Milo's FJ60 Resto / Refresher / Desmog / build -- (lots of pics)

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Jim- thx for the info.


dbleon- havent been on the forums for the weekend - i was up skiing.

as for prep, i just degreased them, scrubbed with some steel wool, then degreased and washed with soap & water. Blasted them dry with an air hose and then shot them with hi temp paint. worked great and is holding up really well.
 
Miloslavich said:
Jim- thx for the info.


dbleon- havent been on the forums for the weekend - i was up skiing.

as for prep, i just degreased them, scrubbed with some steel wool, then degreased and washed with soap & water. Blasted them dry with an air hose and then shot them with hi temp paint. worked great and is holding up really well.
Click to expand...

Cool thnx.
 
Jim-

i looked at the Factory emissions manual on page 3-31, it demonstrates that the advancer line going to the 2* advancer on the Dizzy does infact have a check valve and vac line to the intake manifold.

what i am curious about is this: when i have the vac lines routed that way, the line provides quite a bit of suction to the advancer. enough so that when i put it on i can see the timing advance from 10* so that the bb is out of sight when the timing light is on the flywheel.

granted, i live at 6000 feet in CO, so perhaps the HAC is just doing its job and advancing the timing constantly.


BUT,

when i routed it sans check valve and additional line to manifold.. i see no jump in timing and dont feel any suction coming from the vac line.


so is it correct to have that additional suction and advance ? it advances it so much i cant see the bb on the flywheel - when i have the line spliced to the manifold.

i know what you want to tell me is just route it like the FSM says, but when i do that it really, really advances the timing quite a bit....


pardon my curiosity - if this is an annoying question.
 
awesome thanks.. then i'll re-connect that vac line coming off the intake manifold spliced into the line and let it advance all it wants


cheers,

Milo
 
yeah the suspension is in and done, i'll get some pics up soon.

Drove the rig 6 hours this weekend up 2 mountain passes over 11,150 feet elevation.

truck ran strong, and passed the test ;)
 
Suspension

Alright here's an update:

So after the engine was sorted and running well, it was time to take care of the saggy suspension.

I had thought about going with a Mojave kit, but didnt want to do a shackle reversal, i just wanted a bolt up system. Man-a-fre did originally offer the Mojave in a standard shackle orientation kit, but after a few weeks they stopped offering it , and now only offer the shackle reversal kit.

So, after some shopping around, i went with the tried and true ARB Old Man Emu 2.5 - 3" kit. I got the Deluxe kit, with everything: Springs, greasable Shakles, U bolts, bushings, sway extensions, brakelines, Nitrocharger shocks, etc.

I went with what MAF calls their Medium-Heavy kit- which consists of the CS004F 6 leaf DAKAR front springs, and the dual stage CS004R with 6 leafs in the main stack and 2 load leafs for load support.

parts pics: :)

P4240044.jpg


P4240045.jpg


P4240047.jpg



Also picked up some BFG- AT's 33 x 10.5 R15 . I really , really wanted KM2's but they are currently sold out and backordered for quite some time. :doh: so i'll run these in the mean time.

P4240046.jpg


here she is - sitting low on the all original 26 year old supsension. totally flat.

P4240048.jpg


Alright-

a little about what happens when you drive on the same suspension for 26 years- Both Rear leafs were broken in half - down the center. All 4 shocks were completely blown. I was able to compress them easily via hand, and when i did all the gas shot out the shocks and they barely rebounded. - the bushings were all totally dryrotted and cracked, those that weren't rotted had vulcanized into the consistency of granite.

Basically the suspension was worthless- the truck was riding on its bumpstops so to speak.

this was a MUCH needed upgrade. It took my brother and I 2 days to finish the project.

so the wrenching begins: :wrench::wrench::wrench::wrench::wrench:

soaked everything down with PB Blast and went to work

P4240054.jpg


The spring pins were so stuck that we had to pound them with a sledge for about 15 mintues each, just to get them out about 1/2 an inch- enough to cut them off.

P4240064.jpg

a pipe wrench also works great for rotating the spring pins around if you arent lucky enough just to burn them out...


