Builds My 1972 Fj40 Build (2 Viewers)

[JustOneMore]

Also got to take it on a little bit of a road trip last weekend. We were doing some clearing on our hunting land and I decided to drive it up there. It’s a little over 2 hours each way. I drove 65 the whole way there and back, drove around all the trails, hauled tools, and it did awesome. I got a little over 12 mpg. The only issue is the speedometer quit working about halfway back home. I’m hoping it’s something simple. When I get a chance I’ll pull the cluster out and check where the cable goes into the gauge. Overall I’m super impressed and happy with how it did.

 

[JustOneMore]

So this past weekend I ran into a little bit of a problem which led to some questions I need help with. Some back story before the questions. Basically I went to pick up a friend at the airport which involved about 20 miles of highway driving. When I arrived he mentioned smelling coolant. I checked and could see coolant pretty much all over the passenger side of the engine bay but no noticeable leaks. After sitting turned off about about 30 minutes, nothing had dripped onto the ground. I opened the cap and it was low so I refilled it and started home. Stopped about halfway back, checked again, it was a little low, so I refilled and drove home. Checked the next day after it cooled down and it wasn’t low. Pressure tested it the next day and didn’t get leaks until about 17 psi. Finally got some leaks then but only from around the end of the radiator hoses. I know the PO replaced these hoses somewhat recently and they appear to be in good shape so I think this was just leaking around the clamps due to the pressure. From what I understand the cap should only allow 13 psi to build so the system will never see anything this high. All that leads to my first question. I am wondering if the radiator cap is bad because taking it off to put the pressure tester on is the only thing that changed and there were no leaks when I did that. Does that seem like it could be the problem? I’m probably going to order one to change anyway because I feel like it can’t hurt but if I should be looking at other things that would be great to know.

Thankfully I got some cool pictures that made the trouble worth it. My 72 40 and his 77 Maule.

 

[JustOneMore]

All of this also got me thinking about my temp gauge. It currently doesn’t work. The PO installed a mechanical temp gauge at some point but it didn’t work either so I took it out. The sender was stuck unfortunately so for the last few months I’ve just left it and done without. Well on the way home that night I was really wishing it worked so I’m trying to make that happen. My main question is due to the fact that my gauge cluster isn’t original. It’s been changed out to a metric one that I believe is newer because it has a clip-in speedo cable. From what I understand there are 2 different temp senders for fj40’s that have 2 different resistance ranges so they are not interchangeable. I believe mine would have originally used the long sensor. Since the cluster has been changed though I’m not sure if that’s what the temp gauge I have would read. I tested the gauge and believe it is good. While unhooked it reads all the way to H. When grounded out, it goes all the way over to C. Does that mean anything for the newer or older sensor? I also took some pictures. I don’t know if any of this will help but if someone could point me in the right direction on how to gather more info that would be very much appreciated.

 

[JustOneMore]

Finally making some more progress. Checked the trans and tcase fluid and found I must have the bad seal that lets fluid get pushed into the transmission and leaves the tcase low. I read about replacing it but I’d like sometime in the future to put a 4 speed in it so for now I decided just to go with a bypass hose. Looked at a few different options and decided it would be much cheaper to just make my own. While I was there, I drained and refilled both with new Penn Grade oil and changed the drain plugs for the newer internal hex ones and added new crush washers.

 

[JustOneMore]

While I was buying oil, I decided to change the fluid in both diffs as well. Did the new washers and plugs on those as well. Also decided while I was in the rear to go ahead and do a locker. After reading a good bit I ended up going with an Aussie locker.

Also found the issue with my speedometer cable. It had broken inside the sheathing so I got that replaced.

My local dealership also found me an oem radiator cap so I got that changed too.

 

[JustOneMore]

Last thing is the brakes. I knew I had a leak somewhere because I could see the fluid level in the rear cup on the master cylinder drop a little after every drive. I looked all over though and couldn’t see anything. When I took the rear apart for the locker though I found the cylinder on the DS were bad. I read about how much trouble the drum brakes can be to get bled and adjusted after making changes and it stopped so well anyway I almost decided to just let it go and keep topping up the fluid. I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do though so I ordered all new rear cylinders from city racer and new shoes and hardware from cruiser outfitters. Changing the parts wasn’t bad at all.

