Builds Doc's 1978 FJ40 Rebuild (13 Viewers)

[TractorDoc]

Good looking young man you have there, bet he's good help too.

Thanks Gator. Thats one of my many nephews. While I do not have any young 'uns of my own there is usually one or two nephews around here on the weekends to lend a hand. Joe is the youngest but he is also mischievous . . . he likes to hide important components when you need them the most!

Those will be great tires.

Hoping so; those on the board that have them seem to like them.

Is there a better way to balance then beside the lip weights?

Not sure; I had thought about the potential for using stick on weights as well. I did not have a chance to talk to the tire guy directly this weekend but will ask him about it this week when I take the rest of the rims up for mounting.

Nice exhaust gasket. Is that the original?

Not OEM or the original. I always use a new intake/exhaust gasket when pulling the manifold if it has been on for any length of time. Back when I started this adventure I did not know any better and ordered a few things from $OR. I was thinking about the manifold separation/alignment issues and this was supposed to be their special graphite gasket that would compensate for mild unevenness. In hindsight I think it is just a remflex gasket with a more expensive price tag. Specter has a lot of pieces available but they sure like their parts (and price them accordingly). They lost my interest/business when I wanted to order OEM front turn signal units and they told me I should order aftermarket pieces instead because my truck has an aluminum tub and is not a "true restoration." That may be true but they sure were snobby about it. . . now that I am enlightened to the resources available here Id much rather give my business to the vendors that contribute to the MUD forum.

As for today it was a back and forth day of productivity between the shop and greenhouse. As far as the greenhouse goes I must have filled several hundred pots with topsoil. . . we had a production line with pot fillers, planters, waterers, pot hangers, etc. At the end of the day all of the plants have new homes and mom can focus on maintaining them. The greenhouse started out as mom's hobby but it has become a fun little side business for her. . . they just put an addition on this past year to try and keep up with demand.

In the shop I was able to torque down the manifolds and bolted a few more pieces to them. My exhaust is just the down pipe and stops somewhere under the driver's feet. It should work for now; once I know the engine runs/truck drives I can haul it up to the local muffler shop here in town for a proper tailpipe. Cleaned up, painted, and installed the fuel lines. Also fitted the spacer/insulator plate and carburetor desmogged/rebuilt by Jim C.

Quick question for @FJ40Jim -- when I sent the carb off I think it had a carburetor temperature sensor on it. . . is that something that is considered part of the desmog? I was going to put the carb cooling fan back into service and I imagine the temp sensor is a component that provides feedback for the fan. . . I think the sensor lives in the tapped hole at the base of the carb, but its empty . Would you happen to have an extra sensor to complete the circuit?

I also assembled and installed the pedal hanger and several other firewall components. Started getting more serious with the wiring harness and installed a few pieces because I knew where they went. Need to refer back to the old pictures so I can put the rest of the knobs/switches back in the proper place. The gauge cluster is not in for good. . . just test fitting and wanted to see how things looked.

I did pull the gauge cluster apart so I could clean everything up on the inside. There were a few patches of superficial rust on some of gauge faces so I tried to clean them up/paint them as best I could without covering over the lettering. I also taped off the glass and painted the outside cover a fresh coat of silver.

Again, the fasteners are not tightened down -- just test fitting to see if I like the color combination.
Overall another good day. Looking forward to getting after the rest of the tires this week. . . and adding a few more pieces to the engine bay. It is starting to get get a little crowded in there and a lot more still needs be added!

 

[FJ40Jim]

The missing temp sensor provided IAT data to the ECU to command EGR. Not needed w/ no EGR or ECU.

Carb fan temp sensor is (was) hanging under rear of intake manifold.

 

[Disasterman]

Sorry to get away from the FJ40 but I love the greenhouse, considered doing that in northern Michigan. Oh, the truck is coming along nicely.

 

[TractorDoc]

The missing temp sensor provided IAT data to the ECU to command EGR. Not needed w/ no EGR or ECU.

Carb fan temp sensor is (was) hanging under rear of intake manifold.

Thanks Jim.
I thought the carb sensor might have something to do with smog stuff but I had to ask and make sure (Never doubted you, just didn't know if you knew about my cooling fan). The manifold sensor is still present mounted on the firewall side of the intake so the cooling fan should be happy. I appreciate the education and I'm glad you are here to keep me from running off the tracks.

