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Build My First Land Cruiser - Cdn 🍁 BJ60 "Wabi Sabi"
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there's the full photo dump, and i may have some good news coming down the pipe 
Thanks for sharing, beautiful picture. Must have been an amazing trip.
Amazing scenery.. great photos!
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So, the shop is done with the truck. The engine is not blown, there are no metal shavings in the oil and all systems are go.
The culprit. The idler pulley bearing…
I must have installed it wrong when I replaced all the engine gaskets and seals. Or it just reached end of life and exploded.
The noise I heard was the progressive loosening of the bearing and the clattering of the pulley. Then when it exploded the little bearings bouncing around the engine bay was what I heard pulling away from the stop light. It’s a good news story, but I feel like I should have known, and solved it earlier. Funny enough that my hunch was correct and it was something to do with a bearing towards the front of the engine. I even trouble shot the pulley system but couldn’t loosen the idler pulley enough to take the belt off to see if the noise stopped when it wasn’t on. Oops.
Lesson learned!
At least it was a $ fix and not a $$$$$ fix!!
The culprit. The idler pulley bearing…
I must have installed it wrong when I replaced all the engine gaskets and seals. Or it just reached end of life and exploded.
The noise I heard was the progressive loosening of the bearing and the clattering of the pulley. Then when it exploded the little bearings bouncing around the engine bay was what I heard pulling away from the stop light. It’s a good news story, but I feel like I should have known, and solved it earlier. Funny enough that my hunch was correct and it was something to do with a bearing towards the front of the engine. I even trouble shot the pulley system but couldn’t loosen the idler pulley enough to take the belt off to see if the noise stopped when it wasn’t on. Oops.
Lesson learned!
At least it was a $ fix and not a $$$$$ fix!!
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Haha well that's great news. Just a spot of auto-hypochondria! I remember once thinking I'd seized my engine, which turned out to be a loose battery terminal clamp.
The PAS idler is a rare piece now for the 3B, but it had the decency only to destroy the bearing itself, which is about the only part of the whole assembly which is still available Even better.
On a totally separate note, we spoke before about radiator hoses. I found they are made in Australia by Gates. Not quite OEM quality but they look OK and I have a backup set just in case.
The PAS idler is a rare piece now for the 3B, but it had the decency only to destroy the bearing itself, which is about the only part of the whole assembly which is still available
Even better.On a totally separate note, we spoke before about radiator hoses. I found they are made in Australia by Gates. Not quite OEM quality but they look OK and I have a backup set just in case.
Can't imagine a recently installed bearing explode like that, maybe a non sealed one ahah. Look like it ran out of grease. When you tried to loose it, did you unbolt the pulley nut before trying to adjust tension?
I'm so glad it is sorted for you and your engine still good for cruising the land
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Can't imagine a recently installed bearing explode like that, maybe a non sealed one ahah. Look like it ran out of grease. When you tried to loose it, did you unbolt the pulley nut before trying to adjust tension?
I'm so glad it is sorted for you and your engine still good for cruising the land
So here’s what I HAVENT told you…
When I took the bearing apart the first time to take it off the engine when I was doing the front timing cover, it fell into a few pieces, and when I put it back together (probably a week later) it didn’t go back in the same way it came out. It wasn’t a new bearing, only what was already in the truck. So I sort of red neck engineered a fix, and well, this is the result…
100% my fault.
And no! I didn’t bother with loosening the pulley nut. Just adjusted the pulley so the belt was as loose as possible and tried to get it off but failed. I think I was a bit too flustered on that last day drive to really diagnose properly.
Either way, the gentleman at the shop worked with a bearing shop in town and they managed to find bearings that were of the same size and he ordered 4 more for his own BJ60 since they were hard to find! I’m lucky the pulley and the rest survived, cause apparently it’s a very hard assembly to source as @Eurasiaoverland mentioned.
Depending on which 3B, I think pulley bearing are not all the same, seam to have at least two kind of pulley tensionner, think there was a change late 1984.
The pulley's nut must be loosened prior adjusting tension.
Even if I know all answers are in the FSM, I still does bad things, a 5 min job...I just damaged a brand new master cylinder because I tought the small screw in the middle was a bleeder....Not...
your journey is an inspiration !
Thanks again
Justin
The pulley's nut must be loosened prior adjusting tension.
Even if I know all answers are in the FSM, I still does bad things, a 5 min job...I just damaged a brand new master cylinder because I tought the small screw in the middle was a bleeder....Not...
your journey is an inspiration !
Thanks again
Justin
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I replaced the bearing in my 1989 power steering tensioner, I forget the size but it was one of the standard 62.. or 63.. bearings.
