Builds Gen. Waverly

[majdomo]

Couple items on my "work from home" day. Replaced the rear speakers with these Kenwoods that were on a Black Friday sale at Best Buy, they fit the stock mounts and are a little bit smaller in diameter than the stock speakers, so the stock grilles are a little bit loose. A couple strips of electrical tape fixed that right up. Sound great for $40 on sale.

Next was the charcoal fuel vapor canister, to solve my loud "whooshing" when opening the filler cap. Going to monitor next few days and after a fill-up to make sure it solved the problem. This works fine with the stock brackets, but it's bigger in diameter so needs some longer bolts to clamp it in. Also, it's made of cheap-ish plastic, so don't gorilla the brackets down - just needs enough to make sure it doesn't fall out. Will also need a length of fuel hose and a screw clamp to attach it to the air vent line, since the air vent on this unit is on top instead of on the bottom. It's a little cheaper than the venerable VC120, however. Here's the search term on Amazon: Hugall Fuel Evap Charcoal Vapor Canister ‎911-261 215-153 17056542 17113148

As an added treat, I'm now starting to see the AT temp light come on after going up some steep grades. Since we live in the foothills, it is coming on intermittently. I checked the fluid and levels are good, ATF doesn't smell burnt and it's a nice pink color. I'd like to check the routing of the lines and the condition of the fittings before ordering the Hayden 679 kit, as I'm a bit worried that the AN fittings coming off the trans are so rusted that trying to remove them will be impossible without destroying them. Basically I need to figure out if I can extend them to reach the external cooler without messing with the fittings coming off the trans.

Other stuff - dash pad is on order from Black Hawk Japan, will also be measuring for a rear driveshaft, and will be getting after the seatbelts in the next few weeks through Safetyrestore. New shocks should show up in the next few days, however I'm also now concerned about the condition of the springs since it seems to bottom out all the time. Will assess in the next few weeks once shocks are replaced, and if I need springs, will go with stock ride height and rebound. I'm also looking for options on shoulder belts for the rear seats, for kiddo safety.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mudders!

 

[RevISK]

Couple items on my "work from home" day. Replaced the rear speakers with these Kenwoods that were on a Black Friday sale at Best Buy, they fit the stock mounts and are a little bit smaller in diameter than the stock speakers, so the stock grilles are a little bit loose. A couple strips of electrical tape fixed that right up. Sound great for $40 on sale.

View attachment 3489301

Next was the charcoal fuel vapor canister, to solve my loud "whooshing" when opening the filler cap. Going to monitor next few days and after a fill-up to make sure it solved the problem. This works fine with the stock brackets, but it's bigger in diameter so needs some longer bolts to clamp it in. Also, it's made of cheap-ish plastic, so don't gorilla the brackets down - just needs enough to make sure it doesn't fall out. Will also need a length of fuel hose and a screw clamp to attach it to the air vent line, since the air vent on this unit is on top instead of on the bottom. It's a little cheaper than the venerable VC120, however. Here's the search term on Amazon: Hugall Fuel Evap Charcoal Vapor Canister ‎911-261 215-153 17056542 17113148

View attachment 3489307

As an added treat, I'm now starting to see the AT temp light come on after going up some steep grades. Since we live in the foothills, it is coming on intermittently. I checked the fluid and levels are good, ATF doesn't smell burnt and it's a nice pink color. I'd like to check the routing of the lines and the condition of the fittings before ordering the Hayden 679 kit, as I'm a bit worried that the AN fittings coming off the trans are so rusted that trying to remove them will be impossible without destroying them. Basically I need to figure out if I can extend them to reach the external cooler without messing with the fittings coming off the trans.

Other stuff - dash pad is on order from Black Hawk Japan, will also be measuring for a rear driveshaft, and will be getting after the seatbelts in the next few weeks through Safetyrestore. New shocks should show up in the next few days, however I'm also now concerned about the condition of the springs since it seems to bottom out all the time. Will assess in the next few weeks once shocks are replaced, and if I need springs, will go with stock ride height and rebound. I'm also looking for options on shoulder belts for the rear seats, for kiddo safety.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mudders!