Sorry to get away from the FJ40 but I love the greenhouse, considered doing that in northern Michigan. Oh, the truck is coming along nicely.

Thanks Dman.
We actually take a trip up your way in the summer to a number of the bigger greenhouses in Michigan; they put on events showcasing their new plant varieties for the upcoming year. Mom's setup started with some growing trays in the garage and expanded to the full size house you see in the picture. We have a lot of Amish in our area that have similar setups; they grow a lot of vegetables though and do not compete as much on the flower side.
Everyone has different interests and I will always try to keep my posts Toyota FJ40 related but every now and again I feel the need to add a little of the outside world to the discussion. . . cannot have people thinking that I spend all my time in the shop!

 

[Disasterman]

The varied interests help make Mud great in my opinion. All work and no play..... well you know what I mean.

 

[TractorDoc]

The major accomplishment for the week thus far has been the mounting/balancing of the new tires on the OEM Rims and then installing them on the axles. Having done nothing more than stare at the half assembled 40 so far I will say I am happy with my choice of the BF Goodrich 33X10.5R15 KO2 tire. The tire shop inflated them to 40lbs. so I may have to bring the pressure down to avoid crowning/uneven tread wear, but my main goal was to put them in place with new lug nuts (thanks to @Racer65 ).

The cowl looks tiny sitting on the frame with the new treads!

Looking forward to finishing the install of the steering components and lock out hubs now that the correct rims are on. So many makes and models of cars and trucks have an improved look with aftermarket rims. . . but the FJ40 Land Cruiser just looks its best (to me) on its OEM Steel.

 

[Disasterman]

They are a surprisingly quiet tire, just put them on my new 4Runner. Nice! Love those stock rims.

 

[TractorDoc]

A number of folks at home and at the office have been under the weather this week so I have been busier with day to day tasks and spent less time in the shop. I am more than willing to pitch in a little extra effort. . . as long as I do not get sick!!

I did snag a new work bench for the shop; another trip to a K-Mart going out of business landed me several of these stainless steel tables.

This particular store had a pizza franchise in it and I suspect the tables originated there due to the flour still dusted on them. The wheels will make it nice to roll where tools are needed and the surface should be easy to keep clean. . . if I can keep stuff from piling up on it.

I was in charge of firewood acquisition again today as the piles accumulated from gatherings past have diminished over the past few weeks. Good thing it has been a mild winter as we are only burning a portion of what we have in colder years. Dad says I load more than I should into the Kubota but I like to be efficient and squeeze every piece on that I am able. Some of today's catch includes Walnut, White Elm (not much left due to Dutch Elm Dz), and Locust.

Not much activity in the shop itself. I did spend some time sweeping floors and moving out extra parts (wheels, rims, leftover axle pieces, etc.) -- boring jobs but they need done for progress to occur. I did take a few moments to work on some nonessential components. All the pull knobs have lost their luster over the years and the white lettering is nonexistent in most of them.

My method to "restore" them is a bit crude. . . I simply take my white paint pencil and fill in the letters. . . as well as get a little "extra" on the knob face.

A few moments to dry and then I take a rag dampened with solvent and give a quick swipe over the knob face. Being careful not to get too aggressive with the rag the superficial white comes off and the recessed letters remain. Installed the switches and knobs in the dash; not sure what lives in the mystery hole below the "fasten belts/brake" lights. I have looked over many dash pictures online and the hole is either blocked from view or just left open.

I am not crazy about the fog light knob. Due to its newness it does not give off the same vibe as the originals. I will keep an eye out for one with a more vintage look. . . at least I can swap knobs without taking everything apart. I have seen some of the radio plates with the raised portions high lighted in white; I will see how everything looks once the dash pads, ash tray, etc. are in and decide if I will go down that road. I will probably be going without the radio as I am one of the odd people in society that does not go crazy over music. There are songs and bands that I like (AC/DC, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and some others) but Id rather listen to the roar of the engine and the hum of the road when driving.

Tomorrow is another day and now that most of the farm chores are done I may have some time to work in the shop. I am sure I will put up another post if that happens. . .

