New addition, 85 FJ60 (1 Viewer)

[darwink1]

Got off my ass and ordered the zinc plated shoulder bolts for the diff covers today. They had the ones for the pinion guard in stock so theyre in the pile. Took one of each off and brought em with me so I didnt have to go back 5 times to boot, guess Im learning. Pinion flange bolts are gonna be a pain to remove so I started spraying them early.

Messed around in the driveway a little more and discovered that all the shocks were loose and could rotate at the top mount due to a jam nut not being tight. This was causing the piggyback on the front ones to make contact with the shock tower. One rear res, while loose, made contact with the exhaust and the other looked like it would come close to the trac bar when the suspension cycled. Im hoping this is the source of some of the clunking thats been annoying the hell out of me. Managed to get both front and one rear shock tight but Ill need a second set of hands to hold the remaining rear shock so I dont freak out and rip the reservoir off..

D

 

[TLC Norway]

eager to see the pinion guard mounted... looks beefy!

And recent thoughts on the bumper and tireosouleumenticish carrier?
I am dying to figure out a good swingdown with shocks...

 

[darwink1]

Yeah, I have been thinking about the carrier some more. Im still faced with either having to lift a 40" tire onto a swing out carrier or having to lift up a swing down carrier with said 40..... I realized the tire wont be coming off half as much as Im going to be opening the rear hatch/tail gate so Im now thinking of combining the two ideas. A swing out would make up the main "body" of the carrier and would be mounted vie a combination of 4x4 labs spindle/shackle sleeve and bushing on the pivot side and two shackle sleeves/bushings on the other side. A simple swing down would then be mounted off of that so when the spare is needed the swing out would stay put and you would use the swing down.

Its getting pretty technical so I dont know what Im gonna end up doing. May just stick w a swing out and suffer..

D

 

[julstirn]

dont worry about it and build your 80!

 

[darwink1]

^^ all in due time.

Made a trip out to cape de reol today and someone jacked my tires.

They put new ones on so Im ok with it.

They clear flexed which is a bonus.

Question: how many 37's and 40's can you fit in a 60? Answer 5 37's w/o rims and a mounted 40.

D

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That truck is huge.

Why didn't you wait to wear out the 37's before upgrading?

 

[darwink1]

Got plans for the 37's....

D

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Got plans for the 37's....

D

That stupid 80 is eating up all of your time and resources man. You should unload it to focus on the 60

 

[darwink1]

Yup, but it runs like a champ. You offering to buy??

Found my steering play/clunk this evening. Looks like the ram has play at the axle mount, its shifting side to side a bit and twisting. This twisting is rotating the steering linkage whenever I turn from pass to driver and back. If I have time Ill take it apart tomorrow and see whats what. Im thinking the hole at the end of the ram cylinder is oblong now.. Oh well.

On a good note I got the wet okole covers in and put on today. They look mint although I wasnt able to put on the backrest one on the back seat due to gay amps being mounted to the back of the seat. Have to relocate those, Im thinkin theyd squeeze in under the seat with any luck.

D

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Yup, but it runs like a champ. You offering to buy??

Found my steering play/clunk this evening. Looks like the ram has play at the axle mount, its shifting side to side a bit and twisting. This twisting is rotating the steering linkage whenever I turn from pass to driver and back. If I have time Ill take it apart tomorrow and see whats what. Im thinking the hole at the end of the ram cylinder is oblong now.. Oh well.

On a good note I got the wet okole covers in and put on today. They look mint although I wasnt able to put on the backrest one on the back seat due to gay amps being mounted to the back of the seat. Have to relocate those, Im thinkin theyd squeeze in under the seat with any luck.

D

Nope, just busting your chops a bit

Sucks to hear that your ram is causing that much trouble. How do you intend to fix it, completely redo the mount and get a new ram?

 

[darwink1]

I have to look at it after taking it apart but Im thinking a sleeve/shim between the mount and the ram cyl hole may work. A couple big washers may reduce movement..... Wont really know till I take it apart but Im hoping the ram isnt too effed up. Guess Ill be doing tie rods while Im there.

It might have to wait since its my last day off and I still need to get the 37's mounted.

D

 

[darwink1]

After a little trip to parts source Pete and I messed around with the 60 a little. Took the ram off to find out whats going on with the clunking and the tie rod twisting. What the fix is going to be is still to be determined. Considering welding the swivel ball in the end of the barrel so it stays put and leaving the swivel at the ram end alone... I used ear plugs to plug the lines going to the ram and it seems to have worked great.

We also managed to get the diff covers on. Finally got to use my little 5L pail pump thing and it did ok. Looks alright. Took the roof rack off since Pete has been bugging me about it non stop since I got the thing.

Took some pics of the moteur and the wet okoles for the hell of it. have to move some amps to install the back rest part of the rear seat.

D

 

[julstirn]

Looks great!

 

[darwink1]

I managed to get the ram back on, top off the fluid, and adjust my tie rods as per a fellow mudders suggestion. Greased the tie rods and the steering shaft u joint to boot. The result is 98% of my dead spot is gone and the steering clunk is also gone. Drives sweet now.

We threw the slc62 head light harness in there along with a set of cibies and osram bulbs today as well. Havent gotten to test them out at night but they work and look like lights.

All thats left now is the pinion guard and new tie rods. Maybe fix the stereo up a little and move the stupid amps.

D

 

[darwink1]

Snapped a couple pics for the hell of it.

D

 

[julstirn]

Snapped a couple pics for the hell of it.

D

Everyone loves pics!! I am actually thinking about maybe trading my 80 for a 60 series. I wont go that extreme with the 60 series though but older cruisers just call my name.

 

[Eldorado556]

I dig the drop down tire carrier idea. I had been thinking about doing something similar for my 60. Any close up pictures of the carrier on the 80? Mostly curious how it latches to the bumper.

For some reason I prefer the drop down over a swing out. Seems like a stronger design as well.

 

[darwink1]

I dont know man, if you dd you may want to stick with the 80. It is a lot more refined than a 60. Then again I do love the look of a nice 60... Get a 60 beater and keep the 80?

Yeah, if you look through my "93 80 Beater" thread in the 80 series tech section theres some good pics of the tire carrier build. My 60 carrier may be on hold for a bit since that arb front bumper is bugging the hell out of me. Id like to do up a metal tech looking one and get rid of the arb.

D

 

[julstirn]

My dd consist of like 2 miles to work and back. My ac is non working the windows in back dont work right, i dont lock my doors, i dont use the power seats, all the comforts of the 80 are not important to me. I just like look and simplicity of 60 compared to 80 anyways.

 

[darwink1]

Gotcha.

Made up a battery hold down bracket thing today. Po had a nylon strap holding the battery down and it was a pain to snug down enough to get it properly secured. I used some scrap threaded rod and bent it at the bottom so it slid into the oe rod hole then threw a bolt/washer on the back side with a shoulder bolt on the outside. I ground down the unused threads so they didnt chafe my wiring and used another shoulder bolt at the new bracket. The bracket itself is 3/16 plate I cut out with the plasma with some pieces of pipe and a gusset welded on. Looks half assed but holds the battery nice and snug.

In a couple of the shots you can see where I mounted the wiring harness dealie on the ps inner fender.

D