Builds Moonshine - A Build Thread (27 Viewers)

[Wyoming]

Took the day off from work so I could go shopping for truck parts. 5.5 hours of driving today yielded me a beautiful, re-manufactured 4BT cylinder head as well as a Dana 300. $300 + fuel for the day got me all of this stuff! Pretty good day all in all.

Pretty darn good day! I mean, real good. How much was that re-man head?

 

[boots4]

That is option one, and option two is to just buy a C&C 14 bolt rear, use this bracket kit with the anti-wrap bar kit I already have, to put it under the rig:

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/14COMKT.html

What do you think, custom Toyota centered FZJ80 rear axle or a 14 bolt?

I'd have to say you'll probably not have an issue with the 80 axles and there are stronger axle available but that if you put the same effort into the 14 bolt you won't have to think about your rear axle again. 37s are a good size but I'd shave the 14B too if you are keeping that tire size. As for the rear disc brake brackets from Ruffstuff for a C&C 14B I cannot recommend them due to my last incident with them. Short story is I have to fix some collateral damage due to one of the brackets letting go.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

FF 14 bolt. Less labor/time intensive than a Toyota. If you're thinking about doing it, and/or planning on it down the road, you'd be wise to build the 14 bolt now versus spending the money twice.

I was wondering how long it would take before you posted up about the D300. Nice scores.

I agree with you, which is why I'm going to run what I've got for now, then make a final decision later down the road.

Thanks!!

If you go the 14 bolt route save yourself some frustration and get a shave kit for it. I get hung up on mine even after shaving the bottom as much as I thought was safe.... Pretty indestructible axle though if you can get past how low it hangs.

D

If / When I install a 14 bolt, I will absolutely make sure to use Ballistic's shave kit. No ground clearance without that!

Thanks D!

For a 4BT I think you would be ok running the FZJ80 axle. Also the diff on the FZJ80 axles is almost centered to begin with. I would just swap your internals over.

Keeping it stock would be an easy swap, I have a leaf converted FZJ80 axle laying around. If you were planning on taking a trip up to NY anytime soon I would save it for you.

That way if you find yourself blowing through axles you wouldn't have tons of time invested and the 14 bolt swap could commence.
A 14 Bolt is a way overkill axle, I doubt even my 6BT will hurt it.
Ground clearance is awful on them though, I need to measure how much I have running my 43's.

This is a brilliant idea. I need to go home and measure what the offset is of the FZJ80 axle, but it should work. That'll be the least $ invested and will give me more time to make a final decision as to what rear axle to run.

You are the MAN!!

i like the toyota axle option. you keep it toyota between the front and rear axle and you can use that elocker you have. I think the time and effort involved to make it centered and the width you want is all part of the addiction of what we/you are doing. And, its unique....
the C&C 14 bolt is huge! its got very large drum brakes that would need to be removed for discs. Also, the 14 bolt will be 8 lugs, so new wheels?

If I ran a 14 bolt axle, I'd shave it and run some machined C&C hubs to get 61" WMS-WMS, with the Toyota 6 bolt hub pattern. This is a bit more expensive, but I wouldn't have to change out both sets of wheels and tires.

It'd drive me nuts if I had 6 lug up front and 8 lug out back

I'm going to run the FZJ80 rear axle at first, then see if it blows up. If not, then one of two things will happen:

1. It'll stay how it is
2. We'll build a truly centered FZJ80 axle housing

So this is THE problem. You need to consider an 8 lug up front or a custom 6 bolt hub in the rear. You need to have the same pattern front and rear or else carry 2 spares. That's a pain.

Personally, I think it would be better long term to go to a D60 up front to match your 14 bolt rear. Then you have an overkill axle and can forget about breakage. Until you are ready to do that, probably best to stay with Toyota until you break them.

Always with succinct and logical advice, thank you Drew You have a good point, why run the 'ton rear with a weaker front. Might as well upgrade to 'tons front and rear, all at the same time, and I agree. I'm not ready to completely let go of my Toyota drivetrain, so I'll stay with the Toy axles.

Thank you sir!

Pretty darn good day! I mean, real good. How much was that re-man head?

Yes sir!! I was not completely honest with you in my post above. I dropped off my 4BT head at the machine shop a couple of weeks ago. I had them hot tank, mangaflux and deck the head. They then replaced the valve springs with 60# ones ( supplied by me ), ground and polished all of the valves and then reassembled everything.

So, the $150 was for all the machine work, new valve seals and repairing my broken manifold bolt.

I'd have to say you'll probably not have an issue with the 80 axles and there are stronger axle available but that if you put the same effort into the 14 bolt you won't have to think about your rear axle again. 37s are a good size but I'd shave the 14B too if you are keeping that tire size. As for the rear disc brake brackets from Ruffstuff for a C&C 14B I cannot recommend them due to my last incident with them. Short story is I have to fix some collateral damage due to one of the brackets letting go.

Since I've got the 80 axle, I'm going to run it. Most people think that it'll be fine, so we shall see. I've got all the parts already, might as well use them, right?

That accident you mentioned in your build was due to the caliper brackets letting go?!?!? That's a scary situation!!! I remember you posting up a while back that you saw some stress cracks on the brackets, but I thought that you were able to repair them. That's not something anyone wants to deal with. Did you have the weld-on brackets?




Thanks for the help everyone!! Moonshine is truly the culmination of the 'Mud brain trust

 

[IndianDoc]

And one heck of a lot of work by Johnny C.

 

[darwink1]

Ill measure my 14 bolt clearance on 40's for the hell of it, just to give you an idea. Like I said I took off about 3/4" of material from the bottom but it still hangs low.

