forum newb with FJ60... help point me in the right direction! (14 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jun 29, 2025
Threads
2
Messages
12
Location
Montana
Engineer and long time car guy, mostly working on track cars and race cars. Wanted to get into the 4x4 game and I've always had a soft spot for FJ60's.

Picked this one up locally today, I'm pretty excited about it.

Photo Aug 31 2025, 7 18 33 PM.webp

Photo Aug 31 2025, 5 46 04 PM.webp

536267939_1811231356444850_930511400757093636_n.webp


The bad is that it has some weirdness with the title. While the state title in the previous owner's name and the NMVTIS are clear, the CARFAX shows it as rebuilt. Guess I'll know what I'm in for when I take go into the tag office on Tuesday.

The good news is that the price was right, and the previous owner(s) threw a lot of money at it. It had a new motor in 2017 and a lot of other stuff has been replaced; alternator, battery, thermostat, water pump, plugs and wires, cap, etc. It has lots of aftermarket goodies including an OME suspension. It's in good working condition and drives the way it should.

I need to get a game plan to address the old car stuff that needs to be fixed. The seals on the transfer case and differentials are leaking. There's an exhaust leak at the head, either a manifold or a gasket. There's a hole in the muffler. I'm open to opinions about just replacing with stock parts, or going with an aftermarket header and exhaust. Also open to opinions about de-smogging vs. just keeping it stock, as everything seems to be working very well. I once built a turbo street car without catalytic converters and it was a bad experience... it stunk and gave me headaches.

Looking forward to getting everything baselined and in tip-top shape.
 
Probably most important priority right now- the swing-outs on that rear bumper are almost completely seized and I can't get the tailgate open without a LOT of effort. I need to grease the joints and maybe replace some bearings but I can't figure out how to get the stupid caps off the top.
 
Probably most important priority right now- the swing-outs on that rear bumper are almost completely seized and I can't get the tailgate open without a LOT of effort. I need to grease the joints and maybe replace some bearings but I can't figure out how to get the stupid caps off the top.
Looks like you have 4+ bumper - email them and they can likely send you instructions on how to access (some folks have done that). Or you can drill and tap and create your own grease zerks. I need to do that myself…
 
Thank you. I've spent a couple hours today trying to get those arms off of the 4+ bumper and I've struck out. No combination of penetrating oil, heat, pry bars, big hammers, etc. can get them off there. I took the caps off and I'm just looking at a brass bushing inside of the arm sleeve, which rotate around a spindle. I'm assuming I have to get the assembly to go straight up off of the spindle? I'll call them or e-mail them.
 
I did a desmog and fixed the exhaust manifold leaks on mine this past winter. Along with getting the carb rebuilt by Marks off road it made a Huge difference in performance. Good writeup on dsmog:
 
Thanks everyone. I went to the tag office yesterday and the VIN is indeed clear, so I got a clean title on it (and apparently a pretty good deal). We have ad valorem tax in GA where they tax you at purchase based on the value of the vehicle. He didn’t know what to do with such an old car so he taxed me… $1. I was also (finally) succesful at getting the swing arms off the bumper, thanks to my other thread. The roof rack is very nice, super stable.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom