Builds Doc's 1978 FJ40 Rebuild (2 Viewers)

[TractorDoc]

The Mrs. took a trip down to Columbus today for some shopping/visiting with her family -- that gave me a couple bonus afternoon hours to spend at my second home (the shop). I was at the office till noon, came home to change clothes, and headed to the shop with optimistic goals. Optimism can be overshadowed by reality though and today was a good example of that. There are some days when one encounters enough road blocks he/she should just go home and focus on something else -- there are some days when I am too stubborn to admit that so I push on. I was not able to acquire the flaring tool so I was unable to finish the brake hard lines on the front axle and on the frame. I picked up some braided steel flexible lines so I thought I could at least install those. . . back axle went on fine:

But when I moved up to the front axle I noticed the fitting would not thread all the way into the block/diverter. See that big gap between the copper washer and receiving block?

I pulled the rear line back off and compared the two ends. . . sure enough one is longer than the other. It was by pure chance that I put the shorter one on the back axle first when everything seemed like it was going normally.

I headed back outside to look over the parts axles I have in the yard. . . both the front and rear drum axle lines were tight against the copper washer. I had saved all the old pieces removed front the '78 disc axle so I dug those out and what do you know -- One is longer than the other like the new lines! The "longer" fitting line appears to have been from the front axle (looking back at old pictures) and it appears the hose never threaded all the way in originally judging by the clean/dirty areas on the fitting. The fitting appears to snug up against the inside of the receiving block the way the steel line nuts do -- perhaps a change that came along with the disc axle?? I lost an hour plus trying to figure all this stuff out.

After the brake hose adventure I thought Id try to torque down all the nuts on the axles/frame/etc. How much harm can a torque wrench do, right? I didnt think much until I stripped the threads on one of the shock mounting studs with a bad nut -- luckily I was able to remove/replace it with another from the parts frame in the yard -- chalk up another hour or so for that process. I stopped taking pictures at this point.
I wanted to install the tie rod/relay rod/steering center arm after getting them painted. I lifted the frame in the front and tightened down the lugnuts on the wheels so I could adjust toe in. . . wouldnt you know those fetching aluminum rims rub up and bind against the brake calipers on the front axle? Looks like I will need to paint the stock steelies and buy new tires sooner than I thought if I plan to do anything more than just roll the truck short distances. Could not adjust/finalize any of the front rod distances without being able to have flush mounted rims. Lastly I tried painting the POR-15 top coat over the areas of the frame that would be exposed to UV light. This stuff was thick and wanted to dry super fast -- I had several drips/runs that I was not able to see before the paint really started drying. I was OK with that but was not OK with the cat claw marks little Stashe left in the fresh paint when he decided to jump up in my work area. If it was not supposed to snow several inches tomorrow he be a full time outside cat right now!

Tomorrow is another day and I am sure I will have more optimistic goals. On the plus side I picked up a BBQ + sausage pizza, some honey glazed wings, and have a cold beer sitting next to me as I write this up. . . things are looking better already!!

 

[TractorDoc]

The postman brought a couple packages to the house this week. Usually deliveries are for the wife but this time one was for me. I was very excited to open things up to see what was inside. . . an envelopucopia of stainless hardware from Overland Metric (@davework)! I must give the Mrs. half interested feedback when I watch her get excited over a package with shoes or a new shirt -- she returned the favor to me by rolling her eyes and simply saying "nice" before walking away while shaking her head when she saw the contents.
Two of my favorite colors. . . Silver and Gold:

Of course I had to take some time to install some of the new hardware on the few pieces I had prepped for the frame. I know the stainless is not the OEM gold. . . but I am already far from factory stock with the aqualu body anyway. I think the silver is a better match for the blue color the truck will have in the end anyway.
Installed the running board supports (Ive dubbed them knee knockers for the times Ive run into them) and secured the shackle pins.

Also test fitted a few of the front pieces including the bumper plates, tow hooks, and steering center arm.

After sanding I had applied another layer of the POR-15 Top Coat -- I have got to say the finish of the paint is nice. I pity anyone that comes along after me and wants to redo the finish on the frame. . . I think the even the sandblaster would have an uphill battle to remove this paint! I also took the time to Paint a couple more components:

A quick top tip when using POR-15 paints is to use a thin plastic layer (like a plastic shopping bag) between the lid and can after opening/painting. The paint will actually weld the lid to the can if it drips down into the grooves. The manufacturer recommends that you pour the paint into separate plastic containers but this method has worked for me and it saves me from having double the paint buckets around the shop.

