Builds Bean! The Adventure Continues (1987 FJ60)

[cruisermatt]

We put the Joint Fuji tubes on every cruiser whenever we are doing steering work. 100% worth the money to not have to deal with the old stuck threads and have nice fresh parts that are easy to adjust.

You already made your front axle brake lines but for anyone else those are only about $18 each from Toyota.

 

[4runner2FJ60]

Been sick this last week with a bad head cold / sinus infection which is a bummer because I had to cancel on the diff re-gear session I had planned.
This might set me back a few weeks. Learning how to set up diffs was the last thing I needed to get the front axle all buttoned up.

In other news, I took @cruisermatt ‘s advice and got a new tie-rod tube. After he had mentioned it, I just couldn’t stop thinking about those old rusty stripped-out threads failing and causing a serious (potentially dangerous) situation.
I went with an aftermarket (Joint-Fuji) one for about 1/2 the price of OEM. It seems to be an exact replica. I’m sure the quality is similar as well.

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I hope to be feeling better soon and getting back to it!

Im about to do the front re-gear thing on my 60 axle soon as well. 1st time here too. Looking forward to it. Feel better.

 

[rlocke49]

We put the Joint Fuji tubes on every cruiser whenever we are doing steering work. 100% worth the money to not have to deal with the old stuck threads and have nice fresh parts that are easy to adjust.

You already made your front axle brake lines but for anyone else those are only about $18 each from Toyota.

We put the Joint Fuji tubes on every cruiser whenever we are doing steering work. 100% worth the money to not have to deal with the old stuck threads and have nice fresh parts that are easy to adjust.

You already made your front axle brake lines but for anyone else those are only about $18 each from Toyota.

Do you happen to know the Toyota part numbers?

Thanks!

 

[Bullzi]

Do you happen to know the Toyota part numbers?

Thanks!

I was curious about this as well...everything I looked at said the brake lines were NLA.

 

[Bullzi]

Rear diff got re-geared last weekend to Yukon 4.11s.
I had a buddy in Seattle help me out. It was a great learning experience and I’ll be installing the locker for the front axle soon!
Thanks again Nick!!

Excited to put this diff in and see what the 4.11s feel like.

The pattern looks really good!

 

[NookShneer]

Nick!!

@Cho choo!

 

[Bullzi]

I finished adding the locker to the front diff this evening. Everything is looking good!
Pressure tested the assembly and no issues there.

It’s nice to get this ticked off the list. Now I can install the diff and finish rebuilding the front axle!

Barely any room between the carrier and the end of the pinion!
ARB calls for 0.02” minimum and I have .022”

Backlash is just over 0.07”

The pattern looks identical to the pattern I grabbed before I took it apart.
I did replace the pinion bearings but I kept the same shim.

Finally:

 

[Bullzi]

Made some great progress this weekend!

Diff is installed and the rest of the front axle is put together. I was really happy that my axle clip grooves (done with grinder) lined up perfectly!

Groove:

Clip:

Finished axle:

Bean axle before removal:

And removed!

Now starts the fun part…This week I’ll start to cut brackets off the frame (if I have time).
I’m going to be starting a new thread for the actual suspension conversion. I’ll post a link here when that happens.

 

[Bullzi]

Here is the thread on the axle conversion:

Torfab 80 Series Front Axle Conversion Kit – At Home Install

A few years back, I was lucky enough to partner with @torfab to help create an 80 series front axle conversion kit for the FJ60/62. Ever since, I’ve been excited about installing the kit on my own truck (it took me awhile to convince my wife we should spend the $$!). This thread will be my...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Bullzi]

It’s been a minute since I’ve given an update here. The Bean is doing great. The new suspension is awesome! I was on some washboard the other day and it was a night and day difference. It handles large and small bumps really well - especially at higher speeds!

I was fighting a small steering issue where it was floating on the road a bit. I would have to give it steering input way too often, but I added some more caster and that seems to have done the trick. It’s much better now. In the future I may look into some heavier springs for the front since my truck is so heavy, but the ride feels great right now!

I’ve been out camping a decent amount since the suspension conversion and have just really been enjoying the truck.

We also managed to winch out a stuck Unimog. That was a crazy experience. He had gone in the river and was swamped in quicksand. It was crazy!

