Opinions on new rig

[ZPDFJ]

budget rebuild.

Thanks folks I appreciate it.

It seems like the biggest concern is the d/s angle. If I can reduce the lift I will improve the angle. I need to decide what the cheapest way to do that is. Seems like shorter shackles, removing that shackle hanger double whatever in the front, then maybe a new set up with the leafs. take one out from the back, and/or replace whats in front. Then I just need to be mindful of how that affects or does not affect the steering stuff.

 

[KLF]

Something I just realized. That is not the original front axle. It is not a fully trussed housing. Not a big deal, but if you wanna wheel that thing you might want to add a truss to the front axle.

 

[Mike C]

Something I just realized. That is not the original front axle. It is not a fully trussed housing. Not a big deal, but if you wanna wheel that thing you might want to add a truss to the front axle.

They never had gussets on the top of the axle from the factory. That is a 85 axle from what I can tell.

I wouldn't add a top gusset my self, to much risk of warping the axle. If strength is a concern I would buy a aftermarket front housing.

 

[Dedtruk]

double check the front ubolts. I can see a gap between them and the axle tube but unfortunately is not unheard of. Just simply double check that they are tight

Saw that gap too. I dunno about just tightening the u-bolts. Looks like the wrong u-bolts were used (round instead of squared off) scary things happen under braking torque with the wrong u-bolts. Replace 'em, they're cheap. Rig does look good with that bobbed bed though.

 

[ZPDFJ]

hmmm

Where does one find these u-bolts?

If I lower the lift via raising the front spring mount, and shorter shackles, less leafs, wouldnt that reduce the sketchy d/s angle?

On my 80 the double cardan drive shaft was helpful with this angle problem. I think the p/o might have said something about that... What do you y'all think about a D/C front d/s.

OR!!!


Just find a moderate 2 /12 inch lift kit and replace it all since i don't want it this tall anyhow, and 33s would be better for power and gas. Im going to see if there is any info on a decent moderate lift kit out there... Only worry is would that mean different drive shafts... not sure, these cant be the stock d/s can they?

 

[Combat Chuck]

Go for the moderate lift and shackles, D/C's are either bank of bust, and I don't wholly trust them.

Also, if you're heading northward on your Road Trip, and you plan on swinging through Santa Rosa, drop me a line, I'll have some beer in the fridge.

Best of luck with the rig, for what its worth, it looks like a nice one, few rough spots here, and there, that's natural, but there are very few Yotas where a little elbow grease can't save the rig as a whole.
Be blessed
-ST

 

[ZPDFJ]

New news

I briefly texted the PO last night. He informed me that he has a fj60 axle that has already been cut and turned to address the d/s angle issue. So I did a little reading late last night and now it is making sense. I "think" that my V6 rear axle on this rig is a little wider than the stock 85' axle, if I am not mistaken its about the same width as the 60 axle. Just about everything on the 60 axle is interchangeable except for the inner axle (one side at least) and the diff is bigger so I can't take the ring and pinyon from the 85 axle and set it in the 60 series axle. Also I understand the 60 comes SUA so I would need new perches for the springs on-top of the axle, and I don't know what U bolts are needed to flip the deal on the 60 axle. I guess I would need a 60 series u bolt flip kit.

Can't wait to get the rig down here and get it set up right and post some pics for you all. Thanks for everyones help, suggestions.

 

[Combat Chuck]

Dude, that just sweetens the whole pot!
Yes, the Taco axle will be a bit wider, and the 60-series axle is negligibly wider than a 40-series (and mini) axle. (I think just a few inches, I can't find any number off the top of my head.)
Your 85 running gear (knuckles, birfs, hubs, discs, calipers) should be more or less interchangeable, iirc, you may have to clearance the housing (widen inside the ball-socket to accept the birfs).
I don't know about the third, though I remember Larry Kitahara mentioning offhand that a mini third could fit into a cruiser axle, but it was an offhand thing, so I'm doubtful.

If you get all your ducks in a row to do this swap, and an extra set of hands, you could pull together the whole assembly in two days, and be rolling shortly thereafter.

Edit:
Oh, and you're looking for u-bolts:
http://www.marlincrawler.com/suspension/full-kits/u-bolt-flip-kit
http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/ubolts.htm
http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/uboltflipkit.htm

I like the Marlin and MAF flip kits because it keeps you from dragging the nuts into the mud, or against rocks, or deforming them. After 38 years of less-than easy life, the u-bolts on my 40 were so shot, I hat to cut them off with an angle grider because the nuts were all warped out of whack. Hope this helps.

 

[ZPDFJ]

cool

Thanks Chuck I appreciate the links. I have learned a lot in the last few days from MUD and Google, amazing how much info is out there if you can search well..

 

[ZPDFJ]

update

Just an update. Picked up the pickup and drove it home. When I saw the rig in person it was uglier than it looked in the pics, more rust than you can see. A lot of oil leaking from a poorly replaced timing chain and timing cover. The steering sounded pretty bad, and the tires were pretty old.

