Builds HJ61 Cruiser build

[cruiserpilot]

My impression is shims. I put in med OME and 285/75R17 MT's and even that mild lift req'd
2.5 or 4 deg shims. I don't recall which we went with.

 

[TLC Norway]

@orangefj45 what do you think about shims?

I was thinking I could wait with shims until I was putting in greaseable pins and shackles.

Now I was able to turn the drag links both ends 1 1/2 turn in. That would in my book seem like 3 turns worth of slack.
I backed out a 1/4 turn from tight, and put the pin back in.
I'll take a ride and see how it handles!

 

[cruiserpilot]

I also use the OME anti-inversion shackles, so if you are installing them later, it might make a difference.

 

[HoJo 61]

Thanks, I'll keep it up!
You got a 61? Thread?

Yes, this. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/another-hj61-from-finland-this-time.803514/

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Not had an alignment... Only thing to check is toe, and they would charge $170 for a check.
Toe is good, camber can only come from something being bent, so I checked the degree with a gauge on the disc, relative to the horizontal axis, and both sides had the same degree, I think 1.8.

I bought 4deg caster shims from George, but have not installed them.
Didn't have them on the previous 60 with the same setup.
Can I measure the degree on the pinion flange, and compare it to others?

I tried setting the toe in to zero, and worked it in a mm at a time, while driving, it didn't matter much, now I'll set it back to almost zero.

Have checked bearings on passenger side now, and put on new rotor while I was in there.
Next is left side.

And triple check that the tre's adjustment is good.

And I'm gonna try to borrow another set of rubber, to see if wheels/tire play a role...

I'm tired of wandering!

Caster is not measured by the pinion flange, but by measuring the angle of the top flat surface of the knuckle (steering arm).

 

[TLC Norway]

Yeah, but I guess I can compare the flange to others, for reference.
That can be done without removing anything.

After tightening the drag link ends, things got better!! I guess now the toe has to be re-dialed

 

[drillduty]

I was playing with plastidip on the mirrors i got from @reevesci and found my colour. dark gun metal grey.
my last plastidip experiment was not sucsessfull, and it did not stick to steel or plastic.
Now, in good temperature and several thin layers, a few minutes between the three layers, it turned out great!
Swapping out the mirrors I'll try it on the bad wheels, and misc odds and ends to see how it holds up in various conditions.
I'll might do a hood dip, to minimize sun glare. I like that it's not permanent, but i dislike that it's not 'permanent'

2nd coat
View attachment 1046466

3rd coat dry
View attachment 1046467

Objects may appear closer than they really are.
View attachment 1046468


View attachment 1046469

Really like the grey touch to those mirrors well done sir!!

 

[Output Shaft]

After tightening the drag link ends, things got better!! I guess now the toe has to be re-dialed

My vote is Toe (too) now that the drag links got tightened up.
Also... I never installed shims under the springs in the front. My bump stops are over 4" away from the axle housing. Steering has never wandered. Ever. IMO, and in my experience, shims are not needed for normal HD springs. Or to put it another way... If I haven't needed shims for 27 years with my current tall springs, they certainly won't be needed for the next 27.

 

[TLC Norway]

Really like the grey touch to those mirrors well done sir!!

Thank you sir! I'm planning to go into fifty shades of gun metal grey mode.
Wheels are next. Or the front.
There's enough black and white cruisers!

 

[TLC Norway]

My vote is Toe (too) now that the drag links got tightened up.
Also... I never installed shims under the springs in the front. My bump stops are over 4" away from the axle housing. Steering has never wandered. Ever. IMO, and in my experience, shims are not needed for normal HD springs. Or to put it another way... If I haven't needed shims for 27 years with my current tall springs, they certainly won't be needed for the next 27.

I've been putting of the shims for a while, for the same reasons.
I had the exact same springs and setup on my 82 HJ60, and it steered good.
They were a tad more compressed, as it had more weight on the whole rig, with bumpers, winch, sliders and skids.
That's probably 5-600 pounds of steel.

I'll play some more with the toe.
Seem to remember I only had a minor toe in on the previous rig with 35s on 8 wheels.
This one has 9 wide wheels.

 

[hj 60]

I preventative replaced the tie-rod with the conical hole without visiting a shop and steers straight, must be wrong adjustment and doable yourself.
The other ones i still have to do but no play in them, to lazy to do them.

