Builds complete BJ45 rebuild start next week in Bolivia

[mailking]

I think they mean to say "Do not reuse the cups".

By the way - a lot of people here will advise against reconditioning a master cylinder because it can be hard to get new cups to become "leak-free".......But it is something I like to do too when the kits are readily available.

Hmmm, strange, my manual says this:

I didn´t know that it was called the Mester cylinder

Why is it that hard to get the new cups leak free? Do you mean if you only get the rubber cups, or also when you have the rebuilding kit?

Coen

 

[mailking]

As promissed, some more images...

Okay, I just took the master brake cylinder and the master clutch cylinder apart and I will be looking for some repair kits. Unfortunately the repair kit that Fred [my brother in law] had bought on a fair is for the drum brake version and we have discs in front. So I will have to make someone else happy with that kit. Just a few aluminium parts with rubbers on them, and they have to cost almost seventy USD! Original Toyota that is. Lets see if there are some other Japanese manufacturers out there that can provide the same for less?

The chassis is still standing outside and nothing much has happened here. The gearbox is still sitting there. Let's see if I can polish the brake lines and repaint them.

Another depressing image of the heavily corroded rear part of the frame. Not much to do really. Sandblasting and acid dips are not available in La Paz. The best thing would be to find another frame, but longbody frames are scarce here. With some luck we can pick one out of a ditch this weekend. Drunk driving is not out of the ordinary. Otherwise we will get it as much rust out as possible and reinforce the frame by clamping another c-beam over the affected area.

These worn cushions have to be replaced but are not available, so I have to improvise and get some alternatives. People here don't care for that, they just use old tyres for that.

The right front side [up side down]. So the passengers side. Somebody has been stamping his/her feet very hard for the bottom to look like that. One big crack. And one missing cushion.

The driver side isn't in any better shape. A part of the beam and the cushion is also missing on this side. You can see that the rust has worked it's way up all along the door. Seven years ago I just drilled a big hole in that sidepanel and bolted the Hi-Lift there. That is something we will take care off.

Just above the wheelwell, the metal has just gone.

This is the rear left. In the time that we didn't have the wheelwells waterproofed by some polyester parts, water had worked it's way inside and started working its way to the rear. How bizarr.

more to come...

 

[Mtrunner]

I thought purchasing a Land Cruiser on the internet and driving it home across the United States was a pretty good adventure to have in a Cruiser.... but driving around the world and deciding to stop in Bolivia to rebuild is just plain hard core!

Thanks for the thread and best of luck in your efforts!

 

[lostmarbles]

Hmmm, strange, my manual says this:

I didn´t know that it was called the Mester cylinder

Why is it that hard to get the new cups leak free? Do you mean if you only get the rubber cups, or also when you have the rebuilding kit?

Coen

This all confirms that an FSM, while it is definitely the BEST source of information, has errors and is clearly "sloppy" in places Coen.

I will never forget torquing a bolt to the high torque specification clearly given in the manual (and over-riding my better judgement in doing so) only to feel the threads start to give way. Since then I have never relied on manual information as being "gospel".

(I could give other reasons for why I sometimes ignore factory advice too.)

I am still running ex-factory wheel cylinders and when I
"rekitted them" (only once in 250,000kms) I found a little bit of "weeping" till the new cups bedded in. (Just enough to show "damp patches in the brake dust" for probably about 6 months afterwards.)

But I admit I didn't hone my cylinders prior to fitting the new cups. (Although I did inspect them for ridges and for pitting.)

Of course it is "recognised practice" to always hone cylinders prior to rekitting them! (Shame on me.....)

Threads on MUD show many people simply don't "waste their time" (as they put it) with kits and prefer to fit new cylinders. (So I assume their experiences are worse than mine.)

I have the advantage that I've owned my cruiser for decades and "regularly changing my brake fluid" has been a part of my routine maintenance. (So my cylinders tend to be in good shape.)

From my experience, the clutch slave cylinder is the cylinder that works hardest. - and it develops ridges in its bore no matter what maintenance you do .....So I'm probably on about my 3rd clutch slave. (I could look at my records to tell you for sure. Could be 4th...)

