Builds colonel mustard, in the garage, with a wrench (4 Viewers)

[asu4runner]

Brake shoes and spring kit came in. I have never ordered from CCOT before, and I have seen a true split in reviews, however I’m leaning towards not liking their products at this time. The wheel cylinders do not have a small and large slotted end cap like the oem ones, and one end of the brake shoe is thicker than the other. Since this truck isn’t going to any sema shows, I decided to just grind a small amount off the brake shoe and use what I had. I also did not like the new pins and spring so I reused the old oem ones, but did use the new tension springs. For those that will say. Just clean up the adjuster and swap the oem one into the end of the new wheel cylinder, I tried that. They are different sizes and not interchangeable.

 

[thatcabledude]

Well, I have a bearing stuck on the lower trunion cap for the driver side, had to drop it At a machine shop and see if they could get it off. So I’m at a stand still until it comes back to assemble to driver side. Mirrors arrived from city racer so I went for a quick install, ended up turning into a larger job. Windshield hinge bolts were froze pretty good. One stripped the threads. Drilled, taped, and Helicoil back to m8x1.25 with red loctite to fix. View attachment 2934665View attachment 2934666View attachment 2934667View attachment 2934668View attachment 2934669

Just did the convex mirrors today. Thank goodness the screws came out ok. I was nervous.

 

[asu4runner]

I finished up the brakes today. At least I thought I did. I swear they work worse now than they did before. I bled the hell out of the system. I know drums are tough, but I feel that they are not working properly still. My issue is, I’m not super sure what they’re suppose to feel like when they’re working properly ha. I may have a master issue. At this point, I’m several hundred dollars into these drums and not over the top happy with the parts. I have sourced a disk front axle, but it’s 1k dollars, so it’s a heavy decision to make, and I’d have to rebuild those knuckles as well.

I replaced the series of jumpers leading to the dizzy with a nicer looking jumper with less connectors. Also throw some shrink and loom over it, classy.

Fixed an old door gasket that wasn’t glued on with some 3M weatherstrip adhesive, and throw an oem inspection lamp in the glove box.

 

[asu4runner]

i have decided to order rebuild parts for my oem wheel cylinders and have reached out to CCOT for store credit on the ones i tried from them. i have come to the conclusion that the cylinders will not bleed properly, which is why i cant get the brakes to work right. i have read several threads about this issue from CCOT wheel cylinders, and a few guys found a way to bleed them, which involves taking them apart and submerging in brake fluid (i believe). i am not happy with that fix, for as much as they cost. anyways, i have order cup kits, springs, and seats from toyota and will rebuild my oem ones (i know theyre oem, still have the TEQ castings).

 

[POPO AGIE]

after being cruiserless for quite some time, because i refuse to take part the outrageous markups that some people are taking advantage of, i come across a pretty good 40 and for what i consider a reasonable price. most of you have read over mattress kings threads for the work he has done on his august, 1975 mustard yellow 40, which is nice because it will save me time with back stories. nate and i came to a deal and i recieved the cruiser this week from idaho (i am arkansas).

this cruiser is in what i would call good shape, for a truck that has never been restored and is a great driving vehicle. engine runs strong (has a rebuild in its history somewhere), tranny shifts fine, and everything seems to work aside from the horns, brake lamp indicator, and wiper liquid motor. i have been driving it around town since i got it, coming up with a short term plan of what to do. im MUCH happier with this cruiser than the 67 i was working on a few years ago. parts are easily obtainable and people are raping on used parts quite as bad. dont even get me started on trying to find a steering wheel for that 67 . so far, i need a knuckle rebuild and the front brakes adjusted/and or rebuilt. yet to be determined. needs a headliner, and the rear sill could use attention but that is probably pretty long term. i would however, love to replace the driver side rear ambulance door as one of the PO's appears to have slammed the tire carrier into it, poking a hole in the door because the rubber stopper was not on the bolt head for the carrier. if anyone has a mustard yellow 1975 left side door shoot me a PM. anyways, here are a few pics of the truck as of this morning. progression and build to come! and for any of you that followed my 4runner build, shes still around for now, a pic for viewing pleasure, likely to go for sale soon. items currently on order are square convex mirrors (windshield mount), front wheel cylinders, and a knuckle rebuild kit. stuff that came with the cruiser, hardtop weather seals and headliner, and old conferr over head storage cubby, and a CCOT tailgate panel for removing the top and back doors.

