Builds complete BJ45 rebuild start next week in Bolivia

[Michael Hanson]

It was deff. time to work on your cruiser, surprised it kept going with the wiring looking that bad. MIke

 

[mailking]

The new spare fuel tank. I emptied it and poured some diesel in it as to see the walls would be lined with a thin protective layer. It seems not the case. I stripped the pump and hope I get the floater working with a universal fuel gauge.

Because the pump with its filter were reaching the bottom and are gone now we had to extend the tube. Luckily a lot of extra return line are not used, so I cut one of the tubes for this purpose. Esteban is soldering with copper.

It looks like the weld is made from gold.

This is the transistor [or is it called a potentiometer] that is part of the floater. This gives the resistance back to the fuel gauge that would be installed in the dash and for you to read how much fuel there is left in the tank.

Coen

 

[rloaderro]

These days I am too busy to read the forum constantly on mud..... but I check in at least a couple times a week to watch your progress Coen!

Before this thread I did not know about your adventure or overlanders.... I have been living in Costa Rica for the past 8 years.... about a year and a half ago I bought my first 40 here... since then I have travelled the country in search of knowledge and parts... and I have found some places like the photos you have shown us... rooms full of transfers, leaf springs, gauges, decals, etc...

They tell me here... my landcruiser can do the work of "dos caballos" hahaha.

There is also a saying here... "si Toyota ha seguido haciendo esos camiones, que habrían quebrado"

Now I look forward to the day I can stop working and have an overland adventure like you both. Please keep the photos and stories coming!

 

[otilly]

hallo wereldreizigers,

That thing on top of your gearbox can be pried off with a screwdriver. Just slide a big one under it and turn it; you will destroy it, but a small piece of pipe will remain and you can put a hose over it.

groetjes uit Rotterdam

 

[mailking]

Thanks Otilly, You gave the right answer. I just found out. I was hoping for another solution, but this is how I did it. Thanks.

Today when I fixed the tub to the frame with the bolts that go trough these cushions, I did see s huge difference in hight between the different cushions, but Esteban assured me that everthing would be ok once all the bolts had been torqued. But when I came from under the cruiser, I saw two big dents in the board just uder where the doors should be. All bent. We haven´t a clue yet as to what has happenend. But I quickly undid all the nuts and we are going to mount the sidewall first and see what had happened later.

Some more images:

I am having a look inside the waterseparator [because I am curious what is inside]. No filter what soever, just an empty bowl with a floater inside. But I discover an awful lot of rubbish on the bottom. So it's a good thing I looked inside.

In general you always have to be careful with your stuff, but here in Bolivia it seems that people are being careful about a lot of things as seen here, many cars have their logo's or brand names riveted to their cars.

After a month our new radiator panel just came from the factory. They produce mainly for the mining industry that is situated in this region. I've got the phone number from the big chief in case I want to visit the factory for a tour one day.

Karin-Marijke found a good upholsterer and went with him to visit various leather shops to see what the market had in terms of quality and color. She bought a nice beige that matches the car color and I am hoping to make the seats duo colored with a darker mocca color so that would really make the seats distinct.

Coen

 

[mailking]

What would be good replacement for the insulation / silencer stuff that originally sits attached to the hood of the car. If I can´t find the original stuff, what would I be looking for instead?

 

[Chamba]

Just another question before I update more images:

The breather plugs on the axles I am able to unscrew with a 14mm wrench, but the breather plug on the gearbox is somehow clamped on there. No way that is screwed on there with a wrench. It seems like the four sides are slightly bend inwards... Any idea if I can just pull it off with force? I don´t want to break anything, but monday is maybe my last day I can acces this spot easily. As I am hoping the tub will go on the frame. I want to put a hose on there and connect all the breathers together under the hood.

Great idea, that is what I have done on both of my Cruisers. I then tee-d all of the hoses from my axles and transfer case together and used a VW fuel filter on the end of the hose under the hood to keep the dirt out.

I think you will find that that lip is cast in there, so all the prying in the world won't get it off. You can just twist the cap off, and the little spring and cap will come off leaving a lip which is about 1/2" tall. I was able to use some 3/8" ID rubber hose by putting it over the lip and clamping it in place. I then used a healthy dose of silicon to make sure it didn't go anywhere. It is still there after 4 years and 35,000 miles, so it seems to be working.

