My new, factory Toyota cable lockers!

[Chamba]

Hello guys,

Here are my new cable lockers which I just scored from a Jap HJ60 with 48,000 kms on it.

I am thinking about moving the spring perches inward and putting the entire rear axle under my 40 for a wider stance. When I get back to the US, I will likely put these axles under Patches - thus the reason I am posting here on the FJ45 section. I have a few questions:

1. What do y'all recommend with the front axle? Can I simply have the axle shaft machined for the longer splines needed for the locker?
2. Should I put a 60 series axle under the front as well? I am concerned that the wider rear axle would cause handling issues if the front axle is left narrower.
3. Thoughts on keeping the rear axle versus going with the 60 series? It would be far easier to put the 60 series axle under my 40. I can also sell the 40 series full floater with handbrake as a complete axle that way and help pay for the cable lockers.
4. Any other suggestions from the Cruiser Brains Trust here on Mud?

I will be doing a thread on it when I finally get the time to do the swap. I have a set of five 33 x 10.50 x 15 BFG A/Ts coming from the States. Once those are mounted, the next project will be these lockers.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[fogblanket]

I just wappd a 60 sereies rear semi floater under my lv. I am jealous I was holding out for finding a cable lockered rear but oh well. it wasn't that hard tok 2 of us a day to do the swap. on the rear. on the front axle ift might take more time in that you have to use the fj62 perches and out board your spring pin mounts and shackle mounts. it sbeen done before so you won't be reinventing the wheel. just looks a little funky on the front frame (IMHO) otherwise whatI did to keep the axles the same width was to use a 40 front axle and add a sky widening kit and mini truck hubs and I had stock steelies widened to 8" with 5.25 bs so it looks and acts like a stock 4 axle setup. clear as mud right
jason

 

[Chamba]

Will Ring and Pinon from open diff fit a cable lock diff?

I just wappd a 60 sereies rear semi floater under my lv. I am jealous I was holding out for finding a cable lockered rear but oh well. it wasn't that hard tok 2 of us a day to do the swap. on the rear. on the front axle ift might take more time in that you have to use the fj62 perches and out board your spring pin mounts and shackle mounts. it sbeen done before so you won't be reinventing the wheel. just looks a little funky on the front frame (IMHO) otherwise whatI did to keep the axles the same width was to use a 40 front axle and add a sky widening kit and mini truck hubs and I had stock steelies widened to 8" with 5.25 bs so it looks and acts like a stock 4 axle setup. clear as mud right
jason

Thanks Jason,

I have been looking for cable lockers for four years (since I moved here), and never found them. I was driving past this place in Adelaide which was advertising 'Jap Parts Cheap' on a sandwich board. I had a few hours up my sleeve, so I stopped.

They had them sitting there on their shelves. Unfortunately, they sold the front axle housing, so I only have the front diff/locker, but a complete rear axle. They wanted au$1800 for them, but I talked him down to au$1000 (us$900). I was pretty happy with myself. They look brand new inside.

I'll have to go back to your thread and re-read your axle swap bit. Did you make new spring perches that were narrower? I have just been out measuring my new axle and my 40 series axle (it is 115 degrees in my garage, so I can only spend about 30 minutes at a time there), and it looks like I'll need to move the perches 2" closer together, and make perches which are 1" narrower in order to allow the u-bolts to fit into the u-bolt plates which the shock mount is on.

The other option might be to simply move the 60 series perches inward and then use 60 series u-bolt plates. Of course, then I would have to make a spacer to keep the spring pack in place, so it may be a better idea to make new perches.

I thought about the spacers for the front axle. I suppose it would be just like when people put solid front axles on 4 Runners and pickups using the 79-84 front axle. Can I do that using my Cruiser hub, do you know? Did you drive your rig with the front axle narrower than the rear?

Thanks for your thoughts, Jason. I love your re-build thread.

