Frame off order of operations (1 Viewer)

[fjgdk]

What is the "order of operations" one should do to take apart a 1983 FJ60 for some major overhaul work ? I see the "major" jobs, the details of which I can search for in other threads, as :
1) removal of engine/tranny/front end
2) removal of axles
3) removal of frame from body

If there are some other "major" jobs needed to take apart the truck please let me know. But what I am seeking is simply what order I should take things apart in to make the process easy and as painless as possible ?

A bit of background:

If all goes well next month I will finally have clear 300 square foot garage to work in for the upcoming year or so. I want to take the whole thing apart (frame off, axles off, engine and tranny out) for a major overhaul including blazing and powder coating the frame and axles, body paint job, engine and tranny work, leaf springs etc. etc...

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Bonac FJ60]

Subscribed as I will be doing this also. Probably not until next winter.

The plan in my head was to remove he body first. Then remove motor/trans etc from the rolling chassis.

 

[60Works]

Depends on your facilities and tooling and the desired end result.

If you have a lift capable of lifting the body off the frame high enough to clear the engine, start with that (#3).

For most garage restorations you'll want to pull the engine and transmission first, then lift the body off. Some people have repainted the body with the front clip still attached.

If you're really tight on space and will probably need to remove the front clip, then remove the engine/transmission, then doors, etc.

In all cases, you will want to wait to remove the axles until after you've split the body/frame. This keeps the chassis mobile to roll out from under the lifted body. It's possible to strip a rolling chassis down to just the frame in a couple of hours with an impact and a pry bar. A stripped frame can be moved by 3 stout people.

 

[fjgdk]

Depends on your facilities and tooling and the desired end result.

If you have a lift capable of lifting the body off the frame high enough to clear the engine, start with that (#3).

For most garage restorations you'll want to pull the engine and transmission first, then lift the body off. Some people have repainted the body with the front clip still attached.

If you're really tight on space and will probably need to remove the front clip, then remove the engine/transmission, then doors, etc.

In all cases, you will want to wait to remove the axles until after you've split the body/frame. This keeps the chassis mobile to roll out from under the lifted body. It's possible to strip a rolling chassis down to just the frame in a couple of hours with an impact and a pry bar. A stripped frame can be moved by 3 stout people.

View attachment 1613664

View attachment 1613665

Thanks for the response, this is helpful.

A couple questions:

0) Without a lift, what is the best way to lift the body ?
1) What is the setup you have in the pictures that is holding up the body ? It doesn't look like a formal lift nor is it simply cinder blocks.
2) If I separate the body and put it on blocks etc., what is the best way to transport it to a painter ?
3) What do I have to do to disconnect the fuel system from everything ? It sounds like the most dangerous part.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Call me jerk but man, the trouble you had w/ simply pulling the air pump. Say you’ll have someone to assist you on this huge endeavor?

 

[fjgdk]

Call me jerk but man, the trouble you had w/ simply pulling the air pump. Say you’ll have someone to assist you on this huge endeavor?

I don't rush through things because my truck isn't a daily driver. Lost the bushing for the rear of the air pump bracket, as well as tried to find an adequate replacement (material/bend) for the air pump hose. I'll take a month to do a two hour job if I don't have the right parts or information.

 

[mattressking]

Call me jerk but man, the trouble you had w/ simply pulling the air pump. Say you’ll have someone to assist you on this huge endeavor?

 

[fjgdk]

Call me jerk but man, the trouble you had w/ simply pulling the air pump. Say you’ll have someone to assist you on this huge endeavor?

MUD will assist me.

Also I don't order replacement parts until I'm completely ready to re-install everything. I don't know what I'll need until the decomposition is done. I had my whole front axle apart for 6 months doing my first birf job. Took everything apart, blasted and coated everything. Ordered new OEM caliper pistons for $10-$15 a piece and rebuilt and coated them. I'll take the time to do things right, which means "figure out" then "do", rather than just "do", which usually causes alot more problems.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Hey well if you got a birf done then I’ll zip it and apologize. Just seemed like that smog pump really baffled you, that’s all. My apologizes for putting my loud opinion out there.

 

[fjgdk]

Hey well if you got a birf done then I’ll zip it and apologize. Just seemed like that smog pump really baffled you, that’s all. My apologizes for putting my loud opinion out there.

If you remember the smog pump job you were getting on me for that when I was doing it, saying "analysis paralysis" and "just get it done", until I showed you what I was dealing with and then you realized you weren't meeting with all the smog crap in the way that I was and saw the mess.

FYI, I've done quite a bit of work on various cars, not just the birf on my Cruiser. BECUASE I've worked on other more complex things is why I don't "just do it", if you get some experience you realize that doing things without thinking them through doesn't really solve much, but only makes things worse.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Pave the way then man. I’ll zip it and follow.

 

[60Works]

A couple questions:

0) Without a lift, what is the best way to lift the body ?

In the average 2 car garage, I'd recommend removing everything from the body; seats, glass, dash, etc. Everything that will need to be removed to paint. This will make it light enough for 5-6 people to lift it by hand. Or by a 2 ton shop crane attached to the front seat belt bolt holes. You'll want to read Kevin Roland's build thread for specifics. That guy is one of my heros.

1) What is the setup you have in the pictures that is holding up the body ? It doesn't look like a formal lift nor is it simply cinder blocks.

I wouldn't recommend doing what I did. I built 4 wooden stands each with one rounded corner and spanned them with fence posts. Then used a floor jack to lift the body enough to get the posts under the body. The rounded corners became cams to rotate the 4 stands simultaneously. This moved the body back and up at the same time. They then served as stands until the chassis went back under. It would have worked better if I had attached the body to the post at the seat belt holes. I used them twice and the first time we had height constraints.

2) If I separate the body and put it on blocks etc., what is the best way to transport it to a painter ?

Transport it on the chassis. There's no other low tech safe way to do it. Once the body is at the painter you can bring the chassis back if you need it.

3) What do I have to do to disconnect the fuel system from everything ? It sounds like the most dangerous part.

Undo the hoses at the tank and elevate them so they wont siphon what fuel is still in the tank. You might want to drain the tank prior via the drain plug on the bottom. New gaskets should still be available. The lines and hoses will all have a small amount of residual to catch on disassembly.

Good luck. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to refurbish Frankie. The amount of storage space required to hold all the pieces until reassembly is surprising. Photograph everything, every little step of the way and label hundreds of zip lock bags for the hardware.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I’ll just mention that I did the fuel pump in my Nissan the other day. I didn’t siphon gas out. Tank was at about 1/4 full. It was stinky but not too tough. Access was under the back seat through a small panel. I had to reach in (used double gloves) to open up a plastic harness thing that held the pump. Maybe stupidity played its part in the fact I just went ahead and did it w/o too much anxiety.
@Juggernaught does a great job to help guide you.
Again, it’s good to understand a future task thoroughly but sometimes reading tons, for me, just causes me more anxiety.

 

[fjgdk]

Thanks for the reply and info.
There are several threads I've gone through on standing the frame and body. There is one in particular about building a "rotisserie" which I won't be doing since I won't be doing the painting.

1) What is the setup you have in the pictures that is holding up the body ? It doesn't look like a formal lift nor is it simply cinder blocks.

I wouldn't recommend doing what I did. I built 4 wooden stands each with one rounded corner and spanned them with fence posts. Then used a floor jack to lift the body enough to get the posts under the body. The rounded corners became cams to rotate the 4 stands simultaneously. This moved the body back and up at the same time. They then served as stands until the chassis went back under. It would have worked better if I had attached the body to the post at the seat belt holes. I used them twice and the first time we had height constraints.

Can you take more close up pictures of this set-up you describe ? I don't quite get how the rounded corners work.

There are several threads I've gone through on standing the frame and body. There is one in particular about building a "rotisserie" which I won't be doing since I won't be doing the painting.

2) If I separate the body and put it on blocks etc., what is the best way to transport it to a painter ?

Transport it on the chassis. There's no other low tech safe way to do it. Once the body is at the painter you can bring the chassis back if you need it.

So does this means the order of ops should be 1, send to painter for body painting, get back and separate frame/axles from painted body, do the rest of the work ?

3) What do I have to do to disconnect the fuel system from everything ? It sounds like the most dangerous part.

Undo the hoses at the tank and elevate them so they wont siphon what fuel is still in the tank. You might want to drain the tank prior via the drain plug on the bottom. New gaskets should still be available. The lines and hoses will all have a small amount of residual to catch on disassembly.

Good luck. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to refurbish Frankie. The amount of storage space required to hold all the pieces until reassembly is surprising. Photograph everything, every little step of the way and label hundreds of zip lock bags for the hardware.

Isn't there some sort of tar or other insulating safety goo surrounding the fuel tank ? What are some of the things I should do to the tank while it is off in terms of painting/fixing etc. if there are no holes or rust on it ?

 

[fjgdk]

Well it looks like I'll have the garage in two Mondays from now, about 600 ft^2. Gotta move fast on doing alot of the work. I will have some time off from work and the rent is pricey but it is month to month, so I will be concentrating on this much more once I get the garage so I can get done most of what I want that requires a ton of space and then get out.

I got some quotes from powder coaters in the area and it seems that I can get the chassis blasted and coated for $500 bucks from them.

I am still weary of blasting the axles or anything with seals that can be penetrated with fine abrasive. Any thoughts on how to coat the axles ?

Also, I'd like to keep the setup as stock as possible; unfortunately Toyota doesn't seem to sell OEM leaf springs anymore. I've never worked on suspension before; is OME pretty much my best option ? Can I get my leaves restored ? Does painting the leaves distort the tolerances such that the suspension won't work as intended ?

Lastly, what should I look for in a painter ? Should the underside of the body get done ? It looks like the underside is covered in some black tar (not RUST!) that I may not want to remove. Any thoughts ?

 

[mongoose2231]

I'm 'bout to start doing the same thing.
Good luck with yours!!!

 

[JLRockJr]

This thread has been helpful. I am about to start this process too. I have have the OME suspension kit as well as axle rebuild kits ready to go. I’ve been going back and forth on options but the engine hoist attached to seat belt bolt locations with doors, hood, etc removed seems like the best option. My plan is to have the body back on a finished rolling chassis ready to go for paint.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Pallet rack can be found pretty cheap. A pair of 10 tall by 8 wide bays could swing a body up with ease. I did mine with a pair of saw horses, a 2”x 8’ pipe, a pair of high lifts jacks, the cherry picker on the rear sill, about six beers and 2 friends.

 

[lovetoski]

Also, I'd like to keep the setup as stock as possible; unfortunately Toyota doesn't seem to sell OEM leaf springs anymore. I've never worked on suspension before; is OME pretty much my best option ? Can I get my leaves restored ? Does painting the leaves distort the tolerances such that the suspension won't work as intended ?

I think there are variations on the OME springs that can get you close to OEM ride height. It is possible to re-arch springs, but it's not a long-term solution to saggy springs.

 

[fjgdk]

I think there are variations on the OME springs that can get you close to OEM ride height. It is possible to re-arch springs, but it's not a long-term solution to saggy springs.

The rust on the springs is my initial comcern with them. The sag is too, as I am contemplating pulling a small (6x10, 1500 lbs) cargo trailer turned camper with the truck. What OME variations would get me close to oem ?