- Thread starter
- #61
What do you think? Im not sure. Im always worried about swiss inspections. No idea how tough they are but fun is pretty much forbidden.
First Vehicle to work on - FJ40 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter PidgeonGuggolo
- Start date
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- Tags
- first fj40 restoration work
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You need to have it blasted before you know the full extent. That rear crossmember area is a classic spot to be the worst area. You may be surprised how good it all is once it’s all cleaned up.
I did sand blast my BJ42 (German truck) during the frame-off resto, 18 years ago. Happy since.
It is worth the trouble, I believe...
- Thread starter
- #64
Today was a weird day. Working 2 hours with no progress. I wanted to pull out the transmission and the transfer case. Turns out the motor is sitting on the same mount. So when I lowered the transmission the motor lowered itself also. That's when I realized that the service manual and the video are not for my vehicle. Transmission sits on a mount and that's the only mount there is also for the motor. So that was a bit of a shock moment because I was pulling it back. I'm still weirded out that the bell housing screws are basically holding the back weight of the motor...
Draining the fluids I found some metal debris in the drain bolts. And the transfer case fluid was murky and dark. The transmission fluid was clear. But there is definitely some leakage there as it was dripping oil...
Well anyways I got some rivets a rivet counter tool and a air hammer. And I built a table to weld the parts on top. Next up I will strip the whole motor and then pull it out together with the transmission.
Draining the fluids I found some metal debris in the drain bolts. And the transfer case fluid was murky and dark. The transmission fluid was clear. But there is definitely some leakage there as it was dripping oil...
Well anyways I got some rivets a rivet counter tool and a air hammer. And I built a table to weld the parts on top. Next up I will strip the whole motor and then pull it out together with the transmission.
- Thread starter
- #65
Quick question. Do I need to drain the oil of the motor before pulling it out? And is a wooden support around the oilpan with wood enough to hold the motor? I'm not sure how strong this oilpan is.
You don't need to drain the oil out unless you plan to open it up.
Personally I avoid resting engines on the oil pan - that's not what it was designed for and likely to distort it.
Maybe you can bolt a piece of timber or angle iron onto the mounting points if you need it to sit freely?
Personally I avoid resting engines on the oil pan - that's not what it was designed for and likely to distort it.
Maybe you can bolt a piece of timber or angle iron onto the mounting points if you need it to sit freely?
- Thread starter
- #67
Ive now pulled the motor. Pics coming soon. Built a simple rectangle of timber and it does stand on the sides of the pan/motor. Was quite tricky because i struggled to get it out. Next stop tranny removal and then i got to reasses the situation. My kid will soon be born so i think i run out of time. Lets hope not though.
While i removed the starter i saw some missing edges on these teeth. All of them show the same damage. Im not sure what the cause of this. Any tips? Because the fj doesn't have that many miles on it. Attached some images.
While i removed the starter i saw some missing edges on these teeth. All of them show the same damage. Im not sure what the cause of this. Any tips? Because the fj doesn't have that many miles on it. Attached some images.
I think that is factory chamfer so it can easily engage in the ring gear which has a similar bevel.
Green Bean
SILVER Star
Congrats on your soon to be born baby and on the removal of your motor too.
Congratulations on the impending arrival, but good luck with the running out of time part haha.
I got a lot done on mine before April last year when our second arrived. Since then, almost nothing.
Sleep v Truck.
- Thread starter
- #71
Well due date is getting closer and i try to put much effort into it. But new work arises constantly 
Haha the frame itself now starts to be a point of discussion. I attached some images. The rear plate is rusted through, that back part of the frame is really thin. I had the plan to replace the back fender and the panels diagonally. Got all the parts already and wanted to use rivets. Now im not sure anymore what to do.