Ive started to tear into the engine while I am literally waiting for the paint to dry. . . will hope to have some progress (and pictures) on that side of things soon.

 

[davework]

Awesome! First pics of some of this hardware installed. Your build looks great.

 

[Coolerman]

Soon you will have a new package to drool over! Your truck looks great!

 

[TractorDoc]

Thanks Dave and Mark!

As Coolerman has eluded to I sent him my wiring harness to go over and make "new again." Because I am using the 1972 frame I will be using the round tail lights -- Mark has a method of making them work with the 1978 system (he educated me that it is not as simple as moving a few wires around in the back). I like the round tail lights -- a more "vintage" look and by using them I will not have to replace my back bumper beam with the newer style. Overall my wiring harness did not look too bad and I thought it would make more sense to use all the correct connectors, lengths of wire, etc. over building a new one.

Another big thank you again to all the great vendors and support from the MUD Forum. This has been a great resource for parts and people that specialize in services I would not otherwise have. Off the top of my head @FJ40Jim @cruiseroutfit @Poser @Racer65 @davework @Coolerman @RockAuto (and probably others -- I will add you if Ive forgotten) have helped me get this far. Shop "local" if you can -- you will have better parts and service from those that really know their stuff!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Thank you!

That is so clean!

 

[TractorDoc]

Not much of a visual difference but I did manage to make it over and pickup the flaring tool this weekend. . . I was able to make the rest of the hard brake lines up to the connector on the frame. I will give the lines a coat of paint before final installation but right now everything is snugged up for a test fit. (Pay no attention to those paint drips on the bump stop!)

I slipped a couple sections of heat shrink tubing (usually used on wiring harnesses) over the line(s) before I made the flare on one side -- this way I could give another layer of protection between the line and the various clamps that help snug them to the frame/axles.

Another view:

I also pulled the transmission off the back of the engine and picked up a couple bolts that will hopefully secure it to my engine stand. The 2F Engine is quite heavy. . . I am hoping my engine stand can handle it! I was forward thinking enough to take a picture of the distributor position before I pulled it and sent it to FJ40Jim for going over. . . I never thought to pull the cap to take a picture of the rotor though so I have a 50/50 shot of dropping it back in with correct timing. I usually end up with the wrong 50 so I want to make sure I get the timing correct before pull the flywheel/proceed any further. New engine seals/gaskets are in from Cruiser Outfitters; I hope to start making use of them soon!

 

[TractorDoc]

I have accomplished a few more little tasks but keep forgetting to bring the camera home from the shop to post pictures.
I started with some broken bolts on the intake manifold.

I do not have a degree in metallurgy but I can say I never have good luck removing corroded broken bolts from aluminum. The rust from the bolt must combine with the powder of the aluminum to create a super binding concretion. I did try welding a nut to the top of the broken bolt (several attempts, did not budge) and gently heating the aluminum around the broken stud(s), but I did not want to overdo it and crack my perfectly good manifold -- so I went the old fashioned route of drilling. I have a set of reverse drill bits that will sometimes back the broken bolt/stud out as you drill -- that approach did not work this time either. They just ended up drilling a hole.

The key to success is getting that hole centered exactly over the broken stud -- something I can never quite manage to do. I am usually off by a millimeter to one side of the other or so (which is why I prefer welding on the nut to get the stud out). Even so, I then took my tap and put new threads into the hole and I am good to go when it comes time to reinstalling the carburetor spacer/insulator.

I also pulled the clutch, flywheel, and flywheel housing. The clutch was getting to the end of its life so I sourced a new one from RockAuto -- the complete Aisin Kit for around $150. I started cleaning up half of the flywheel to see what I was working with; I think the contact surface will polish up good enough to be used again without resurfacing.

Started working more with the engine itself, more details/pictures to come.

