fj62: out with the auto, in with the crawler

[orangefj45]

last but not least i installed the clutch master cylinder itself. i applied a thin film of black silicone to the outside of the hole i had cut with the hole saw so there would be no chance of fumes or water to get thru, even though i could not see a visible passage.

that's it for this week. next week i will finish the oil pan and rear main seal. then the trans installation will start.

 

[dieselbigot]

Looking good Georg...Can't wait to see how much that 4spd wakes up the 3FE, should really rotate, especially with those dinky 29" tyres

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Georg-This is good clean work. This will be a fine machine once complete. Very interesting about the pedal buckets. It looks easier to buy a 3FE, and adapt to an FJ60, rather than buy an FJ62 and make it an FJ60. I would love to have a 3FE in my FJ60 one day. Good job, talk to you soon.

 

[orangefj45]

thanks andy.
i think either swap would have it's highs and lows. i'd rather start with a 62; there are a lot of other benefits that come along with the rig. power windows, nicer dash (stereo installation?!), .......... and for some reason i like the headlight setup on the 62 better. but to each his own.

 

[chicago]

WOW!
Looks awesome. Youve made some great progress since the last post i had seen!
Im really curious to hear how the 3FE is going to run after this is over, more than anything else.
I know mine is like a tired old dog going up hills on the road! Also having the low gears wouldnt hurt either.
Im assuming that youll have to build another x member, and run new drive shafts?

Nice work George!

Congrats Brett!

Chicago

 

[orangefj45]

yup, i'm looking forward to driving it as well. it'll be interesteing to see how the 3FE does with the standard trans. i've heard from a couple of people who have done this conversion. they all liked it a lot.
as for the x-member, my partner in crime, fc187, will be building a custom unit. it'll act like a cross member, skid plate, trans mount and have a provision for mounting an anit-wrap bar device.
here's a pic of the same thing for an fj40. we've used a fork lift to pick up the whole rig on the skid plate. pretty sturdy to say the least.

 

[orangefj45]

for more of FC's fab work, cages, skid plates, build-ups,... look here:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=93880271

 

[chicago]

yup, i'm looking forward to driving it as well. it'll be interesteing to see how the 3FE does with the standard trans. i've heard from a couple of people who have done this conversion. they all liked it a lot.
as for the x-member, my partner in crime, fc187, will be building a custom unit. it'll act like a cross member, skid plate, trans mount and have a provision for mounting an anit-wrap bar device.
here's a pic of the same thing for an fj40. we've used a fork lift to pick up the whole rig on the skid plate. pretty sturdy to say the least.

Looks nice!
The anti wrap feature will be awesome too, especially for the 62.

Chicago

 

[chicago]

for more of FC's fab work, cages, skid plates, build-ups,... look here:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=93880271

I was looking for a web site at the myspace link, but did not see one...How much is he selling that skid/ x member for with the wrap attachment? That's a pretty bitchin idea!

Chicago

 

[orangefj45]

don aka fc187 (on here and the pbb) builds them one at a time for each application. they all seem to be slightly different. send him a pm, i bet he'll reply.

 

[timsteiny]

Hey, great job...you're giving me flashbacks...I just finished doing that to my 62 (minus the crawler). It feels like a new truck with the manual attached to the 3FE. I'm running 32"s, so you are REALLY going to notice a difference if you are running smaller tires. I'm hoping to swap in an H55f sometime this summer so I can have my OD back.

 

[89s rule]

I have been following this build...looks liek a nice swap.

I have been considerig a manual swap into my 62 when my auto dies. (Its been acting funny, but its time to change the fluids in the trans and TC.)

What I was considering is a SM465 - NP203 - LC spit case.
From what I can tell this could be done and somewhat cheaply [For dual TC's]. (Under $1K)

You can run the SM465 with a 3spd bellhousing right? Which will bolt to a 2F so it should bolt to a 3FE.)
The LC TC would keep my stock offset rear. (How far from centered is a 80 series FF? I could run a D300 twin sticked or a 203-205 doubler with a centered diff.
Anyone see any issues with any of this? I have searched and cannot see where anyone in a 60 series has done this swap, much less a 62.

I am trying to figure out what direction I want to take my 62. Its a great truck, it is just so rusty that I dont think it will ever be the usual DD. (Not that any of my DD have ever been clean and what most people would consider a DD.) At a minimum it is a weekend warrior for wheeling. My commute to work is a 1/2 mile

Maybe I need to make another post about all of these/some of these questions?

 

[Mace]

Dam, I was gonna ask you what you were planning to do with the pedals.. But I think you just convinced me to just cut the clutch pedal off and weld a bigger piece of metal to the brake arm on Bob

 

[orangefj45]

Dam, I was gonna ask you what you were planning to do with the pedals.. But I think you just convinced me to just cut the clutch pedal off and weld a bigger piece of metal to the brake arm on Bob

why cut it when you only need a 14mm wrench and about 60 seconds to remove it?!

the FJ62 brake pedal has a wider pad on it.

