Builds Dirt J "Dirt Cruiser" Build

[Dirt J]

Ordered from Serra Toyota of Decatur. Complete assembly, gasket, and (7) 12 oz bottles of Toyota fluid. Hope to be back on the road next week.

Cylinder Assy, Brake Master W/Fluid Part Number: 47050-60041

Gasket, Brake Booster Part Number: 44785-60010

Brake Fluid Part Number: 00475-1BF03

In the down time I hope to get the t-case buttoned up and swapped out. Unfortunately on that front, when I was working on the output/center diff shaft, I mistakenly pulled the front side gear and corresponding thrust washer. (Only the rear side gear, pinion gears, shaft, and pin should be removed.)

When trying to remove the spool to get that the gear re-installed, I busted a piece off of the delrin spacer that goes between the spool and the front side gear. Cruiser Outfitters got me another sent out super quick, so I still need to figure out a way to get that spool off to re-install the gear and now the new, unbroken spacer. Going to try a combination of bearing press/separator, heat, and blunt force.

 

[Dirt J]

Success! Used a large bearing splitter and two bolts as a press to push the spool off the gear (without pressing the bearing off the spool).

No heat or violence required.

 

[Dirt J]

Front side gear and thrust washer that I should not have removed:

Together again:

My goof up:

 

[Dirt J]

Well I got the new brake booster assembly in and brakes bled. Lights and buzzer are off and brakes returned. So chalk up a win there.

I also got my rebuilt tcase installed!!


BUT I'm getting some clicking when the CDL is not engaged. Also flickering of CDL dash light (with clicking) in reverse under power. My initial diagnosis is that I didn't set the front shift fork or actuator in the correct position before I installed the motor.

Tcase shifts fine. 2WD seems like it's going to be very nice (only drove around in the yard and driveway). CDL light turns on when I press the button, along with VSC OFF.

I'm really hoping that I don't have to drop the tcase again. It was a pain to get the front driveshaft on and all the sensor plugs are getting brittle. And as a kicker, my tcase shifter arm doesn't have a clip , washer, and bushing like I've seen everywhere else. It has a tie-rod type bolt and nut, so that's more of a pain to hook up too.

If anyone has any ideas on the front fork issue, please chime in.

I've paged @OTRAMM in a PM for help too. (I feel like he's held my hand this whole time anyways as many times as I've watched his tcase videos on YouTube!)

 

[Dirt J]

Was able to fix the clicking. Turned out it was the front shift fork, as suspected. Using info found in the 80-series Tech section, specifically this thread and the one linked in it, I jacked passenger rear tire in air and supported drivetrain with jack. Key on, lock CDL, put tranny in neutral, key off. Lowered crossmember (kept center mount bolted to tranny) to give me a little more room to work on top of the tcase under the tunnel. Unhooked CDL wiring plug and passenger O2 sensor wiring plug.

Surprisingly, the CDL actuator was not as much of a nightmare to get to as expected. Removed the 4 bolts (requires contortion, multiple approaches, and various length sockets) and pried up on the aluminum mounting flange (not the plastic actuator housing) to free it from the FIPG.

Kept the larger gear in the case and turned it with my right hand to move the front fork back and forth, while using left hand to rotate the rear passenger tire. This spins the rear driveshaft with in turn spins the output shaft. This allows that shaft to align with the front gear that the fork engages.

Turned the CDL gear rearward (counter-clockwise) until it stops with a positive, firm stop. This setting locks front and rear together. Also went all the way forward/clockwise until it stopped. This moves the fork forward to clear the front gear and "unlocks" the front driveshaft. I did this a couple times to ensure that the gear was fully rearward (I got a false stop once.)

Once I was certain the gear/shaft was fully rearward, I cleaned up the old FIPG as best I could off the top of tcase and the actuator. Re-applied new FIPG to top of tcase. Installed actuator (only made a bit of a mess with new FIPG). Tightened down 4 bolts (long one goes at the topmost/blind bolt hole from this position). Reconnect two plugs. Raise crossmember and tighten 8 mounting bolts. Remove jack from rear axle. Test on loose surface to ensure clicking is gone and full functionality!

Thanks to @OTRAMM for digital mechanic advice on this!

 

[Dirt J]

Putting a bow on my documentation of the tcase work:

One thing that I did that I only saw in one place was taking a bit of the corner off of the high/low shift fork on the output side. This rounded corner would hit the larger diameter low gear in my test fit assembly with the rear cover off. I'm not certain if this would happen when fully assembled but removing this bit of material won't weaken the fork.

This guy references this in his videos on the HF2A: (I didn't adhere to his methods on hardly anything, but there was some good info and shots of assembly/disassembly/commentary. He also fits his username.)

 

[Dirt J]

I also spent a fair amount of time/concern thinking about the tcase shims used between the rear case and the rear output housing at the rear bearing races for the idler and output shafts.

There are a dozen or so shims of increasing thickness available (from 0.3mm up to 4mm), and each tcase will have a various combination of these shims installed to address machining differences between the two housings and the depth of the seated bearing races. The FSM has a procedure to measure for the correct thickness shims, but none of the videos I found rebuilding our tcases addressed this (save the one in post above) and they all just re-use the shims that came out. But I think I figured out why (or at least a decent justification): most everyone is reinstalling their original rear cover and rear output housing, so the difference in the machined faces have not changed. The only difference at assembly could be the seated depth of the bearing races.

Once I got my head around this it made sense. Regardless, I measured per the FSM procedure and was happy to determine that my original shims were within spec.

 

[Dirt J]

Drained and filled the rear diff tonight with ~3.5 qts of 75w-90.

Also replaced the 24mm hex head drain and fill plugs with 10mm Allen head Magnetic Drain/Fill plugs (90341-18021) and two Steel crush washers (12157-10010).

