I purchased a 1973 FJ40 from the original owner a couple weeks ago. The vehicle is basically stock, but had a Fairey OD installed at the Toyota dealer when it was purchased new (the original purchase contract was provided with all the paperwork). The owner said that up until about 6-8 years ago he would drive it once or twice a year for a few miles just to make sure everything still worked. Based on how far the tires were sunk in the gravel I feel like it was more like 10-15 years since it had moved. In fact, in all the paperwork he supply I found every single registration from California up until he moved to Idaho in 1995....but not a single Idaho registration. I have a feeling the FJ might have been sitting for as much as 27 years.
I took possession on 9/23 and immediately replaced all fluids. Everything looked fine (aside from being dark) with no visible metal. I used 75/90W gear oil in the differentials, transmission, transfer case and Fairey OD. After minimal work on the electrical, brake and fuel systems I was able to drive it the 40 miles to work and back, and it did AMAZING. The only real issue is with the OD....it doesn't want to shift from Hi to Lo. I laid underneath while my daughter shifted the OD lever and it seems to be fine. I sprayed lubricant on all the shift linkage joints just in case, but it seems like there is something inside the OD that is gummed up. I spoke with the original owner and he said he never had an issue with the OD, so we assume it has something to do with sitting for so long.
The vehicle drives fine. It was in Lo range but when I tried to shift it into Hi it wouldn't fully engage, and when I would let the clutch out it would grind. It seems to be worse at higher speeds. I was able to get it to engage in Hi when driving slow and once engaged it was smooth and worked well, but then I couldn't get it back into Lo. I drove 40 miles to work in Hi range and 40 miles home and it was fine....other than getting rolling from a dead stop. I did try a couple times to shift to Lo range but couldn't get it to engage (it would just grind when I let the clutch out).
I've researched on here and and Google but haven't had much luck. I'm hoping someone knows the Fairey OD's and can give me some pointers/suggestions. ANY help is greatly appreciated. I have never had an OD in an FJ and now that I've seen what the Hi range is like I DEFINITELY want to get it working correctly.....its AWESOME. Thanks.
I took possession on 9/23 and immediately replaced all fluids. Everything looked fine (aside from being dark) with no visible metal. I used 75/90W gear oil in the differentials, transmission, transfer case and Fairey OD. After minimal work on the electrical, brake and fuel systems I was able to drive it the 40 miles to work and back, and it did AMAZING. The only real issue is with the OD....it doesn't want to shift from Hi to Lo. I laid underneath while my daughter shifted the OD lever and it seems to be fine. I sprayed lubricant on all the shift linkage joints just in case, but it seems like there is something inside the OD that is gummed up. I spoke with the original owner and he said he never had an issue with the OD, so we assume it has something to do with sitting for so long.
The vehicle drives fine. It was in Lo range but when I tried to shift it into Hi it wouldn't fully engage, and when I would let the clutch out it would grind. It seems to be worse at higher speeds. I was able to get it to engage in Hi when driving slow and once engaged it was smooth and worked well, but then I couldn't get it back into Lo. I drove 40 miles to work in Hi range and 40 miles home and it was fine....other than getting rolling from a dead stop. I did try a couple times to shift to Lo range but couldn't get it to engage (it would just grind when I let the clutch out).
I've researched on here and and Google but haven't had much luck. I'm hoping someone knows the Fairey OD's and can give me some pointers/suggestions. ANY help is greatly appreciated. I have never had an OD in an FJ and now that I've seen what the Hi range is like I DEFINITELY want to get it working correctly.....its AWESOME. Thanks.