Plan was:
-Remove all parts which can be stripped, also the ones riveted except for the inner frame guides and the welded crossbar
-Weld parts to the frame to repair
-Rivet back all the new parts
-Galvanize
-Paint black
Now a friend who is also restoring cars came by and said the galvanizing could bend the frame and my frame looks to weak to withstand this procedure. Also he would use bolts instead of rivets. I thought rivets must be used since we cant get them on the road in Switzerland with bolts.
So im a bit shaky now on how to proceed. I will remove all parts still because the rust underneath these is a big issue for this car. I want to make it last as long as possible.
But im not sure how to go about it. Is this frame really that bad? I thought it was great. My eyes probably already let me see things as im in looove
Haha the frame itself now starts to be a point of discussion. I attached some images. The rear plate is rusted through, that back part of the frame is really thin. I had the plan to replace the back fender and the panels diagonally. Got all the parts already and wanted to use rivets. Now im not sure anymore what to do. Plan was:
-Remove all parts which can be stripped, also the ones riveted except for the inner frame guides and the welded crossbar
-Weld parts to the frame to repair
-Rivet back all the new parts
-Galvanize
-Paint black
Now a friend who is also restoring cars came by and said the galvanizing could bend the frame and my frame looks to weak to withstand this procedure. Also he would use bolts instead of rivets. I thought rivets must be used since we cant get them on the road in Switzerland with bolts.
So im a bit shaky now on how to proceed. I will remove all parts still because the rust underneath these is a big issue for this car. I want to make it last as long as possible.
But im not sure how to go about it. Is this frame really that bad? I thought it was great. My eyes probably already let me see things as im in looove
- Thread starter
- #72
And the actual state, ive removed transmission and the motor.
Im almost done stripping everything down... So im already reading and thinking alot about how to treat certain parts.
Best new gadget is that grill so i dont need to go home for dinner one month till the baby comes...
Im almost done stripping everything down... So im already reading and thinking alot about how to treat certain parts.
Best new gadget is that grill so i dont need to go home for dinner
one month till the baby comes...
So, how's the sleep and spare time going for you? 3 months in?
Hopefully you're getting lots of landcruiser thinking /planning time in the early hours at least...
Hopefully you're getting lots of landcruiser thinking /planning time in the early hours at least...
- Thread starter
- #75
Haha, sleep is actually good. But time... What a luxury good.
There actually happened some things. I got delivered a tub. 3500 Euros it cost me. And i sent it right back. What terrible work. I attached some images. I cant spend so much money on this and then have a tub which has rusty welds. And the overall work is quite crappy i think. Whenever a panel was needed they just welded it on top. So there are so many spots which will rot away in the futher...
So i ordered a new tub from teseven... Very Expensive but i think it lasts and quality is good i heard.
Some progress was made on the welding part of the spring hangers.
Currently im putting together a big order list for spectre offroad, springs, headliner, break kits, break lines. Soon i order them.
My plan:
- Weld Frame
- Get frame blasted/cleaned and then powder coated
- Remove all windows, only doors are left...
- Sandblast rusty parts
- Weld rusty parts
- Redo breaks
Then i have to see how far the tub is. Because i need to fiddle the doors in to the new tub and i want to make sure it fits.
Currently i still have the same uncertainties. I dont know if swiss gov allows me to use bolts instead of rivets... I have all the tools for rivets but id rather use stainless bolts and have them over the powder coated frame. I think that would help rust prevention. But its like a federal thing. We have cantons which are like states and they all say something different.
And im a bit hesitant to do the frame repairs myself as i have no welding licence and i read that its needed for frame welding of cars... Swiss is damn hard in my opinion... So i need to wait there on someone willing to do it for me.
Thanks guys for participating. Makes this way easier!
- Thread starter
- #76
Its already a long time since i got to go to my garage. Yesterday finally was the day
Stripped one door down completely and then tried to assemble the back of the frame. But i couldnt do it. I cant figure out how its done and after about 1 hour i decided it could be that a part is wrongly manufactured because i cant find the right holes and also the rear frame rail section seems to be too short. I attached some images. Maybe someone can help me out here. I ordered the parts from btb now manafrelv.com. Maybe the vendor is here and can help me out?