 

[White Stripe]

Yea I like just enjoying driving the 40. I feel little need for music in it. My stereo hasn't worked for a while and I'm in no hurry to get a new one.

 

[Varty Yo]

@sr5man

 

[TractorDoc]

Some wind/wild weather has been the main focal point over the last few days. Without power at the homestead (posting from the office computer, don't tell management!) as several large trees have taken down a good section of transmission line. Mrs. TractorDoc is not too thrilled about using the generator to run her curling iron but I appreciate the quiet evenings without the sounds and noises of the modern age.

I did pursue a new acquisition involving one of my other hobbies/interests. I am a big fan of Steiner lawn and garden tractors (the older ones anyway) and earlier this week I negotiated a deal for the biggest tractor they made back in the day, a 525. These tractors are like an FJ40 in that they are four wheel drive and will run right up a 30 degree slope without hesitation. A zero turn will mow circles around this machine but the Steiner cannot be matched for its versatility. I can swap out the mowing deck for a stump grinder, trencher, rotary sweeper, snow blade, pallet mover, etc. in less than a couple minutes.

While I did make attempts to work in the shop most of my efforts were cut short by another situation demanding of my time. I did measure out and install the tie rod, relay rod, and drag link with new ends from @cruiseroutfit in addition to the steering stabilizer. They need final torqueing and cottar pins installed but they look better on the truck than they do on the storage shelf.

Bolted up the steering column support and have been slowly installing the wiring harness and all associated connections. Cleaned up the original lower dash pads and gave them a test fit. Found a new flipper switch on the shelf of past project leftovers and installed it in the mystery hole below the brake/belts light. That mystery hole must be for some sort of cable setup due to the bottom part of the hole being flat like the choke and heat pulls. . . perhaps a hand throttle? All the hand throttles I have seen in the archives mount on their own little tab below the main dash though. I was planning on running a small inverter into the glove box and the switch could be used to run that; not sure if I like the look yet though.

I was cleaning up and getting ready to blast the glove box lid and I thought some kid long ago decided to slap a sticker in the inner face.

Closer inspection suggests it might be an original shipping label? Maybe even from the boat ride over. . . I am thinking those are ocean waves under the "PIO." The tag lists the truck serial number, truck load number, and option code "860." Cool to think that it has survived all these years. . . just like the tag on a mattress with "Do not remove" but missing the "under penalty of law." I will attempt to clean up the inside of the lid and preserve the decal.

The brake and clutch masters are tempting me to install them, I need to finish the engine bay and battery wiring, carburetor throttle linkage is waiting its turn. . . I want to make a more dedicated effort this week to accomplish better progress. I will work with what mother nature, time, and opportunity give me though and we will see if those two paths find a way to cross!

 

[UltraFJ40]

Great job documenting your build, I too thought it was for a hand throttle cable.

I also appreciate the "non-work" pictures to add a little variety to the thread.

 

[TractorDoc]

Achieved several hours of progress in the shop today.
Started by finishing the cleaning, painting, reassembling, and installing the locking hubs on the front axle. Way back when I had actually painted one of the "Warn" centers but never completed the second one until this weekend. I was half tempted to pop the hubcaps on but with my luck I will need to take the wheel back off for one reason or another (or I would find a way to dent the caps), hence the picture is with nuts exposed.

The hubs are not perfect, plated, and new but they cleaned up good enough for me to be happy with them.

I also started placing a few more things in the engine compartment. Clutch master and brake booster fitted in place; also bolted up the accelerator pedal/lined up the linkage. The new booster from @Racer65 is a real space saver compared to the ginormous original.

The one new in the box part that came with the truck when I bought it was this master cylinder. I thought it was a bit odd that the one thing the PO would think to buy first for the FJ40 was this. . . perhaps he was concerned about the lack of brakes. For all I know he could have had a bunch of new parts that he kept to sell on the side and forgot this one in the truck. Either way I will put it to use. Tomorrow I hope to fit it to the booster and give it a bench bleeding.

I also intend to have new clutch and dash mounted brake lines done by tomorrow. I borrowed the flaring tool again and need to have it back by Monday -- hopefully this is the last time I need it. Luckily the steel clutch line still holds most of its original shape. I am using 3/16 Copper/Nickel line (accidentally asked for 3/8 at the parts counter -- those would take quite a bit of fluid to fill). The Cu/Ni line bends easily enough by hand and flares easily. I simply followed the path of the original clutch line and kept the pattern together with a little electrical tape after each major bend or so.

