Builds Project Bluey - the dad wagon!

[CruisD64]

After replacing the cap & rotor, I replaced the ignition coil and spark plug wires. I reinstalled everything and fired the truck up and it ran normally! When revving hard, it still got a bit upset but that may just be the mix of old and new gas. I may just have to drive it for a bit to work that fuel out.

Now that the engine is running more normally, I can move onto the next two mechanically steps. I need to flush and refill the coolant system since someone used green coolant. After that, I need to drain and refill the transmission for the first time. I will likely do this 2-3 time to see if the 1-2 shift will clean up.

Overall, I'm very please with how the weekend went and with my progress!

Have you ever tried Seafoam? I've had good luck with it in my oil and gas. Cleans injectors and breaks down carbon in the block and head. I've heard of people succesfully freeing up sticky valves with the stuff and seen before and after photos of valve trains. Quite impressive. Food for thought and a cheap experiment. Do at your own discretion, however. Some people say they've had bad luck with the stuff but I always equated that to exposing underlying inevitable issues sooner than later.

 

[BGMachine]

Have you ever tried Seafoam? I've had good luck with it in my oil and gas. Cleans injectors and breaks down carbon in the block and head. I've heard of people succesfully freeing up sticky valves with the stuff and seen before and after photos of valve trains. Quite impressive. Food for thought and a cheap experiment. Do at your own discretion, however. Some people say they've had bad luck with the stuff but I always equated that to exposing underlying inevitable issues sooner than later.

I was thinking of seafoam or LucasOil makes a "tuneup in a bottle". I'm not sure which would be better. I need to burn this fuel down a bit more before I add seafoam.

 

[BGMachine]

Ok, I had a pretty productive weekend.

I had done a trans drain and fill earlier last week and unfortunately while the engine got to temp, the radiator revealed that it had a number of holes in it... I was able to source a new Denso one and that was my project for the weekend. Swapping the radiator.

I learned that this process is a bit involved as I had to remove all of the lights to get to the front mounts. I also learned that the trans cooler line runs through the radiator as well. I think that's a bit funny since the trans has a separate cooler but it is what it is.

When I tipped back the radiator to remove it, I found more of my nemesis from my Jeep... wasp nests... Mud Dubbers get everywhere! this truck definitely sat for a while.

The new radiator went in easy and while I was there, I replaced the thermostat and flushed the green coolant out of the truck. Now it's happy with a mix of toyota red and distilled water.

We took the truck on a test drive afterwards and the trans still isn't enthused. So this week, I'll get more fluid for another drain and fill plus some Lubegard that was mentioned earlier. maybe that will fix the 1-2 shift / shudder.

 

[BGMachine]

I had a little time in the garage last night so I worked on the driver’s seat a bit.

I disassembled the seat because the lower vision foam needs to be re-attached, I want to patch the tears, and I’m going to install seat heater elements.

The seats came apart easily and luckily the foam is in better shape than I thought. Unfortunately, I didn’t have spray adhesive so I’ll have to repair it later this week.

I was able to mock up my tear repair. My wife had a pair of blue jeans that no longer fit so I decided to repurpose a section of them to cover the tears in the seat cushion. I cut a slit in the foam and slid the piece of denim in between the foam and the leather. I will glue it in when I get adhesive. I think it looks pretty good for a low-buck repair!

Hopefully the denim glued to the back of the leather will also give it some additional tear resistance.

Once that’s together, I’ll add the seat heaters and reassemble the chairs.


I was able to get some additional trans fluid for my second drain and fill. I need to wait for an opportunity when I have more time to get dirty and change it. Hopefully the second change will do the trick!

 

[BGMachine]

the interior work continues.. this weekend has been spent cleaning the carpet and interior panels. the thing definitely needed it! the carpet water was disgusting. there was also a good bit of what I'm going to assume was mildew on surfaces. I'll get the junkyard seats installed soon and I can more comfortably test drive the truck.

Once test drives can resume, I'll work the new trans fluid + lubegard through the system. Lubegard said that I need to drive the truck 150mi before determining if it fixed the shifts or not. I've also got some stop shudder coming in tomorrow. Hopefully those will make the trans happy otherwise, I think that I'm going to have to drop the trans.

Lastly, I ordered brake pads / rotors / hoses to freshen up the brakes. they are very soft. the fluid is new so I think the hoses are expanding. Once the brakes are working again, I'll try to drive the truck more to see if the trans fix worked.

bonus: I got the #dadwagon sticker!

 

[BGMachine]

Brief Update:

I drove the truck for a bit with the "stop shudder" friction modifier... it didn't fix it. I can't say that I'm not surprised but I was hopeful. So more than likely it's a mechanical problem... My hunch is the clutch pack on the 2nd gear.