I would have liked to just burn them out, but I did this suspension at the shop on Peterson Air Force Base because we had access to their lifts making things much easier. They dont like you starting a fire in the shop so that wasnt an option.

enough clearance to cut:

P4240051.jpg


broke out the sawzall- and went at it

P4240055.jpg
 
well, spring pins are TOUGH> totally trashed 2 hardened metal blades, so it was time to switch gears and break out the grinder with the cutting wheel:

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P4240057.jpg


P4240060.jpg


P4240059.jpg


and the result:

P4240052.jpg


spring pin cut!

so with that, we were able to punch them out a bit more, then wrestle the springs down and out of the hangers.

P4240058.jpg



New springs in:

P4240068.jpg


vs. the old:

P4240054.jpg


BIG difference :D

New shocks in:
P4240066.jpg

P4240067.jpg

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P4250074.jpg

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Funny video:

so i took the old shock, compressed it by hand, all the gas shoots past the seals in the tube, and then it tires to rebound. kind of.

Vid:
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid51.photobucket.com/albums/f390/rubinm/P4240049.flv">


Torqued everything to spec

P4250076.jpg


Mounted up the 33's

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---Before & After--

BEFORE:
P8300087.jpg


AFTER:
P4250083.jpg




I'm really happy with the suspension. Driving the rig now is night & day better than it was. The suspension is just starting to get broken in, and gets better every day i drive it. It's firm, but not harsh. and when i loaded it up with 11 wheels and tires the other day when i was helping clear out a garage, it sat perfectly level - didnt sag a bit.

I took her in for an alignment after the suspension resto- and when the tech was adjusting the tie rods on the rack- both tie rod ends just disintegrated. SO, i put in new tie rod ends too. The combination of all new springs, bushings, shocks, and tie rod ends really made an amazing improvement in handling.

Next i'll put in the Stainless steel brake lines, and upgrade the headlights with a kit of Round Eyes 7" 55w lights.

:cheers: & a big thanks to my brother for helping out with the install.

- Milo
 
Last edited:
You've got a lift - that's no fair!

You're supposed to cut out those spring hangers lying on your back on cold concrete, outside, in the dark, 35* (F), and chance of rain ....


:cheers:
 
I'd have waited to torque the suspension bits until the truck had it's weight back on it's wheels. Leaving everything ever so slightly loose when you put it back to the ground lets the new parts fall more into normal alignment before being cinched down. This helps avoid quirky characteristics ( wobbles, clucks, etc)

Otherwise great work, and it she sure looks a lot better. That's the stance they should have coming from the factory.
 
Wile E Coyote said:
I'd have waited to torque the suspension bits until the truck had it's weight back on it's wheels.

Otherwise great work, and it she sure looks a lot better. That's the stance they should have coming from the factory.
Click to expand...


yeah i was concerned about that, but upon taking it to the Alignment place i found that its spot on. 0* thrust angle. aka perfect :D

im pretty happy with the stance. i'll get some better pics up soon. the last one doesnt truly show the height
 
Spike Strip said:
You've got a lift - that's no fair!

You're supposed to cut out those spring hangers lying on your back on cold concrete, outside, in the dark, 35* (F), and chance of rain ....


:cheers:
Click to expand...



ahah yeah that would have been ideal. unfortunately i had a lift, impact tools, and a warm garage :flipoff2:
:D
 
slcfj62 said:
Don't forget to also put in a longer breather tube for the rear diff. Napa sells the rubber hose bulk.
Click to expand...

oh absolutely. i was going to extend the Diff breathers when i do the brakelines.

:cheers:
 
60 looks great. I had to do my OME install on the ground. Went fairly well except for my back hurt for about a week after it haha.

Post some pics of the SS brake lines when you get a chance, I was really interested in them and never was motivated to buy them after I had the lift on.
 
will do. when i have a weekend free im going to put in the SS brake lines, diff breather lines, and i'll do a write up on that.

right now im contemplating Aussie lockers.

are ARB Air's worth the coin for a daily driver / occasional wheeler? i dont think so. I think the Aussies could be liveable on the street.
 
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