Another question: Does anyone know whether ring and pinons from an open diff will fit the cable locker diffs? I want to put my 3:73 ring and pinon into my cable lockers.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[fogblanket]

hey Josh
I used fj45 repro perches that I got from 'jsaltlick' and he got them from SOR for like 30 bucks or something. much easier just to cut the fj6o perches off and get hte axle in on top of the perches I thing miy perches ended up 5 1/4 or so inches on each side from the rear brake mounting plates which is the outer most part of the rear axle housing.then we set the pinion angle which was I think 90 degreses and tacked the perches on. then pulled the axle back out and welded them on. its worht it to do all the little extra steps.
as far as the front axle goes since hte stock axle is in essence a full floater you can just mount the cable loncker in taht housing ust have to have the longer spline short side axle shaft and gring out just a little bit of the housing. (it mounted an elockered diff in my fj62 had bought a cable lockered fj60 housing and everything but we ended up just useing the sotck housing .
actually on my fj62 i did run an fzj80 rear axle and the stock front axle and ran 3.5" as wheels on teh front and 5.25 bs wheels on the back and while it drove fine I did get the sky widening kit soon after though running 2 different bs wheels is a bit of a pain.
I put the sky widening kit on my fj62 and have put it on the lv as well. the mini truck hubs make it so you don't have such a long axle hub so i doesn't stick out 10 miles long like the OEM stock one does.
I will keep looking for a set of cable lockers
Jason

 

[Chamba]

Thanks Jason. SOR makes the perches, eh? I'll pop on there and see. I wonder if John still has any extra perches laying around?

Did you hook up the rear axle hand brake on Wilma?

Josh

 

[fogblanket]

no on both actuallly he just had a pair that he had bought for something and did not use and we horse traded for them. I have rear disk brakes and had spent way too much on setting up a drum ebrake on the back of my split transfer case. in the lv but I would thin you could just hook the cable up to the ebrake handle in your cruiser
jason

 

[DanS HJ-45]

This just in: I am jealous.

Good score! Probably better for you that you just got the 3rd member for the front. You can ship that here and use a 60 series axle here for a LOT less than the whole axle (unless you're doing a container or something--are you?)

Very, very cool.

Dan

 

[crustyBJ60]

60 axles...

nice score, i also just picked up a 60 rear complete to put under my troopy.

the 60 rear will fit, with the perches moved inboard.

as for the front, you will need to outboard the spring hangers on the frame to make a 60 front fit. 60 front 60 rear is a good way to go.

or... get an IFS hub conversion kit from sky mfg. for the 40 front. use the locking center from the 60... bit of custom machine work for the long shaft. i'm sure i have seen a thread or two about that (i'd post the link if i could remember

ruffstuff and other vendors here on mud offer good gear and better prices than $OR.

60 axles have been done many times under 40/55. search is your friend .

the other option is to sell the cable lockers, get air lockers.

it all comes down to what you want to spend, and what you'll get for the $$$ you fork out. why spend more for the same result...

HTH'S
cheers
crusty

 

[rick_d]

josh-

dodge spring perches are $12 or so a pair. Maybe search the site for the parts number.

 

[67azcruizr]

Thanks Jason. SOR makes the perches, eh? I'll pop on there and see. I wonder if John still has any extra perches laying around?

Did you hook up the rear axle hand brake on Wilma?

Josh

I've got a couple extra sets from SOR that won't be getting used anytime soon, shoot me a PM

 

[Owyhee Jackass]

Any spring shop will have perches, cheap.

Are you going to spring it over or leave it under? I sprung my 45 over with 60 series axles front and rear and am very happy with the results. I moved the rear perches in (an on top) and out-boarded the front spring mounts on the frame. Did a cut and turn on the front as well.

Nice score. I've an e-locker in the rear of mine...have not been able to get it to work though, I am much more mechanically inclined than electrically...

Dan

 

[Chamba]

I wish I had checked this more recently AZCruiser, as I just ordered new spring perches from Marlin.

I think the cable lockers are gong to be a pain in the back side. I have been looking at ways to hook the cable up, and I have not come up with a good way yet. I'm sure I will figure it out, but nothin' yet.