 

[White Stripe]

Not much of a visual difference but I did manage to make it over and pickup the flaring tool this weekend. . . I was able to make the rest of the hard brake lines up to the connector on the frame. I will give the lines a coat of paint before final installation but right now everything is snugged up for a test fit. (Pay no attention to those paint drips on the bump stop!)
View attachment 1368421
I slipped a couple sections of heat shrink tubing (usually used on wiring harnesses) over the line(s) before I made the flare on one side -- this way I could give another layer of protection between the line and the various clamps that help snug them to the frame/axles.
View attachment 1368422
Another view:
View attachment 1368423

I also pulled the transmission off the back of the engine and picked up a couple bolts that will hopefully secure it to my engine stand. The 2F Engine is quite heavy. . . I am hoping my engine stand can handle it! I was forward thinking enough to take a picture of the distributor position before I pulled it and sent it to FJ40Jim for going over. . . I never thought to pull the cap to take a picture of the rotor though so I have a 50/50 shot of dropping it back in with correct timing. I usually end up with the wrong 50 so I want to make sure I get the timing correct before pull the flywheel/proceed any further. New engine seals/gaskets are in from Cruiser Outfitters; I hope to start making use of them soon!

Install the distributor b4 u put the valve cover on.

 

[TractorDoc]

That is good advice White Stripe.
I had played around with the timing some before I pulled the flywheel -- more or less I wanted to make sure I knew the difference between top dead center on the compression vs. the exhaust stroke. In addition to watching the valves I pulled all the other spark plugs except cylinder number one and I could feel the compression on that cylinder as I turned the crank. Using the flywheel timing mark I was able to reinstall my FJ40Jim refurbished distributor with the rotor lined up towards cylinder #1 for spark on compression.
At that point I felt comfortable enough that I could put everything back later so I pulled everything else off for cleaning/resealing.

Draining the engine oil -- quite a lot of the shiny black stuff in there!

And I finally managed to mount the engine on my engine stand:

The engine stand says its rated for 1250lbs. but I am still going to hold the engine up with the overhead lift when I can -- my mind has a difficult time accepting those four little bolts will keep that giant lump of cast iron up in the air by themselves!
The shop has also become a little more crowded recently -- dad brought the track hoe in for a little routine maintenance (picture background). I will help him with that project this weekend and move it back out so it should not slow down my progress too much! General rule when building a new shop/building/etc: figure out how much space you need and then double it. . . even then there will not be enough room!

And hopefully it is ok to post here but if I do not make it back (with an update) before the 25th everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year as well!!

 

[TractorDoc]

The boss was nice enough to give us the day off today so I stopped over at the shop for a few hours. Preparation and cleaning are the two words that describe today's activity. Started with pulling the oil pan and cleaned off the old gasket -- it did not stick a bit to the oil pan but sure did not want to be pried off the block. Tapping the end of a sharp scraper along the surface took care of 90% -- the remaining was polished clean with a wire brush.

I did take the time to install a new rear main seal -- no easier time to do it!

Removed the side cover and front/camshaft cover as well. One of the small bolts holding the camshaft cover decided to twist off -- drilled out and tapped the hole without incident. Cleaned the insides as best I could with the solvent sprayer from below so any loose material would fall down and out. Rubbed over internal parts where I could with a brass bristle brush to knock off any heavy accumulations and then resprayed with the solvent sprayer.

As you can see I gave the block a misting of the POR-15 Metal Prep; I picked up a small can of POR-15 black engine enamel to apply once the covers are back on and final prep is done. I know it seems like I am painting the entire truck in POR-15 paints. . . I wanted something to withstand the higher temperatures (which the POR-15 engine paint is rated for. . . up to 350F if I remember?) and still have good coverage. It will be my first time using the engine line of their paints so we will find out together how it turns out.

One point of curiosity. . . the oil slinger was just loose on the crank when I pulled the camshaft cover. I could not find any reference to the slinger in my Toyota 2F engine SM (1980 edition) but the Haynes manual mentions it briefly. An archive search found that the slinger was built into the cam cover on later model 2F engines -- I am thinking the damper may extend far enough back to snug the slinger up against the crank gear. . . ?
Overall a good day. I ended up dirty but the engine and assocated parts are clean(er). Strangely I could not find a tube of black permatex sealant anywhere in the shop. I will pick one up sometime this week and hope to have the oil pan and other components going back on soon.

 

[TractorDoc]

More Cleaning and Preparation Pictures.
Cleaned the outside surfaces of the side and front covers, all the associated bolts, and all the engine mounts. New Oil Seal in the front cover.

And just in case anyone was worried that I was going to re-use that crusty old oil pan. . . fear not. A new OEM Pan from Cruiser Outfitters has been patiently waiting on the shelf. The old oil pan was seriously rusty on the sides and I have read enough about bent gasket flanges and leaky skid plate welds that I did not want to take any chances.

I thought Id be clever an reuse my old oil pan plug but it does not look like that will be happening. Apparently Toyota decided that the oil did not need to drain out in 15 seconds so they made the hole smaller on the new pans. Looks like I will be putting another part on the need to order list.

