Builds Finally got my own...Meet BeBe

[Slow Left]

Remember, if you are testing a wire/component that doesn't have 12V+ (so it isn't hot), then you have to use the Ohm function (measures resistance/continuity) on the multi-meter.

The difference is that when using the Volt function (when you are measuring a hot wire), you are relying on the 12V+ power from the vehicle's battery to take the measurement (and the circuit is completed by grounding the black (-) lead of the meter...then current can flow through the device).

When you use the Ohm function, the meter itself is providing the power to take the measurement. So, for example, to test that a wire is making good ground to the vehicle's chasis, then you would connect the red(+) lead from the meter to the wire end closest to the component it is supposed to ground, and then connect the black(-) lead from the meter to the vehicle chasis (to complete the ground circuit). The meter sends out just enough current (if it is a good circuit) to be able to see itself. Sometimes you have to use a 'jumper wire' (an extension wire) to add on to either the black(-) lead from the meter (or both leads, for that matter) in order to make the lead long enough to get it where you want to make contact to close the circuit.

Don't use the Ohm function to test a 12V+ hot wire!!

 

[gregnash]

Thanks again for all the help @Slow Left, it is much appreciated. I will do the further testing that you talk about if the electrical gremlins decide to show up again. For the time being though the stereo is working and everything else was working without the stereo which was part of the reason why I was so confused.

As for the cruise control, it was something that was not dealer installed. I have traced the wire and the 12v connects to it at a stock connector below the steering console, person that installed it looks to have pulled the pin out of the connector with the wire and then installed both wires. However, I was not able to see enough of the original wire to tell what it exactly is. The other wire has one of those clamp on splicers attached to a green with white line wire (will have to double check to confirm) and goes into the plug.

I will try and take pics tonight, ran out of time last night as I was working on it and the wife needed help at her salon. I don't know if I just have monkey hands or the spaces around most things in these cruisers are small but man do I have problems getting my hands into places to touch wires to trace them... LOL

 

[Slow Left]

Alright. Glad you got it sorted out. Yeah, working under the dash is torture...and electrical stuff will certainly test your patience. But the good news is, that if you understand how it is supposed to be working (wiring diagram) and take the right measurements in order to test it, you can methodically work through it and find the problem.

Yeah, when I originally read the post about cruise control, I was stumped. I even went to the wiring diagrams to try and find the cruise control circuit!
Cheers.

 

[gregnash]

Yeah got to love the aftermarket installs. Rummaging through the nest of wires that was the old cruise control along with the multiple splices from a couple of aftermarket stereos, yeah that always makes things fun. And as I said before I have a very hard time with electrical.

I have to make the little bracket for my Ultimate Harness but will eventually do like you said and run wiring into the cabin with a separate fusebox dedicated to just those items like a Ham, Chargers, Radio, etc. One of the guys in my club recommended that I just go to PnP and grab some fuseboxes from 90s era GM/Chevy's as they are easily accessible and hold plenty of spots.

 

[Slow Left]

Sounds like the way to go. That way it keeps the stock wire harness clean, and you are adding in the robustness in a simple, understandable manner.

I remember some threads on guys adding in breaker type fuse boxes in the engine compartment...and Jaggernaught posted some stuff on his thread for adding in access in the rear quarter panels, they would be able to give you better advice on those types of systems. Either way, hope you start a thread on it when you get around to planning it all out and splicing the wires...so I can learn from how you end up going about it.
Cheers.

 

[Granite Grinder]

I don't believe Erik's Ultimate Harness was designed to be routed inside the cabin. I believe he suggested just laying it along the firewall, I followed the brake lines.

 

[gregnash]

Ok been a while since I have updated... Will be doing an oil change on her this weekend as it is about time. Thing I have noticed is that she usually lasts about 4-5 months on an oil change with the oil level reading at a good level. However, if I push it to 5-6 months then I start to see the oil level drop pretty quickly, such that last weekend I went to check her (right at the 6 month mark) and noticed it was barely registering on the stick. Sure enough, 1.5qts later she is back in the normal range.