The 62 I have here has 3-point belts installed in the back. I can take pictures of how they were installed if you want.

I don’t think new shocks are going to do much for tired springs, I’d suggest doing shocks and springs at the same time. I just did a full suspension on the 62 and the ride is now as close to sublime as these trucks can be.

Thanks for the info on the canister, looks like a good alternative.

 

[majdomo]

The 62 I have here has 3-point belts installed in the back. I can take pictures of how they were installed if you want.

Yes please! I've found 3 options so far - belts from a 62 that had them, but that requires buying the belts and the under-window trim pieces. Non-retractable shoulder extensions which attach to the existing lap belt, will work but I have non-retractable shoulder belts in the '02 and they are not all that comfortable. Or, one of the aftermarket seat belt providers has a retractable shoulder belt that has an external reel which is bolted in through the wheel well. This looks promising but unsure of whether that will pull through the sheet metal in a wreck, may just need reinforcement. EDIT - was through Seat Belt Planet, link here.

I don’t think new shocks are going to do much for tired springs, I’d suggest doing shocks and springs at the same time. I just did a full suspension on the 62 and the ride is now as close to sublime as these trucks can be.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. These springs still have a small amount of curve, and the only time it bottoms out is going over speed bumps. But yeah, would do them now if I hadn't just dropped coin on a dash pad.. cosmetics first you know..

Thanks for the info on the canister, looks like a good alternative.

 

[RevISK]

Here is the essentials of the mounting. It is done with grade 10 bolts and some hefty fender washers through the wheel wells. I think spread out between the three mounting points it’s plenty strong. My thought is that if you’re in a collision bad enough to rip those out you’ve got much bigger problems.

Let me know if you want any other pictures.

 

[majdomo]

Here is the essentials of the mounting. It is done with grade 10 bolts and some hefty fender washers through the wheel wells. I think spread out between the three mounting points it’s plenty strong. My thought is that if you’re in a collision bad enough to rip those out you’ve got much bigger problems.

Let me know if you want any other pictures.

Thanks, looks good. I'd be interested if the fixed end could be mounted on the outboard location of the OEM belts? Were these from SeatBelts Plus? How do you like them?

 

[majdomo]

Fun morning of electrical projects! First up, the horn replacement project. Recall that the horn on the 62 is negative switched, but the horns that I pulled at the 'yard are positive switched and ground to the chassis. I'm not all that great when it comes to electrical stuff, but my Google Fu is top-rate. Here's a schematic, using some Hella 4-post relays, crediting the12volt.com for the graphic.

So here we go, wired up and ready to go.

Here's the installation point. On the 62, there are two holes in the front clips just behind the headlights and outboard. Photo before install, this is the driver's side.

And a comparison of the old next to the new, before installation.

And finally installed. You have to do this 2x, not a big deal and not exactly expensive. $8 for relays from Amazon and I think the horns were $16 from the junkyard. They are much louder than the stock horns, which is important for dealing with the idiots on the road who can't seem to notice a big a$$ Land Cruiser coming at them.

 

[majdomo]

Next was a super special Skunk Works (TM @ToyotaMatt) installation of a new harness for the headlights. Reading up across Mud, found this kit that is meant for the FJ40 and FJ60, to add H4 halogens without breaking the bank. My bet was that it would work just great with my sealed low-beams only, so I purchased this kit through the dealer for CHEAP and just used the harness. I have the round H4s if anyone needs them for the cost of the ride. Here's the part number.

The harness is of typically excellent Toyota OEM quality, and made quick work of getting more voltages to the headlights. Now, when I'm ready to spend more on some rectangular H4s, I'm ready to roll with the right amount of power. There are 2 relays that need to be installed as part of this harness, here's where I installed mine, YMMV but this was pretty trick.