Cheers
Tom

 

[mailking]

@Tom: Okay, so I saw that the master clutch cylinder has one little pit in the sidewall, I guess I will get it over to the machineshop to let is honed. I will wait untill I sourced the master brake kit so I can have them both honed. If not I am forced to buy a complete brake set. Mine is the long version and apperently hard to find.

More images:

Esteban working with oxygene. That stuff is really getting hot!

Cutting metal with the saw to get rid of the rusted parts. This is the bottom of the cargo floor. Both sides of the supports have to be reinforced.

The rear right is cut out. I see that there is still some wood left. Thick pieces of metal have to be placed here.

Cutting by hand. No guillotine nor any folding or bending machinery. Meanwhile the oxygen tube is empty and a new one will arrive tomorrow.

So I started experimenting with electrolises. A big charger, a bucket of water and few hands of washing detergent will perform miracles, so I have been told on the internet.

On the right side the positive is connected to a bold that hangs in the water. This is the electrode. On the left a piece of heavily corroded metal attached to the negative pole. Putting some current on there and the whole thing starts to bubble and get warm. Later I have replaced the bold by an ever bigger one to get a greater reaction. After two hours that piece of metal is clean of rust. This is only a test fase. But I hope to get a bunch of nuts and bolds de-rusted this way.

Out on the street I meet a nice 'pig'. At least that is the nickname of this strange looking piece of Toyota. The FJ55 I believe it is called. Almost has the same indicator lights on the fender, only that they sit on the horizontal part and ours is seated on the sloping part.

Today we will do a compression test of the engine.. I hope all goes well. So strange to see an engine on wooden blocks trying to start...

Coen

 

[mailking]

Done some compression testing yesterday:

cylinder 1: nearly 20 kg
cylinder 2: 17 kg
cylinder 3: 18 kg
cylinder 4: 18 kg

What do these numbers tell us? The manual says STD: 30 kg and LIMIT 20 kg. And the difference between cylinders should not be more than 2 kg.

- Should I be worried?
- Can adjusting the valves be an improvement?

Coen

 

[lostmarbles]

Done some compression testing yesterday:

cylinder 1: nearly 20 kg
cylinder 2: 17 kg
cylinder 3: 18 kg
cylinder 4: 18 kg

What do these numbers tell us? The manual says STD: 30 kg and LIMIT 20 kg. And the difference between cylinders should not be more than 2 kg.

- Should I be worried?
- Can adjusting the valves be an improvement?

Coen

Well the minimum reading should be 20kg/cm2 (284psi) so at face value, your figures suggest your engine really needs to be reconditioned Coen.

But the cylinders are reasonably "even" so it probably still runs smoothly enough.

I don't think you'll gain much by adjusting valve clearances. (But it depends on how much they are out-of-spec.)

Some things to think about:
How fast was your starter turning your engine over during the testing and was your engine running just prior to testing (and still warm for the tests)?

If your engine had been sitting idle for some time and was stone cold for the tests, or if the starter was turning it over too slowly - the resulting figures may appear low ... even if your engine doesn't need reconditioning.

How many kilometres has your engine done and when was it reconditioned previously?

I can think of no harder life for a 3B! Your rig must be VERY heavy and I should imagine it spends a lot of time in second-gear at peak-loading.

 

[Timbo FJ45]

Exciting stuff, mine is getting completely rebuilt too.

 

[mailking]

Well the minimum reading should be 20kg/cm2 (284psi) so at face value, your figures suggest your engine really needs to be reconditioned Coen.

But the cylinders are reasonably "even" so it probably still runs smoothly enough.

I don't think you'll gain much by adjusting valve clearances. (But it depends on how much they are out-of-spec.)

Some things to think about:
How fast was your starter turning your engine over during the testing and was your engine running just prior to testing (and still warm for the tests)?

If your engine had been sitting idle for some time and was stone cold for the tests, or if the starter was turning it over too slowly - the resulting figures may appear low ... even if your engine doesn't need reconditioning.

How many kilometres has your engine done and when was it reconditioned previously?

I can think of no harder life for a 3B! Your rig must be VERY heavy and I should imagine it spends a lot of time in second-gear at peak-loading.

We had the engine warmed up 5 minutes idle. I don´t know how many kilometers it has done since the last reconditioning. By the way reconditioning is the same as overhaul? We bought it with 176.000 kms, and now sits at 320.000 kms.

Another strange question, how is one to check the thermostat at 4.000 meters altitude? The water boils at a lower temperature than 100 degrees celsius...

Our BJ45 is from 1984, but I can see ´82 sitting on the side of the engine? What is that?

I am about to buy a complete engine gasket set. The one they offer me is for the 3B engine from 1988 and on. What would be the difference? Any ideas?


I am going to be live on the radio... Sunday on the Motorman radio show, Los Angeles with Leon Kaplan... Tune in.

Greetings,
Coen

 

[RufusTheDufus]

I don't recall the differences in the 1988-newer 3B gaskets. I do know the head gasket is different. I don't think that you're going to want that gasket kit.

 

[mailking]

I don't recall the differences in the 1988-newer 3B gaskets. I do know the head gasket is different. I don't think that you're going to want that gasket kit.

Where would I find that information? The kit they offer me is:

04111-58060

The one in my partsbook that I think would be for me is:

04111-58013

Where can I see or read what the differences are in these kits?

 

[goneloco]

Great Build Coen!

My wife is from Cochabamba. Will hopefully be back there in September. I love walking through auto row picking up all the little odds and end they have for half the price of what you can get them here for. I wanted a new licences plate holder and one of the repuestos guys said I don't have one but give me a week. I said ok and we walked out. My wife then told me "you know he's going to pay someone to go and rip it off someones cruiser..." So I walked back in and told him to not worry about and I would just keep looking.

As for your engine rebuild questions give these guys a call and they can probably help you out. They did with my Costa Cruiser.

4Wheel Auto Wholesale

Cheers!

 

[lostmarbles]

We had the engine warmed up 5 minutes idle. I don´t know how many kilometers it has done since the last reconditioning. By the way reconditioning is the same as overhaul? We bought it with 176.000 kms, and now sits at 320.000 kms. ....

Yes. By "recondition" I do mean the same as "overhaul" Coen.

And unless your starter was turning your engine over significantly slower than 250rpm - I think it would be safe to assume now (from the low figures) that your engine is indeed in need of one.

..Another strange question, how is one to check the thermostat at 4.000 meters altitude? The water boils at a lower temperature than 100 degrees celsius...

What's the problem really? You'd have it sitting in a pot of water that your heating and you're trying to see if it starts opening around 80 to 85 oC?

At 4000m water boils at 86 oC. So you've still got 1 or 2 degrees up your sleeve.......
Anyway, if you want to get a little higher boiling point - drop in some ethylene glycol. (But don't eat your food from the same pot later!)

...Our BJ45 is from 1984, but I can see ´82 sitting on the side of the engine? What is that?...

My guess is that your engine was made in 1982.

..I am about to buy a complete engine gasket set. The one they offer me is for the 3B engine from 1988 and on. What would be the difference? Any ideas?....

Where would I find that information? The kit they offer me is:
04111-58060
The one in my partsbook that I think would be for me is:
04111-58013
Where can I see or read what the differences are in these kits?

I agree with the advice you've got already that the gasket set you've been given is likely to be "seriously lacking".



And here is the gasket set your partsbook suggests:



(Instead of 04111-58013 .......58012 or 58015 would apparently be suitable too. .......with 58015 being the one most likely to be still available.)

Note that there is also a 04111-58050 that applied between August 84 and October 84 too. (So you're delving into a very complicated area Coen.)



PS. I'm going away for a few days .... and I always sever contact with the Internet when I travel ...

 

[mailking]

Thanks Dan,

Probably there will be waiting the right package in a car shop today. They said it would be original, but for the price of 70 euro´s it can´t be that good to be true.. Let´s see.

More cutting and welding today. Trying to figure out the extra wires that the Webasto heater brought with it and some guy in Turkey messing with those some more... Pain...

Oh just recieved a message that the talk on LA radio with Leon Kaplan is going to be the 21th, so that will be sunday over a week...

 

[DHracer3]

Pretty cool! I remember that cruiser from my Magazine.. I think it was the Toyota offroad mag. ! Pretty cool to see that cruiser getting some much needed attention!