Getting everything working right again though was as much of a pain as everyone said. I started with everything all the way in and first did 5 clicks out but that was too tight. Then 2 clicks but that was too loose. Finally ended up with 4 which seemed alright but the pedal just didn’t feel right. So I got my dad to help me and we bled the brakes 3 or 4 times. They got better but still weren’t great. I was pretty upset after spending money on all those new parts that the brakes were worse than they were before. I half wanted to just call it off and order a disk brake kit. Ended up letting it sit overnight and then taking it on a drive the next day. I drove about 40 miles then came back and bled them one more time. I don’t know if it was the drive or sitting overnight or what but some more air came out that last time and now the brakes are great. Way better than they were before. I’m really happy that I did it now.

 

[JustOneMore]

Well it’s been awhile so I figured I’d make an update. Not a ton has changed but what has I’m really liking. Started out by taking front bumper and brackets off, cleaning them and the frame horns, and painting them then reinstalling with all new hardware. While this does look nicer, I mainly wanted to do this because I don’t know if the PO had hit something or pulled on something too hard or what but all the factory rivets were broken and all the brackets and bumper had been welded together. My dad worked on cutting all the welds really carefully and cleaning them up. Also the front bumper was bent upwards. While we had all the brackets apart we bent them back so they were straight. I forgot to take a good before picture but I’ll add one from awhile ago.

Next, did the same to the rear. It was quite a pain because the PO has made his own rear bumper by welding a piece of pipe to the factory bumper using two pieces of rectangular tubing as spacers. We were able to cut those to get it off and then grind those off the factory bumper, clean it all up, and paint it.

I’m super happy with how it came out.

 

[JustOneMore]

While working on the rear, I had originally wanted to save the original lights and brackets that the PO had kept and modified to use on his bumper. Unfortunately they came apart when we were taking them off so I decided to go ahead and replace the lights. I bought new OEM reflectors, taillights, and brackets. The amount of dirt that came out of the originals was unbelievable. I don’t understand how they were working at all.

 

[JustOneMore]

The biggest addition, and by far my favorite, is I went ahead and bought a 4plus rear tire carrier and got that mounted up. I absolutely love it. I think it adds so much to the look and the quality is fantastic.

I was worried the right rear door wouldn’t open but with the tire adjusted all the way out it does just barely so all good there.

 

[JustOneMore]

Last of the small things. I wanted to get all the holes in the tub sealed up as best as I could. I bought a new CB antenna mount to fill in the holes from where there was one before. Probably won’t ever put a CB in it but if I do it’s nice to have the mount. Also bought a new taillight to fill in that spot. Won’t get much use since the tire is in the way now but at least it’s filled. Last, got some rubber plugs to fill in various holes in the floor, firewall, etc.

 

[JustOneMore]

Also very excited to have my winch back on! I tried it when I first got this 40 and it worked great but I tried to take the power cable off the motor to clean the connection and the stud broke off. Looked around and found “Herm the Overdrive Guy” still sells all kinds of parts for these old winches so I bought a new motor. While I was replacing that, I took it apart to take a look at things. I’m glad I did. It looks like it had gotten some water inside and was a mess. It cleaned up really well though and all the internals seemed to be in good shape so I greased the bearings and got ready to put it back together.

 

[JustOneMore]

After that, I cleaned the housing, mounted the new motor, put a new brake liner on the band, got it remounted on the bumper, put a new, heavier duty cable to the new motor, and reconnected the control cables. The control cables were finicky to get adjusted but after messing with them for a while they seem to work pretty well. I won’t know for sure until I actually have to winch myself or someone else out of course but from the testing I’ve done so far they seem good.

 

[clrussell]

Such a great update.