For info, if you have AC, the AC tensioner pulley is still available, as is the long tensioner bolt.
For info, if you have AC, the AC tensioner pulley is still available, as is the long tensioner bolt.
Coming back to read here. 
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Good news everyone! Got the truck back and drove it from Calgary to its new home in Bend Oregon. She runs perfectly once again.
All in all, I’ve gone from 342,XXXkm to 361,XXXkm from the start to end of my summer. Big season on the ol girl.
Time for a slow down and do some preventative maintenance to find out if anything else is broken, then daily driver status is back on.
All in all, I’ve gone from 342,XXXkm to 361,XXXkm from the start to end of my summer. Big season on the ol girl.
Time for a slow down and do some preventative maintenance to find out if anything else is broken, then daily driver status is back on.
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Alright, the good, the bad, and the lucky.
Got my truck back from the shop.
Feel free to take my “Land Cruiser man card” away cause I got someone else to do the front knuckles
.
But glad I did! They found some issues!!
So I got the truck rust coasted by Krown rust prevention again. Happy with its performance last year. No update there.
I had the shop do a full bolt check on the suspension after my hustle to Alaska and all the gravel roads I drove. As it turns out. Every single U bolt nut was apparently “finger tight”. YIKES.
Apparently these nuts aren’t torqued to spec unless you have the axle dropped completely and not resting on jack stands as it is currently a spring under axle. Oops. When I did my bolt check before the trip, apparently it was not as effective as it should have been.
Apparently I should be doing this annually to ensure the UBolts remain tight.
Problem 2, both the locking hives for the front were broken. Either I broke them when I took them off last, or they broke on the drive. I felt like the 4x4 was always working when I engaged the TC and locked the hubs, but the lads at the shop said they aren’t supposed to fall apart when taken off the truck. And mine did. Whoops. New hubs!
Problem 3, the spindles were worn down and once again apparently 60’s and 80’s LCs are known for the longer mileage trucks having the bearing races from the front axles spinning on the spindle and causing a deterioration of the spindle surface. So new spindles!
And last was a shocker, my drivers side front brakes were fresh and new, but the passenger pads were worn all the way down to the metal!!
Apparently one of the hard lines was crimped and so all the brake pressure went to the front right. I must have driven all the way to Alaska (or back) on one front brake. Who knows what caused this. Could have been anything from when we replaced the suspension, to a rock smacking it with all the off-road mileage I did in Alaska. Shocker non the less. So new rotors and pads!!
Heat marks
Expensive but very worthwhile trip to the shop. This would have taken me far longer than 3 days to solve, order parts, and get her back on the road.
Kudos to the folks at Vehicle Technique Outfitters in Bend Oregon.
Got my truck back from the shop.
Feel free to take my “Land Cruiser man card” away cause I got someone else to do the front knuckles
.But glad I did! They found some issues!!
So I got the truck rust coasted by Krown rust prevention again. Happy with its performance last year. No update there.
I had the shop do a full bolt check on the suspension after my hustle to Alaska and all the gravel roads I drove. As it turns out. Every single U bolt nut was apparently “finger tight”. YIKES.
Apparently these nuts aren’t torqued to spec unless you have the axle dropped completely and not resting on jack stands as it is currently a spring under axle. Oops. When I did my bolt check before the trip, apparently it was not as effective as it should have been.
Apparently I should be doing this annually to ensure the UBolts remain tight.
Problem 2, both the locking hives for the front were broken. Either I broke them when I took them off last, or they broke on the drive. I felt like the 4x4 was always working when I engaged the TC and locked the hubs, but the lads at the shop said they aren’t supposed to fall apart when taken off the truck. And mine did. Whoops. New hubs!
Problem 3, the spindles were worn down and once again apparently 60’s and 80’s LCs are known for the longer mileage trucks having the bearing races from the front axles spinning on the spindle and causing a deterioration of the spindle surface. So new spindles!
And last was a shocker, my drivers side front brakes were fresh and new, but the passenger pads were worn all the way down to the metal!!
Apparently one of the hard lines was crimped and so all the brake pressure went to the front right. I must have driven all the way to Alaska (or back) on one front brake. Who knows what caused this. Could have been anything from when we replaced the suspension, to a rock smacking it with all the off-road mileage I did in Alaska. Shocker non the less. So new rotors and pads!!
Heat marks
Expensive but very worthwhile trip to the shop. This would have taken me far longer than 3 days to solve, order parts, and get her back on the road.
Kudos to the folks at Vehicle Technique Outfitters in Bend Oregon.
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Compared to the previous items in the post above, here are the shiny new parts!
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Can we see what was broken on the free wheeling hubs? They are meant to come apart when rebuilding.Alright, the good, the bad, and the lucky.
