First Vehicle to work on - FJ40 (2 Viewers)

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I don’t have a 1980 or 1982 but my 1974 I did similar repair to and it fit like this:
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I don’t have a 1980 or 1982 but my 1974 I did similar repair to and it fit like this
Thank you so much for this!

So it seems the older years had the plate inside while the new years had it screwed on from the bottom. I wonder why this is. But im also going for this exact repair now! Thanks again so im 100% sure now mine was wrong.
 
Well after a lot of fiddling and discussing with the vendor it is different once again. It actually do mount it from the bottom and i got it now figured out. The holes which were predrilled are not all correct so i need some new holes in that rear fender. But i finally got it assembled and this or next week a certified welder is coming to weld it. So looking forward to that.

Im now preparing everything for sandblasting which is part of the frame. So when this is done i can finally put the frame and axles back together and put some tires onto it. This way i can start to rebuild it. Still a ton of work to do but i think one step at the time.

Started to disassemble the axles as well. Found some rust inside the rear one. So not too happy about it. Got to dissect it further to see if its very bad.

There is still a discussion ongoing with some local car restorers. Each one has a different opinion. Im still unsure what to do with the parts which are riveted to the frame. Some say i need to powder coat first, then rivet all together. Another guy says i primer the surfaces where the parts are connected and rivet them and then powder coat it. An some just say both is wrong but have no other solution. This is somewhat out of my league as i have no clue... Haha, maybe one of you guys knows how its done...

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Another guy says i primer the surfaces where the parts are connected and rivet them and then powder coat it.
This sounds about right. The primer offers some protection to the bare metal. Then rivet it together and then paint or powder coat.
Not sure about powder coat on the frame as it will get chipped up from rocks and stuff. A good epoxy coating can be touched up easily, powder coat not so much. It’s your preference of course. Pick a solution and go with it.
The axles don’t look terrible main thing is the sealing surface near the flange is not grooved and the splines are not worn the rest is cosmetic, other than replacing the studs .
You are making great progress.
 
Another guy says i primer the surfaces where the parts are connected and rivet them and then powder coat it.
This sounds about right. The primer offers some protection to the bare metal. Then rivet it together and then paint or powder coat.
Not sure about powder coat on the frame as it will get chipped up from rocks and stuff. A good epoxy coating can be touched up easily, powder coat not so much. It’s your preference of course. Pick a solution and go with it.
The axles don’t look terrible main thing is the sealing surface near the flange is not grooved and the splines are not worn the rest is cosmetic, other than replacing the studs .
You are making great progress.
Totally agree. Primer. Rivet then do final coat - powder in your case.

I’d pay special attention to the rear spring perches (fixed side) I found out prone to crack. Easer to do the fix now vs the mess mine is in now.
 
Here is an example all galled up. It made the grinding noise spinning the rear wheel.

Had I put new bearing on and kept it, still have the grinding noise. So ended up sourcing new ones

Hope this helps what to look for

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I will spare you the boredom I’m of my thread and post a pic…

Look both side of the frame around the perches where they attach - the crack was hard to see at first when we (Ian @RevISK and others) At Solid Axle Summit in August first found it

This is what it looked like. See the faint discoloration following the top of the perch… could really see it inside the frame - but who looks there routinely? Not Ian and I when we got mountains to climb and swill beer up top.

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Another guy says i primer the surfaces where the parts are connected and rivet them and then powder coat it.
This sounds about right. The primer offers some protection to the bare metal. Then rivet it together and then paint or powder coat.
Not sure about powder coat on the frame as it will get chipped up from rocks and stuff. A good epoxy coating can be touched up easily, powder coat not so much. It’s your preference of course. Pick a solution and go with it.
The axles don’t look terrible main thing is the sealing surface near the flange is not grooved and the splines are not worn the rest is cosmetic, other than replacing the studs .
You are making great progress.

Thanks! Appreciate it. Gives extra motivation to see finally there is a plan which i can stick to.

Here is an example all galled up. It made the grinding noise spinning the rear wheel.

Had I put new bearing on and kept it, still have the grinding noise. So ended up sourcing new ones

Hope this helps what to look for

I've just checked. No rust on them! So i can proceed with the shafts. Quite happy about that. I think even the bearings could be good. I will see later today.

Also no crack. Thanks that would have been devastating. To coat everything then see this. I hope i inspected everything fairly good.



About the coating. I guess there is a whole discussion somewhere? Or am i wrong? Im not quite sure as i understand when powder coat is broken its a massive amount of work. but overall its more durable i read. Hmm tough one...

Also people seem to dislike POR. Im searching for something simple where i can paint parts like the tie rods or the differential part with the gears attached which i wont separate so i cant coat it. Just some regular appliance for some of the parts i wont be coating by a professional. What are your thoughts about stoneguard paint?
 
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At a minimum a major flush. What's the condition of the center pin where the spiders ride? You can see what the backlash is with a dial indicator, then pull the carrier to see what the side bearings look like. You'll be able to spin pinion too. If you're fine with them just re-set the backlash to what it was.
Or check backlash, check the pattern and clean things up, replace the bearings. Set it back up the way it was or find another 3rd member and clean the inside of the housing.
 
At a minimum a major flush. What's the condition of the center pin where the spiders ride? You can see what the backlash is with a dial indicator, then pull the carrier to see what the side bearings look like. You'll be able to spin pinion too. If you're fine with them just re-set the backlash to what it was.
Or check backlash, check the pattern and clean things up, replace the bearings. Set it back up the way it was or find another 3rd member and clean the inside of the housing.
I unfortunately only recieved the service manual yesterday and just took it appart without any measurement. Overall i think it must be fine its 65'000 km only on this car but i will measure the backlash of the pinion once i receive the dial indicator tool as this is still assembled.

The pin is rust free and looks very good. In general i think its mostly surface rust and hope to have it cleaned enough to make it work with these parts again. But i probably will dissect it because i dont know how else i can properly clean it. I will have to do it at a later stage as i need to get things ready for sandblasting and coating. Lets hope the other differential is fine.
 
I have a question about treating the inner side of the differential. I was reading i could use ospho in another thread. But when doing some research i found out that ospho leaves a residue which probably attack the differential fluids.

Any tips on how to get the rust to stop without having this issue?
 
I have a question about treating the inner side of the differential. I was reading i could use ospho in another thread. But when doing some research i found out that ospho leaves a residue which probably attack the differential fluids.

Any tips on how to get the rust to stop without having this issue?
If you clean it all out and reseal everything with new gaskets, I would think the diff fluid would be more than fine for rust abatement.

It looked like the seals gave and water got in, yeah?
 
If you clean it all out and reseal everything with new gaskets, I would think the diff fluid would be more than fine for rust abatement.

It looked like the seals gave and water got in, yeah?
Yes there was a leak on the seal. I have a better picture attached. So i clean this mechanically and let it sit? Its a bit more than i thought after all.

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Stuff some rags into the axle opening and go after the rust with a powered wire brush or one of those rust buster pads on a mandrel , then hose it out with like brake cleaner. I think clean bare metal would be a better surface than any paint which would have a hard time sticking to oil soaked metal. If you bake and shot blast then paint could be ok
 

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