On a positive note the engine ran good and I took the 101 fwy to avoid the grapevine. I had to downshift into 4th on a few areas especially just south of Oxnard.

So this is what is being done..

Remove body lift on rear shackle mounts and on the front spring perch.

Put new Marlin springs in the front to match the rears.

Replace the u-bolts to fit axle.

Replace timing cover

Change oil

Replace the radiator

Replace leaking steering box with new re-man.

New Hankook 35" M/Ts

Install A/C (hopefully)

Install Alpine H/U and speakers

Adjust the headlights


In the near future I am looking into a new exhaust from the manifolds all the way back, a Maaco paint job, then some new shocks. I am not sure what length I need/can buy with my set-up. I also need to replace broken glass on sunroof, some matching unbroken side view mirrors, and shift boot.
Last but not really last a carpet kit. So I should have some pics up soon, probably Tuesday..

 

[Combat Chuck]

Work, Work, Work

Sounds like you've got alot on your plate there, and I look forward to seeing the transformations take place!

If you have the space, and downtime, instead of Maaco, why not just rattle-can it? I've seen some amazing luster from a well-done Rust-oleum paint job on the 40-series section. I'm hoping to do this myself next paycheck, the owner of my local True Value's gonna hook me up with a case each of black primer and green paint at cost, then some 2000 grit, tape, and about two day's work each for the cab and bed, and it should be alright.
The benefits of the rattle-can are:
- Repairs are cheap- I aim to really get my 82 outside as much as possible, and any scratches will be cheaper than dirt to repair.
- The initial work is also cheap. When I painted my 40, I spent about 200 dollars total for four coats of black primer, and four coats of green. Maybe 20 on sandpaper and wax. Cheap.
- The quality will be as good as you can manage. Often the maaco jobs are sketch and then some, most of the time done by hackish contract labor who couldn't care less about their end product.
- Pretty great selection. Rust-oleum (with which I've had the best consistency, durability, and it seems to react less to primers and paints than others brands, hence why I plug for them so much) has great choices, and any two-bit hardware store will have more choices than a local Maaco distributor.
- The colors are good. There's nothing like the glossy sheen of a solid-color paint job without the sparkles and glitter, and the colors come in names that make sense: "Dark Hunter Green" "Sky Blue" "John Deere Green" "Gloss Black" not some of the whacky names out there now. (what the hell is "hardwood taupe?" not saying that Maaco does this though)

Anyway, just food for thought. Enjoy the truck man, and I hope you can have her roadworthy by the time you're in town!

 

[ridgerunner]

I briefly texted the PO last night. He informed me that he has a fj60 axle that has already been cut and turned to address the d/s angle issue. So I did a little reading late last night and now it is making sense. I "think" that my V6 rear axle on this rig is a little wider than the stock 85' axle, if I am not mistaken its about the same width as the 60 axle. Just about everything on the 60 axle is interchangeable except for the inner axle (one side at least) and the diff is bigger so I can't take the ring and pinyon from the 85 axle and set it in the 60 series axle. Also I understand the 60 comes SUA so I would need new perches for the springs on-top of the axle, and I don't know what U bolts are needed to flip the deal on the 60 axle. I guess I would need a 60 series u bolt flip kit.

Dude, that just sweetens the whole pot!
Yes, the Taco axle will be a bit wider, and the 60-series axle is negligibly wider than a 40-series (and mini) axle. (I think just a few inches, I can't find any number off the top of my head.)
Your 85 running gear (knuckles, birfs, hubs, discs, calipers) should be more or less interchangeable, iirc, you may have to clearance the housing (widen inside the ball-socket to accept the birfs).
I don't know about the third, though I remember Larry Kitahara mentioning offhand that a mini third could fit into a cruiser axle, but it was an offhand thing, so I'm doubtful.

Your front axle is 55" wide. The V6 (not taco) rear axle is 58" wide, the same as a 60 Cruiser axle.

I would personally lower those front spring hangers- they look like you could stand to lose 3" of ride height, and take some out of that front shackle too. This would lower the ride height, allow you to keep the springs, make your steering angle better, make your pinion angle more usable, and be stronger as well. The rear could be lowered a bit by losing a couple leaves and either ditching the long shackles or sleeving them through the frame.

There is no reason to use the FJ60 front axle. Sure, it's wider and slightly stronger in the diff, but it's also bigger, heavier, and more complicated in setting up for an SOA- more than likely you'd have to outboard your spring perches out to get around that differential.

 

[ZPDFJ]

Your front axle is 55" wide. The V6 (not taco) rear axle is 58" wide, the same as a 60 Cruiser axle.

I would personally lower those front spring hangers- they look like you could stand to lose 3" of ride height, and take some out of that front shackle too. This would lower the ride height, allow you to keep the springs, make your steering angle better, make your pinion angle more usable, and be stronger as well. The rear could be lowered a bit by losing a couple leaves and either ditching the long shackles or sleeving them through the frame.

There is no reason to use the FJ60 front axle. Sure, it's wider and slightly stronger in the diff, but it's also bigger, heavier, and more complicated in setting up for an SOA- more than likely you'd have to outboard your spring perches out to get around that differential.

