Builds Cayman Islands FZJ80 DIY build-up

[mmajsw]

It's a long weekend in Cayman (Remembrance Day) so time to do some brake work. When I had ordered the OME suspension from Slee, I also got the full braided stainless steel flex line kit. It came in 2 packages - 1 for the body to axle flex lines and the other for the calipers.
It was a fairly straight forward swap with the only issue being trying to find a non existent 3rd body flex line.
My Cruiser does not have ABS hence about an hour was spent searching for something that did not exist. I finally gave up and between the factory manual and this site, I understood what was going on. It was supposed to be on the front passenger side.
A full flush of the system with Valvoline synthetic DOT3 & 4 fluid and I should be good for another 20 years. The factory flex lines were in good condition - no cracks, bulges, etc., so I will keep them for spares -if they are ever needed. No corrosion was found on any of the brake line fittings or lines. The initial Ziebart under-spray performed when the previous owner bought the truck did its job.
The rear frame/axle connection went very smoothly. But the front was a bit of a problem - both in removing the frame to axle hose on the driver's side as well as putting back in the two solid lines to the calipers at the splitter. I ended up using a hole chamfer tool to create a bevel on the first thread to ease the starting of the threads.
After that , I started on the right rear caliper flex hose. I had leak problems until I took everything apart and found a tiny sliver of metal across the brake line/flex hose connection. Clean and replace, bleed and one out of 4 calipers ready.
Tomorrow, I will finish the other three.

 

[mmajsw]

Brakes are done and tested. Pedal feels a bit firmer but that can probably be a factor of the 18 year old rubber stretching over time.
I managed to take a pic of the rear frame/axle and the rear driver's side flex hoses while my hands were clean enough to use the camera.
But the others are the same.

The above pic shows the hose installed incorrectly - in the factory notch. In this position, the braided housing touches the backing plate and can lead to one or the other wearing out and creating problems. I rotated the banjo fitting so that the hose does not touch any metal as directed by Slee in his manual..

The two additional things I did. One was to cap the ends of the bleeder screws with some generic rubber caps I had in my parts drawer. Only 1 bleeder screw had the factory cap and it was in a much better condition that the others - in terms of dirt and slight surface rust wise.
The other thing I did was to place a very, very thin layer of high temperature anti-seize paste on the threaded portion of the bleeder screws - this is a put it on, wipe it off, leaving a very thin layer. The sealing edge of the bleeder screw was cleaned with a paper towel and brake cleaner to ensure no contamination.

The to-do list keeps getting smaller.

 

[mmajsw]

I was going to take my kayak down one of the dike roads to do a bit of exploring a while ago and needed to use the Cruiser rather than the car due to some large potholes that had developed on that bit of track over the years.
When trying to tie the kayak to the front bumper, I realized that I did not have anywhere except the small bush bar at the front. It really did not help at all. So I decided to find a solution. The rear was fine as I could tie off on both the swing away arms on the bumper.
I first thought about using some 1/4" stainless steel U-bolts but the legs were spaced quite far apart. Nothing really fit my idea of what was suitable. So I found some cable clamps that fit the bill on both strength and leg spacing. I am using ones for 1/2" wire cable. It can easily hold 3 wraps of 3/8 nylon rope - enough for me.

Once the mounting position was determined, two 1/2" holes were drilled and the overkill U-bolt was inserted. On the bottom side of the bumper plate, I have a another nut and a lock washer to keep things from vibrating apart.

Picture of the assembly before mounting

Mounted

The next big issue is what to do with the leftovers?

 

[mmajsw]

With the weather being a bit on the intermittent showers side, I decided to do a small job that had been waiting for almost a year now - updating the high beams to HID from halogen.
I was not a complicated job and I used my being in the front end to check electrical connections and ensure all was well.

The end result was this.
Low beam H4 6000K LED, high beam 35W H1 8000K HID, . The HID output results in much more being visible (from the higher light output) than the halogens. Not too sure if I like the bluish color. Will probably swap it for 6000K bulbs after testing.

The original setup. High was 55W Halogen and low 6000K LED.

 

[Dubbinchris]

I've transported kayaks on the roof of my various cars for 1000's of miles and I have never tied down the bow or stern.

