Pinstriped 1977 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

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Is the air pump belt not available from Toyota? I got mine from there not so long ago.
 
Thanks everyone!

Is the air pump belt not available from Toyota? I got mine from there not so long ago.
I talked to Cruiser Outfitters and SOR over the phone and they both said that they couldn't source them anymore because Toyota stopped making them. toyotapartsdeal also doesn't have them anymore, but, I haven't called Toyota, I will give that a try just in case.

I filled it up with coolant yesterday and it appears I have a leak between the top and bottom of the thermostat housing. For the thermostat housing I used the same aisin FIPG that I bought for the water pump, but maybe I could have used it more liberally. I think I'm going to buy a gasket for it and use a combination of gasket and gasket sealer or FIPG.

I'm also afraid that the water pump may be leaking, but I am not entirely sure if it was just the drip from the thermostat housing. I'll tackle the thermostat housing first. I found some conflicting advice on mud about removing the plate from the pump, applying your own FIPG, and putting the plate back on, applying FIPG to the plate, and then placing it on the engine block. Maybe I incorrectly assumed that I shouldn't take apart the water pump and that it should come properly sealed from the factory.
 
You should not be using only FIPG to seal the thermostat housing. There is an inner o ring for the thermostat and then the top and bottom halves of the thermostat have a gasket. You can have a small layer of FIPG on the gasket surfaces.
 
Thanks, that make sense, the O ring for the thermostat was there. I think part of the reason I thought only FIPG was ok for the thermostat housing was because there was no gasket there previously- just a bunch of sealant.
 
Wasn’t sure if people here like photos of 40s but here you have one anyway. Happy thanksgiving!
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I believe I’ve fixed the thermostat leak using a gasket and some Indian Head. I also had to drain the radiator and readjust the hoses coming out of the water pump and connecting with the lower radiator hose, and put some new hose clamps on while I was at it.

I’ve also been slowly going panel by panel using Nolen’s patina preservation formula with some modifications @reddog90 suggested. You can see the difference on the hood and front fenders
 
Wasn’t sure if people here like photos of 40s but here you have one anyway. Happy thanksgiving!

:rofl: Uh, why yes, we do enjoy the occasional photograph...
 
When the truck first arrived I only had the steering box leak and the rear pinion seal leak, but ever since, the rear pinion leak actually has gotten better (That might mean I'm running low on transmission fluid?, I've already bought a new seal and will tackle this one soon), but ever since I changed the oil I have gotten a pretty bad leak under the flywheel inspection plate. After reading some threads about similar leaks, people suggested taking the flywheel cover off. Can anybody help me identify this leak? Rear main seal? Cam plug? How do I know? I have more photos if needed.
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The inspection plate has a sticker inside with a "4/19", the PO said that his PO replaced the clutch, but not sure if that was true and if this sticker is the remnant of that.
 
Bought a new valve cover gasket and grommets from @cruiseroutfit. First time taking the whole air cleaner assemble off so the valve cover got a nice cleaning. Adjusted my valves while I was at it.
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I thought transmission fluid change would be an easy enough thing I could do (Although a few months ago I probably wouldn't have thought the same). I followed the usual suggestion of "take the fill plugs out before the drain plugs". First, when I removed the transmission fill plug, oil spewed out. I've read that this could mean that the seal between t-case and transmission could be shot and the t-case could be running low on oil. I was thinking of getting one of those oil return kits or trying to make one myself.

The t-case fill plug also came loose easy enough, but the drain plug won't budge. I've tried PB blaster and hammering and it still didn't budge. I've read heat or impact wrench might be the only way I can get it out.
 
The real reason your transmission is overfilled is that the transfer case vent cap is glued shut (due to 90wt. on the rubber disk) and when the xfer case heats and the oil and air expands, it pushes the 90wt. through the weak/old seal and into your transmission, which is vented through the shift tower.

If you don't immediately want to pull your trans and xfer and replace this seal (who does?), then at least pry off the OEM vent cap on the transfer case (not super convenient to get to) and push on a piece of 3/8" fuel line as a vent hose, and run that hose up the firewall. This has fixed this problem for me on several FJ40s. I used a hose clamp to attach the 3/8" fuel line to the stub of the vent assembly and it is secure.

This has been documented extensively on Mud. I would argue that the hose-on-the-filler plugs is a bit of a hack and costs a lot more.

As for your stuck x-fer case drain plug, but sure to use only a 6 pt. socket on it, and an impact gun's 'rattle' might just what it needs to pop loose.
 
The real reason your transmission is overfilled is that the transfer case vent cap is glued shut (due to 90wt. on the rubber disk) and when the xfer case heats and the oil and air expands, it pushes the 90wt. through the weak/old seal and into your transmission, which is vented through the shift tower.

