Jump Seat Frame Repair

[cuencanolenny]

This is not intended to be the end all do all repair for FJ40 Jump Seat Frames. In the USA with the shop, tools and resources available to me I would have done this differently. However, here in Ecuador I have much more limited access to good used parts and resources as well. So perhaps some of the younger fellows who have a significant other who frequently reminds them of how much money they are spending on their FJ40 might glean some useful information from this repair on the cheap.

Once the covers were removed, revealing the original horse hair padding, I saw that the lower horizontal piece on the back rest frames as well as the hinge end horizontal on the seat frames were badly rusted. Also noted that the hinge on the seat frames had been "repaired" and poorly at that. So I purchased two lengths of steel tubing to effect repairs. Only available in 6 meter lengths I bought one that was one inch O.D. and the other was 7/8" O.D. and just slips inside the larger one. This would allow me to cut back to good parent material, slip a length of tubing in and then slip the full size piece into place and provide something to weld to and strengthen the joint. Since I had so much I slipped a length inside the new long tubes to provide additional wall strength for the screws that will secure the new upholstery. Reclaiming the hinges themselves was a challenge. Since they have the correct radius for mating to the parent tube I wanted to maintain that. I will look tomorrow for either clevis pins or 10mm bolts with no thread near the head from which to fabricate a clevis pin to replace the rivets that I removed.

 

[cuencanolenny]

I drilled the center of the rivets with a 5/16" drill and then touched the outside with a countersink to allow punching them out without damaging the hole size which checks 10mm diameter. I drilled the spot welds just deep enough to penetrate the panel. I used a wood chisel to get under the panel and separate from the frame. I used a piece of 2' X 4' plywood to make a weld jig. I would have preferred 3/4" thick, however, it was not available as a partial sheet and I didn't want a full sheet, so 3/8" is what I got. Cost was $10. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that the two pieces of 20' long tubing cost me just under $6.00. So I captured the size of the frame as I was sure that once I cut out the bad piece it would spring, which it did.

 

[cuencanolenny]

I cut one corner on the angle as done by Toyota. However, at the other end I square cut this with a tubing cutter as limitations of equipment would have made making a pair of 45 degree cuts that "matched" essentially impossible. I had a hole saw which is 1 1/8" in diameter that I used for cutting the installation hole for my seat belt anchor plates and that worked great for cutting a cope for the new end piece. I used the same hole saw for making the toe heel clamps for holding the frame into the weld jig. Cutting the hinges out was easy enough. Reclaiming the hinge required cutting some kerfs in the piece of tubing still inside the hinge and then using a pair of pliers to coax them out of the small amount of weld that remained after grinding. One of the hinges had been welded on the inside also and I couldn't reach that well with the grinder so it was more of a challenge but this stuff can be done with little more than a hacksaw and a file.

 

[cuencanolenny]

I think in the last photo of the previous post you can see where I was cutting kerfs to remove the old tube from a hinge bracket. They came out okay, not like new, just usable.

 

[cuencanolenny]

If you look at the bracket which attaches to the tub you can see that it was a pretty wimpy piece of sheet metal. There are supposed to be two on each frame, mine had one each and they were both bad. So I visited my other welder, another Carlos, he only does stick welding, to rummage through his scrap pile and came up with a 1/8" thick X 1 3/16" wide piece about 18" long for $2.00. I used two of the pieces of tubing to make a form to wrap around. I marked a line somewhat tangent to the radius of the tube and measured 1 1/2" to define a bend line. I later found that needed to be 3/4". I used a piece of scrap channel I made the new rear bumper for to use its radius to bend the tab over.

 

[cuencanolenny]

This worked out well. The picture showing alignment to the bend radius was for the original 1 1/2" mark. The correct bend had the "hook" touching the bottom of the vise jaw. I needed to cut a little groove in each of them to clear the return spring tang that is welded on the frame. In the last picture you can see at least one of the two new feet I needed to make. My welder suggested doing the same thing I did for the corner repair using a tube inside a tube. I drilled a hole in all of these pieces to provide for spot welding to the inside tube so they can't move, turn, whatever would be the concern at the particular location. I drilled these new brackets and installed the frames and brackets into The Beast and drove it over to Carlos for MIG welding today. We tacked them in place and removed from the rig and finish welded them as well as re-welding the panels back on. I'll take some pictures of that tomorrow. Carlos asked for $10 for welding and I gave him $20. I went through eleven wire wheels at $.86 each to do the frames and panels. That Toyota primer just doesn't want to let go, my paint stripper won't even touch it. So for around $50 I have two rear jump seat frames repaired.

 

[cuencanolenny]

We moved in mid-October so it has been awhile since I worked on the seats. I did have all of the paint removed and wire wheeled the panels, the weld repair complete. So I found the powder coater and crossed my fingers on the cost. I was estimating $150 for painting based on the $50 the fellow charged me for radiator surround and a few pieces when I replaced the radiator. To my surprise, and pleasure the quote was $110 for sand blasting (the crevices at the hinges where I couldn't get in with the wire wheel) and powder coat. So I picked them up last Wednesday and this morning (Sunday 30NOV14) I installed the straps. I still need to find four new rubber bumpers. I have only three and only one that looks good. In the first picture you see the new house in the country, great for the dogs and us as well. The second picture shows two frames assembled with just a pair of bolts. The third picture shows the two bags of 200 screws and washers for attaching the new upholstery. The fourth picture shows the new straps and catches as well as a couple of the drilled out rivets and the replacement bolts. I had to cut the heads down to .10 thick and overall length of .50 as you have to install them from the inside since the spring sits between the heads. They will be secured with a washer and cotter pin. In the last picture I revised that attachment to put the strap on the seat back and the catch on the seat bottom as that will be easier to latch that way. My old setup had no catches or straps, not that I use the seats that way much, but it is nice to have the pieces while I have them apart. Oh, Israel quoted me three days and $150 for new foam and upholstery. I'll take them over this week.

 

[cuencanolenny]

Completion! 13DEC14. I picked up the seats yesterday from Israel, the three days turned into six, but no big deal as they haven't been in The Beast for a few months now. While I intended to have a washer on the outside of the new hinge bolts that didn't work out. I could barely get the second bolt in and needed to use needle nose pliers, pretty tight fit. You can see how they look in the third picture. With moving it took me three days to find my seat belts. But I found them in the last place I looked. And I swear I looked in that tool box at least three or four times. My total cost with tubing for frame repair, welding, stripping, fasteners, new seat straps and catches, sand blast/powder coating and upholstery is $352. Compare that cost to using available resources in the USA. Since my frames needed such extensive repair one might consider the $200 each for used frames I see online (SOR I think, but don't hold me to that). These will certainly last longer than I will.