Dont over tighten the relay rod I think: 1x loose?

I have all the steering linkage pdf here: http://hj60.freeforums.org/power-steering-fluid-steering-linkage-tie-rod-t17.html

 

[Output Shaft]

It could be that wider tires on wider wheels don't track as well. Don't know.
Some guys say that narrower tires track better. I've never used anything wider than 10.5" on 8" or 7" wheels. (8" wheel tracks just as well as the 7" with 10.5" wide tires).

Also, unevenly worn tires might track strangely... Maybe rotate them and see what happens.

 

[TLC Norway]

well... i fixed the wandering steering. -by parking it.

Decided to tear into the transfer case, get rid of the leaks and steal the lower gearing from the 73 case.
So this is where it's at now. Bad news. See for yourself, video below. worn splines on output shaft. If a had a mig i would burn down some beads to the spacer and pto gear...
-But i dont have a mig. Cheers!

Exept from a spare/new output shaft for the h55f, i cant think of any smart solutions that can fix this within a week.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That might be the first H55 I've heard of with that issue.

If you don't have a MIG, then do you have a friend with one possibly?

No solutions other than replacing the output shaft, purchasing a McNamara gear or welding the PTO+spacer to the transfer input gear.

 

[TLC Norway]

Yeah... This one has 550k kilometers on it, box is in good shape, at least feels good.

One friend of mine had a portable mig, four hours away.
Close migs are way too big to bring over.
I do have several sets of spacers and pto gears. I might try it with an old stick weld. Maybe I can put the gears and spacer on another h42 with good splines at the output shaft and do the welding there.
I'd grind a V between the gears and spacer, heat them up good and weld half an inch at a time.
Hopefully it won't warp much if I have it on good splines and then let it cool slowly.

Opinions?

I don't like the idea of the pto gear being the only one transferring the energy....
I guess a McNamara gear is splined all the way?

If I twist the input gear so that it engages the twisted splines, I would have a larger contact area, but it would have to be welded on the axle, and I wouldn't be able to remove it later. Ugh...

And I guess the output shaft is unique to the H55?
Anybody got an extra?
@orangefj45 ?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I do have several sets of spacers and pto gears. I might try it with an old stick weld. Maybe I can put the gears and spacer on another h42 with good splines at the output shaft and do the welding there.
I'd grind a V between the gears and spacer, heat them up good and weld half an inch at a time.
Hopefully it won't warp much if I have it on good splines and then let it cool slowly.

This is what we did when we built a DIY McNamara gear for a friend's A440. We had a spare transmission with good splines that was used as a template. Yes, the PTO gear is the only one transferring the energy, but it'll get you by until you can source a new transmission or a new output shaft.

I guess a McNamara gear is splined all the way?

If I twist the input gear so that it engages the twisted splines, I would have a larger contact area, but it would have to be welded on the axle, and I wouldn't be able to remove it later. Ugh...

The McNamara gear is a replacement transfer case input gear that I believe (don't quote me, never seen one in person) replaces the spacer between the transfer input and PTO gear as well. It's splined from the input all the way to the PTO gear.

Looking at the parts diagrams, the H55 has a different output shaft than the H41 and H42.

 

[TLC Norway]

Looking at the parts diagrams, the H55 has a different output shaft than the H41 and H42.

yeah. I'm leaning towards welding it. borrowed another car for a week, and i got maybe 1-2 hours of wrench time in the evening.

I think the spline count is the same on the h42 and h55f. Seem to remember i swapped PTO gears between the two a few years ago.
After some consideration, im gonna tear into the newer transfer on the case from the LJ73, late model split case with the lower gearing.
What little differences should i look out for between the two?

That split case also has a pto and spacer... maybe i can cut down the second pto gear to make the spline contact 2x bigger on the worn shaft...
Ill have a few hours to tinker this evening.

Lots of other stuff to do too, parts cleaning and prep, 3" exhaust fiddle with the routing, water pump replacement and wobble issue.
I'll see if i can get the old stick welder to fire up too!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The spline count is the same between H42 and H55! Using a second, cut-down PTO gear is a good idea. Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember someone doing that exact same thing some time ago, maybe earlier in this thread.

That said, the transfer input gear will be different between the early H42 and the H55.

 

[TLC Norway]

Playing live from my transfer quest:

 

[cruiserpilot]

Is that shaft unavailable? Your pic just popped up. This the case from the LJ73?