But before moving further on that front, I decided to install the brake hardware that I have on hand. I'm about halfway done at this point. The new front pads & rotors are installed as well as the extended stainless brake hoses.

I also took advantage of having the truck on jack-stands to remove the running boards. That instantly makes the truck look 10x better!

 

[BGMachine]

I finally got some time to work on the truck again last night. I didn't get too far because the baby wound up having a rough night.

Anyways, here's the plan and what's happening:

I spoke with a coworker who works in Powertrain and does transmission work. I explained my problems and we came up with a plan.
1) drain fluid and drop the trans pan.
2) clean and inspect pan
3) remove filter and valve body
4) clean and inspect valve body
5) reassemble w/ new filter
6) refill and add Lubegard TransFlush
7) do a full flush (~16qts)
8) test drive
9) if the problem still exists... take it to a shop

Last night was mostly spent prepping a clean space on the workbench to inspect the valve body. I also stole the idea from someone on the forum and used puppy pads under the trans to catch any stray fluid.

This is the first time that I've dropped a trans pan and I wasn't sure if the dipstick came with it. I unbolted the dipstick from the brackets just in case. I then unbolted the trans pan and tapped it with a dead blow. It peeled off partially and then was hung up on the dipstick. I was monkey-ing with it when the worst happened... the pan fell on my head. Thank God I was wearing my safety glasses! All the fluid that was left in the pan then spilled onto the left side of my head, in my ear, and onto the ground... It looked like someone died under there! haha.

It was at that exact moment that the baby got mad and I got the call from the wife to come in and help. I had to hastily clean up and head inside. That being said, I did get to at least take a quick look at the trans pan.

It does look pretty dirty and the magnets are caked in material. I don't know if this amount of material is normal for a 142,000mi trans. I'll clean it up when I get time and go from there.

initial glance at the bottom of the trans and it looks ok.

 

[BGMachine]

Long time no update so here we go:

After performing the fluid flush on the transmission, I took the truck for a test drive and it didn't change the behavior of the transmission at all. I drove it for a half hour with no improvements noted. Therefore, unfortunately, my fluid flush didn't fix the problem. The violent shudder from takeoff is still there. So I started to call around to local shops to see if anyone would be able to help me, including the local Toyota dealer. They all gave me the same response, "it's too old for us to work on". I can't say that I didn't see that coming. A couple shops were willing to help me diagnose over the phone. And I got the same answer from both, they confirmed my dread that the 1st gear clutch pack is the likely culprit.

This guy:

My options then are to A) remove the transmission and spends $$ on specialty tools and rebuild kits or B) source a used transmission with similar mileage to my truck and give it a shot. After hunting the local classifieds for a few weeks, I was fortunate enough yesterday to snag a $500, 129,000mi transmission from a local scrap yard! It felt kind of like bagging a prize buffalo! Or so I imagine.

So now I have the trans but my 1st floor bathroom is just studs, half a wall, and a tub currently so I need to focus on that. Hopefully I can wrap the bathroom up in the March timeframe and I can work on the transmission in April. And if I'm lucky, I can use the truck on an offroad trip that I'm planning for later in May!

I don't have pictures but I also removed the headliner so that I can work on the sunroof and roof rack. The sunroof needs new seals and the roof rack needs to go... and I'm going to have to weld in those holes.

 

[MrMacdugal]

I had a read back on your previous post to catch up. I had to straight up laugh at the part when you dropped the pan on your head and filled your ear with fluid... I could feel that. I would def do something like that. I'm glad I'm not the only one! Haha

Doesn't it suck to have these repairs and projects just hanging over your head? Especially as a dad to young kids. You finally get a chance to start working and BAM, it's ripped away from you again in an instant. The simplest, or most difficult task can drag on for days, weeks or dare I say months.

You'll get there, I have faith. Looking forward to following along

 

[BGMachine]

I had a read back on your previous post to catch up. I had to straight up laugh at the part when you dropped the pan on your head and filled your ear with fluid... I could feel that. I would def do something like that. I'm glad I'm not the only one! Haha

Doesn't it suck to have these repairs and projects just hanging over your head? Especially as a dad to young kids. You finally get a chance to start working and BAM, it's ripped away from you again in an instant. The simplest, or most difficult task can drag on for days, weeks or dare I say months.

You'll get there, I have faith. Looking forward to following along

thanks for the words of encouragement! I'll get it eventually but I feel that much better having the part in the garage. luckily our little one is now consistently falling asleep at 7pm so that gives me a bit of time in the evening to work (bathroom for now, truck later).

