Bandicoot the BJ70 Build

[Paddler Ed]

Slow progress since picking up the seats; been a bit of an head space roller coaster over the Summer break (back to work on Thursday) so not as much done as I'd have liked.

Firstly, whoever designed around the water pump is evil. There is no easy way to remove and replace it that I can find! I pulled the old one off, and then spent a good 30mins trying to refit it (so I could do the new one in one go, with the new gasket) and gave up. Think there is one hardline that needs to be snigged out the way a bit.

Otherwise, I started to attack the rear main seal replacement. I took the approach of removing the housing, so that also meant removing the sump. This turned out to be a mixed bag.

1) The bottom end looks nice and clean, no muck/sludge in the sump or on the pickup.

A little bit of black RTV on the pickup, but that's not a surprise given how much was used to seal the sump...

Which leads to 2)
The sump

It's had a good hit at somepoint that has damaged it leading to some welding. So, now the decision is which sump to use - the welded up one from the 13B-T or the dented (but unwelded) one from the 3B.


No photos because I'm rubbish (and my hands were too oily to use my phone).


Feels good though to have made some progress, and it stopped me drifting into the head space that had derailed the previous 10 days.

 

[Broski]

Following along

 

[Paddler Ed]

So, the sump options:

Option 1: the one from the 3B. Rusty exterior, dented. Not welded. Full of sludge

Option 2: the one from the 13B-T. Not rusty, not sludgy but well welded up (currently shielding the underneath of the engine for me)

My preference is the 3B one, and leave as is dent wise, just clean it all up and paint it up.

 

[Broski]

Most of the dent should pop out, paint,clean and use

 

[Combat Wombat]

Saw this today and thought of you.... bit exxy but a decent solution!
Landcruiser Components: Your Online Landcruiser Parts Specialist - https://www.cruiserutesandparts.com.au/product/toyota-landcruiser-engine-3b-sump/

 

[Paddler Ed]

Yeah, that's not a cheap option!

Interesting that it has a baffle at the rear of the sump though - neither of mine do.

 

[Combat Wombat]

Any updates on this Ed?

 

[Paddler Ed]

Any updates on this Ed?

Yes... some progress has been made... but not as much as it should be.... however, I may have some time off in October that I intend to use to get things on the move a bit more... although I think my wife may have other ideas, as that time is supposed to be used for the incoming 18+ year project...

So... since January I have:
* taken it apart more
* got in trouble for storing the new seats in the house for 6 months
* taken it apart even more
* did some cleaning of the rear quarter panels
* put things loosely in the cab and found more rust (some in tricky places...)

Importantly, the head spin mess of January shook itself out at the end of January (as I sort of expected it to), and after a few more months of waiting everything slotted into place and things are moving forward again in that space.

 

[Paddler Ed]

So... Taking it apart more... I noticed that the blower intake was full of rodent nest/farm muck, so that then resulted in taking the dash apart all the way to the bulkhead...

Good news is I found that there was a hole in the demist system (which may have been why I started this fools errand)...

 

[Paddler Ed]

But all the way to the bulkhead and removing a load of random wires on the way

It's been cleaned a few times now, including pushing/dragging it round on the drive way and cleaning all the rear quarter panels, the interior and everywhere else with the pressure washer, which resulted in some good chunks coming out of the quarter panels...

Emptying the interior and then giving it a good hit took it from this:

 

[Paddler Ed]

To this:

There are some holes I've found in the drivers floorpan, and also some work needed on the bottom of the passenger side B pillar on the inside. This is going to take a bit of working out, but I think the replacement part is available...

 

[Combat Wombat]

Ken oath you have been busy!
That chuck of mud photo looked like a wombat had been chewing on spent brass hehe.
Looks like a 308 (or even 303 which was kinda popular in the Aussie bush)
Have you thought about purging out the sill rails?
I saw a fella on youtube recently do a quick resto on a HJ75 flat tray, and he showed some little drain/washout ports that you could likely access at this stage...

I actually really like this guy, he's a fair dinkum no bullshlt garage master.
The whole video (which is quite long) depicts the typical saga that ensues when someone attempts to take on a Landcruiser project.

And as for the headspace whirlwind, top job pulling through all that. Be proud of what you are capable of.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Ken oath you have been busy!

Thank you - it feels like I'm massively behind (just realised it's about 12 months since I got the 13B-T and it's moved from the trailer to an engine stand to an engine crane back to the trailer...)

That chuck of mud photo looked like a wombat had been chewing on spent brass hehe.
Looks like a 308 (or even 303 which was kinda popular in the Aussie bush)

What's an Aussie 4x4 without finding some brass in it?!

Have you thought about purging out the sill rails?
I saw a fella on youtube recently do a quick resto on a HJ75 flat tray, and he showed some little drain/washout ports that you could likely access at this stage...

No, but that video gives me some clues onto finding the drain holes in there as well... thank you!

And as for the headspace whirlwind, top job pulling through all that. Be proud of what you are capable of.

Oh the headspace whirlwind was a massive headache - and unfortunately all I could do was bottle it up rather than share it with wife (because that would just blow up even more, and then we'd be in a panic).; I talked to one mate about it but very few now exactly where it was up to and how big the "oh s***" was. It's about the most scared I've ever been about a lot of things, because I knew how much it meant to us. (Sorry for being cryptic, happy to discuss in a PM).