Meanwhile, I ordered a set of five 33X10.50X15 BFG A/T tires from the US and had them shipped here. I saved au$448 over what I could get them for here. However, in truly Australian style (it occurred to me just how Australian this was as I drove home from work at the ridiculously slow Australian speed limits past all the cameras which watch Australians' every move, dodging cyclists in their government-mandated helmets and reflective clothing, hoping not to get a ticket for having my doors off in the 110 degree heat or for my tires sticking out 1/2" from the side of the rig, or for having a dirty licence plate - which my Wife received a ticket for one Monday after we had gone to a friend's vineyard one rainy weekend) I discovered that I will have to pay about au$600+ in fees when the tires arrive. I have a $350 wharfage fee, $117 quarantine fee, $50 in government handling fees, customs SAC fee, possible 10% GST... You can't win in this Big Brother country. Sorry, ranting mode off.

I finally had some time to do some tinkering and cleaning. I am attaching a few photos of the lockers. It turns out that the short-side rear axle shaft (which is the one with the 4 1/4" splines to suit the locker) is the same length on my 40 as my 60 series axle. So, I think I will just put the locker 3rd member in my 40 axle housing for now. I still plan to do the 60 series axles, but I think I will wait until I get the truck home to the US, as the cost of doing stuff here is maddening, and I don't want to risk getting my car defected because I don't have an Engineer's Certificate for the 60 series axle.

This way, I will have more time to sort out the cable mounting issues, and when I finally do the 60 series swap, it will just be a matter of swapping over axles. My thoughts for now are that I will use two more 79-84 40 series handbrake levers for the locker handles. One will mount in the LHD handbrake holes, and the front locker will mount in the middle fo the two. Then I'll hook up the two green 'Diff Lock' lights on the dash. The problem with this idea is that the cables are too short to reach the floor pan where the handbrake handle goes. I will probably have to get new cables made, but I will do that next time I am home and bring them back with me, as the local shop which makes cables wants au$350 each to make custom cables.

The top photo shows the longer splines from the 60 series axle (top) the second photo shows the inside of one of the lockers in the locked position, and the third photo shows the 60 series short-side axle on top, and the 40 series short side on the bottom.

 

[mderrick]

if you are looking at swaping in a 60 fornt end still check out my LV thread. i droped in a 60FF in the rear and a 60 front end as well. out boarded and shackle reverse in the process. let me know what you think.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/fj45-owners-club/201708-1964-fj-45-lv-restoration-mike-derrick-slc-ut.html

also if your interested i will be making some moreshackle reverse hangers to get them made is right about 50-60USD for the pair but they work great with factory pins! (40 or 60 series)

 

[folsom50]

.

I finally had some time to do some tinkering and cleaning. I am attaching a few photos of the lockers. It turns out that the short-side rear axle shaft (which is the one with the 4 1/4" splines to suit the locker) is the same length on my 40 as my 60 series axle. So, I think I will just put the locker 3rd member in my 40 axle housing for now. I still plan to do the 60 series axles, but I think I will wait until I get the truck home to the US, as the cost of doing stuff here is maddening, and I don't want to risk getting my car defected because I don't have an Engineer's Certificate for the 60 series axle.

Thanks for posting that up. I've always suspected the short side was the same length, but could never verify it. When you get back over here, and if you decide to go 60 width on patches, get ahold of me. I've got your 60 series CL front housing and long side/long spline inner for you. I have a complete set of 60 series, but don't want the width, I need a 40 series FF rear. Maybe we can work something out.

BTW, maybe you've already counted teeth, but cable locking axles came in both 4:11 and 3:73 flavors. I actually haven't pulled mine apart to even see what I have.

 

[Chamba]

Thanks for posting that up. I've always suspected the short side was the same length, but could never verify it. When you get back over here, and if you decide to go 60 width on patches, get ahold of me. I've got your 60 series CL front housing and long side/long spline inner for you. I have a complete set of 60 series, but don't want the width, I need a 40 series FF rear. Maybe we can work something out.

BTW, maybe you've already counted teeth, but cable locking axles came in both 4:11 and 3:73 flavors. I actually haven't pulled mine apart to even see what I have.

