My 78 FJ40 Project - HD

[SliderJack]

Wow, the crankshaft is heavy. 70 pounds.

I cleaned things up, installed the main bearings, plastigauged things and cleaned up cap 4. The original gasket was baked on so I let cap 4 sit in the carb cleaner bucket for awhile and the gasket came right off.

 

[SliderJack]

I opened my gasket set for the first time. According to the FSM you install the rear main seal last with a special tool. I went ahead and installed it before tightening cap 4. Any downside to this? I'm going to search a little but I'm thinking should be fine.

Argh, the head gasket was bent pretty good on both ends right out of the box. Sigh. I purchased the gasket kit probably a year ago or more.

It probably doesn't matter anyway. I'm probably going to go ahead and go with a Toyota head gasket. I had read earlier and had expected to do some close analysis of the head gasket coolant holes before using it. Sure enough, it seems like the Felpro head gasket does not have several of the coolant holes that both the head and block have. Hmm, seems much more restrictive than the Toyota gasket shown in my image below.

 

[SliderJack]

I contacted Felpro and they got right back to me. Their rep said the Toyota gasket I have in my picture is likely a gasket from a different region and that the North American Toyota gasket is more similar to theirs.

 

[SliderJack]

I weighed the piston assemblies and noticed some large variances. I ordered a more accurate scale and disassembled the assemblies. One of the rods varies as much as 29 grams in weight between the lightest rod. So, I'm going to spend some time matching the weight of the items.

I haven't had much luck getting consistent measurements of the small and large ends of the rods with my current setup. I need to come up with a fixture for the small and large ends of the rod.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Great thread! That picture of the head gaskets should be FAQ why you don't use FelPro gaskets on a 2f.

 

[SliderJack]

Great thread! That picture of the head gaskets should be FAQ why you don't use FelPro gaskets on a 2f.

Thanks! But I'm not so sure on the head gasket. Like I said in the previous post, I contacted FELPRO and they got right back to me. They said their gasket matches the Toyota gasket that not all coolants passageways are actually allowed to flow through the gasket.

I found this thread that has some similar information. Seems people are using the Felpro gasket without problem.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/114222-2f-head-gasket.html

I didn't do very well in Thermo Dynamics in college , but I understand slowing down coolant flow can actually provide more cooling effect than rapid flow. That's why they say you motor might actually run hotter when removing the thermostat as opposed to having it in--the water flows too quickly and doesn't have a chance to cool.

 

[SliderJack]

I balanced the rods, cleaned things up and checked the rings gaps

 

[SliderJack]

I balanced the pins. Installed the pistons. Even with things in labeled bags, it takes a lot of time to figure out which bolt goes where.

 

[SliderJack]

Pistons installed. Reground camshaft ready to go with new gear.

 

[SliderJack]

install motor in frame. Start getting the head ready to go. block and exhaust/intake surfaces were ground.

 

[SliderJack]

trying to get caught up on status and pictures a little out of order.

Installed the pushrods and freshly ground solid lifters.

 

[SliderJack]

Installed the freshly ground flywheel. Installed a new pilot bearing. It was a pain to get out. I used the the hydraulic method with grease and a tight fitting socket.

Installed a new clutch and trans thanks as always to my engine hoist.

I finally tracked down some air rail plugs. Actually took visiting a lot of hardware stores.

 

[SliderJack]

Time to tackle the carb rebuild. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Sure appreciated the youtube versions of Pin Head's rebuild 7 part series. Great help. But be warned, watch all the reassembly videos before doing it yourself. There is a part where you reinstall the spring retaining clip and Pin head does it and then says, oops, I think I put the wrong ball in the inlet. Next video starts, "the small ball goes in the..." Ha, had to laugh.

I was thinking how cool youtube is but then I broke the retaining clip getting it back out. Just my luck. But thanks to mud and a search I was able to make a new one with a piece of spring wire. Good deal. Great videos. Thanks again Pinhead.

A PO actually filled the banjo bolt in the gas line with RTV. Not sure why, my guess is it was leaking because someone didn't replace the crush washers. Took awhile digging the RTV out.

 

[SliderJack]

Carb is rebulit and motor coming together. Finally ordered a few little things today, some hoses pcv valve, voltage regulator, coil, etc. Maybe I'll try and get her running in a week or two.