 

[BGMachine]

Mild update on the roof project. I've begun to take the roof apart and strip it down to repair the rust and paint. I knew that the roof rack feet were rusted underneath but I didn't expect that it was this bad... woof

so... as opposed to simply filling in the rivnut holes and smoothing, I guess I get to weld in some patch panels. it is what it is.

I was also able to remove the load bars(?) off of the roof. turns out, your trusty putty knife and a hammer works pretty well to remove them. but I wouldn't recommend doing it this way (or maybe removing them at all) if you care about your roof paint. mine's already burnt and I'll put white bedliner on after so I don't care too much.

The final bit of removal prep will be removing the nasty tape around the sunroof. I don't know what the previous owner used but the adhesive is THICK and the tape is weird. I'm hoping that a heat gun, adhesive remover, and some patience will remove it... and then I need to get it off of the sunroof glass. That will be fun.

That's where it's at. I'll eventually cut out the rust and weld in the new pieces/holes. I'm happy to be able to make these little steps while renovating our bathroom. I still think that I can get the truck ready for our offroad trip in late May. but we'll see

 

[BGMachine]

Ok, after a long hiatus and a trip to Japan, I was able to restart work on the truck.

I've been plugging along at getting the roof rust removed. I've cut out two panels and welded in those plus all the rivnut holes that remained. I'm almost done so it should just be one more evening of that to have the roof resealed.

I've also been working on that AWFUL tape. I think I've determined that it's a butyl tape of some variety. And as such, it is only removable with a heat gun and metal scraper. even the remnant adhesive is tough! using acetone and a scotch brite pad, I can eventual wear it down. But this process has also worn the paint through to the primer in a few spots. Not a huge deal since I'm going to paint the whole thing, but it does give you an idea of how sticky it is!

So... mostly done with that part. The problem is going to start with the sunroof itself... That butyl tape is all around the window glass and rubber seal. I'm not sure how I'm going to remove it without damaging it. I think I saw a post a while back of someone using a bicycle tire inner tube to reseal the sunroof. Maybe I can do that and cover any butcher that happens to the rubber seal. Or I try to find the seal, cut the old one off, and glue on a new one. We'll see.

 

[BGMachine]

Cont.

On a more positive note, my new tires arrived today! 33" Falken Wildpeak A/T4W's! I'll let you guys know how they are but I've read good things!

I still have a lot on my plate if I want to take this truck on a trip through Michigan's UP at the end of May. but there's a chance that I can make it work...

All that I have to do is:
- repair roof
- paint roof with monstaliner
- replace transmission (which also require removing & repairing the exhaust, drive shafts, and rear main seal)
- change oil on axles & tcase
- extend axle breather hoses
- replace alternator
- tires mounted and balanced
- install new radio and speakers

Bonus items:
- lift kit installed (it's here but I don't need it for the trip)
- bumper and winch (similar story to the lift kit)
- replace windshield

now that I write it all down again... this may be a lot to get done in 7 weeks. But I'm foolish enough to try! Worst case scenario, I'll take my Taco...

Final note, I did see one 80 in Japan! And it was in the Toyota headquarters parking lot!

 

[BGMachine]

I was able to make some more progress on the roof and sunroof glass last night. The roof patches are all in and the holes welded up! I cleaned the roof thoroughly and it's ready for final prep before paint.

I was able to make a surprising amount of progress on the sunroof glass! With a heat gun, a glass scrapper, and some mineral spirits I was able to remove all of the adhesive from the glass! But it's still stuck on the rubber seal. I'm not sure how to remove it from the seal in a clean manner.

I did order a new seal but it apparently is for a 100 series sunroof... so it may not fit. If it does happen to work, I'll simply cut off the old seal and glue on the new one. If it won't work... well, I guess I'll try heat and mineral spirits on the seal and then use weatherstripping adhesive to seal the sunroof closed.

 

[BGMachine]

I finally got to do the fun part this weekend and paint the roof! I used Monstaliner roll-on mix with a very light grey color called "man on the moon". It all went pretty seamlessly!

First was taping off, covering, and deep clean.

The wax remover that I used messed with the primer covering my bare metal a bit, but otherwise it worked great!

I was now ready to paint! Mixing the Monstaliner was a bit of an involved process. But it was easy enough after reading the instructions a few times. The part that was a bit funny to me was pouring the whole gallon out into a 5gal bucket for final mix. Then pouring it back into the original container. They emphasize never to paint from an open container so I think this is why your pour it back into the original.

First Coat:

 

[BGMachine]

And here is the final result! I think that it turned out great! the sheet metal underneath isn't perfect but this hides most of the blemishes. We'll see how long it holds up. It's supposed to be UV resistant and not need top-coats or re-seals.