The brake lines will be a little more complicated as they have been bent, cut, and had new sections added in over the years. Add in the spirals at the bottom and it should be a good time bending the line to where I need it to go. I figure I can wrap the line around some PVC pipe or another cylindrical object to achieve uniform spirals. . . I was educated in the archives about the importance of the loops -- due to the flex between the body and the frame the they help eliminate bending an otherwise straight line back and forth and eventually breaking it. I knew the spirals could not be there just because they looked cool.

Of course I had to install a few more pieces on the other side of the cowl. The paint is drying on the parking brake framework so that may go in tomorrow. I need to decide if I want to reuse the original plate (gives shift/TC pattern) that mounts on the glove box lid or source a new/aftermarket one. The original is a bit weathered but has a vintage charm that might be right at home inside the 40.

Tomorrow the priority is to finish the brake lines, then start to get serious about checking things off the list needed for an engine test fire. I am close, but there are still a hundred little things here and there to accomplish. Chasing threads on all the painted holes, cleaning and painting every little clamp and bracket for the hoses and lines, cleaning/painting voltage regulator/igniter unit, cutting the right size hose to the proper length for fuel lines, heater lines, etc. all takes time and I still spend more time just standing back looking at what has been done so far than I should. I know if I did not spend so much time working on something like the ash tray I could probably have the engine running by now. . . but that big empty hole in the dash was keeping me up at night.

 

[TractorDoc]

As it was declared in yesterday's post, today was brake day in the shop. Made new lines routing from the master cylinder down to the junction block on the frame. Also made an intermediate line between the master and the proportioning valve. . . almost forgot about that one. I did not have a good way to measure how much length to cut per line so I ended up just unrolling several feet at a time and wrestled things into position as best I could given my patterns were inaccurate.
To create the spirals on the vertical section I employed a 1 1/2" piece of PVC and drilled a hole in it with a larger drill bit. Flipped the bit around/back in the hole and used it as a leverage point to start the 90 degree turn.

Once I arrived at the point to make the 90 degree turn downward I pulled the bit back out, slid the line up, then put the bit back in and bent the line back down.

It took several place fitments and adjustments before everything was in place reasonable close to where it needed to be. Thinking I had the clutch line close to accurate I flared it up. . . remember to install your line nut before you make the flare! I had a line installed in the flaring tool ready to go but luckily I saw the line nut sitting by its lonesome on the work table before any alterations. Once the clutch line was nutted and flared I test fit installed it only to find the fitting threaded into the master was not seating the line. After my finger smashing incident last year chasing after Toyota line nuts (still have to wear a band-aid everyday at work until the nail grows out -- dont want to scare off the customers ) I took the easy way out and picked up a handful of new ones from NAPA. They do not have the small unthreaded portion at the flare end and the NAPA fitting must have bottomed out on threads before seating the line. Luckily I still had a couple extra OEM nuts that I had sourced up so I cut the line, swapped nuts, reflared, and success; the line seated properly.
Picture of Toyota Nut on the left and NAPA nut on the right.

For good measure I took a small piece of line with a flare on one end and test fit it in all the other line ends. . . the clutch master was the only one that required the OEM nut.

Took a couple pictures of everything in place before I did the final flaring on the brake lines. I am pleased with how my loops turned out. The lines look a bit disorganized now but once all the retaining clips are installed things will "line up" nicely.

Close up of @Racer65's booster and proportioning valve.

I will take the lines off one more time to give them a quick paint. The gold looks cool but over time it will oxidize and turn a lovely green color. That may happen with the paint anyway but I will try to deter the process if I can.

As always I did not get near the amount done that I thought I would, but I managed to accomplish my main goal to get the brake lines finished. Today is the first day of "springing ahead" for daylight savings time in the Eastern Time Zone. I like having more light in the evenings but it did shorten my Sunday by an hour. . . probably the reason why I did not accomplish as much!

 

[Jdc1]

Dave, looks great. If the brake nuts don't seal, Classic Tube has the correct ones. I have the part numbers somewhere.