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Did you buy it in Green River or Rock Springs. I saw the 4 county plate. I use to live there for most of my life and now in 10 County which is Fremont.

 

[POPO AGIE]

i have decided to order rebuild parts for my oem wheel cylinders and have reached out to CCOT for store credit on the ones i tried from them. i have come to the conclusion that the cylinders will not bleed properly, which is why i cant get the brakes to work right. i have read several threads about this issue from CCOT wheel cylinders, and a few guys found a way to bleed them, which involves taking them apart and submerging in brake fluid (i believe). i am not happy with that fix, for as much as they cost. anyways, i have order cup kits, springs, and seats from toyota and will rebuild my oem ones (i know theyre oem, still have the TEQ castings).

Did you bleed the rear brakes? My 78 had front disc, which is being moved to the rear and when the first repack was done on the front wheel bearings only the front brakes were bled inspite of the manual stating doing both front and rear (I had help the knew more than the Toyota Manual). The next repack and adjustment of the wheel bearings I bled both front and rear circuits and my brakes came back.

Get a Toyota Manuel for your year, they are pretty well thought out and easy to understand.

 

[POPO AGIE]

Brake shoes and spring kit came in. I have never ordered from CCOT before, and I have seen a true split in reviews, however I’m leaning towards not liking their products at this time. The wheel cylinders do not have a small and large slotted end cap like the oem ones, and one end of the brake shoe is thicker than the other. Since this truck isn’t going to any sema shows, I decided to just grind a small amount off the brake shoe and use what I had. I also did not like the new pins and spring so I reused the old oem ones, but did use the new tension springs. For those that will say. Just clean up the adjuster and swap the oem one into the end of the new wheel cylinder, I tried that. They are different sizes and not interchangeable.
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When I did a brake job on mine, I bought parts from the local parts store and they sold me the wrong rear brake shoes that had a different radius so would not fit. I saw how much material was left and put them back in and adjusted. The rear brakes do not self adjust not sure about from drum brakes. Those shoes are still on the rear axle with over 100K and were working until the day I could not drive it anymore.

 

[asu4runner]

Did you buy it in Green River or Rock Springs. I saw the 4 county plate. I use to live there for most of my life and now in 10 County which is Fremont.

Neither. I live in Arkansas. I do not know specifics on where the PO lived.

 

[POPO AGIE]

Neither. I live in Arkansas. I do not know specifics on where the PO lived.

The license plate was Wyoming Sweetwater County.

 

[asu4runner]

When I did a brake job on mine, I bought parts from the local parts store and they sold me the wrong rear brake shoes that had a different radius so would not fit. I saw how much material was left and put them back in and adjusted. The rear brakes do not self adjust not sure about from drum brakes. Those shoes are still on the rear axle with over 100K and were working until the day I could not drive it anymore.

The front drums do not self adjust. Shoes are correct. It’s just crap wheel cylinders. I bled all brakes in sequence according to manual, and adjusted all cylinders to a mild drag.

 

[POPO AGIE]

When you can upgrade to disc brakes is a big improvement. You don't have to replace the front axle to achieve that. You can replace the front wheel hubs from later JF40 to upgrade to disc brakes. Once you have disc brake hubs you can upgrade to new axle shafts with 30/27/30 spline shafts which are much stronger.

I am going to put after market shafts in my front axle that are 30/30/30 spline.

 

[asu4runner]

When you can upgrade to disc brakes is a big improvement. You don't have to replace the front axle to achieve that. You can replace the front wheel hubs from later JF40 to upgrade to disc brakes. Once you have disc brake hubs you can upgrade to new axle shafts with 30/27/30 spline shafts which are much stronger.

I am going to put after market shafts in my front axle that are 30/30/30 spline.

i am aware that the housings are the same. however, 1k bucks for an entire axle hub to hub is likely less money than buying all of the parts needed separately.

