!OY Coolermans 2/71 Build

[Coolerman]

The BH and clutch must be installed w/ engine hanging from the crane. Then the engine can be set gently on a piece of plywood, then tranny & t-case are scooted up against BH and carefully maneuvered into place. The use of an engine tilter and some miscellaneous wood blocks helps a lot.

No, getting the e-brake off will be impossible w/ out either: lowering the rear of the engine or cutting out the x-member.

So install a new pair of shoes and replace the cable if at all questionable, then install the whole unit into the truck. Because you've antiseezed the P-brk works and replaced wear parts, you will not need to get in there for another 10-20 years.

Well the shoes are mostly new, all internals stripped, powder coated, greased and reassembled. The speedo housing has the double seal mod and the e-brake cable is pretty new. My only concern about the cable is will it reach now? I have heard a 1974 cable is longer?

I still believe the best long term fix is to cut out the cross member and make a bolt in version if it. It will be easy with the body off...

 

[Coolerman]

this has to be the best build thread i've read.
for anyone who has'nt seen his home page it's the best congrats coolerman i'm looking forward to more on you're web page.

Thanks!

I just added the clutch/flywheel install page last night. Spent most of the evening woking on the front axle hard brake lines. Had to relearn the double flare tools...

 

[watrob]

Hi Coolerman,

Thanks for your reply, sorry for comming back to you wth this same question as I don't understand why you need to move the cross member.

I had a 1974 chassis with a 2F plus 4 speed with split transfer case with hand brake on transfer case and there was room.

What do you think is different in your setuo that is causing you this problem, I mean that is if you feel it is a problem.

Thanks

Watrob

 

[FJ40Jim]

Watrob, the difference is you had a 1974 frame which has the crossmember relocated to the rear to provide clearance for the longer 4-speed tranny.

Coolerman has a 1971 frame which has the crossmember farther forward because the 3speed was still standard at that time.

 

[apeterson]

nice job Cooler man

 

[mikealeus]

Coolerman, nice buildup! I had a 71 and what was done to the cross member so that a four speed could be installed is just cut out between the frame rails and rotate the "hump" towards the rear and weld back in place.

 

[Coolerman]

Coolerman, nice buildup! I had a 71 and what was done to the cross member so that a four speed could be installed is just cut out between the frame rails and rotate the "hump" towards the rear and weld back in place.

You wouldn't happen to have pics of this would you? I thought about cutting it about 2" from the frame on each side, welding some flat 1/8" plate to the ends of the stubs sticking out, then tilt the tube back and welding the center tube back to the plates.

I'm in the shop right now looking at this. If I did the t-case rebuild correctly, and the dual speedo housing seals right, then I shouldn't have to get back in there until I'm too old to be able to do it! And I can always pull the whole engine or cut the member out then... I think I will just go ahead and lift the engine up today, install the t-case, then see how I feel about it later after I take some measurements.

 

[Wildman]

Coolerman, take a look at the first two pics in my build thread, youll see how the hump in the Xmember points back more. I think the PO had done this (the welds wernt finished) because he was going to swap in a V8 combo. I would just grind the welds holding it then rotate it backwards and re-weld.

 

[Coolerman]

Well no cutting of the cross member this weekend, but I did get the t-case installed!

I determined I can easily take out the cross member any time right up until I bolt the body on. I am going to get it running and test drive it to make sure it all works before painting it. If everything works out in the testing I'll leave the cross member. Otherwise I'll cut it out after removing the body for paint.

On with the show: I spent most of Saturday morning cleaning up the shop so I would not trip over anything while carrying the t-case, then started gathering all the parts/gaskets/tools/sealant needed to install it. Then spent the rest of the day powder coating a bunch of small parts.

Sunday morning I get up early expecting to see partly sunny skies and temps in the 40's, (what was predicted) making working with the garage door up not too bad, but no... it's snowing/sleeting/raining, windy and the wind is blowing directly into the garage...

So set about putting the clip on the e-brake cable (yes, should of done that BEFORE putting the shoes on but that damn cable gets in the way of everything!) and putting the drum on. Simple enough. The clip only took about 20 minutes but putting the nut on to hold the drum took 2 hours! Why? Well it seems when I was pressing off the gears I somehow actually deformed the threads on the very tip of the shaft! No, I did NOT beat it with a hammer I have a press...

