Drive shaft questions (2 Viewers)

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It's gonna take some work to remove that suspension. Once you setup your suspension you’ll be ready for driveshafts. If go sprung under all around you'll be able to run stk style driveshafts and wont have to alter the fill plug. What's your intended use for your FJ40? What's your skill set. You'll probably be cutting and welding.

Your headlight bezel is upside down. The fat side goes on top.
 
Great questions. Now that I've fixed the bezel, I'll provide some further info.
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Without getting too longwinded about it, although I come from a Toyota family, I prioritized bicycles over automobiles for most of my life. I helped my father work on our vehicles growing up (up to and including swapping transmissions), but only really became interested in vehicles long after I left home. I lived in England for a lot of my 20s and 30s where there is an old Land Rover rusting away in every back field. I always wanted to fix one up but never had the time or space. That's changed recently, so I bought this old thing.

Skills: I'm a decent bicycle mechanic. I've recently acquired a mig welder, which I'm learning to use. I have a shop and tools.

Intended use: the journey is the destination on this one. This FJ40 is a tool to help me learn how these systems work and how to work on them. I don't have any serious off-roading experience (although I beat the hell out of my 1990 4Runner in high school running around the backwoods and creeks in the Ozarks) and no intentions of making this thing super off-road capable. I have a Tundra which is my main transportation and hunting rig. I'd mostly like to take this thing apart and put it back together a lot better than it was. Having said that, this is Alaska and it's got to be able to get me where I'm going, through the snow and over the mountain.

I'm not in a rush. I towed this thing home in January and started reading the forums and bought a Haynes manual and watched a lot of YouTube (40channel and Project Wrong Way and others). I replaced the battery and turned the engine over for the first time last weekend when the sun came out. The fuel line was pretty far gone and it pissed out a lot of gas in the driveway. I replaced all that and now that it's dry and running. I checked the compression and got 120-125 psi in every cylinder.

It's missing the rear drive shaft, but it came with these (all too long). Pretty soon I'm going to take the canopy off and pull it into the shop. Where to start?
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I certainly do not! It's on 39" tires right now but I will probably settle on 33s down the road.

I don't actually have any idea where to begin on lowering it though. I've added some pics of front suspension as well - feel free to suggest where to start on lowering this back down a bit (4" overall)? The front shackles are 5.5", the rear ones 4.5".

Front:
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Rear:
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Regarding the springs - no idea about their vintage. Is there a way to identify them?

Yes, I'm in Alaska. I'm familiar with Mark Whatley, by reputation anyway. Thanks for the recommendation.
I'm going to guess "Burbank Springs". Long gone for good reason. The bushings were odd, as I recall. Larger than early OEM but smaller than
late 40s/60s. They may have been patterned after FJ55 bushings.
The shackle reversal was a design by "Advanced Handling" Worked better if you reversed the front bracket and reversed the springs, short side forward.
Their rear shackle bracket needs to be "relieved" behind the bushing tube when using a shackle with a center brace. On compression the center brace will
contact the shackle bracket preventing the shackle to swing back.
Like others pointed out, the pinion bearings will oil starve at that angle. The driveshafts can be reworked with long travel slips. Joint Fuji makes a kit with the
male and female slip and required u-joint. You'll need an 80 series flange to match the slip. A side benefit being the long slip uses a design that allows 45deg
of articulation. A stock 40 setup only allows 24-27 degrees. The pic of your front u-joint shows that you are already testing the limit. You'll be breaking pinion shafts if it binds too much. Either Georg at Valley Hybrids, Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters, Yotamasters, FJParts or Marlin can set you up with slip yokes and the flange
Technically, the front end with a 2 1/2 lift spring and shackle reversal kit is a 4" lift. The minimum lift on a spring over is 6 ~7". The math is diameter of the axletube (3.125) + springperch height X2 + spring pack thickness. There are YJ jeep springs you can buy off the shelf that are designed for spring over with reverse eyelets and flattened arch that will drop the rear a couple inches. Rubicon Express is one such brand. Otherwise, you can go back to spring under with a 4" lift spring
 
Great questions. Now that I've fixed the bezel, I'll provide some further info.View attachment 3876066

Without getting too longwinded about it, although I come from a Toyota family, I prioritized bicycles over automobiles for most of my life. I helped my father work on our vehicles growing up (up to and including swapping transmissions), but only really became interested in vehicles long after I left home. I lived in England for a lot of my 20s and 30s where there is an old Land Rover rusting away in every back field. I always wanted to fix one up but never had the time or space. That's changed recently, so I bought this old thing.

Skills: I'm a decent bicycle mechanic. I've recently acquired a mig welder, which I'm learning to use. I have a shop and tools.

Intended use: the journey is the destination on this one. This FJ40 is a tool to help me learn how these systems work and how to work on them. I don't have any serious off-roading experience (although I beat the hell out of my 1990 4Runner in high school running around the backwoods and creeks in the Ozarks) and no intentions of making this thing super off-road capable. I have a Tundra which is my main transportation and hunting rig. I'd mostly like to take this thing apart and put it back together a lot better than it was. Having said that, this is Alaska and it's got to be able to get me where I'm going, through the snow and over the mountain.

I'm not in a rush. I towed this thing home in January and started reading the forums and bought a Haynes manual and watched a lot of YouTube (40channel and Project Wrong Way and others). I replaced the battery and turned the engine over for the first time last weekend when the sun came out. The fuel line was pretty far gone and it pissed out a lot of gas in the driveway. I replaced all that and now that it's dry and running. I checked the compression and got 120-125 psi in every cylinder.

It's missing the rear drive shaft, but it came with these (all too long). Pretty soon I'm going to take the canopy off and pull it into the shop. Where to start? View attachment 3876065

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You have driveshafts from two generations. The one with the external snap ring is 73 and earlier. The other, with internal snap rings will use u-joints from 1974 all the way up through the FJ80 series and first gen Sequoia. Either driveshaft can be used as long as you match the bolt pattern on the driveshaft to the corresponding pinion or t-case flange. The flanges are available in all the bolt patterns for the front t-case output and differential pinions but I don't know what's available for the t-case drum. Some or the drums are showing up out of China but I've only seen pics that appear to be a fine spline which would suggest a drum for the 81 and later 40s that had different t-case shared with the 60 series but used a t-case e-brake. Chances are good with the
older e-brake drum that it will have a wear groove at the seal contact spot and to stop it from a continual slow leak you'll need to speedi-sleeve or
turn it down a bit and use an slightly tighter ID seal. Metric seals are generally part numbered by size. The rear output seal is a 48 x 62 x 8 . You can source
a 46 x 62 x 8 that will seal a bit tighter on the drum as long as you clean up the affected area with emery cloth or the like.
 

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