 

[POPO AGIE]

You can search for used parts on the cheap. I bought FJ60 knuckles for about $150 with shipping from cruiser parts or other venders. There is one in CO that can pull them from what they have in their yard.

40 Series Used Parts : CruiserParts, The best place for Land Cruiser Parts!

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shop.cruiserparts.net

 

[aging fleet]

Hey @asu4runner, I just went through this last week with my '75. I replaced all 8 wheel cylinders, shoes on all 4 corners, and all the soft lines. It took a lot of time and brake fluid, but I finally got them dialed in. Take a look at my thread, it may be helpful.

Drum brake refresh, weak braking on the first pump. What am I missing?

I'm posting this as a sanity check before I go crazy bleeding my brakes. The guilty party is a '75 FJ40 with its original 4 wheel drums. I recently replaced all 8 wheel cylinders, shoes and soft brake lines in an effort to get the drums working as well as they were intended. Per the FSM, I...

forum.ih8mud.com

Also, the front wheel cylinders I got from Cruiser Outfitters had the narrow slots on both ends too. I indexed the slot to allow the wider side of the shoe to fit, but it probably would've been easier to just swap the screw from old to new. I only mention it because it seems to be a potential issue with aftermarket cylinders in general, not specifically one vendor.

Edit... TL;DR Try tightening the shoes to the point where you can't spin the tire, then check pedal feel.

 

[asu4runner]

Hey @asu4runner, I just went through this last week with my '75. I replaced all 8 wheel cylinders, shoes on all 4 corners, and all the soft lines. It took a lot of time and brake fluid, but I finally got them dialed in. Take a look at my thread, it may be helpful.

Drum brake refresh, weak braking on the first pump. What am I missing?

I'm posting this as a sanity check before I go crazy bleeding my brakes. The guilty party is a '75 FJ40 with its original 4 wheel drums. I recently replaced all 8 wheel cylinders, shoes and soft brake lines in an effort to get the drums working as well as they were intended. Per the FSM, I...

forum.ih8mud.com

Also, the front wheel cylinders I got from Cruiser Outfitters had the narrow slots on both ends too. I indexed the slot to allow the wider side of the shoe to fit, but it probably would've been easier to just swap the screw from old to new. I only mention it because it seems to be a potential issue with aftermarket cylinders in general, not specifically one vendor.

Edit... TL;DR Try tightening the shoes to the point where you can't spin the tire, then check pedal feel.

Thanks bud. I’ll take another stab at it this weekend. I guess I was being pig headed, because to be honest I’m not new to wrenching , and especially not to Toyotas. I didn’t replace the master and I never let the fluid drop enough to make me want to bleed it. I’ll bleed the master this weekend, along with trying to adjust the shoes a little more. I’m still going to rebuild my OEM cylinders, because I can.

 

[asu4runner]

Some small fixes this evening. Fixed the horn, using a new relay and connectors from vintageTEQ, along with the alternator plug end. I also received my hardware from metric overland. Nice new shiny JIS bolts and washers.

 

[asu4runner]

i jacked the truck up last night and adjusted the shoes out too far, on purpose, to where the i could barely turn the wheels by hand with the tires on. took for a short drive, still no improvement on brakes. have also bled again. so i threw in the towel, and cancelled my order for brake cylinder rebuild parts with toyota. i am driving this weekend to pick up a front axle with disks on it, depending on how clean the housing is, ill decide whether i want to roll the whole axle in or swap the knuckles over. the seller also has an 8274 that im going to grab im preps for a new front bumper. anywho, if you want or need some warn barrel hubs, front brake cylinders/drums/parts, course spline axles give me a shout.

 

[asu4runner]

On my way back from Mississippi with a sweet new front end and a warn 8274, thanks @wngrog !

 

[wngrog]

On my way back from Mississippi with a sweet new front end and a warn 8274, thanks @wngrog !

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Nice to meet you and the family today.

 

[asu4runner]

Well on my way to disk brakes. Finished grinding one side and swapping over a knuckle and long/fine spline birf. Waiting on Toyota to ship the caliper rebuilds and rotors and pads now. Slapped my new emblems and some gaskets on the kick vents to kill some time today. Also a pic of my donor axle.