Mike's 1978 FJ40 Build

[geoffnlp]

Looks Fantastic, great work Mike, it's funny how a job starts with a reseal and turns into, "well since it's out and I can get to it I might as well clean and paint .......... everything", LOL. Those manifolds look really good. Cheers, Geoff.

 

[78fj40mg]

Thanks Geoff! It's a labor of love and a real slippery slope.

 

[78fj40mg]

Installed the manifolds and carb. today

Painted the valve cover

Dry fitted the valve cover

 

[78fj40mg]

Cleaned and painted the heater valve

Cleaned the cooling fan clutch and fan (another crappy pic)

 

[78fj40mg]

Installed the valve cover and alternator, fuel lines, fan, etc

 

[78fj40mg]

Cleaned and installed the oil pump

 

[78fj40mg]

Getting ready to install the oil pan, I used fishing line (25 test) to hold the gasket in place

I just need to figure out how to hold the gasket ends in place

 

[78fj40mg]

After the oil pan installation I will install the fly wheel, clutch, throw out bearing and finally the transmission/TC, I'm sure it will be a challenge but will give it a shot alone, no friends close by that are willing to help, except for my wife and she offered to help. I'll be documenting the clutch and tranny installation with plenty of pics.

 

[djcfj40]

Hi Mike ,
It might help you to install the tranny using your lift or an engine crane.
With the transmission hump removed you can pull the transmission up from the bottom, start a couple of bolts at the top and then get the others from the bottom. At least that way you have some control and dont have to worry about that monster parting your hair.

Good luck

 

[78fj40mg]

Today I installed the oil pan with the help of my transmission jack.

Lined it up

Bolts installed after positioning and properly seating the oil pan, also used blue silicone to adhere the curved gasket to the oil pan for easier installation and future oil leak prevention method

 

[78fj40mg]

Also installed the flywheel, used blue thread-lock and torqued all bolts to 79 ft lbs

Cleaned the flywheel with brake cleaner prior to installing the clutch disc

Installed the clutch disc with centering tool

Finally cleaned (with brake clean) and installed the clutch pressure plate and bolted down and torqued

 

[78fj40mg]

Hi Mike ,
It might help you to install the tranny using your lift or an engine crane.
With the transmission hump removed you can pull the transmission up from the bottom, start a couple of bolts at the top and then get the others from the bottom. At least that way you have some control and dont have to worry about that monster parting your hair.

Good luck

Thank you for your kind gesture! I'll be using the transmission jack to align and install the tranny tomorrow morning. I'll be documenting the installation with plenty of pics.

 

[78fj40mg]

This morning I was getting ready to install my 4spd transmission so I was checking to see that everything is working OK prior to installing the tranny and realized that it does not shift between gears at all. So I removed the shifting cover off to see if it was hanging up and all looked OK the shifting forks are aligned perfectly so is the reverse fork. Then I can turned the input shaft clock wise and the output shaft turns counter clock wise, is it stuck in reverse?
I cannot find neutral, is there a method of finding neutral and installing the cover correctly?

I've tried searching here but cannot find any reference to this problem, I appreciate your help in advance. Thank you.

See discussion here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ne...shift-while-on-the-bench.819527/#post-9384289

 

[wichitakid]

Impressive work! Keep it up and good luck.

 

[78fj40mg]

Impressive work! Keep it up and good luck.

Thank you!

 

[78fj40mg]

No progress to report, I'm still trying to resolve the tranny issue prior to installation. In the interim I'm painting miscellaneous parts before the weather turns cold here in the PNW and painting becomes prohibitive.

 

[78fj40mg]

This morning I finally sorted the transmission issues and completed it, torqued all bolts and now is ready to install . This afternoon I moved the tranny from the table and onto the tranny jack and placed it underneath my 40.

I lightly greased the input shaft to insure a smooth transition into the pilot bearing

I used a level to make sure the tranny was perfectly level prior to lifting it into place

Once in place I wiggled it a few times and rotated the output shaft and it went right home, bolted it down and torqued, done deal!!

Next I'll be installing the parking brake, drive shafts, clutch cover and other miscellaneous items. I'll be posting additional pics tomorrow.

I forgot to install the clutch fork rubber boot prior to installing the tranny, however it can still be installed with some minor difficulty, will see tomorrow.

 

[JohnnyC]

Looks Fantastic, great work Mike, it's funny how a job starts with a reseal and turns into, "well since it's out and I can get to it I might as well clean and paint .......... everything", LOL. Those manifolds look really good. Cheers, Geoff.

X2 soooo very true

So much to do and so little time it seams sometimes ... But... It always does come back together for me ... And you it looks like as well ... Nice job

 

[occruiser]

Installed the manifolds and carb. today

Painted the valve cover

Dry fitted the valve cover

What kind of paint did you use to paint your valve cover? It looks great!

 

[78fj40mg]

X2 soooo very true

So much to do and so little time it seams sometimes ... But... It always does come back together for me ... And you it looks like as well ... Nice job

Thank you for the kind words!