Also while the HID's look brighter it's really just a scattering of the beam with the halogen housing. It basically lights up a bigger area right in front of you but doesn't really cast a beam much farther. That beam scatter is also terrible for oncoming drivers. Unless of course you've converted to proper HID lenses.

 

[mmajsw]

Interesting comment on transporting your kayaks Dubbinchris. I have been canoeing/kayaking for too many years and always tied bow and stern as well as strapping the body to the roof. My Dad also did the full tie down for about 40 years so I guess that is where I learned the process from. Thankfully, we have never lost one.

In regards to lights, I am using the stock hi/low headlights at the moment and have ordered projector units to see what difference that would make. Not too much info on 4x6 headlights as development of them is almost non existent. There is some info from Australia but not a lot. I will have to do some pattern shots comparing the old bulbs to the new.

I did try the high beams and will be changing to 6000K units. I just don't like the bluish lights.

 

[mmajsw]

Another weekend and more little bits done. It was raining on and off all day, so I decided to work on little projects rather than anything major.
the first item to tackle was a waterproof cover for the 80A circuit breaker by the filter. The first one stopped working for unknown reasons and I kept an eye on the replacement to see what was happening. I found out that depending on how I parked the truck, when opening the hood, water would run off the hood and onto the circuit breaker. As we know , electricity and water do not mix.
So, using a spare I had as a model, I made a waterproof cover for the breaker.

First modeled in 1/16 mat board (same thickness as the thin Kydex board) so all bugs could be worked out.

The pattern was transferred to the Kydex, cut out and heated up before bending.
This is the test fit on the circuit breaker. The box was removed and the corners sealed with silicone (to finish the waterproofing but also helps to hold the cover on by friction). Once it has dried, it will be reinstalled.

I have been playing with various center console designs (all in foam board) but just cannot come up with one that fits my needs. I decided to reinstall the stock unit for now and put it to work. I installed an older Kenwood 9130 2m radio I have had for years. Dependable unit although a bit of a power hog. Does not offer as many options as many newer units have but it does cover CW, AM and SSB modes - not usually found in modern units.
Power is run to it and it works. Still have to run memory power (5 memories) and the antenna cable. And in case you wondering, I do have a general ham license.

Then, to end the day, I decided to finish wiring the rear light that I added many moons ago. Power was run, switches added, fuses placed into the appropriate circuit, and let there be light!

 

[mmajsw]

The new HID kit came in so I installed it today. Innovited H1 and H4 6000K HID all around.
The only problem was that the H1 bulb is slightly different in shape that the previous one that I used. I ended up breaking the bulb clip so had to improvise with tie wire. The end result is solid but will need monitoring over the next couple weeks to see if it holds up. Alternatively, I can try and machine a new one but that will be my second choice.

The bulbs installed with the new projector 4x6 lens for the H4 bulb

While I was in the engine area, I took a look around to see If all connections were coming apart, any loose bolts, etc. when I noticed a bolt sitting by the water pump pulley on the block. Looking above, I saw that it came from one of the bolts that held the York air compressor pump bracket to the block - the bolt closest to the front of the engine. I tried to thread it back into the hole but no luck so I removed the whole pump and bracket.
The problem was that the bolt had broken off into the side of the block.

Comparison between the original bolt and the broken one.

How and why it broke I do not know but it looks like I have a bit of work ahead of me in removing the broken piece. It was a metric Grade 8.8 bolt (about Grade 5 imperial) so I am in for a bit of fun and work in removing it. More to come!

 

[mmajsw]

I had not played with the Cruiser for about 2 weeks. Yesterday, I decided to wash it in preparation for use this week. I went to wash the driver's side mirror when the whole housing spun around freely. I had a busted post.
A bit of research on ih8mud showed the options where bolts were used but I decided that I still wanted the wires to move freely within the post so decided to take a novel approach. I would use a bolt with a hole in the middle along the axis. Easier said than done.
Off to the hardware store and I saw some 1/8" brass nipples 3.5" long. Off to the nut and bolt section for a two 7/16" NC nyloc nuts and a couple 3/8 fender washers (fit the 1/8" nipple perfectly). I actually got 4.5" and 3.5" nipples in case I needed the longer length. I ended up using only the 3.5" ones.
There are a few threads on dis-assembly of the mirror so I will not get into that portion of the work.