 

[BGMachine]

In addition the the paint, I was able to make some progress on the underside of the roof. I was planning on putting some sound deadner on the ceiling since the headliner was off but I found something else. Apparently the factory mastic that bonds the roof skin to the roof bows was likely improperly applied. Due to this, the roof bow isn't even connected!

This ultimately reduces the stiffness of the roof resulting in more cabin boom when going down the road. So to fix this, I grabbed some spray foam and filled in the bows. If I really wanted to go the extra mile, I could've tried to get the gap a bit tighter as well. But I figured this was good enough for who it's for (me).

After letting the foam cure, I trimmed the excess and installed the discount dynamat.

This should hopefully make the truck just a bit more quiet when going down the road.

Next up is to reinstall and seal the sunroof. Then reinstall the interior!

 

[BGMachine]

Last night I was able to get the interior back together! It went together without any real issues aside from the occasional order mis-step.

The sunroof was honestly the hardest part. It didn't seem like it was quite wide enough to meet the bolt holes on each side, but I was able to get it. After fastening it into place, I tested out the motor... and it's jammed. Oh well. So I unplugged and removed the pig motor relay to disable it. The glass aligns pretty well with the roof. I'll get some OSIquad sealant to shut it for good and I shouldn't have any more leaks!

I may go over the seal with the OSI to try to give it a more smooth appearance. but I'm not sure how worthwhile that is. The darn Butyl tape just did a number on the rubber!

If any of you are thinking of sealing your sunroof... PLEASE do not use butyl tape! It is the worst to remove if you ever need to service the glass!

 

[BGMachine]

OK, so the moment that I've been waiting for finally arrived last night! After a week's worth of late night wrenching, removing the wiring harness, cooler lines, shifters, linkages, starter motor, bell housing bolts etc. the transmission has finally been removed!

Pulling out of the truck took some effort. the biggest obstacle was the exhaust hangar on the passenger side. Because of the almost non-existent clearance between the fastener and the floor, I had to use my box end wrench... which rounded the bolt head. I ultimately decided to cut it off after much consternation. You can see the remainder still attached to the bell housing.

the other benefit of having the transmission out is that I could hunt down the oil leak. It's very much the rear main seal or the pan. I have a new seal and I'll remove the retainer and add new silicone to hopefully seal up this oil problem for good.

After replacing the rear main seal, I'll prep the new trans to go in.

here's the list:
- move torque converter to new trans
- move oil filter to new trans (mine is brand new)
- replace torque converter shaft seal
- replace output shaft seal
- reinstall transmission
- reinstall tcase
- connect everything
- fill with fluids
- cross fingers it works!

 

[BGMachine]

OK, no fun pictures but I've got a bit of an update.

I was able to replace the rear main seal and re-silicone the retainer. That leak should be fixed.

Monday night I had a friend come over to assist with the transmission reinstall. We lifted it into position, fought with the dowels for a little while, then eventually got it to mate to the engine. We then muscled the tcase up and onto the trans. That was much heavier than we expected. We used a floor jack and a bit of grunt for the last bit of alignment. It took us 3 hours but the powertrain was back together!

Tuesday night I go out to the garage to start reconnecting everything. I started with trying to align the TC and flex plate but to my dismay... I could not rotate the TC and flex plate separately of each other... I rapidly came to the conclusion that I needed to disconnect the trans and separate it to try to realign it. But I can't safely do that by myself.

Last night, I had another friend come over and we remedied the TC issue. We unbolted the bell housing and cross-member and tried to back the trans out. we could move it back about 1-1.5" before the bell housing hit the floor. Unfortunately, the TC pilot was jammed in the flex plate and was not coming out with the trans! You can kind of get the idea in this picture:

We tried to pry it apart, wiggle it, hammer and bar but nothing seemed to budge it. We were starting to get desperate and we were trying to figure out how to dent the floor enough to get the trans back enough that the input shaft could come out of the TC. At that point, I looked back up the TC and noticed a gap starting to open up! we had somehow gotten one side to start to walk off. We then began the process of rotating the engine 90deg at a time and hammering the TC off. This eventually freed it up to the point that we could spin the TC and flex plate separately!

I wasn't convinced that we were going to be able to get it to separate! We then used two bolts 180deg apart on the TC to pull it to the flex plate. The trans was then aligned on the dowels and reinstalled. Once the bell housing and cross member were bolted on, we installed the 6 TC bolts and torqued to spec.

All and all, another 3 hours on the trans. So 11 hrs, 3 different friends, and 4 days but we finally got the trans connected!

Now I can reconnect all of the hoses, harnesses, shifter, drive shafts, etc and hopefully take the truck for a test drive in the next week!