 

[mailking]

Pretty cool! I remember that cruiser from my Magazine.. I think it was the Toyota offroad mag. ! Pretty cool to see that cruiser getting some much needed attention!

It must have been the Toyota Trails or the 4WD Toyota Owner.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[rloaderro]

My wife then told me "you know he's going to pay someone to go and rip it off someones cruiser..." So I walked back in and told him to not worry about and I would just keep looking.

I think it would be a little harsh to say he would pay someone to rip it off another car for sure. It's the Americas so anything is possible... but, for example, get out of the cities in Central America and you can find loads of small parts stores for cruisers. In Costa Rica all the government vehicles used to be 40-series. Years ago all of these were decommissioned in favor of newer models. But they were available for sale in lots. I know a guy here in San Jose who has 50 sitting in a warehouse. His parts store is a series of rooms: a room for just consoles, vent windows, heater ducts, kick vents... another room for brake wiring, cylinders, drums, toyota tags, etc... it's like a shangri-la for cruisers. These places definitely exist here in the south.

Similar story to yours. My wife is from Costa Rica. My mother-in-law found out I liked monkeys and offered to bring me a baby monkey. My wife told me "you know, for you to have a baby monkey, something bad has to happen to it's mother" so of course I said no thanks (although road trip with a monkey in the cruiser....... I admit I had to think twice). ;p

 

[mailking]

I don't think either that they would go and steal it. They have warehouses around town or they fly in things from the other cities or even from Iquique's [Chile] tax free zone. So that takes time. I did give an advance for a complete engine gasket kit which had to be flown in from Chile. The lady said it would be the original kit, but when I got there yesterday, it was a poor quality makeover. The lady was in tears that I refused to buy this kit and I ended up paying the courier. A hefty 5 dollars. And still no gasket kit.... :-(

So more images of last week:


Esteban is welding the back of the car [the tub is still upside down].

Tools of the trade.

I bought myself a nice repair kit for the Master Clutch Cylinder. Only 10 dollars, a bargain.

Okay, I had already bought the repair kit for the Master Clutch, then I see the cylinder has minor scratches and two little holes. So I have to buy a new one. Stupid of me not to clean them first and check it. Now the kit is in vain.

Esteban is cutting metal with the torch. Doesn't look that nice I find so I did cut a piece with the grinder to show him how I like it [right side]. So from now on, everything goes with the grinder.

The hydraulic oil cap for the power steering shows Toyoda instead of Toyota. Now isn't that strange?

Esteban and Caesar starting the engine. It has to warm up a little in order to take the compression. So diesel and a line, batteries, pre-heating and go... Flies like a jet.

The compression on the number two cylinder shows a little weak on the first try. On the second try it did a little better, but still under 20 which it said to be the limit.

Leaking a little diesel at the number four injector. So they all go to the Bosch diesel service for a cleaning and adjusting job.

Meanwhile Esteban is getting reinforcements in place under the cargo floor.

Karin-Marijke and I are checking all the wires, cleaning them, replacing bad ones and make slight improvements.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[goneloco]

Maybe I should not of say it in such a definite way and I didn't really believe her either so for the remained of the trip whenever we would meet with her family & friends I'd asked them and they told me stories of exactly that.

So with that said I take it back that they would of for sure stolen that part off someones else's cruiser but there was enough of one that I did not want to take that chance?

 

[mailking]

Done some compression testing yesterday:

cylinder 1: nearly 20 kg
cylinder 2: 17 kg
cylinder 3: 18 kg
cylinder 4: 18 kg

What do these numbers tell us? The manual says STD: 30 kg and LIMIT 20 kg. And the difference between cylinders should not be more than 2 kg.

- Should I be worried?
- Can adjusting the valves be an improvement?

Coen

I have given myself some thoughts and with the help of some good friends came to the conclusion that we are on high altitude and it does make a difference. So the engine is good and doesn´t need to be reconditioned... Ppffffffeewww. We save that for another time, and make a nice show out of it when we do arrive in the US... With the help of all that want to come over and have a great tool-time episode. Don´t know if Tim is there to help us?

I´m off, going to see if I can source some good stainless steel welders in La Paz...