I did not have a die to re-tap this and the old,' use a nut to reform the threads' would not work as the shaft is harder than the nut. So after very carefully looking at what was wrong I grabbed a Dremel cut off tool and hacked off the last two threads on the shaft! After a bit of dressing with a fine file the nut went on easy as pie! Plus still have the hole in tact for the cotter pin.

 

[IDave]

Wow. You didn't try a thread file first?

 

[Coolerman]

Next I had to get the engine pulled from the frame and stabilized. The wind had died down, so up goes the door, out comes the hoist and up goes the engine. Then down goes the engine... WTF?

I would raise the engine/tranny then stop pumping and slowly the engine would come back down. I tightened the bleed valve, pumped it up ,and down it came...

I could tell the whole story of how I actually worked with it this way for about 20 minutes, stopping every couple of minutes to give it a pump or four but I eventually came up with a way to block it up safely so I could stab the t-case on. (I later found that warming the hydraulic cylinder up with a propane heater made it stop creeping, but man be warned: Don't trust a hydraulic cylinder to hold position!)

Taking Poser's advice, I made up a set of guide bolts by chopping the head off a 2" bolt and welding a 3" extension to it, then threaded those into the tranny.

I needed a place to rest the t-case when my arms gave out so found a board wide enough to fit over the frame and placed the t-case and all parts I would need there.

 

[Coolerman]

Wow. You didn't try a thread file first?

Well, sort of. Not having a metric thread file (I do have an American ) I tried using a tiny triangular file but the threads were just too compressed. It was faster to cut the shaft! I could see no reason not too?

 

[Coolerman]

I installed the t-case to tranny gasket after giving it a coat of silicone on both sides then tested the guide studs by sliding the t-case on without the input/PTO gears. It was then I realized it was going to be fun trying to hold the input gear in place while also holding the t-case. Believe it or not, I did manage to get the input gear on while holding the t-case without tearing the seal! However I finally broke down and got the wife to help me install the PTO gear. I slide the t-case back on the guide studs and held it while she inserted the PTO gear.

It's on! Got the other long bolt inserted and started, then the two inside bolts (long bolt on top) then removed the studs and replaced them with the 4 sp t-case bolts. Now I could put the engine back in place one last time and bolt her down.

By the time that was done I was worn out, so I took a few more pics, then threw a towel over it. I'll finish up putting the main rear bearing, spacers and nut on tonight. Then the covers and such.

You can see in the last pic how close the e-brake drum comes to the cross member!

 

[Wildman]

I wish I had a flywheel, i would be in the same spot of building...

 

[FJ40Jim]

I wish I had a flywheel, i would be in the same spot of building...

Flywheel for what kind of clutch, diaphragm or coilspring? You pay the freight, i can prolly find one to give you.

 

[bsmith123]

nice job

nice job I keep looking in from time to time I have a 71. Looks like rust bullet on the frame or is that silver POR--how did you get inside the boxed section? did you spray or use a rustproofing wand?

 

[Coolerman]

nice job I keep looking in from time to time I have a 71. Looks like rust bullet on the frame or is that silver POR--how did you get inside the boxed section? did you spray or use a rustproofing wand?

Two full coats of Rust Bullet are indeed on the frame, under the frame , inside the frame, (using brushes taped to long handles) on the floor, on me (with the one important exception) on my clothes, even my glasses! I also did the front axle housing then top coated with black enamel. The rear axle housing gets it next. I used the cheap paint brushes the paint came with to apply it.

I love the stuff. I read your thread comparing RB to POR yesterday, good job! It will be interesting to see the log term results. BTW it can be sprayed for a super smooth finish. Friend of mine sprayed his VW rims they came out great.

 

[mikealeus]

Sorry Coolerman, I don't have any pics but it was just cut, rotated and rewelded, no plates involved.

 

[Coolerman]

Sorry Coolerman, I don't have any pics but it was just cut, rotated and rewelded, no plates involved.

No problem, for now I'm just doing other things until I make my decision on what to do.

 

[Coolerman]

Well time to update this thread with my meager progress.

I made the decision to pull the rear axle and go through it again. Why again you ask? Well I had done it once about 6 years ago when I first got the Cruiser when it still belonged to my brother. He had trashed the rear diff by allowing a c-clip to fall and I had replaced that diff with one from a 1976. I had also half assed did the brakes while I was in there. Compared to my recent front axle
work it was looking very shabby. Out it came!
Pic 1 shows the axle out and riding on my creeper. (Neat way to move it around!)
Pic 2 shows the axle ready to be stripped of all parts.
Pic 3 shows the axle stripped of all parts and paint/rust ready to be painted with rust bullet.