I couldnt agree more hence my last post:

So this is what is being done..

Remove body lift on rear shackle mounts and on the front spring perch.

Put new Marlin springs in the front to match the rears.

Replace the u-bolts to fit axle.

More or less that is what I am trying to achieve here. I did in fact ditch the 60 axle idea, and through adjusting the spring perch and shackle mounts which both are mounted on funky fabbed up drop brackets/spacers I hope to achieve a better pinion angle.

Chuck: I agree with you whole heartedly and I have to admit something to all of you... I am not doing this work myself, due to three things: 1. Lack of experience, and no help. 2. No place to work (live in a condo). 3. I wanted to have this truck ready by next Tuesday..


I did have the vision and some instinct and understanding of the situation, just have not done this kind of stuff before. I do have a 40 that I am going to practice some small work on, since I now have 2 cars for the first time in my life. In our parking area I could see doing some gasket replacement and little things but this work needed on the truck: paint, suspension, and removing cooling system and timing cover would surely bring me some from the HOA. They already don't like my leaky 40..

 

[Combat Chuck]

Oh, forget the Homeowner's Association, just duct-tape the crap out of some beat-up old plastic reindeer for the day after Christmas, and leave them up until the neighbors file complaints with the city- they'll love it!
I understand, there are thing's I'd never do on my own, such as anything to the springs, timing chain work, or u-bolts, just because I wouldn't trust my handiwork, and I can see a tired old radiator puking its possibly rusty guts out all over nice, clean, tarmac to be a bone of contention with the HOA too.

 

[ZPDFJ]

Got the rig home tonight and its pretty great. Still working to get the a/c working, but it should get ironed out. I think part of the joy comes from the last 6 months having a 3spd, no a/c, no p/s, no radio, 60mph max, FJ40 as my only transpo. Having the solid feeling of the 85 with 5 spd gear box, bucket seats and shoulder belts, tunes and so on, it's great. I think one of the smartest things the p/o did to this truck is the 4:88s.

When the sun comes up I will get some pics posted. The other great news is the angle of the front drive shaft was significantly improved just by removing the spacers/brackets or whatever they were.

Chuck: Unfortunately I think the is not willing to make the drive up north in the new rig, not this trip. She said next time, and I guess Pismo (Surf & Turf) will be my consolation prize.

Oh there are more issues to deal with of course, my headlights suck, both angle in weird directions and are quite dim. The biggest dilemma is the damn 10" wide rims are going to cause a real problem when it comes to stuffing the rear . Maybe some fenders or some trimming...

At some point I will probably get some doug thorley headers too....my exhaust manifold is pretty crusty, the whole exhaust is actually.

 

[ZPDFJ]

PICS

 

[ZPDFJ]

Update:

HID kit installed and headlights pointed down, very nice.

Had a security measure installed, nuff said.

A/C is finally working.

Tailgate latch replaced with a cheapo Ebay replacement.

Also purchased a pair of matching side view mirrors from Ebay, cheap but look better and work better than current set-up. Question: It looks like I will have to pop the door panels to replace the mirrors. Do you think with my old 85 4runner doors I should expect to break some panel tabs? I am thinking maybe I should order some before attempting to pop off the panels.

Next I am at least going to invest in a new carpet kit. I know it's necessary for to ride in this car. Crusty dog barf in back, grease dirt and oil stains, and dog hair galore even after a 20 minute session at the do it yourself vacuum/ car wash.

I am still debating getting a cheapo paint job at Maaco, it cant look any worse. I wonder though if I the 250-400 job would include the surface rust removal or if that will be an added $$ or something I need to do myself. Thoughts?

 

[ridgerunner]

Update:

I am still debating getting a cheapo paint job at Maaco, it cant look any worse. I wonder though if I the 250-400 job would include the surface rust removal or if that will be an added $$ or something I need to do myself. Thoughts?

All Maaco jobs I've seen just included paint. You want it prep'd, you do it yourself!

I would get two gallons of paint, some brushes and a roller. A couple hours later and Viola! A 15 foot paint job and all that money keeping warm in your pocket....

Truck looks great by the way! (even without paint)

 

[Combat Chuck]

Congrats, man! I'm so glad you brought it home and are geting it cleaned up, I look forward to the progress.

 

[ZPDFJ]

thanks!!

Thanks Chuck! So I just got back from the wrecking yard, and Maaco. Maaco quoted me at $400 for the ambassador package, this would include me doing all the prep as that package comes with no prep, just a coat. I got a bad feeling about it, the guy was very realistic with me about what to expect..and I appreciate that. So, I am now thinking I should just ask my sister if I can use her driveway and rattle can it. Someone mentioned a few cans of Rustoleum, I think that would be a good plan. Do I need to sand it much if i cam going to rattle can it? I guess I just get the blue prep tape and some plastic for covering windows and tires?

Do you have any prep/ paint tips for the rattle can job?

After Maaco I went to the scrap yard and picked up a bumper, I just hate the smitty stuff. Hopefully I can figure out that little job, probably pretty easy.