Thanks for the offer, I would be very interested in the swap if you still have the axle. I am definitely planning on the 60 series axles in Patches, as she is top-heavy in the best of times.

Sadly, mine are 4:11s, which means I will have to stick the 3:73s in them. It is a shame to pull it apart; you can see how clean the thirds are.

mderrick,

Can you do the new perches to fit the 81 and newer spring eyes? I would be really interested in that, as when I do the 60 series axle, it just makes sense to swap the shackles.

On a tire note: still working on getting all the paperwork done in order to get my tires out of Kustoms/quarantine. It is unreal how many fees there are in this country. I know all governments love their annoying little fees for everything, but in all of the countries I have lived in, Australia takes the cake.

The big difference between here and the United States is that the citizens in Australia don't seem to mind all the fees, taxes and cameras. It boggles the mind. Could it be that they raised sheep in this country for so long that they now think like them?

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Chamba]

Rear 60 axle installed!

I have finally had some time off work over christmas to install my new 60 series axle/cable locker. I plan to install a 60 series front axle and my other cable locker next time.

So, while the speed cameras shimmered in the 106 degree Australian heat: I took out my old LX axle, ground off the perches from my 60 series axle, welded the new perches on and installed the new axle.

While I was at it, I also moved the axle back 2" (making my drive shaft 21" long, rather than 19"). Initially, I turned my rear springs around, but after doing that, I discovered that OMEs are not made to do that, and that the flat part of the springs tilted forward at an awkward angle (as you can see in the last photo). So, I reversed the springs once more to their original positions, and drilled a spring pin hole in the perch 2" forward of center.

 

[Chamba]

Then, I swapped the front third member into the rear axle. Although the truck they came from only had 48,000 kms, I thought I would rather have a front third member in the rear. And, given I had a front third member in my old axle which I had only just installed about a year ago, I thought I might as well. Note int eh photo how diff opening has the little opening on the right side to allow the locker to fit.

An important point for anyone installing one of these: make sure that the diff is locked AND that the locking collar has slipped into the spider gears, or it will not come out. I had locked it, but hadn't jiggled the drive shaft flange back and forth to get the collar to slip in. I played with it for 10 minutes before I figured out the reason it would not come out. Once I jiggled it and heard the little click, it slid right out...

I did have to swap the drive shaft flange, as my 84 FJ40 did not have the same bolt pattern as the HJ60 that these came out of. So, I also replaced the pinon seal while I was at it.

Obviously, I had to use the 60 series handbrake cable, as my 40 series cable was too short to span the 60 series axle. That worked, but left a parking brake cable that 7 1/2" too long at the handle. This was not really a problem, as I routed it above the fuel tank. However, I can't use the factory cable mounts, as there is too much slack.

Finally, I put on the Bushwacker flares to cover the tires, which now stick out 1 1/2" further than they used to (highly illegal here in Australia- nearly as bad as riding a bicylce without a helmet). I'm not overly impressed with the Bushwackers, as they feel pretty stiff to me, and will surely not hold up to bumping into anything. Also, Bushwacker shorted me the gimping and 2 screws with my flares. I think if I did it again, I would put TJ flares on, as they are significantly cheaper, and reasonably flexible.

The next process will be to figure out how to run the cable. The rear cable is a bit short for what I want to do, so I will likely have to fabricate something... but that is for another break from work when it is not so hot. I will probably wait to put the front 60 axle in until I get home, but you never know. I did get two 1 1/4" spacers from Marlin, so I may run those if I feel the need. I don't really want to put flares on the front, so I may not even put those on.

I tried to post photos of the above processes, but it appears I am out of space to post pictures. Sorry.

 

[2manycruisers]

and no pics in my inbox!

 

[1tontoy]

Buy a silver star, I think its $25US, and support this great site. Cheers

 

[herbs]

The big difference between here and the United States is that the citizens in Australia don't seem to mind all the fees, taxes and cameras. It boggles the mind. Could it be that they raised sheep in this country for so long that they now think like them?

We don't eh? News to me.....