 

[Dirt J]

Installed the YotaMD M2V2 Ball Ram Mount that goes in the RH passenger blank opposite the CDL and hazard button.

Going to use this to mount a short Ram arm and belt clip holder for my GMRS radio for upcoming trail ride (COTR III).

Finished pic coming shortly.

More info about the M2V2 in this link and here.

 

[Dirt J]

Think I need a retaining strap of some kind to go around it to keep the radio from jiggling around. It has a spot on the sides for where it looks like a strap should go, but it doesn't come with any.

 

[Trapper50cal]

That worked out REAL well!

 

[Dirt J]

Also painted my hood this week. Clear coat had peeled off in the middle.

Before:

During sanding. Almost thru the clear:

Down to original primer:

Paint booth:

 

[Dirt J]

2k primer going on. This stuff was very strong/chemical smell. The 2nd can that I used on the center portion was either bad, I didn't shake well, nozzle clogged, or something. It spit and spattered and ended up with a rough texture unlike the rest:

Used some 1000 grit to get the primer smooth-ish. In hindsight I should have sanded down the bad/rough in the middle all the way out and resprayed.

Base going down. Safety 3rd:

Finished product after few coats of 2k clear. Pretty pleased with it. Some splotchy spots but it is a glossy smooth finish, which is what I wanted. Matches good enough for me.

 

[MechE30]

Looks fantastic! What do you think you spent on it? Gotta be cheaper than a body shop

 

[Dirt J]

Thank you! I did not get a quote from a body shop. The ones I called didn't seem interested in a non-insurance, cash job...

(2) cans 2k primer: $30

(1) can guide coat (optional): $11

(4) cans base coat color: $100 shipped

(4) cans 2k clear coat: $77

Other supplies used:

sandpaper (various grits)
Soft sanding pad
Bunny suit
Respirator
PVC paint hut
acetone
Glass cleaner

 

[Dirt J]

How to Paint a Hood: A Novel

Used the video below as my guide for the hood painting project. I had not done any auto body work before this. YMMV.

Pull washer hose off fitting on LH firewall near cowl.

Have helper hold hood open/stabilize.

Unhook hood side of lift strut.

Remove (4) hood hinge bolts with 12mm wrench.

With helper, place hood on sawhorses outside. Ignore dirt clods rattling around inside recesses of hood.

Under the hood, pull the washer hose off both sprayer nozzles and squeeze the nozzle fittings to allow them to be pulled free out the top of the hood.

Wash hood.

Decide how far you want to sand. I chose down to factory primer to insure good, uniform surface.

Sand down to desired depth. I chose to use my 5" orbital sander with a "soft interface" pad and 60# grit to cut through the clear and base quicker. For the edges and humps on the hood, I used a flexible/soft hand sanding pad.

Once satisfied with removal of old layers, wash again. They wipe down with solvent (used acetone) and then glass cleaner.

Move hood to protected painting area.

Spray primer. I did two coats. Let primer dry overnight.

Move back outside. Spray a very light mist of guide coat. Sand by hand with 800# grit or higher until very smooth. Rinse and wipe down with glass cleaner. Let dry.


Move back to paint area. Spray first coat of base (color) in 2 sq ft sections with 50% overlapping. Hold can pretty close (4-5 inches). Trying to get a solid coverage coat. Let dry 10-20 minutes.

Spray 2nd coat going in a different direction and using larger sections. Hold can a bit further away. Using this coat to blend the first coat. Let dry and repeat with as many coats as desired. I did three.

Do not let base coat fully dry before spraying clear coat! I waited 45 minutes. Allegedly can wait up to 24hrs.

Spray clear coat in similar patterns as base. You want to go on heavy but let it dry 15-20 minutes between coats. I did 3 coats. Be sure to get the edges. Have a tweezer handy in case bug/hair/etc land in clear.

Let clear dry at least 24hrs before handling.

Re-insert spray nozzles and re-connect hoses.

Set hood back on chassis, re-attach hardware, struts, and washer hose.

Wait indeterminate amount of time before washing (2 weeks to ?? months depending on source).

Wait 3+ months before waxing to let clear fully cure/gas out (??).

 

[Trapper50cal]

So...a question about rattle can technique.

I notice some of the spray nozzles on the cans are of the bigger/newer variety
and I'm assuming that others have the traditional press nozzle. (Base color cans, guessing)

Did you or have you found one of these to be helpful? My pointer finger starts wearing out,
getting fatigued and starts shaking...these (below) seem to claim they help lay the paint down
more evenly...

Amazon product ASIN B002EQEE82
I'm potentially doing the same thing but have hail damage to contend with first...
Got one of those hot glue dent popper kits and was going to give that a go...

Amazon product ASIN B01HM1BW06

 

[Trapper50cal]

Oh, and how much of the 4 cans of base color did you use? all of it?

 

[Dirt J]

Yes, all 4. I didnt run them all the way empty for fear of splatter. If the primer would have laid down better I probably could have gotten away with 3. Didn't want to come up short.

I'm pretty sure all of mine had the larger buttons and wide-spray nozzles. I thought about one of the triggers but decided against. Figured that using my finger would give me an excuse to shake the can mid-coat. And if that can came loose from the trigger and fell on the hood while spraying...

 

[Trapper50cal]

Yes, all 4. I didnt run them all the way empty for fear of splatter. If the primer would have laid down better I probably could have gotten away with 3. Didn't want to come up short.

I'm pretty sure all of mine had the larger buttons and wide-spray nozzles. I thought about one of the triggers but decided against. Figured that using my finger would give me an excuse to shake the can mid-coat. And if that can came loose from the trigger and fell on the hood while spraying...

Roger that, thanks!