On my troop carrier I tapped the hole and put a 90 degree elbow with a hose barb on it. However, I had that transfer case all apart, so I didn't have to worry about the metal filings. Since you are not taking yours apart, I wouldn't tap it.

Josh

 

[mailking]

....and used a VW fuel filter on the end of the hose under the hood to keep the dirt out....

I heard people using a fuel filter at the end. But does is matter what way the arrow points?

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[mailking]

more images...



I needed a new hollow bolt for the blinker.

Heavy tools for the reinforcements of the frame.

Every Sunday it's junkyard shopping.

This time I get some almost new doorrubbers, and a bunch of genuine Toyota connectors.

I bought a roll of rubber and I am cutting new dust covers for the front which go around the shock absorbers.

The old radiator gets dismembered.

The top and bottom get a real scrub with acid and a steel brush.

Then the top gets soldered to new panel.

This is looking real good.

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

 

[mailking]

So I want to check the valve clearance tomorrow. Warm up the engine, and intake is 0.20 and exit is a whopping 0.35. Now what would these figures be if the engine is cold?

 

[Chamba]

I heard people using a fuel filter at the end. But does is matter what way the arrow points?

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

I doubt it, but I put it so that the arrow points toward the tube. I did this because it meant the the little cone was pointing away from the hose, and I thought it looked better. Either way should be fine, as the amount of air going in and out is fairly minute. The filter is sealed all the way around; the only reason that arrow exists is so that if a big bit flows into it in the gas, it will fall away to the side of the filter housing and not get lodged inside the cone.

I always set my vales with the engine running: .08" intake and .14" exhaust at running temperature. I set them when they were cold once after a re-build on a 2F and then warmed the engine to set them correctly. I was amazed at how far off they were when they were warm when I'd set them correctly at room temp. I don't think I've ever seen specs on where they should be when cold.

Of course, you want to put the new head gasket, etc in before setting the valves...

Josh

 

[Teebag]

Coen, just a little tip from toyota on welding on the frame

 

[Ron R]

So I want to check the valve clearance tomorrow. Warm up the engine, and intake is 0.20 and exit is a whopping 0.35. Now what would these figures be if the engine is cold?

Hallo Coen.
I'm pretty sure these values are for a cold engine!
So the engine has to be at ambient temp when setting the clearances.
Your engine having done so many km's, there is a possibility that the rockers are worn.
What I mean is that there can be a little dent in a rocker (tuimelaar) where it hits the valve stem.
If you are going to measure the play with the help of gages that are - very common - made of thin blades there is the possibility you are measuring between the rockerbody and the valve stem. In that case the play will be too big and therefore gages in the form of wires should be used. Even better, set a micrometer (do they have one over there :0 ?) touching the top of the rocker at the point where the valvestem is touching it and measure the clearence that way by moving the rocker up and down by hand.

Succes bij het afstellen.
groet,

 

[mailking]

Okay guys.... the engine is in. It took us just under one hour just the two of us. Very happy moment.


@ teebag: Thanks, but a bit late, I must say, the frame is all welded up. And besides, our frame is a double C frame. Once C in another C. But again thank you for thinking with us on this...

Some images of last week:



Meanwhile Esteban is sanding the right fender.

This is how the enforcements look like. It is still very rough because I did not grind it yet.

In the rear section some parts have been cleaned of rust and bent back together and welded. It is looking a whole lot better than before.

Simon is applying the asphaltic protection layer on the bottom of the tub.

Because there is a very small local appliance industry I guess most things are imported from all over the world and you can have all sorts of plugs that don't correspond with the socket. So to cut the plug and just stuff in the wires is a common thing to see around here.

Alex is cleaning the front differential housing. In the back the frame is getting a thick protective orange layer of paint.

It is getting winter here, that means it is getting colder but also dryer and mostly blue skies. The Illimani is showing itself more and more and is not always hiding in the clouds anymore.

We are getting spoiled and used to so many things in the west. Like water from the tap, or cooking gas from a tube. Here in Bolivia, but many other countries that we have visited, people have to line up and get there gas bottle changed whenever the gas bottle truck is passing. If you are lucky you would have more than one bottle in you house. One filled bottle sells for 3 USD.

