, the driveshaft angle was way off from where I estimated it would be...it was not even close!

So I watched a few Youtube videos on how to measure the angle, then bought an inexpensive angle finder. It may have been a little too inexpensive, as it gave a different reading each time I measured it.

I ended up measuring the angle multiple times, then averaging the readings, which told me the transmission was 6 degrees steeper than the driveshaft. I ordered a 6 degree shim from Summit Racing, it was on my doorstep in 48 hours. Now the driveshaft is happy again. Took her out for a drive, briefly hit 60-65 mph with no vibration.

 

[Kief]

Cool, I want to check it out.. I haven't gotten anything done outside of work.. Don't feel bad.. it's looking good

 

[daner]

Kief-When it warms up a spell the wife and I will cruise out your way and say hi. It sounds strange but after taking her around the block in it she is almost as excited as I am about having a Land Cruiser in our life again. Almost.

 

[Kief]

almost is pretty good

 

[daner]

Back at it after a break: For a while progress stopped as I thought I had spun a bearing on the motor. It was a high pitched chirping/knocking noise that was getting worse. I pulled the water pump belt to make sure it wasn’t the water pump...but it wasn’t that. Turns out it was a bearing in the vacuum pump.

Looking into it closer, those vacuum pumps are a weak link on the om617, and when they go south, the bearing disintegrates sending hardening steel into the oil.

Since I don’t have any vacuum accessories, I simply removed the innards and put it back on.

Fortunately, the bearing was just starting to fail, and after inspecting the oil and pulling the oil pan there doesn’t appear to be any metal in the oil, so now she is back on the road.

The first pic is of the vacuum pump. If anyone else is doing an om617 swap I recommend to consider gutting it to prevent future issues, and as a bonus you can sell the innards for $$$ as the parts are discontinued.

 

[Kief]

Sweet!

 

[daner]

Thanks Kief!

 

[daner]

We had our first 100 degree day in SW Oregon, so it was a good day to test the new radiator fan and shroud to see if she would stay cool...after cruising a combination of highway and slow speed driving the gauge never went above 190 degrees.

 

[daner]

Morning! Been two months since I've updated this thread, and since the last update I did have an exhaust installed and have been driving it almost daily to work. The OM617 runs like a champ, always starts and runs great.

A couple of observations:
The power loss from a straight exhaust to a full exhaust is considerable. If someone else were doing an OM617 swap I would recommend going with large diameter, straight exhaust. I drove it with a short, straight exhaust for months and it really wasn't that loud.

The other epiphiny I had, and probably everyone else already knew this is that, in hindsight, I think I was a little naive when I started this project. Perhaps I too fondly reminisce when I was young, and drove my first FJ40 all over the west and was somehow oblivious to the sun, wind and noise. But after driving it for 150 miles on a Saturday afternoon, I was exhausted. It dawned on me that no matter what you do to an old FJ40, it will still drive like and old FJ40. Despite comfy seats, five-speed tranny and (kind of) tight steering, it is not a highway cruiser, so to speak.

Of course it still makes me smile when I drive it, especially on back roads:

 

[Kief]

It's not the rig it's your body just isnt what it uSed to be

 

[DPV7070]

Looks really good! Congrats on a badass 40!

 

[daniel.watters]

@DPV7070 @daner
You two are inspiring me to go buy an original 1982 MB SD with 143k miles for $1000 this week.