Yeah makes a difference when they are working properly huh! When I first got BeBe mine were so frozen that I could still DRIVE with the brake pulled a full 9 clicks. Went through and rehab'd everything and now she holds on a good downhill.
totally agree. definitely worth the time to fix them
on another note I had a funny experience. I took my son to kids club and on the way in my horn started to short out. it just kept honking. turns out that there were two screws that backed out and shorted past the insulators. I didn't have a screw driver to fix it right there. as I was leaving after club time it kept honking. everyone around just waved at me as though I was saying good night by honking. I had the friendliest truck there that night for sure!! it's now fixed
went to a wrecker to get some wheel hubs for my 40 build and ran across a totalled fj62 they were hoping to sell the whole thing but no buyers so they said they'd start parting it out. i get first dibs!! i got both side view mirrors for $40 each (thats about $2 US i think right now). they have no cracks and the chrome is all in good shape. way better than mine right now. mine look pretty beat up though the electronics still all work. i also got a few other odds and ends too. hopefully i'll keep knocking off the little things here and there as i go and get this truck ALL working again.
i also talked to curt at cruiser outfitters. my new engine i think is heavier than the 3fe (hard to believe) but my front is lower and stinking bugging worse than before. i need add a leafs in my front pack to balance things out i think. OME D1XL to make them heavy plus springs. $40 each US this time. still not bad but it'll $200 probably with exchange and shipping. oh well.
so it seems that there are a bunch of wankers out there watching their email boxes instead of working. wagongear had a few tail gate kids ready to sell and by the time I responded like half and hour later they were all gone!! how's a guy supposed to fix up his rig is the other guys out there keep getting all the good stuff!!
got to work on heaters a little today. i haven't had heat since the 1hdt was swapped in and it hit -40C the last couple days. I've had just enough convection heat to get the windows clear. the rear heater was blowing pure cold. i found some hose routing problems and re routed them. i get the rear heater blowing hot but the front isn't. i know there was a loose cable in dash on the heat control so infixed that finally. i know that the valve on the fire wall is fully open. there is one cable from the heat slide that goes to that valve. what does the second cable do? that was the one that was loose and not sliding properly in the sheath so wonder if that played a roll. i haven't had time to drive it since fixing that cable. next will be wiring! i have no back up lights and one of the door switches doesn't work. lots of these little things to do yet.
as a side note the diesel is so much fun to drive. by now means a speed demon but i can to 110km/hr comfortable and i've doubled my fuel mielage. i haven't towed with it yet but i can tell there is way more torque so pulling won't be a problem. so far i am very happy with the swap. still getting to know the engine and i have to get a proper heater in it for winter starts. i have a we bast waiting to go in but just haven't had time to do the job. it starts at -25C with some complaining without being plugged in which is amazing to me. it smokes like a volcano for a few minutes but then runs fine. i don't like doing that to it but for now i don't have much of an option
well the truck is moving along little by little. I've booked in for body work hopefully the end of April. my wife is quite keen on changing the color to sand from the blue grey. I like both a lot but wonder how the grey interior would look with the sand. anyone have pictures or experience with this combination. does it work? Google doesn't have much for pictures with the combination. just individual colours son different trucks. my interior is still good so don't want the expense of changing it to brown
a few more things got checked off this week. my front heater core was plugged so it got flushed and heater cables were adjusted. the a/c compressor line was needing a fitting on the end so the hood could close without bending it so that got done at the same time and the system is now charged. I got the proper fuel filter on and now it's gtting the exhaust system built. hopefully they'll be able to route things without having too much hanging down to catch on stuff. I get it back Monday. it'll be nice having stuff working properly
picked it up today and man is it nice having a working front heater. 50 degree difference from pre flush to after!! that will be noticeable. ac also all fixed up and new exhaust installed so it sounds great and now shoots the fumes out behind the truck instead of out under the passenger rear door. I think that actually takes care of all mechanical stuff!! now just body and accessories!!
so last week I was loading up groceries at Costco and a young couple was raving about how cool the fj62 was. the funny thing was that the while time I was trying to get my lift gate to catch. the mechanism has been sticking and the push button would get stuck in the pushed in position too.
so I took it all apart on Sunday which was way easier than I thought it would be. I cleaned it all up in my parts washer and some brake cleaner and then fluid filmed it. works like a charm. it's amazing how a little crud makes a big difference in how the locks work. the tumbler is still stuck so I can't lock it. when it goes in for body work next month I'll pull them out and take them to a locksmith for a refurb. it's just nice to be able to get my rear gate to latch without slamming it a bunch or wiggling the push button
well the big old boy in the first page of my thread is now gone. i had to put my pal down which has made for a crappy week. we travelled in the cruiser for thousands of miles and added three kids in the time he was around. i'm gonna miss him for sure
ordered some sliders and a tranny skid plate today from cruisin off-road. finally my wife will have something she can use to step up into the truck.
I also was having troubles with my rear bumper swing outs. they keep freezing up and is a real nuisance to open. I talked to dave gore and he said I should use 3 in 1 oil or wd40 instead of grease. the oils shouldn't trap dust the way grease does. well I also drilled and tapped a small hole between the brass bushings so I can squirt oil in and get it to soak into the bottom bushing. otherwise I'd have to take the swing arms off every time they needed oiling. I then screwed a set screw in with some silicone around it so it is sealed and shouldn't rattle out. hopefully this will make servicing easier
yeah it's hard to see a long time pal go but it's part of having them. it's funny that when you first get them they're just a pet but at some point they really become a family member. we've got a lot of good memories with him. he had a good life exploring much of Canada with us.
for anyone who reads my thread can you direct me towards a venting fuel cap. i have the original gas fuel cap and it doesn't allow venting to prevent vacuum in the tank. with my new diesel i think I'm having tank vacuum issues that is causing some intermittent starvation. i'm going to try driving with out my cap for a bit to confirm this but i wondered if the diesel 60s had a venting cap or is there some aftermarket cap that would work. i'd love to keep the stock looking cap. little original things keep some of the charm of course!
just got back from a road trip. my wife and i left the kids with my parents and drove to lake louise to celebrate out 10th anniversary. we played in some mud with her family, later got pulled over in alberta for not having mud flaps (i had washed the truck by then too), went skiing and then picked up a new puppy on our way home. it was a great trip.
then got home and ordered some parts from beno. still have to try to find my mud flaps again...grrr. also likely going to be ordering a snorkel after sucking a little water into the filter (that worried me a little). i've been wanting to get one anyway but this was the push. hopefully this week i'll get my tail gate lid and start making some decisions about colour and what chrome to delete with the upcoming body job.
). they have no cracks and the chrome is all in good shape. way better than mine right now. mine look pretty beat up though the electronics still all work. i also got a few other odds and ends too. hopefully i'll keep knocking off the little things here and there as i go and get this truck ALL working again.