I see no more rear bumpers on their website. Maybe i just am not very good at assembling.
On the other topics, i go with the bolts... and of course i ordered the wrong ones... now i spent 200 $ on wrong bolts. But maybe i can give them back. Lets see.
As soon as i have assembled the frame i can finally weld that part. Until then im stripping the doors and peeling the seats. Everything is quite slow but i got to juggle family, work, fitness and my home. Who would have thought
Anyways progress is made.
Stripped one door down completely and then tried to assemble the back of the frame. But i couldnt do it. I cant figure out how its done and after about 1 hour i decided it could be that a part is wrongly manufactured because i cant find the right holes and also the rear frame rail section seems to be too short. I attached some images. Maybe someone can help me out here. I ordered the parts from btb now manafrelv.com. Maybe the vendor is here and can help me out?
I see no more rear bumpers on their website. Maybe i just am not very good at assembling.
On the other topics, i go with the bolts... and of course i ordered the wrong ones... now i spent 200 $ on wrong bolts. But maybe i can give them back. Lets see.
As soon as i have assembled the frame i can finally weld that part. Until then im stripping the doors and peeling the seats. Everything is quite slow but i got to juggle family, work, fitness and my home. Who would have thought
Anyways progress is made.
- Thread starter
- #77
Now after fiddling around with that rear frame i figured out the discrepancy. The original part is attached from the bottom while the newer part is somewhat slipped in between as it seems. But it doesnt make an sense.
I marked in red the slight knit bend the original plate has in the first image. Now i see the images of how im supposed to mount this in the second image. But from the images i see these are the spring perches of model below 1980 and i have a 1982. On the website of btb parts it is displayed as a fit. Now im not sure anymore.
I added an image of the new part next to the old one as well. And the old mount.
Now my take is. because of the lip of the new part i welded it is supposed to face downward. This way there is no way to slip the plate into the rear fender because its bend faces the other direction. So the part seems to be correct after all. Then the only thing which is that this rear fender is wrong for my model. As you can see on the last image there is a gap.
Is my conclusion valid? Did anyone of you guys have the same issue before? Because this would mean i need a new part and BTB is not selling that part anymore...
All the best
I marked in red the slight knit bend the original plate has in the first image. Now i see the images of how im supposed to mount this in the second image. But from the images i see these are the spring perches of model below 1980 and i have a 1982. On the website of btb parts it is displayed as a fit. Now im not sure anymore.
I added an image of the new part next to the old one as well. And the old mount.
Now my take is. because of the lip of the new part i welded it is supposed to face downward. This way there is no way to slip the plate into the rear fender because its bend faces the other direction. So the part seems to be correct after all. Then the only thing which is that this rear fender is wrong for my model. As you can see on the last image there is a gap.
Is my conclusion valid? Did anyone of you guys have the same issue before? Because this would mean i need a new part and BTB is not selling that part anymore...
All the best
So the new bracket is joggled upwards instead of downwards?
Looks like it sits above the bumper rather than below it, which looks cleaner I guess. Don't you just need to grind off a bit of the chassis rail to allow the bumper to slip in above it?
Looks like it sits above the bumper rather than below it, which looks cleaner I guess. Don't you just need to grind off a bit of the chassis rail to allow the bumper to slip in above it?
- Thread starter
- #79
It looks like i would need to free the perch to make it have a spacing so the bumper can slide between.
But look what i found now. On the page of the manufacturer this bracket is bent in the other direction. Im quite certain now i have the wrong part. Comparing mine and the one from the manufacturer, the upwards bend is only in my part and not theirs. And i cant slide mine in because the perch is in the way. So i think ill reorder the parts and write them first.
Quite possibly just a manufacturing mistake. It's easy to get turned about in 3d space in your mind sometimes