 

[orangefj45]

I have been following this build...looks liek a nice swap.

I have been considerig a manual swap into my 62 when my auto dies. (Its been acting funny, but its time to change the fluids in the trans and TC.)

What I was considering is a SM465 - NP203 - LC spit case.
From what I can tell this could be done and somewhat cheaply [For dual TC's]. (Under $1K)

You can run the SM465 with a 3spd bellhousing right? Which will bolt to a 2F so it should bolt to a 3FE.)
The LC TC would keep my stock offset rear. (How far from centered is a 80 series FF? I could run a D300 twin sticked or a 203-205 doubler with a centered diff.
Anyone see any issues with any of this? I have searched and cannot see where anyone in a 60 series has done this swap, much less a 62.

I am trying to figure out what direction I want to take my 62. Its a great truck, it is just so rusty that I dont think it will ever be the usual DD. (Not that any of my DD have ever been clean and what most people would consider a DD.) At a minimum it is a weekend warrior for wheeling. My commute to work is a 1/2 mile

Maybe I need to make another post about all of these/some of these questions?

sounds like a plan to me. i'd run the 465-203-split case setup for multiple reasons:
weight (yeah, i know, i know...)
gearing (the 205 is only 1.96:1)
cost (you already have a split case and the 32 spline 205s are not cheap)
diff offset (although with that long a driveline you'll be ok)
.......

the difference in offset from a 60 to an 80 housing are negligeable (sp?!) so i would'nt worry about that.
if you decide to do it, then definetly start a write-up thread about it! a beefy x-member will pay dividends with all that weight hanging off the back of the engine.

 

[Mace]

Even easier

 

[orangefj45]

another update!

well, it's a few days late but here goes. i strted working on cleaning up the gasket surfaces for the engine oil pan last thursday. got most of that taken care of. in the process i smashed my head into the spring hanger (on my blind side of course) and then i screwed up the rear main seal trying to install it. i called the dealer; special order and would'nt be here until tuesday. so i called a few other places with not much more luck. called the dealer back, ordered the $52 seal and decided to walk away from the project instead of working on it when i really was'nt in the mood.

stopped by the dealer today on my way to the shop and picked up the new seal. i had cleaned up the oil pan over the weekend and was looking forward to getting things going today. got to the shop, cleaned up the rest of the oil pan gasket surface and painted the pan. then i anxiously went to install the rear main and it went in perfectly on the first shot.
my gramps used to have an old saying for situations like this:
"the sun shines on a dog's ass every once in a while". today was that day. after getting the rear main installed i cleaned up the block and oil pan surfaces with some break clean. i had already cleaned the bolts so i proceeded to spray the gasket and block with a layer of permayes copper gasket adhesive. good stuff. let that air dry for a minute and then stuck the gasket to the block after putting a couple of small dabe of "right stuff" black silicone in the corners of the gasket. i brought the oil pan to it's desired position and installed the first few bolts. they went in almost too easy and so did the rest of them. finally things were going according to plan. after roughly 30 minutes i had the bolts tightened in sequence per the dealer workshop manual and the pan was done. time for a snack.

 

[orangefj45]

the bell housing was next. i had cleaned and painted it previously so all i had to do was to find the proper bolts from the FJ60 donor rig. i had already degreased and wire wheeled them so they were good to go as well. a little drop of blue loctite and i was off to the races.

 

[orangefj45]

the flywheel was next. i had the donor unit from the FJ60 as well but the clutch itself had a lot of miles on it so i opted for a new LUK clutch. this kit came complete with a new disc, a new pressure plate, a new pilot bearing (made in the USA), and a new throw-out bearing (made in the USA also). i'm not too fond of the chinese bearings.......
anyways, i had the flywheel resurfaced last week to make sure it would'nt hold me up when i got to this point. cleaned up the bolts, sprayed some brake clean on them to make sure all the grease was gone and applied a bead of anerobic sealant to the threads. since the bolt holes go all the way thru the back of the crank sealant needs to be applied or engine oil can and will leak thru them.
installed the flywheel, torqued the bolts to specs.

 

[orangefj45]

the clutch assy was next. first i grabbed a new shop rag and sprayed some brake clean on it. then i wiped down the flywheel and the clutch surface of the pressure plate. this is an important step because both these surfaces are coated in a lubricant that needs to be cleaned off. otherwise you end up with a slipping clutch and it'll smell pretty funky for a few miles.
the clutch kit came with an alignment tool so the install was a sinch. i sequentially torqued down the pressure plate bolts. it's important not to over-torque these because they will snap easily. i've seen this time and again when i worked at a transmission shop. no fun.