 

[Vae Victus]

It makes me angry to have to cut the shroud after cleaning it up and painting it, but oh well. Unfortunately you have to cut more than just the flat area on the shroud, you have to cut into the main bevel. I always have to remind myself, this is suppose to be just an old fun truck, not a show car.

Next was finally getting to the rebuild of the front axle. Thank goodness I put all the pieces in separate plastic bags for left and right sides and labeled them good. Too cheap to get a parts washer, I cleaned up the hardware by first moving them from there plastic bag into a used washer fluid gallon container with Kerosene in it. I’d swish the parts around a bit and let them sit a while. Then wiped them down and put them in my carb dip container. It took awhile, but the parts came pretty clean.

I purchased the knuckle rebuild kit from tpi4x4. I really didn’t think I need all new bearings, but since I’m in there… I thought the kit was a good price but when it arrived I noticed that price was per side. Doh! Oh well. When I went to assemble the rebuild kit I noticed I was missing a hub bearing seal and the kit didn’t include gaskets specific to my Warn lockouts. Great, I had the kit for a good 6 months.

I called TPI figuring I’d give them a chance and sure enough, I was surprised. The guy on the phone said he was filling orders right then and he would get me out a new seal right away. He said he thought he had some of the Warn gaskets too and said he’d throw them in and send it out. They arrived a couple days later, no charge to me. It’s times like that you don’t mind spending a little extra for good service.

I installed the diff. Disassembled the birfs, cleaned and packed them, and tried screw drivers, the hose clamp trick, the zip tie trick and just ended up mar tacking the axles shafts.

Just reading your thread. Bob at TPI is here in Nashville. I've only called him once for an emergency question, but he said to me "If you buy from me, tech support is free." Can't beat that.

I seem to be following your same build pattern. Started with transmission, transfer, clutch, all engine parts, brake arts, etc. Diffs and knuckles next, just found original wheels (going old school vs your contemporary look). Got the spreadsheet with all the costs, and have my wife up my butt about all the paypal and visa charges. Fun fun fun.

 

[SliderJack]

Yeah, I've got one of those spreadsheets too. And a wife. But she is pretty understanding. Yeah, I'd order from TPI again.

 

[SliderJack]

Got the 2F header fixed up and put on. Some thread info here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/740250-2f-tri-mil-header-fitment-issues.html

Finally got some time to work on the 40 again. Pretty exciting. Worked on tying up a lot of loose ends. Installed the rear driveshaft so that I could torque the front crank nut.

Painted the air cleaner assembly and header.

Installed the starter.
Set the valves.
Got the distributor installed right.
Spark plugs, wires.
Oil, radiator, thermostat, hoses and coolant.
Made and installed a fuel pump block off plate.
Connected the electric fuel pump.

I installed mechanical gauge set I later plan to install in my gauge cluster. This might have been the hardest part, finding fittings for the sending units and the motor.

Got the 2F started. Was very cool to hear it turn over and then start right up. Very, very cool. No wiring harness so I hot wired it a bit. Installed a good ground cable to the block and to the frame. Plus wire from battery to tab connector on solenoid to engage starter. Mounted coil on frame for ground and connected to distributor. To get spark to start positive terminal to both tab connectors on coil/ignitor. Engaged fuel pump, set choke on carb and she started and sounded very healthy!

Before I started I took an old wood handle standard screwdriver. I broke the handle off and put it in an electric drill. I removed the distributor and used the screwdriver and drill to turn the oil pump and pre-oil the motor.

 

[Vossie]

just read through all of this. very nice build

like the way you did your front diff. im actually re-doing both my front and rear axels now myself.

did your 40 come with front discs or was that your own mod?

look forward to seeing pics of the body work

 

[SliderJack]

Thanks! And sorry for making you read through it all. At least there were a lot of pictures!

My 40 came with front discs. I believe that's stock for 78.

I'm anxious to do the body work! It sucks that my free time comes now when it's so cold and I can't paint. I'm anxious to get the painting done so I can start putting things back together. Still there are a lot of projects.

I did start messing with the fenders. They are in very bad shape. I cut out a couple patches and started welding them in. I'm using a 120v mig with no shielding gas. Some spots were perfect, but I'd move 1cm down and it would blow through. I think the metal is very rusty and inconsistent.

Luckily I was finally able to score an almost new set of fenders of craigslist. So thankfully I don't have to make these work.

 

[Vae Victus]

Changed my mind on TPI. Not being supported, so I'm sending my money elsewhere.