The mechanics waiting in front of their little stores for the cars to show up.

more to come soon... Working hard

 

[nicholastheczar]

I love looking at your photos, very good eye for photography! Great build up thread and look forward to seeing the final product!

nick

 

[mailking]

I love looking at your photos, very good eye for photography! Great build up thread and look forward to seeing the final product!

nick

Thanks Nick, especially for you some more of that:

Esteban is passing a layer of paint over the frame. Very quick drying paint. Notice the absence of a decent dusk mask. So you can see, that pink isn't the color we'd chosen finally

This is how the frame looks like with the reinforcements cleaned up and the right color applied.

I am trying a fix on the emblems to see if I can get the shiny front back, but with the black background... I am still figuring this out.

The tub in the back, the frame and the two axles in the front. If you see it like this, it looks pretty basic this car. In fact it is.

Esteban is helping me finding a way how to fit the spare tank in the rear.

It would be something like this. But we will finally see how high it can sit when the tub is over there.

I am spotting this strangely adapted BJ45 in a street not far from the shop. This one has Bolivian plates, but it has Germany written all over. I did talk to the driver, but he wasn't the owner and he knew very little about the car, or where it came from.

Me cleaning the front cardan. Making it ready to be painted as well.

The two axles painted and ready to roll in place under the frame.

I redid the brake lines, added a new fuel line for the spare tank and a hose for the breather plug on the rear axle. I want to combine that one with the front one and the one that sits on the gearbox.

The end of the fuel line that needs to go to a 24v solenoid port selector which I haven't found yet. Most likely I would need to source that outside Bolivia.

When I am finished for the day after seven, I have one last look back at the shop. La Paz in the back is illuminated by thousands of lights. And the Illimani is still visible.

 

[Falco80]

This is an awesome adventure Coen and your cruiser is coming together nicely. Your photos really bring this project to life. I like how you include lots of photos of the guys just doing thier job. We all hang out for your updates!

 

[mailking]

Hallo Coen.
I'm pretty sure these values are for a cold engine!
So the engine has to be at ambient temp when setting the clearances.
Your engine having done so many km's, there is a possibility that the rockers are worn.
What I mean is that there can be a little dent in a rocker (tuimelaar) where it hits the valve stem.
If you are going to measure the play with the help of gages that are - very common - made of thin blades there is the possibility you are measuring between the rockerbody and the valve stem. In that case the play will be too big and therefore gages in the form of wires should be used. Even better, set a micrometer (do they have one over there :0 ?) touching the top of the rocker at the point where the valvestem is touching it and measure the clearence that way by moving the rocker up and down by hand.

Succes bij het afstellen.
groet,

Hoi Ron,

No those figures are for a warm engine. I found the cold settings somewhere and they are 25 and 40. I found a micrometer here, but the price was too stiff for me for a single use event. Did the cold settings, but will recheck when everything is running and do it with a hot engine. I will note your remarks for that time...

 

[mailking]

new images:

I am putting the u-bolts back on its place.

I bought some nylock nuts but they are wider and lower than the original nuts that go with the u-bolts. So more turning, and a little less space to get the socket on the nut.

Esteban clearly enjoying himself while sanding the sidepanel.

Simon is putting a layer of primer on the hood.

The guys are helping me in re placing the gearbox. I still need the dust cover on the clutch arm, I hope that one will arrive shortly on Toyota HQ downtown.

So this is how it looks so far. So far so good they say.

Coen

 

[mailking]

even more:



Finally I got the courage to pry the cap off the gearbox breather. I was hoping for something that was screwed in the housing, so I could simply get a nipple with the same thread.

But I was nicely surprised by a pressed in thing that I had not the courace for to get it out. And I did not want to thread that one in fear of getting metal pieces in the gearbox.

So I fabricated something with a piece of hose. Clamping it to the gearbox housing like this.

And then getting it with a tube to combine the three breathers.

This is how my homemade cushions look like. I hope I did well and the will last a bit?

Here again from a different angle.

At the car fair up in El Alto, I got myself some new gauges. One fuel gauge for the spare fueltank and two temperature gauges. One mechanical for the oil temperature that I will mesure at the carter plug and one 24v electrical one for the water temperature measured near the thermostat.

I am dismantling the camping windows and have great difficulties in getting the Sikaflexed rubbers off.

I see that the metal used is a form of sandwiched aluminum. Very light and strong enough for this purpose.

Coen