Ive learned to look out for things I might hit then giver a little gas when the rear passes over em lol.

D

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thanks Doc, and thanks D!!


Today was a big day for the motor build. My buddy Terry came by and helped me do some cleaning, install the KDP as well as the 3800 RPM governor spring. We threw the head up on the block, then I got the pushrods installed. I measured the head bolts to make sure they were still within tolerances ( they were ) and torqued the head down.

Next up is to get the accessories bolted back up, then I can do a thorough degrease so I can paint the whole thing

KDP was good, but it got a tab anyway:

Flipped the motor over, gave the bottom end a once-over. Everything looked great, so I cleaned it and threw on a new oil pan gasket.

Then got to work on the 3800 RPM governor spring:

Open brain surgery!

Stock 2500 RPM spring on top, '374' 3800 RPM spring on bottom:

Open block makes a pretty good work bench!

Cleaned, gasket-ed, head set down:

Rockers installed and how I left her for the night. Hopefully I'll get more done tomorrow!!

 

[lt1fire]

Work of art my friend

 

[The Phoenician]

I like it...... I like it a lot.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thanks gents

 

[Wyoming]

Nice Johnny! Getting it back together is a good feeling. I see that you have the horizontal filter mount, that will make things a lot easier.

I ended up going with a 3000 RPM spring in mine. That will be fast enough for me.

Keep moving along, I'm liking your progress...as I'm sure you are.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nice Johnny! Getting it back together is a good feeling. I see that you have the horizontal filter mount, that will make things a lot easier.

I ended up going with a 3000 RPM spring in mine. That will be fast enough for me.

Keep moving along, I'm liking your progress...as I'm sure you are.

I actually purchased a vertical mount oil filter plate, but after reading about your difficulties with them, I decided to stick with the horizontal mount. Therefore, thanks for saving me that headache!

I will do my best to not use the upper RPM range, but for some reason I wanted the extra leg room in case I need to wind it out in an emergency situation. I will most certainly not go all the way up to 3800rpm with every shift

Thank you sir! I like progress, that's for sure. Time to kick it into high gear

 

[GLTHFJ60]

As per usual, I'm thinking about a million different things all at once. Today's subject; hydroboost.

Going along the lines of trying to get as much done before the motor swap as possible, I've been thinking about it and I believe I should be able to put hydroboost into Moonshine before the motor swap.

Mike has provided me with the knowledge I need to mount the HB unit and plumb it to the Cummins Saginaw pump using adapters to -6AN fittings, which I've already started using.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=2829323&postcount=289

The HB unit has high pressure inlet and outlet, as well as low pressure return. If I'm thinking about this correctly, I should be able to route the high pressure line from PS pump to HB unit to PS box and have enough pressure to run everything well. I can then plumb the HB low pressure return, as well as the PS box, into a T, then back to the PS pump.

Thinking about it over and over, I think this will work for now. When the motor is installed, it'll be easy to change the return lines as they will both go back to the PS pump and not through a T.

Sounds like a good plan to me! What do y'all think?

EDIT: More research says that it will work. I'm going to charge ahead with this plan.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-hardcore-tech/610945-hydroboost-info-3.html#post12477129

 

[Wyoming]

Sounds like it will work to me.

 

[Tapage]

I did same way .. well I make myself a nice Christmas gift back in march with one of those fancy PSC reservoirs that have to return ports .. one for your PS box and one for your HB .. but the T will work wonders as well .. can't remember if you also have PS ram piston .? if so that will require extra flow from your pump to move it quick when it's needed ..

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I did same way .. well I make myself a nice Christmas gift back in march with one of those fancy PSC reservoirs that have to return ports .. one for your PS box and one for your HB .. but the T will work wonders as well .. can't remember if you also have PS ram piston .? if so that will require extra flow from your pump to move it quick when it's needed ..

That's right, I forgot you put hydroboost on Tencha! I'll have to go through and read those posts again. Thanks man!

I don't have ram assist yet, but I will some time in the future. A bunch of things need to happen before that though.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Ordered the Sky MFG brake fitting adapters for the Chevy MC from Tapage's thread ( thanks man! ). Also ordered spring perches and shock mounts for the FZJ80 axle, since I was already placing an order.

Ordered the following pyrometer and boost gauge, along with a gauge pod, from egauges:
http://www.egauges.com/vdo_ind.asp?Type=Pyrometer&Series=Ultra_Lite&PN=ATM-4344
http://www.egauges.com/vdo_ind.asp?Type=Turbo_Boost&Series=Ultra_Lite&PN=ATM-4305
http://www.egauges.com/vdo_indA.asp?PN=POD-005

This is the install guide for the pyrometer ( so I don't loose it ):
http://www.egauges.com/pdf/AutoMeter/514.pdf

Going to figure out what fittings I need and then place an order with PSC for the HB fittings.

Whohoo, more spending

 

[bluehawk]

saw this and they make one for fj60's

 

[bluehawk]

Sorry, it's at gaugepods.com. Thought about getting one for my build but don't know if i could use one for the 4BD1T or not.

 

[boots4]

... Thought about getting one for my build but don't know if i could use one for the 4BD1T or not.

The two gauges that should be on every turbo diesel are a pyrometer and boost gauge so I'd think you could use it.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Sorry, it's at gaugepods.com. Thought about getting one for my build but don't know if i could use one for the 4BD1T or not.

bluehawk, thanks for the heads up man! For now, I'm going to go with the dash top-mount method to not restrict my view. If I don't like that route, then I'll pick this up.

The two gauges that should be on every turbo diesel are a pyrometer and boost gauge so I'd think you could use it.

100% agreed.