Also went through and tapped all the holes I could for easy bolt installation.

Next step was to put a light coat of oil on the camshaft/crankshaft gears -- without getting oil all over the gasket surface for the front cover.

Used up all my picture room in this post. . . continued with another in a few minutes.

 

[TractorDoc]

So in addition to preparation I also started on some reassembly/installation.
I put a thin coat of gasket dressing on the front cover -- the flange seems thin and hopefully any extra protection will prevent leaks. I am using a non-setting John Deere (probably an off the shelf brand with the JD name) dressing that I have had good success with over the years on the tractor side of things.

I also made sure to put the correct bolts back into their correct places. Never would have thought that there were three different lengths/sizes until I read the service manual/several build threads on the MUD Forum.

Applied some Moly Grease to the front seal and loosely installed the front cover on the block. After spending time cleaning and drying everything out and I added some lubrication to the camshaft lifter/push rod area. In a prior life I used to work a lot with Caterpillar equipment (dad and brother still do) so a lot of the tools and branding gets carried over to the home shop.

More gasket dressing added to the bottom half of the side cover as Poser suggests in his FAQ section (in the oil pan installation thread). Seems strange to me that there are more bolts across the top of the cover than across the bottom; I would think that oil would pool at the bottom and closer fasteners would provide for a better seal. Perhaps more bolts were needed across the top for attachment points (heater pipe, etc.).

Stuck the side cover on and ever so carefully rotated the engine 180 degrees to install the oil pan. First a thin bead of Permatex Ultra Black across the front and rear U-Channels and a film also applied at each of the four corners.

The black stuff around the main bearing cap is just sealant, not oil in case anyone was wondering.

Out of picture room again so one more post coming. . .

 

[TractorDoc]

Continued. . .
I set the oil pan gasket in place and once again put a bead of the Permatex in the "U" areas and on the corners.

From there it was a matter of placing the new oil pan on and torquing the bolts down to about 70 inch pounds. Had to go out and pick up an inch pound torque wrench -- never had to torque something down in the inch pound range before. If I am being honest I had a moment of paranoid uncertainty and took the pan back off once I had set it on/finger tightened all the bolts in place. I could not remember if I left a rag or that tube of Permatex sitting inside the engine! For the record nothing was forgotten.

Nice double bead of sealant that should not result in any leaks. . .

Finally I mustered all my strength to rotate the engine 180 degrees back to upright. I put a pipe extension on the engine stand bar to do it by myself due to the extra weight at the top of the engine. A little prep work and we will be ready for paint this weekend.

I slid the old water pump gasket back on so Id know not to paint under that area. I also tapped the damper in place enough that it would center the seal in the front cover and I tightened the front cover bolts down. Remember to dab that grease on the front cover seal so as not to burn it up at first start up. We will torque down the damper nut once the engine is set in the frame and I have something to keep the crank from turning (the wheels!)

When I had FJ40Jim rebuild my carb/distributor I also had him send me the necessary parts for desmogging the engine. He sent me six little plugs that would take the place of the air rail ports on the manifold side of the cylinder head (wrapped in blue tape in the last picture). Those ports do not want to budge/turn out of the head for anything so I am thinking I will try to find some caps to install on the ports vs. using the plugs. If I cannot source something of the correct thread pattern/size I may go back to trying to remove the air ports but I can easily picture myself breaking one off in the head casting -- I would prefer to avoid that at all costs if possible!

 

[davework]

More Cleaning and Preparation Pictures.
Cleaned the outside surfaces of the side and front covers, all the associated bolts, and all the engine mounts. New Oil Seal in the front cover.

One of my favorite builds right now as I start into some of the same steps - how did you clean the mounts, bib hinge, and the rest of those parts? Heck of a job it looks like. Wire wheel maybe?