Next on the list will be adding some RCV birfs/axle shafts to the truck. I put it in 4wd after I got my driveline lengthened and found that the birfs were making really bad clicking noises. Especially the DS one.

Other than that, I would like to fix my intake. I want to get rid of the K&N tube that was modified and put something cleaner in.

I also want to make an aluminum t-case skid plate and an aluminum fold up table that can mount to the rear bumper swing-out. These are low priorities though - so I may not get to them for a while.

 

[Bullzi]

I went out to the NorthWest Overland Rally in Plain, Wa this year. It was a fun event…lots of vendors and a small obstacle course you could drive. I took my dad and nephew and we had a good time.

The Bean ran great and I was just telling my dad how impressed I was with the way it was running when it suddenly died going down Steven’s pass…no joke - the timing was spooky. I pulled over and tried to start it but noticed that the fuel pump wasn’t operating.
I opened the fuse/relay box cover and the fuel pump relay was smoking. It had all but melted.

The relay box was melted at the relay power input pin and the terminal was in bad shape!

Luckily I had a spare relay with me and I was able to jerry rig it to get me home. I had my dad and nephew both holding fire extinguishers the whole way back home.

The best I can guess is that the terminal no longer had enough clamping force and was arcing. These terminals are rated for 30 amps and that is determined by the clamping force. Maybe it was tons of off-road miles/vibrations or the terminal was damaged removing the relay, but either way I had to get a new fuse/relay box. I opted to rewire and repin the entire box. I bought the materials from 12voltconnection.com. These guys are great and have super fast shipping.

Everything is now up and running again!


My wife surprised me with a “Check Engine” decal that I have been wanting for a while. This is a transfer style decal from mofaraz.com and replaces the “Choke” decal.
Looks like it was meant to be! She also got me new decals for the light and windshield wiper stalks but I haven’t installed them yet.

 

[Bullzi]

Been ticking some small projects off the list.
The first was unrelated to cruisers but came out pretty neat. I made my dad a pizza oven table for father's day. I made most of it out of an old truck-bed rack that I cut up. The rack had been sitting off the back of my dad's shop for the last 20yrs, so it was nice to give it new life.

I then took more of the old rack and made myself a new jerry can holder for my water jug. I have a 3-jerry can holder, but with the 38gal fuel tank I don't really need to carry extra fuel with me on most trips. This smaller jerry holder will keep the weight down and keep the jerry can a little closer to the back of the bumper. Its a bunch of pieces of metal stitched together, but I think it came out pretty nice.

Next, I fabricated a new intake. This has been a long time coming. The old one was a pieced together K&N that was leaking.
I found a good piece of 4" aluminum intake tubing with a nice bend to it and cut/welded the bend to get my desired shape.
I don't have any good pics of the finished tube...

Next I had to re-route my upper radiator hose a little. I found a 90degree 1.25" aluminum fitting and cut it down since it was a little long. I used this to get the rad hose to dive under the intake. This made room for a nicer intake bend.

I kept the intake brushed aluminum, but I might paint it black in the future. I am undecided as it does match the radiator.

Everything has been leak tested and is running great!

I was also able to install the RCV front axle shafts/birfs that I picked up from @torfab. No more clicking while turning!!!!


Solid Axle Summit #7 is in a few weeks and I still have a few things to get done before leaving (if my back cooperates - I just tweaked my lower back pretty badly at work )

On the list -

Finish hide-away aluminum table (almost done but ran out of welding gas)
Get front tire re-balanced (a few of my weights flew off on my last outing)
Check Toe
Re-center steering wheel
Remove RTT and put solar panel on roof rack
Oil Change
If time - fab skid plate for transfer case
If time - touch up some large paint chips that are down to bare metal

PACK!!

 

[Bullzi]

Quick update -

T - Minus 3days until we leave for SAS.

I finished the hide-away aluminum table. I think it came out pretty good. It’s going to be very functional.

I designed and 3D printed a quick water bottle holder and hand sanitizer holder. I like to use my Nalgene and keep it in the spot between the driver seat and the center console (behind the e-brake) but it always goes for a ride when we hit trails…this was my solution…I think it should work well.