I have had a mysterious leak that I could not find that was constantly dripping on top of the front diff. Well when I was checking things last weekend I saw where it was coming from. It seems that no matter how tight I make the oil filter there is a small leak produced between the housing unit and the filter. I will grab a picture when I get a moment but seems weird that it would be leaking from there? Is there an o-ring on the unit that I should be pulling off or something? I know there is small ring on the filter itself that I always place a small amount of oil on (something my dad taught me) but I do not remember seeing a o-ring on the unit (assuming this is the full oil pump assembly).

Drivers side hub still hasn't come off to do the knuckle rebuild, still haven't put the under body skid back on and still haven't gotten around to doing the wheel wells yet. When I grab my oil change from NAPA I will probably grab a can or two of weld-through primer. Need to pull the machine out again and do some more practicing as I haven't played with it in a couple of months.

 

[gregnash]

Oil change today..... 8qts Rotella T 15w40 with 1qt MMO... see how she does.
Finally got around to send off a sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis, will be interesting to see what they come back with. Need to grab a new air filter too I believe..

Here is another question, as I was changing oil and what not I noticed some oil pooled on the top of the block on the air rail holes (now covered with JimC's plugs) and was wondering where that might be coming from? Would that be something that would come from the valve cover gasket?

Also, checked the surface of the oil filter housing and seemed fine. I tightened down the new filter as much as I could so hopefully it was just that the old one was loose.. Need to take the truck to the car wash and spray out the engine bay so I can watch some of these sections. Looks like I may have a slight drip starting at the front camshaft cover (or whatever it is for the crank). Will have to keep an eye on it to see what is going on. Thinking that I may start doing oil changes every 4 months instead of 6. During the summer I make a lot of trips up the hill and up to Reno (Reno at least once a week for softball, 70miles round trip) so might be worth it...

Going to call Kurt tomorrow and order a damn speedo cable, finally get that s*** taken care of after another year of it being dead.. .LOL

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

G, One of the reasons I'm getting a GPS Speedo from SpeedHut.. I hope to have this kit in the near future. I keep putting it off... Just need to (AS MIKE SAYS) Squeeze the trigger on Goss' new gauges...

If we meet up soon, I have like 10 gallons of Mobil 1 Synthetic If you want it...

J

 

[gregnash]

LOL... yeah I had an aftermarket speedo cable in there from CCOT 1yr and 3days later it busted on me. And that was like Feb or last year. Oh well, not that I really care about the mileage on her as she will be around for quite some time.

Strangest thing happened on Friday, when I was at NAPA grabbing stuff for the oil change I grabbed a bottle of Rotella T and for some strange reason I checked it to see it was the right stuff. Ended up being 10W30?! When the hell did that happen? Still grabbed my 15W40 but thought it was interesting they had 10W30 in the gallon sizes at that.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I ran Mobil 1 Syn in Marley and the fluid was still clear after 200K miles... Amazinging...'

Are you gonna be around for Hot August Nights? I am hoping my dad takes me up on the offer for his B-Day and fly him out for a few days... If so, I'd like to catch up with you.

J

 

[gregnash]

Yeah we are usually around.. Not sure if my FIL is going to show his 70 Chevelle SS or not. Will contact him but let me know if you guys head out this way and I will meet you somewhere.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Roger that...

J

 

[gregnash]

So finally after over a year I was able to find a used stock/oem speedo cable for cheap on ebay.. $20 shipped to my door and it has sat on my workbench for the last 3 weeks because, well I just haven't been home. Last night finally said F it and got it done. Speedo is once again working and no stupid tick from the old broken line (was strange how quiet the cab was this morning driving to work).

Old broken one seemingly ticked when it was cold out (normal mornings) but apparently it clicked/ticked a lot louder than I had realized because this morning things seemed uber quiet. Now to get to some other things that have been bothering me.