 

[rfitzpatrick]

Finally making some more progress. Checked the trans and tcase fluid and found I must have the bad seal that lets fluid get pushed into the transmission and leaves the tcase low. I read about replacing it but I’d like sometime in the future to put a 4 speed in it so for now I decided just to go with a bypass hose. Looked at a few different options and decided it would be much cheaper to just make my own. While I was there, I drained and refilled both with new Penn Grade oil and changed the drain plugs for the newer internal hex ones and added new crush washers.
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I'd like to make my own bypass hose but I'm not sure where to start. What parts did you use?

 

[JustOneMore]

I'd like to make my own bypass hose but I'm not sure where to start. What parts did you use?

It’s super simple. All you need are some straight adapters, 90’s, and a length of hose. The fill holes on the trans and tcase are M18x1.5 thread so you need two adapters from that to whatever size hose you want. Then you just need two 90’s that fit your adapters and hose to connect the 90’s. I went with what’s shown below.

Once I had the parts, I installed the two straight adapters on the trans and tcase. I installed one of the 90’s into the hose and screwed it onto the transmission fitting. Then I screwed the other loose 90 onto the tcase fitting. I routed the hose how I wanted it to run and marked where it met the fitting on the tcase. After that I just cut the hose, installed the second 90, and screwed it on.

I’m not going to claim it’s as pretty or as durable as some of the others that are sold online but it works for what I wanted. If that’s not clear or you have any questions feel free to message me. I’m happy to help

 

[JustOneMore]

Well it’s been a couple months so I figure it’s time for an update. I’m happy to report that I haven’t really had to do anything to my 40 over the last few months except drive it! It’s been running great. I drove it up to see my family for Thanksgiving which was about 250 miles round trip. Most of that was on the highway. I tried to cruise about 62-63 and it did great. It seemed fine with running up to about 65-66 but unfortunately my tires get really bumpy around that speed so I slowed down a little. While I was up there it got some use hauling feeders and corn around.

One thing I was very happy about was getting the roof rack on! I almost didn’t take this when I bought my 40 because it was a pretty long trip out of the way to get it from the PO’s other storage unit but I’m so glad I did. He threw it in for free and I later found it costs about $1000. Unfortunately it didn’t have any crossbars in it so it wasn’t super useful. My dad and I took care of that by buying some 3/4” square tubing, cutting it to length, painting it, and bolting it in. I’m really happy with how it came out and it let me accomplish something I’ve been looking forward to since I bought it. Using the 40 to get our family’s Christmas tree!

 

[JustOneMore]

I also got to take it out on a ride for the time and had a great time. One of my friends was talking about taking his jeep out and riding around one of the lakes where he lives because the water is super low right now. I was going to just drive up to ride with him but then I realized I have my own vehicle I can ride in. I really thought about driving it up there but decided since I had to be back at work Monday morning I better trailer it on the off chance something went wrong. We went out Saturday and spent most of the day driving around the lake bed, woods, creek bottoms, etc. I’m super happy with how it did. I don’t think I hardly slipped a tire all day long. Pretty much anywhere I wanted to go I just pointed it and went. I was even pleasantly surprised with how it rode. Obviously it wasn’t super amazing but it was much better than I expected. Not uncomfortable in my opinion at all.

 

[JustOneMore]

As for going anywhere, it did… for the most part. I can’t complain about this at all. I could have gone around but it was going to require like a 12 point turn so I tried to go through and it was pretty bottomless on top of being way softer than I expected.

It came right out with a quick pull though so no big deal.

 

[JustOneMore]

All in all everyone had a great time.

 

[MYSHERPA]

As someone dealing with a 1972 that someone fit a later model top and ambulance doors on at one point, I'm really curious how your tub has the recessed corners for the ambulance doors. Was that modified at some point? Also, it looks like you never had lower hinges for a swing open tailgate, which makes it even more weird to me if some body work to cover those hinge holes wasn't done previously. The previous owner of mine just slapped the ambulance doors on and they sit proud of the tub because there is no recessed corner. I'm trying to figure out how to fix this, or if that doesn't work out perhaps I'll just go back to a proper year top.