sleepycruiser
I will get by….I will survive -Touch of Grey LC200
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- #21
Looking to buy….what are your thoughts?
- Thread starter sleepycruiser
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sleepycruiser
I will get by….I will survive -Touch of Grey LC200
- Thread starter
- #22
pb4ugo
SILVER Star
Looking at your video it appears you have some sort of P/S box out frt similar to saginaw steering. The biggest concern would be is how badly did the cut into the frt crossmember. This type of setup is not uncommon, but some folks can really hack the job up. The frt crossmember can be problematic if its really cut up.
sleepycruiser
I will get by….I will survive -Touch of Grey LC200
- Thread starter
- #24
Thanks for that feedback. I think I’m going to make an offer based on some work that will definitely need to be done and see where we land.
Yeah it looked familiar think it's been for sale for a long time
I'd try and find that recent thread think most told him to steer clear
I'd try and find that recent thread think most told him to steer clear
sleepycruiser
I will get by….I will survive -Touch of Grey LC200
- Thread starter
- #27
I just found that thread. Read through it and taking notes!
Power steering of any kind has gotten very expensive due to the low stock of steering gear boxes available. Depending on what what style you want to install I would budget $2k as crazy as that sounds.
For your purposes IMO it'd be nice NOT to have the low gears and large tires so you can travel safely at just a bit higher speed on your NC roads. What's under the diamond plate and bra?
1911
chupacabra
4.88 diff gears would do that!
Looks like you need to do the Birfields and probably the inner axle seals, and the front
main seal.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
Where is this cruiser currently? A member from back east was going to fly out Tucson Arizona and decided to pass.
Might contact this member for an opinion.
Might contact this member for an opinion.
Yup, got in touch with him and told him my thoughts. If he could get it for the right price it'd be worthwhile, but it's pretty rusty and sketchy.
pb4ugo
SILVER Star
@sleepycruiser , have you looked in the classified section?
ChaseBoost
GOLD Star
Looks like a solid rig. The birfields need to be redone. Those were about as bad as mine when I purchased little over a year ago. As Rex in Bama said, the fluid leaks are a great preservative...BUT...will add a lot of time to your repair jobs i.e Cutting through that grease to get a socket on. Buy at least a case of degreaser and a few boxes of nitrile gloves (not exaggerating at all).
sleepycruiser
I will get by….I will survive -Touch of Grey LC200
- Thread starter
- #35
How much did the birfs run to get done?
I have a pile of good stock 3rd members if you want to get rid of the 4:88 s i run 4:88 with 40 inch tires
Dont get caught up in the Birfs need to be re done talk . I am sure the Birfs are fine . Its the Knuckle seals that need to be replaced and axle seals .
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IMO, when I bought my rig, it had no obvious rust holes. Just some bubbling paint here and there. Meaning, it was in better shape than this rig.
Then I stripped the bedliner on the floors and realized a good portion of the floors needed replacing. Then I wire wheeled some of the exterior rust bubbles thinking it was only exterior rust and I'd just skim, sand, and rattle can. Nope, wire wheel blew right through and learned that most of those spots were rust from the inside out.
Then I ended up doing a frame off restoration because I couldn't let myself just leave the rust as it was.
My point is, I can almost guarantee you that the rust is 10x worse than you can see here. Just be aware of that. You can fix all of the leaks and drivability issues one at a time and find great satisfaction in that learning process. But rust is a rabbit hole that can really be discouraging and time consuming (and expensive) to fix.
Then I stripped the bedliner on the floors and realized a good portion of the floors needed replacing. Then I wire wheeled some of the exterior rust bubbles thinking it was only exterior rust and I'd just skim, sand, and rattle can. Nope, wire wheel blew right through and learned that most of those spots were rust from the inside out.
Then I ended up doing a frame off restoration because I couldn't let myself just leave the rust as it was.
My point is, I can almost guarantee you that the rust is 10x worse than you can see here. Just be aware of that. You can fix all of the leaks and drivability issues one at a time and find great satisfaction in that learning process. But rust is a rabbit hole that can really be discouraging and time consuming (and expensive) to fix.
ChaseBoost
GOLD Star
$185 was the kit from Cruiser Teq. I think I looked around quite a bit and it was the one vendor that had the kit with Koyo bearings. The whole thing was probably closer to $400 after I ordered was not included in the kit various seals etc. I also needed TRE's ($92.00), brake lines, inner outer snap rings, spindle nut kit that was probably $110 for those items, plus tools I didn't have that I needed: pickle fork, specific sockets, seal puller. I didn't know what I needed till I got in there, may have replaced more than necessary but it is a pain to do the knuckles and did not want to redo it. They wouldn't be that bad if the top cap wasn't so hard to get off and on and the grease mess, but it is as others have said, a new FJ40 owner's "initiation".
C6H12O6
SILVER Star
Having just done the oil pan gasket and rear main seal when the transmission was out for a clutch job and transmission/TC replacement, those leaks are pretty easy, technically, to get done if you've got the transmission pulled. Search around here for tips (use OEM gaskets/seals, torque specs, etc.), but easy to do if the oil pan and RMS on a weekend day if you're already doing the clutch down the road.
Knuckle service is likely due, but like @Firemedic831 said, the birfs are probably fine. Simple knuckle grease job and new seals is probably all you need, but adjusting everything and getting the wheel bearing pre-load right might fix some of your wandering steering.
Floor looks rusty, and the diamond plate in the rear is usually hiding more, but doesn't look like a deal breaker. Beware the hidden rust and know the common and tough places to fix.
I bet you could find somebody close to you looking to swap gears and lockers in. Might be an easy trade to go back to stock gearing for forest roads and highways. Earlier 4.11 gears are great with 33" tires and the later 3.73 gears would keep you mellow on the highway. Your call, but you could probably expect to come out ahead on that kind of trade.
Looks like a great rig if you're comfortable with the repairs people have outlined. It gets expensive if you're paying somebody else to do the work, but if you're willing to jump in, drive it as-is for a while and the priorities will present themselves. Good luck!
Knuckle service is likely due, but like @Firemedic831 said, the birfs are probably fine. Simple knuckle grease job and new seals is probably all you need, but adjusting everything and getting the wheel bearing pre-load right might fix some of your wandering steering.
Floor looks rusty, and the diamond plate in the rear is usually hiding more, but doesn't look like a deal breaker. Beware the hidden rust and know the common and tough places to fix.
I bet you could find somebody close to you looking to swap gears and lockers in. Might be an easy trade to go back to stock gearing for forest roads and highways. Earlier 4.11 gears are great with 33" tires and the later 3.73 gears would keep you mellow on the highway. Your call, but you could probably expect to come out ahead on that kind of trade.
Looks like a great rig if you're comfortable with the repairs people have outlined. It gets expensive if you're paying somebody else to do the work, but if you're willing to jump in, drive it as-is for a while and the priorities will present themselves. Good luck!