Here's a shot mid-install. This was pretty easy, but one caveat is that it doesn't appear that the high beam indicator light on the dash works now, which was not totally unexpected. However, it's a small trade for lights that are brighter than a wet candle at night.

The kit comes with plenty of nice zip ties, which I used to secure the harness to the front rad support. I also have some flush cut nippers to trim them down nice and neat, highly recommended so that you don't create a razor-sharp edge when trimming the excess off your zip ties. (Credit to David Freiburger and Roadkill for that one.)

One last project was to replace some of those old tension fit clamps on the vent hoses from the gas tank with worm screw clamps. Some of those hoses are slightly bigger ID than the fittings, which has been causing some leaking down the passenger side with a full tank of gas. Hoping that solves most of the leaking for now.

I also reinstalled the aftermarket fuel tank sender unit, which upon comparison with the OEM one, had a float that was way too long. The ohm range was correct, however, and the fuel gauge response when hooked up to rig outside the tank was perfect. Didn't take any photos, but I basically just straightened out all the bends in the wire arm, removed the float, removed about 6" of the arm and re-bent it using the OEM one as a template. 30 minutes with a hammer, vice, and Dremel later, and we were in business.

Lots of good tech today, time to rest and relax for the remainder of the weekend.

 

[RevISK]

Thanks, looks good. I'd be interested if the fixed end could be mounted on the outboard location of the OEM belts? Were these from SeatBelts Plus? How do you like them?

No idea what brand these are, came on the truck.
The OG lap belts are still installed.

I think where they installed the business end of these 3-points makes sense.

 

[majdomo]

Post Black Friday parts haul. Dash pad, rear bumper, taillight lenses and more!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Bring in ON John !

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- inspiration and plug & play instructions bellow .....

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[majdomo]

EAST COAST RIGS….

New one here from Proffitt’s.

Just filled with gas and seems like it’s good. I also replaced the aftermarket filler hose that my guy put in with OEM, and no more leaks.

Other stuff - replaced both of the taillight lenses with OEM and replaced the antenna that my guy bent, looks much better now. Will get to the bumper probably over the holiday break, since I want to POR-15 the bumper support and need the rig to sit a day or two while it dries.

 

[majdomo]

Minor stuff today - pulled the front seat belts, which are all boxed up and ready to go to Safety Restore, and pulled the rear driveshaft to check if I could find my driveline vibration. Inspection of the U-joint at the diff revealed a bad joint which needs replacement, lots of slop and binding up. The front U-joint was fine, but the slip yoke is fused together with rust. I considered just repairing for a minute, but since I'd already put all the specs in to the Tom Wood site, and am not sure how the splines on the slip yoke would come out after removing all that rust, I just hit BUY and moved on.

I did a ton of searching across Mud for flange specs on a 1988 FJ62 rear driveshaft (keywords for future searches), but didn't find anything. For future tech, the bolt hole pattern specs are 66mm x 66mm on both the output and pinion / diff flange. Length is 36 7/8", measured from flange to flange. Bolt holes are all 11mm. Photos for posterity. I even bought a digital caliper just to measure and make sure I got it right. First up is the transmission / output side, which has the slip yoke on it.

Next up is the differential side:

 

[majdomo]

Differential side bolt hole size:

Couple things - I need a new vise, I managed to mangle the handle on mine by using a pipe to increase leverage once, a nice vintage Wilton bench vise is on my list of wants. Next, I am wearing old man socks with flips, this is not unusual for me in a So Cal winter. Finally, the damn BMW attached to that key fob needs to go... just have to wash and post it up.

That's it for today. The General had a busy day yesterday, shuttling my son from event to event, ending at a community Christmas parade where he played the Sousaphone in his school band. Yes, the LC fits a full-sized, assembled Sousaphone in the back, shocking no one.