Lastly, I did end up making a t-case skid plate. I didn’t have any of the correct metal, but was able to massage some plate and angle iron into something that will work just fine. In the future I’ll make another mounting point on the driver side to make it a little more solid…but as it is now, I can jack the truck up from it…so I think it’s pretty good.

I also got my tire re-balanced and my 4wd light working again.

Now I just have to giver her a wash and recenter the steering wheel!

Oh yea, and pack

 

[Bullzi]

RTT is off for the trip. Going to be using a ground tent for this one. Should help the gas mileage and the tippy feeling on the camber sections of trails a bit!

The Bean looks so naked!

 

[88Retired62]

Very nice fabrication (massage) on the skid plates.

 

[red66toy]

Yeah what @88Retired62 said. That skid plate looks great.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

New brake lines bent up. I’m going to reuse the Tee off my 60 series axle, so I left them a little long and will flare them when I decommission the old axle.

I’m pretty happy with them. I made a few scratches through the coating so I’ll probably give them a light coat of the internal frame coating to keep them rust-free for at least a while.

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What brakeline source do you use?

 

[Bullzi]

What brakeline source do you use?

Oh I just used some off the shelf straight sections from Napa and then bent them up and flared them how I needed. Nothing special. I put some heat shrink over some of the spots that may be prone to wear (kind of like the factory did).

 

[Pierce]

I’m a little late to the show. Excellent build thread! Just read the whole thing over the course of 5 hours.

Just a little 80 series wisdom… 80 series birfs take moly grease. It’s generally dark grey or black. Maybe the red stuff you used is moly fortified, no clue.

I’m not saying it’s mud approved. The 80 guys can debate lubricants for hundreds of pages…This meets OEM specifications and has worked well for me…

Lubriplate L0108-098 No. 3000 Multi-Purpose Grease Cartridge, 14.5 oz , Black https://a.co/d/bGzpCt4

I’ve been reading 60 series builds for the last week. I think I need one.

I added some metal tech caster correction plates to the axle. These were the ones that Torfab recommends for the appropriate final caster. I think they are the ones for a 4” lift? Even though my lift will only be around 2”, this will give me the right caster number.

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Install is very simple - just a little bit of cutting with the grinder:
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I did add a weld to the leading edge for some extra security. The directions don’t call for this, but it felt like a good idea:
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I had a heck of a time removing the tie rod ends from the steering arms! I had to resort to cutting them off and welding a giant nut to them so I could use the impact gun. Even then, I had to use two pipe wrenches to help ... a bunch of heat from the MAP torch.
The threads on the inside of the steering arms are a little buggered, but I think I can clean them up.

View attachment 3243287
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Last but not least I “machined” some new grooves into the birfs to relocate the snap rings so I can run locking hubs. I was able to use a bolt to finagle the birf into an old pipe threader. Then I used a grinder to cut the groove while the birf spun. Almost like a poor man’s lathe

It actually came out remarkably well! If these birfs were in decent condition, I would have had them machined but they are pretty worn. I am going to swap sides to hopefully get some more life out of them.
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Lastly, I added a new clip to the end of the axle shaft and put the birfs back on.

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Painted knuckles!
View attachment 3243288

My goal is to start cutting brackets off the Bean in the beginning of March. I’ll cover all the axle rebuild stuff in this thread, but will start a new thread for the actual suspension swap stuff.

 

[Bullzi]

I’m a little late to the show. Excellent build thread! Just read the whole thing over the course of 5 hours.

Just a little 80 series wisdom… 80 series birfs take moly grease. It’s generally dark grey or black. Maybe the red stuff you used is moly fortified, no clue.

I’m not saying it’s mud approved. The 80 guys can debate lubricants for hundreds of pages…This meets OEM specifications and has worked well for me…

Lubriplate L0108-098 No. 3000 Multi-Purpose Grease Cartridge, 14.5 oz , Black https://a.co/d/bGzpCt4

I’ve been reading 60 series builds for the last week. I think I need one.

Wow that’s a lot of reading. I hope it wasn’t too boring!!

Yup the grease I used in my birfs has moly. It’s the CV-2 grease from Red Line which is meant for this specific application. It’s really good stuff. I use it because it also works well for wheel bearings so I can use one grease for both!

Thanks for watching out for me though - I appreciate it!!