The proposed setup

The final setup ended up being (from top to bottom in the mirror - left to right above) - nyloc nut, 1.5" fender washer, factory washer for the top of the spring and spring.
On the bottom I used a 1-3/8" fender washer (to spread the pressure over a larger area) and another nyloc nut.
Back in the garage, I threaded the ends of the nipple with a 7/16" die and the nuts went on as they should. Test fit into the broken post and the 3.5" is the correct fit. I could not fit the wires into the pipe hole due to the loosely fitting protective sleeve. That cover was readily cut off and a piece of heat shrink was used for its smaller diameter.

A view of the bottom showing the wires coming through the nipple. They rotate freely.

The ball bearings and the rotation area were greased with lithium grease and everything assembled back together.

The end result is full rotation with the wiring still able to rotate freely. The mirror moves very smoothly now between positions. I am also considering doing the passenger mirror before it breaks off.
The only problem noted is that the bottom nut is a bit too long to allow the plastic cover to go back on. But that is readily fixed by using a thinner nut and star lock washer.

Update - thinner nut and star lock washer worked perfectly. Plastic cover was put back but was now a loose fit. A couple dabs of silicone, a bit of painters tape to hold the plastic in place until the silicone dried and no more problems.

 

[dcguillory]

@mmajsw Thank you for the great documentation of your build

 

[mmajsw]

Not much accomplished over the past couple weeks but I did get a little time continue with some projects.
I installed a hand throttle - lots of info on ih8mud and instructions on Slee's website. Very straightforward. Useful for when I get the OBA working.

I also did a short term catch can to see what kind of oil is going into the intake manifold. If there is a significant amount of oil trapped here, I will have to build a larger catch can. I will also need to figure a way to clean to deposits that have already accumulated within the system.

But with the Christmas holidays coming up, I intend to do a bit of work on the Cruiser.

 

[mmajsw]

Got home early today and undertook a little project that has been outstanding - a cover for the winch.
I have noticed that all sorts of leaves, seeds and small branches somehow seem to be magnetically attracted to the winch area. The cover will also hide the winch and electrics from little hands and prying eyes. They are too open to possible tampering.
First, some images on how the winch area looks

Passenger side of winch

Drivers side of winch

Front view

The first step was to make a template from 1/8" foam core board that was previously used as templates for the front bumper. I was able to locate all the notches for the wires that run to the lights, holes for the winch breather and other little bits that protrude above the frame and also determine a suitable amount of overlap to the frame - decided on 1".

Once I was satisfied with the setup, I transferred the marks to some 1/8" thick alum that was in my un-inventoried bin and cut the holes out.
The test fit was perfect.

Continued below.......

 

[mmajsw]

I then cut out a hole 3" diameter for access to the winch clutch with a little extra cut for a grease nipple for the clutch disengage mechanism.

With that done, I wiped everything down with acetone and sprayed the aluminum with bed liner. Still trying to determine whether I should use magnets embedded in the aluminum to hold the plate on or use a couple nuts and bolts - but bolts look like they will win.

The next portion in covering the front was an idea I had noted details on and packed away for this moment in time.
I saw a picture of a J**p where he used some hinges and Maglite clips to cover the roller fair leads with his license plate. Brilliant idea, I said.. I did make a couple notes and decided to duplicate his idea today. Some company was also selling them but I knew I could build it for less - plus put some of my tools to use. Total cost locally was US$12 (much less in the US).

The first thing was to get two 4.5" hasp and staples (throw away the staple) and two electrical conduit hangers (Maglite clips were not available on island) to fit the rollers.
When I replaced the roller shafts when installing the winch, I used stainless steel bolts for the vertical rollers. That came in handy today.
First I drill a bolt sized hole centered in the small part of the hasp and test fit it over the bolt. All looks good.

The next thing was to modify the conduit hangers to fit over the roller by cutting some length from it. I installed it on the roller to determine how much to remove. The left shows the modified hanger and the right an original unit.

Both on the winch to see how much to bend the long part of the hasp. You want the arm to not only hang parallel to the roller but to also touch on the hanger. It looks off here but another test fit showed all was well.