 

[Spike Strip]

Yes, DS bolts are an oddball shouldered 11mm.

Might be a good time to check those DS for balance as well as new U-Joints.

Matsuba is the OEM. Couple vendors here sell them.

Too bad, Wenco in Van Nuys, who used to do TLC4x4 Driveshafts, has closed.

 

[majdomo]

Yes, DS bolts are an oddball shouldered 11mm.

Might be a good time to check those DS for balance as well as new U-Joints.

Matsuba is the OEM. Couple vendors here sell them.

Too bad, Wenco in Van Nuys, who used to do TLC4x4 Driveshafts, has closed.

My go-to for driveshaft work was the creatively named General Driveshaft in Monrovia. When I called him to check in, it turns out he’d moved to Idaho and renamed his shop. He only does custom work now and mail-in rebuilds. Left CA because of the taxes and general business climate. I told him that I was sorry he’d left, and replied “I’m not.” Ugh.

 

[Spike Strip]

Yup. There are about a dozen shops I used to rely on that have done the same thing, if not simply far away from Los Angeles, then out of State. Great Muffler guy in Northridge left a year ago; shop was there since 1956, started by his father. There seriously aren't many of these old skool mom or pop shops left.

There's always Tom Woods: Custom Drive Shaft Shop | Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - https://4xshaft.com/

 

[majdomo]

Yup. There are about a dozen shops I used to rely on that have done the same thing, if not simply far away from Los Angeles, then out of State. Great Muffler guy in Northridge left a year ago; shop was there since 1956, started by his father. There seriously aren't many of these old skool mom or pop shops left.

There's always Tom Woods: Custom Drive Shaft Shop | Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - https://4xshaft.com/

Mark (of Mark’s Off Road) and I had a whole conversation about the same. He had referred me to a muffler shop for my 40. When I called the shop, the guy who had run it for decades had retired, and the new owner had put a sign on the shop saying "muffler mechanic wanted" and had no idea what an "FJ40" was. Oh boy... It's a reminder that I need to pull the alternator and smog pump and get them over to B-Z for a rebuild, before they decide to hang it up too.

Tom Wood DS is on order! I hear and have read good things, look forward to that coming late this week sometime.

 

[majdomo]

Ok - parts hoard is thinning out. Drive shaft from Tom Wood's arrived during the week, as did the shocks and a part for my wife's Highlander. First, the drive shaft - looks awesome and well packaged. Very much worth the coin.

Came with new bolts and instructions, pre-greased and ready for install. It's far too pretty for this junk. Got rid of my driveline vibration at about 60mph. I had to drive around with no seatbelts as Safety Restore hasn't sent them back yet.. otoh it's only the holidays...

Next up was shocks. These took weeks to get here from Toyota Parts Outlet (idk?) but they arrived well-packaged and ready for install.

I was able to pull all 4, but managed to shear off the bolt head from the lower mounting bolt on the driver's side. Fn East Coast rigs. However, take a look... 3 out of 4 can't be wrong, including both fronts.

Anyway, it's not done because I haven't finished drilling out that bolt and tapping new threads, but it's close. Need a drill bit and a replacement bolt from the dealer. I have a hardware store special just to get me by for the next few days.

I was planning to do most of this over the holiday break, now I'll probably focus on removing the windshield and replacing the dashboard, then getting my glass guy to come out and reinstall the windshield with the new gasket, assuming no rust under there... hmm...

 

[Spike Strip]

That Wood's DS looks beefier than the OE, particularly the slip yoke ... True ? Could you post a couple more pix of it when you have a sec?

Nice work!

Cheers.

 

[majdomo]

That Wood's DS looks beefier than the OE, particularly the slip yoke ... True ? Could you post a couple more pix of it when you have a sec?

Nice work!

Cheers.

The slip yoke is way beefier than stock. And unlike my rusty pos, it actually moves! I'll get under there with the phone tomorrow and post up more photos.