 

[Helipilot]

Like the Steiner tractor...don't see those down in this part of the country. I can see the utility of the unit with all the different attachments. Good Score Dave.

 

[TractorDoc]

Dave, looks great. If the brake nuts don't seal, Classic Tube has the correct ones. I have the part numbers somewhere.

Thanks Jesse, Will hope that leaks are to a minimum or nonexistent, but I will gladly get ahold of you or do the research to find new OEM style ones if needed. I still have a handful of original lines with nuts on them but cannot bring myself to cut them apart. . . I don't think that Id want to reuse them (not sure what the insides are like) but they make a great pattern for making new lines.

Like the Steiner tractor...don't see those down in this part of the country. I can see the utility of the unit with all the different attachments. Good Score Dave.

Thanks @Helipilot
Steiner tractors were originally designed and made here in Ohio. They have a good local following but many people in far away lands like yourself do not have the same exposure. The original founders of the company sold the business in the 90s or 2000s and when they did not like how the new ownership was handling the product they went on to design the Ventrac line of garden tractors (which look/operate very similar). For those that like this sort of stuff I dug a couple pictures out of my Steiner photo gallery.

Slip Scoop (like a wheelbarrow you can drive)

Rough Cut Mower -- Like a brush hog that cuts thru inch thick overgrowth. That tractor gets fitted with a snow blower in winter, cannot beat a heated cab!

They even made a dump bed tractor -- an early predecessor to the JD Gator, Kubota RTV, etc.

Boom Mower Tractor used to mow around the pond/along the sides of the drive.

There are many other pictures in the file but I think folks get the idea. Like I said, I'm a fan.

To keep this post somewhat Toyota Tech Related I did manage to get the parking brake pull installed under the dash. Loving all the Stainless Hardware @davework . . . the rate I am going thru it I will have to place another order soon!

 

[wscbill]

I was cleaning up and getting ready to blast the glove box lid and I thought some kid long ago decided to slap a sticker in the inner face.
View attachment 1417091

Closer inspection suggests it might be an original shipping label? Maybe even from the boat ride over. . . I am thinking those are ocean waves under the "PIO." The tag lists the truck serial number, truck load number, and option code "860." Cool to think that it has survived all these years. . . just like the tag on a mattress with "Do not remove" but missing the "under penalty of law." I will attempt to clean up the inside of the lid and preserve the decal.

The brake and clutch masters are tempting me to install them, I need to finish the engine bay and battery wiring, carburetor throttle linkage is waiting its turn. . . I want to make a more dedicated effort this week to accomplish better progress. I will work with what mother nature, time, and opportunity give me though and we will see if those two paths find a way to cross!

That is the Port Installed Options sticker. Seen on 76-78s, on the glove box side wall or inside door. Some options were installed at Toyota port facilities. More info here. The option code on your sticker may be 880, rear heater.

 

[FaronF]

Thanks Jesse, Will hope that leaks are to a minimum or nonexistent, but I will gladly get ahold of you or do the research to find new OEM style ones if needed. I still have a handful of original lines with nuts on them but cannot bring myself to cut them apart. . . I don't think that Id want to reuse them (not sure what the insides are like) but they make a great pattern for making new lines.



Thanks @Helipilot
Steiner tractors were originally designed and made here in Ohio. They have a good local following but many people in far away lands like yourself do not have the same exposure. The original founders of the company sold the business in the 90s or 2000s and when they did not like how the new ownership was handling the product they went on to design the Ventrac line of garden tractors (which look/operate very similar). For those that like this sort of stuff I dug a couple pictures out of my Steiner photo gallery.

Slip Scoop (like a wheelbarrow you can drive)
View attachment 1419859

Rough Cut Mower -- Like a brush hog that cuts thru inch thick overgrowth. That tractor gets fitted with a snow blower in winter, cannot beat a heated cab!
View attachment 1419860

They even made a dump bed tractor -- an early predecessor to the JD Gator, Kubota RTV, etc.
View attachment 1419861

Boom Mower Tractor used to mow around the pond/along the sides of the drive.
View attachment 1419863

There are many other pictures in the file but I think folks get the idea. Like I said, I'm a fan.