 

[TractorDoc]

Thanks Dave!
Ive been known to use any number of tools to get parts clean.
Wire brushes and scrapers to get the heavy dirt, oil, and greasy stuff off. I will usually give the big pieces a spray down with some sort of engine degreaser and then take the wire wheel/wire cup equipped angle grinder over the surface. (As I have gotten older I understand that I am not invincible and I make sure I am wearing safety glasses and a respirator during this part -- the air fills up with aerosolized rust and dust that I do not need in my lungs! ) The covers and other pieces come off at that point; I will usually use mineral spirits or brake cleaner to clean out the oily inside portion of the covers.
Once all the loose parts are dry and oil free I toss them into the blasting cabinet to clean off all the remaining rust/paint/etc. The result of that is what you see in the picture on the engine mounts, bib hinge, covers, and bolts. I take extra care to tape off any potential wear surfaces before putting pieces in the cabinet and then make sure I clean every last speck of blasting media from the parts before re-assembly. Bolts get stuck thru holes on a piece of cardboard for the blasting process but I do hit them with the wire wheel afterwards to help get the extra grit off -- that is why the bolts look shiny in the picture when I am chasing threads in the block.
A lot of time and effort. . . but I can provide both of those at almost no cost. I think/hope it will be worth it in the end!

 

[TractorDoc]

Today's Accomplishment. . . A couple coats of black paint on the engine:

If the POR-15 Engine Paint (tired to include the can on the rocker in the next picture -- bad lighting) holds up as it looks now I will be more than pleased. It has good coverage -- better than the basic rust preventative paint but not near as difficult to work with as the topcoat.

Little Stashe is more of a medium size now (did you notice him in the last pic?) -- on cold days like today I let the outside calico cat into the shop and he spends his time chasing her vs. bothering me.
Also put some color on the bell housing. . . I think black is technically a very, very dark blue so I suppose it is a color?

I will let the pieces dry for a couple days and then mate them together and install the flywheel and new clutch.
In the meantime I will have this project to look forward to:

It seems at a minimum I need an input shaft seal. I am hoping the seal did not wear into the shaft itself to warrant a speedi-sleeve. . . we will find out soon. I do not plan on rebuilding the transmission at this point as it shifted fine thru all the gears when I had the truck driving/moving. I will still remove all the covers and give the insides a good look over though. I did buy a rebuild kit for the transfer case (Thank You again Cruiser Outfitters!); it has a couple leaks at the idler shaft and at the parking brake drum so I figure it needs gone thru anyway. I have visions of opening things up this weekend but there are a couple other things that need done at home also. As far as New Years goes I will probably be asleep by 10pm -- never was much of a night owl and there was/is always something I want to get up early and do the next day anyway. Happy 2017 to everyone on MUD!!!

 

[KingAir Driver]

Great progress and moving right along! Keep up the great work and photos!

 

[TractorDoc]

Thanks KAD!
The boss was nice enough to give us the Holiday Monday off again (Sometimes its good to be the boss !)
I made it over to the shop for a few hours and pulled my engine off the engine stand so I could tackle the throw out bearing. On most of my tractor projects the throw out bearing was incorporated into the flywheel, but I used the same principle to remove it from the crank. First step was to find a suitable work area where I had access to the back of the engine but have underside clearance when it came to installing the flywheel and clutch under the bell housing. The bed of the Kubota worked great.
Step one: Fill pilot bearing hole (and cavity behind it) with grease. If I am honest at first I gave the bearing a few yanks with the slide puller but it did not budge -- so onto the grease.

Step Two: Next, find a bolt about the same size as the pilot bearing opening. Cannot find one the exact size? No problem, just wrap a few layers of electrical tape around the bolt until you get "just right."

Step Three: Hit the bolt on the head with a hammer and hydraulic pressure will push the bearing out from the inside. Sometimes you will need to add more grease as the bearing moves, once I had it about 1/4 of the way out I finished it off with the slide puller. (And cleaned up the grease from the pilot bearing cavity).

I used a large socket to tap the new pilot bearing back into place and then installed the bell housing.

I cleaned up/DA'ed the flywheel with 80 grit on the clutch surface and installed it with the new clutch ready to go.

Of course I could not leave the engine sitting on the back of the Kubota so after installing the clutch I moved it over to an engine cradle I had waiting. . . picture coming in the next post.

 

[TractorDoc]

Yep, the frame works great as an engine cradle -- dont even have to make any adjustments for it to fit! This was as good a place as any to store the engine for now. In the meantime Ive separated the transmission from the transfer case.

Also made a transmission work station so I could inspect the insides/give everything a good cleaning without crawling all over the floor.

I had a couple questionable areas in the transmission that I started another post about -- I will use information from there to decide what the next best step will be (use it, rebuild it, or replace it). One eye opener was the quart or so of water that emptied out when I pulled the drain plug -- I could not find anywhere in the service manual where H2O was an approved lubricant for the tranny gears. Possible it could have entered when I pressure washed the outside but would not have thought that much??
Regardless, mission transmission is next on the agenda.