The correct orientation of the bend is shown below on the left. But you can do it wrong!.
Guess how I know! I did the right sample for instructional purposes.
But because it is steel, the change to the correct orientation is readily made.

Continued ....

 

[mmajsw]

I did not take any pictures of the welding and assembly, but it is straightforward. Weld the hasp to the hanger. Weld a piece of metal between the hasps to keep them not only separated the correct distance but to have a place to hang your license plate. The whole assembly can be riveted if you want because there is almost no real load on any joint.
After welding, I centered the license plate on the works and drilled a couple holes for the bolts. I then painted the whole assembly with Hammerite paint and it dried overnight to be reassembled in the morning.

And the final product... Had to get the plate back on the truck before driving it to work this morning.

Whole assembly

Side view

Installed on truck. I squeezed the hinged joint a little bit to tighten it so that the joint has enough friction to stay open wherever it is placed - whether fully up or down or in between..

And finally, in place in front of the winch. Will definitely reduce the amount of road dirt and spray that gets on to the winch cable.

 

[mmajsw]

When doing some shopping recently, I decided to build a tire repair kit - like those available in the US - Smittybuilt, ARB, etc. I was not going to order one and ship it to Cayman as the US$35 kit would translate to about US$ 75 - 80 by the time it reached my hand due to shipping and duty.
I was at the hardware store looking for the license plate parts when I saw that they had a tire repair kit from Grip! Cost about US$8-16 in the US and was about US$16 here. Reasonable priced.

Opening the package to see what was inside, I was surprised to see all metal handles and a nicely laid out bit of kit.
One of my big beefs with many of the tire repair kits is the use of plastic handles - some of them have a T handle where the metal is in the vertical piece only. Others have a metal T covered with plastic to make the handle - better construction. But this is the first time i have seen all metal handles. It is missing pliers/cutters and some other odds and ends but the basics are there. I bought one and took it home.

Stock inside

Supplemented by side cutters and rubber cement.

I was so impressed with the solid construction that I went back and bought another one for use at home.

 

[mmajsw]

With Christmas here, not much gets done but I did manage to compete a couple items.
The side view mirror was completed with a thinner nut and an internal tooth lock washer. Th extra tubing was cut with a Dremel and everything went back together nicely.
I spent a little while replacing the glue pads that were on some wire guides I have installed to secure additional wiring. Replaced the double-sided tape with 3H VHB. Expect that to be the end of loose guides.


I also did a bit of experimenting today with some 1/4" 6061 aluminum plate that I had bought for a roof rack. The whole project would depend on if I could bend the plate safely. Info gathered online was that the radius on the bend should be at least 2x the thickness - I bent at 5x. Secondly was you could not over bend then try to correct. The bending causes work hardening and to try and straighten the bend out would cause weakening of the aluminum at the bend.

I had 8 pieces of 1/4 x 6 x 7 plate. My plan was to come 3" up and place a 45 degree bend. Then come another 2" up and place another 45 degree bend. This would allow me to have the rack sit in the rain gutter and clear the roof.

The first thing was to mark things out.

Place in hydraulic press and bend. I had to take it in steps as each bend was measured as it progressed. The end result is..

The rust marks are from the 1-1/8" solid round bar that I used a the radius bend.
I did a test fit on the Cruiser at the rear - where the distance between the gutter and the top of the roof seems greatest. I have about 1" clearance but it will be more as the rack will sit on top of the gutter mount.

Finally, repeat until all pieces are done.

Overall, it did not turn out badly. 3 pieces were perfect as the total bend was 90, 1 was at 91 degrees, 2 at 92 degrees and 2 at 93 degrees. I am hoping that by careful placement and positioning, I will be able to use them as they are.
The next step is to get around 30' of 2 x 2 x 1/4 angle aluminum. I have to use what is available locally.

 

[mmajsw]

In cleaning off my workbench (and it is almost completely covered with items that need to be sorted out), I ran across the hood scoop and the template I had made. I did a test fit to see how it would look and all is promising. I will be mounting it closer to the back of the hood that others for two reasons. I need to raise the aftermarket windshield washer nozzles I have installed previously for better windshield coverage. Plus, I think it looks a lot better towards the rear of the hood than in a more centered position.
I know that cutting the hood is going to make a lot of noise so I will leave that exercise until after the holidays. Will using a Dremel and air hacksaw for this project.