To keep this post somewhat Toyota Tech Related I did manage to get the parking brake pull installed under the dash. Loving all the Stainless Hardware @davework . . . the rate I am going thru it I will have to place another order soon!
View attachment 1419866

that looks similar in concept to Versatile Tractors,Compact Tractors,Trailer Packages,Landscaping,Utility Vehicle Rentals,Mowers-Power Trac which a couple of my former neighbors own, base machine + dozens of attachments.

 

[TractorDoc]

Time with the 40 this week has been very limited. Work has been busy lately and I am ok with that -- it keeps the lights on and heat blowing. Even today, my "day off" was spent in the office again with another complicated surgery case. Earlier in the week we had a couple dogs in that were feeling the effects of eating things they should not have. One case even went to surgery to extract a pig hoof that the owner gave the dog to chew on. . . apparently the dog decided to swallow a large chunk of the hard pointy end and it became lodged in the intestine. The other dog was able to work its way thru its belly ache (for now), but fate always brings these situations in threes and the third installment arrived today. Today's patient was brought in for a metallic looking object in the stomach seen on x-rays that were taken overnight at a 24 hour ER Clinic (yes, I do close the doors during the twilight hours as I need my sleep). It was obvious that the dog needed an exploratory surgery, but the metallic object in the stomach turned out to be a rock and not his main problem. This dog had an illeo-cecocolic intussception -- the first one that I have seen in the 15 years or so since Ive been out of school. Simply put, a portion of the bowel telescoped up inside itself. . . not sure why it happened or how things will turn out. My young associate and I worked to get things back into place for several hours (removed the rock as well for good measure); its up to the patient now to respond.

What I have accomplished in the shop includes the disassembly of pieces mounted to the charcoal canister.

Normally on stuck or stubborn bolts/nuts I will use my little butane torch to add heat to the situation to free things up. I was reluctant to do so in this situation as I was not sure what degree of gasoline fumes/residue might be present and I did not want the canister to explode. Victory was mine vs. rust in this battle using penetrating oil, a good beating with the hammer, and plenty of patience. The canister found its way to my workbench as I am going thru the process of locating the remaining steel lines that bolt to the firewall in addition to the parts they connect. I have just about figured out all the "plumbing" needed for the desmog. . . also trying to calculate what sizes and lengths of vacuum tubing will be needed.

I have spent a little time in front of the blasting cabinet. Back when I painted my door hinges I had wanted to paint the cowl vent covers at the same time. When I first started blasting them I found a lot of underlying pits/bondo and knew I would not have the time to properly prep them for paint in the time frame I had planned for the hinges. . . so they were left out. I am back to focusing somewhat on the vent covers again as I need to install them before I can finalize the wiring harness (more or less). I made an access hole in the protective covering over the body of the '72 truck in the out of doors and "borrowed" the vent doors from it -- they are in much better condition. Sometime over the span of FJ40 production the engineers must have eliminated the bolts on the doors positioning tab in favor of spot welds. Doors from '72 on the right (one blasted, one still needs it) and from the '78 on the left.

In my usual fashion of random application of energy and attention I have also managed to clean up the passenger side fender. My brain keeps thinking that if I am going to paint the vent doors I might as well make good use of painting time and get some other worthwhile pieces done at the same time. . . like the fenders and maybe even the bib. Having the fenders installed will make finishing off installation of engine bay components possible; it will also make giving the truck and test run and drive much easier.

The bare metal was exposed with a combined effort of the blasting cabinet and the pneumatic DA Sander. While the fender fits in the cabinet there is not much room to move it around and I can only hit the main parts -- the blasting has been very helpful for the angles/corners that are difficult to reach with the sander. The DA with 80 grit cleans up the flat surfaces much quicker and leaves a lovely silver glow. In order to actually paint I will have to count on another break in the weather -- 60 degree days in February have given me false hope that painting days in March might be possible.

On the topic of weather we received several inches of snow today. Mrs. TractorDoc just sent me a picture to show me how my bird feeder keeps getting empty so quick. . .

Apparently its easier to fill up on my seed than find grass under the snow for these critters. Between the deer and sneaky raccoons I think I have fed more furry animals this year than I have feathered ones. Sorry about the quality of the pic, it was taken thru a screen on the front window from a couch view.