If I can actually get a weekend to play with the cruiser I may take it to my buddies heated barn for the weekend and finally cut out the old rusty wheel wells and weld in the new ones. Buddy and his fiance' just bought a huge place near us with a full sized barn. Apparently the older gentlemen that owned/built the house was very eccentric but also a genius. He was an electrical engineer, owned a company on the airport property and actually built his house close enough to the airport so that he could build a turret at the top and watch his workers load/unload their trucks. His full sized, what looks like a horse barn, was actually plumbed and wired as a full shop and was apparently his R&D building for his company. Absolutely freaking ridiculous amount of wiring, writings, and stuff everywhere. Has every wall wired for 120v/240v with the necessary plugs and has a full sized heater that could heat a 2000sqft+ shop for the lower part of the barn.

Anyways, hoping to get major rust spots taken care of before winter hits full bore so that way I am not just replacing more steel in the spring. But guess that means I need to commit to bike commuting for a while if I throw it up at his place and start pulling things apart. LOL.

 

[Slow Left]

... cut out the old rusty wheel wells and weld in the new ones.

Where'd you get the new wheel wells, Greg?

 

[gregnash]

They were a donation from one of my club members that was chopping up an old body with a tweaked frame. Payment for services rendered, I showed up and helped around the shop and helped cut the body up and I got those. Not full fenders mind you, but more than enough steel to replace what I need.

 

[dirtEJohnson]

That's great to gain shop access. I bet if you frequented CL you could find some econobox commuter and emerge in the spring with a whole new animal to show off.

Subscribed.

 

[gregnash]

That's great to gain shop access. I bet if you frequented CL you could find some econobox commuter and emerge in the spring with a whole new animal to show off.

Subscribed.

LOL... my work is literally 10 minutes by bike or car from my house so an econobox would be pointless. I just hate super cold mornings riding into work and there are the time where I have to take my personal vehicle to offsite meetings and what not.

 

[gregnash]

Well spank me silly and call me Sally! Everyone of you know how much I love the 464 Beige color and had always wanted to get one before I got BeBe. Well with the need of a paint job I have always contemplated what the 60 would look like in the 40 Mustard Yellow color with a white top as that is another color combo I have loved (even though mine is 8B4 midnight blue, now gray from the PO). When I comes to actually purchasing the ML to do the entire truck it has been a toss up with just going with the standard grayish colors, or ML has their Midnight Special (dark blue) color that I have somewhat liked. Well randomly this morning I found a pic of an FJ60 that had been painted Mustard Yellow, and all I can say is DAMN!

Found this randomly online. Always loved the look of the Mustard Yellow FJ40 and wondered what it would look like on a FJ60. Now I know and think this might have to happen. by renofizz, on Flickr

 

[gregnash]

Well BeBe will be getting new shoes next week. Finally got the green light from the wife to grab the tires I wanted, not just something cheap, round and made out of rubber. Almost $900 later it was a bit painful (I am cheap) but ended up going with Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx in 31x10.50x15. They have gotten great reviews as an overlander type tire (not quite as aggressive as a true mud terrain but a bit more aggressive than a true AT) and are supposedly surprisingly quiet for their look and tire type. Couple good long threads over at Expedition Portal that finally sealed the deal and then getting a $40off notice from Discount Tire Direct made it happen.

My local DT pricematched DTD and out the door will be $857 with their roadhazard/replacement warranty and all. Main reason for getting the warranty is they have no mfg mileage warranty and I would rather have the piece of mind with the offroading I do end up doing.

Also, this week I bought a little bolt-out kit to finally get the damn last bolt out from my drivers side hub so I can finish my knuckle rebuild AND I finally got the HF welding cart to hold all my crap. For the bolt I have tried just about everything (except welding a new nut to the head like @reevesci suggested) and just kept stripping the head. Got the right sided socket on the bolt, tapped it on slightly and the thing backed out in a few seconds. Why it was seized on there I have no clue because the threads were clean and rust free.

So once the new tires are on I will be taking the truck to my buddies house who has a barn and pnuematic tools and we will be taking care of the TREs finally and then doing an alignment.