Got my truck back from the shop.
Feel free to take my “Land Cruiser man card” away cause I got someone else to do the front knuckles
But glad I did! They found some issues!!
So I got the truck rust coasted by Krown rust prevention again. Happy with its performance last year. No update there.
I had the shop do a full bolt check on the suspension after my hustle to Alaska and all the gravel roads I drove. As it turns out. Every single U bolt nut was apparently “finger tight”. YIKES.
Apparently these nuts aren’t torqued to spec unless you have the axle dropped completely and not resting on jack stands as it is currently a spring under axle. Oops. When I did my bolt check before the trip, apparently it was not as effective as it should have been.
Apparently I should be doing this annually to ensure the UBolts remain tight.
Problem 2, both the locking hives for the front were broken. Either I broke them when I took them off last, or they broke on the drive. I felt like the 4x4 was always working when I engaged the TC and locked the hubs, but the lads at the shop said they aren’t supposed to fall apart when taken off the truck. And mine did. Whoops. New hubs!
View attachment 4029289
Last but not least, the spindles were worn down and once again apparently 60’s and 80’s LCs are known for the longer mileage trucks having the bearing races from the front axles spinning on the spindle and causing a deterioration of the spindle surface. So new spindles!
View attachment 4029288
And last was a shocker, my drivers side front brakes were fresh and new, but the passenger pads were worn all the way down to the metal!!
Apparently one of the hard lines was crimped and so all the brake pressure went to the front right. I must have driven all the way to Alaska (or back) on one front brake. Who knows what caused this. Could have been anything from when we replaced the suspension, to a rock smacking it with all the off-road mileage I did in Alaska. Shocker non the less. So new rotors and pads!!
View attachment 4029290
Heat marks
View attachment 4029291
View attachment 4029292
Expensive but very worthwhile trip to the shop. This would have taken me far longer than 3 days to solve, order parts, and get her back on the road.
Kudos to the folks at Vehicle Technique Outfitters in Bend Oregon.
I was disappointed with the AISIN replacements - the originals are a better design. I would not replace them unless necessary.
All the suspension should be torqued when under compression from the vehicle's mass. But I can't see what the difference is between sitting on axle stands or being on its wheels. The axle is unsprung weight. Ask them to explain it to you
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Apparently the spring within the hubs were broken both sides. What dissapointed you about the AISIN replacements?Can we see what was broken on the free wheeling hubs? They are meant to come apart when rebuilding.
I was disappointed with the AISIN replacements - the originals are a better design. I would not replace them unless necessary.
All the suspension should be torqued when under compression from the vehicle's mass. But I can't see what the difference is between sitting on axle stands or being on its wheels. The axle is unsprung weight. Ask them to explain it to you
As for the torquing of the suspension components, apparently letting the axle free hang while tightening allows for a better set of the bolts as compared to either having jacks under the axle, or the truck sitting on the ground (which I did) the axle is trying to push the UBolts away from the axle (with SUA) compared to unsprung torquing where the UBolts are now unstressed and the leaf springs holding the axle.
We had a long 20+ minute debate in the shop hahaha.
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I hope you got your old parts back for the hubs.
I see what they mean now about not having the U bolts under tension, though I've not heard of a need to do that before.
I see what they mean now about not having the U bolts under tension, though I've not heard of a need to do that before.
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I mean it’s neither here nor there now. The bolts were very loose after that long drive even with me tightening them twice before the drive.
Here is my crappy technical drawing for forces under load.
SOA would not have the UBolts under tension sitting on the ground, but SUA would have tension on the Ubolts while resting on the ground.
Here is my crappy technical drawing for forces under load.
SOA would not have the UBolts under tension sitting on the ground, but SUA would have tension on the Ubolts while resting on the ground.
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Yes, apologies, my bad. I iniitally mis-read your post and thought they were saying it makes a diffrence on axle stands vs. on the wheels which made me question it. Then had a confused moment before mentally drawing your helpful diagram in my head.
When I torqued mine up (axles suspended from a supported chassis - only becuase the hubs weren't on) I felt as I approached the 92 Nm or whatever it is that I could feel the bolts stretching, or perhaps the washers digging into the paint on the U-bolt plate.
A good thing this was caught - and good that the U-bolt threads always rust to stop the nuts from dropping off completely.
When I torqued mine up (axles suspended from a supported chassis - only becuase the hubs weren't on) I felt as I approached the 92 Nm or whatever it is that I could feel the bolts stretching, or perhaps the washers digging into the paint on the U-bolt plate.
A good thing this was caught - and good that the U-bolt threads always rust to stop the nuts from dropping off completely.