This is how it looks.

The white mat board is my template.

After the hood scoop is installed, I will make a call on whether there is any benefit to adding the smaller vents.

 

[mmajsw]

With some time on my hands, I decided to install the hood scoop.

The first thing was to wash and wax the hood. Past experience has taught me that the small metal filings that will result from the metal cutting are easier to remove from a clean waxed surface than a unwaxed dirty one.

Next was to position the template on the hood. Placing some tape in the proposed location I made some measurements to find the center line of the hood. With the center line marked, I positioned the template. This gave me the ability to position the scoop where I wanted and to cover the whole area with painters tape - for a bit of protection and to draw the cutout line.

Luckily, I decided to place the scoop on the pattern before I started cutting because I found out that my first lines would have had it facing forwards (the thin line above). A quick rotation and a new traced lines and all is good (the thick lines above). Measure twice, cut once! Very true.

Then I prepped for cutting. The patient was covered in old sheets and newspapers, mainly to prevent the hot sparks from getting embedded into the paint.

I did the initial long straight cuts with a 4.5" angle grinder and a Black Lightning 0.045" thick metal cutting wheel. My first pass was to create a shallow groove along the cut lines that could be readily followed on the second cut. I kept the cutting depth shallow to keep from cutting the hood support metal. When it came to the curves, I used a Dremel and fiber reinforced cutoff wheels. The Dremel gave a neater cut and could be controlled much easier. However, it used a lot of cutoff wheels. My guess that depending on how you position your scoop (and whether you needed to trim the hood supports like I did), and decided to do everything with a Dremel, you would use around 20 wheels to cut the hood. The initial cut took about 20mins, taking my time to follow the lines. And the result was.....

The factory Subaru bolts were a two headed affair here the plastic support was kept captive by what looks like two flat washers bonded to the bolt. Because of the space available, I used 2 flat washers, a lock washer and a nut. The unseen washer was filed on opposite sides to create an oval shape that would fit into the slot. The other flat washer, lock and nut held the assembly together.

I ended up spending about another three or four hours doing fine trimming to ensure a perfect fit. Surprised on how long that took but it was worth it in the end.

Once I had a flush fit all around, I had to create brackets to hold the scoop on. This took more time. When all was well, I removed the scoop for the last time, painted the exposed metal edges with Hammerite paint, cleaned the scoop up by removing old fiber seal where the scoop touches the body, placed black silicone around the perimeter and installed it. I had pre-wiped the area that the silicone would touch with acetone to get rid of the wax and ensure a good bond.

As I was not fitting the scoop on the original vehicle, some creative bracket making was needed to hold the scoop down where the clamping points were below the level of the metal..

 

[mmajsw]

And the end result is this -

The final thing to do is locate a position for the windshield washer nozzles and it is done.
I still have to wash the hood and re-wax to get rid of sweat, dirt and the odd bit of metal still there.

 

[mmajsw]

I decided that I really needed to work on the OBA - specifically that piece of bolt broken in the block. So, off to get a carbide drill bit and start to make a hole into the piece of bolt. I went in about a 1/4" deep, then enlarged the hole using cobalt bits to the specs needed for a #3 easy out. I can happily report that it worked and the piece of bolt is now out. What a relief!

What is left but to put the OBA bracket and York compressor back in with new bolts. I added the right angle adapters that I got from eBay.

Everything was hooked up and the pump was test run. All is well.

I have plans to use a two 4 gallon aluminum air tanks in the back of the truck where the spare tire was located. I would have loved to add a aux 13 gallon fuel tank but the current pricing makes that prohibitive for now. But who knows what can happen in my travels. So, the air tank will be a bolt in affair just in case. The test build will use one tank to get the bugs and leaks worked out. The second tank will be added later.

I decided to clamp one end to the trailer hitch and the other to the front cross member above the axle. Each tank weighs under 10lbs so i decided that 1/8x1.5" steel would be good for straps.
Metal was bent to fit around the hitch tubing - I need two of these brackets.

And how they look installed with the tank in position. You can also see the cross member where the other tank support will be added after testing. The tank drain bung is well above the hitch.

Ample room for a second tank. This was only a test fit so bolts are missing.