If you don't immediately want to pull your trans and xfer and replace this seal (who does?), then at least pry off the OEM vent cap on the transfer case (not super convenient to get to) and push on a piece of 3/8" fuel line as a vent hose, and run that hose up the firewall. This has fixed this problem for me on several FJ40s. I used a hose clamp to attach the 3/8" fuel line to the stub of the vent assembly and it is secure.

This has been documented extensively on Mud. I would argue that the hose-on-the-filler plugs is a bit of a hack and costs a lot more.

As for your stuck x-fer case drain plug, but sure to use only a 6 pt. socket on it, and an impact gun's 'rattle' might just what it needs to pop loose.
I actually have seen you post in other threads about running the vent hose up the firewall and I've seen the instructions on how to do it, I will give it a try! It just seemed like folks usually go for the hose-on-the-filler plugs approach most of the time.
 
Got my t-case drain plug loose after multiple applications of PB blaster and a breaker bar. I think the PB blaster did most of the work in the end. Filled with new transmission fluid. I still have to do the front and rear diffs as well as the breather hose mod.

My condo association complained about all the work I’ve been doing on the truck out on my driveway 😂 if only they knew how everything I’ve done so far is relatively trivial.

I’ve taken on a few smaller things like replacing all vacuum lines and kick vent weatherstrip since they were letting in a lot of water but not sure if that will ever stop:
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I feel like the truck runs a little better now but still have the nagging carb issue. @Pin_Head has been very helpful in helping me diagnose the leaks as well as the small vacuum leak I have. Turns out it may be either a cracked manifold or a leak at the heat riser flapper bushings. I feel it speed up whenever I spray carb cleaner on either side of the heat riser. Just ordered a heat riser block-off plate and will try to find someone that can help me block off the holes where the bushings are now.

Trying to decide what next: brakes and knuckle rebuild, gas tank and fill hose (Fumes in the cabin are pretty strong), steering?

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Happy new year!
 
I decided to jump into fixing the vacuum and exhaust leaks. It took me a solid 4 weekends with lots of patience, pain, and PB blaster to loosen all bolts and remove the intake and exhaust manifolds. PB blaster and a breaker bar are the most useful purchases I have made so far. And thanks to @Pin_Head for his moral and technical support when I couldn’t get the damn thing off the block for the life of me.

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In that time I decided to give @FJ40Jim a call to run my plan to fix the intake and exhaust manifold leaks and ask about a carb rebuild. His original estimate of 5-6 weeks made it sound like I would get the carb back before I could finish rebuilding the manifolds, so I sent it off.

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I found a welder to fix the crack on the intake as well as remove the flapper mechanism on the exhaust manifold. Then I got the intake and exhaust sandblasted. I read about the benefits from of ceramic painting the exhaust manifold so I went for it. I don’t know if it’ll actually make a difference but it sure does look nice.

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I followed this procedure for bolting the two manifolds together by first hand tightening the bolts between manifolds, then placing it on the block, tightening the bolts with the manifold on the block (covering them first in antiseize), then taking it off the block and getting the flange surfaces milled: Manifold Rebuild Procedure - Land Cruiser Tech from IH8MUD.com - https://www.ih8mud.com/tech/manifold.php

Finding a machine shop that was willing to mill the flange surfaces was difficult. I found the lone machine shop in Miami that had an operating horizontal sanding belt machine.

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I also installed new rings, springs for the mating surface of the exhaust manifold ears/horns. I cleaned the grooves out of any rust before installing the new springs.
 
I covered both sides of the manifold gasket I got from Cruiser Outfitters with copper gasket maker. I placed the bolt that is closest to the firewall into the bolt hole on the exhaust manifold to make sure that one went in when I put the manifold on the block. I still had some trouble getting into catch the thread. There’s not a lot of space to maneuver back there. I then torqued the bolts to spec using the bolt sequence diagram from the FSM.

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While I continue to wait for my carb I also took out my ripped-up front seats and sent them to get rehupolstered. I also sent my ripped-up seat belts to get redone by Safety Restore.


My gas tank turned out to have a pinhole on the top. I replaced it with a new one, OEM. Got all new hoses, new sending unit gasket, and even a new check valve (From @ToyotaMatt). I found a spare set of keys and plenty of bullet casings below the gas tank. Seems like everything ends up down there. I took advantage to clean with CLR, treat any rust with rust converter, and generously coat everything with fluid film. I also painted my rusty seat legs.

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I also straightened out my old rusty bumper. I’ve also painted it. In hindsight I should have just bought a new one, it was quite difficult to straighten it out and it still looks like crap. Lastly, I painted my bezel as well. I’ve been using pewter and cygnus white rattle cans from Cruiser Corps.

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I got all new bolts for the bumper but I’m putting some clear coat on it to see if makes it look less crappy.

I haven’t been able to drive the truck in 4 months, needless to say it’s not a lot of fun to do all this work when you can’t drive the truck. The last missing piece is the carb from Jim C, for now.
 
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