Builds Project Pikachu: 1977 FJ40

[cbmontgo]

Meandered our way along my topo to get to the lunch stop. Was rocky, but not too bad.

The view wasn't too bad either.

My awning was destroyed by a rogue updraft right before this pic was taken, so we had to make it work well enough for lunch.

 

[cbmontgo]

The next plan was to get to Moab by evening and kick around town. Sadly, it was time to get moving towards pavement.

The creek near 211 was flowing pretty heavily this year.

Yours truly airing up and getting ready for the highway again.

 

[cbmontgo]

After a great night in Moab, we all parted ways on Tuesday morning and started heading back towards reality.

One good way to delay the inevitable is to take State Route 128, a.k.a. the River Road, back to I-70. Great scenic drive and has a couple of cool historical stops, like the Dewey Bridge.

Utah State Route 128 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Then you're back on interstate. I must say that I-70 is a fine drive through eastern Utah and central/western Colorado.

 

[cbmontgo]

By sundown, I was near the homestead back in Colorado.

Wes and I headed to my favorite hole in the wall burger joint in Florissant and wrapped up the trip with a few gin and tonics and called it a night. He flew back to Louisiana the next day and the rest of the crew made it home safely late that night.

What a trip.

 

[TheHardWay]

WOW - you sir, are truly an adventurer. Please accept ONE GIANT LIKE from me. IMPRESSIVE

 

[RevISK]

Hit me up please the next time you roll through this tiny state where everything is close. I’ll come meet up. I know some really great spots out there.

Ian

 

[cbmontgo]

Back to some tech...

So my 4WD stopped working at some point recently.

I noticed that the front output shaft on the transfer case had worked its way forward about 3/8" and there was a noticeable gap between the output flange and the transfer case housing. This was obviously not normal.

So when you engage the 4WD on the transfer case, a fork connected to the linkage engages/slides this small steel clutch sleeve over the front output splines and connects the rear transfer case output shaft via gears to the front, making 4 wheel drive work. But on mine, the front splines had somehow moved too far forward for the sleeve to grab the front drive.

 

[cbmontgo]

So I removed the front driveshaft, output flange, and oil seal to see what was going on in there. Turns out there is supposed to be a snap ring in front of the output bearing, but it was not there. This had allowed the front output shaft to slowly creep its way forward over time. You can see the groove where it should have been:

So a phone call to my Toyota guy and I had a snap ring and new oil seal on the way. Here is the part, it is a big 'un.

I tapped the output shaft back into place, popped in the snap ring, reassembled everything, and 4 wheel drive works as it should.

My assumption is that someone rebuilt this transfer case at some point and left this part out.

Anyway, I hope this odd finding helps someone with diagnosing this down the road.

 

[cbmontgo]

Oh, and a super quick trip report. Loaded up the 80 and headed back out to Utah with my son and the dog. Had a blast and he got some driving practice in too.

 

[clrussell]

Oh, and a super quick trip report. Loaded up the 80 and headed back out to Utah with my son and the dog. Had a blast and he got some driving practice in too.
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Beautiful country

 

[cbmontgo]

My buddy’s daughter is about to get her license and she asked me if I’d teach her to drive the “cute” Toyota. It was her first time driving a manual. Had a great time cruising the back roads around here, and she mastered it after an hour or so.

 

[1911]

Carson, I have taught two German exchange students (lived with one of my sons and his family) and two or three other daughters of friends to drive in my 40; all were pleased as punch to be able to do something that 80% of the boys in their high school could not do.

 

[cbmontgo]

Carson, I have taught two German exchange students (lived with one of my sons and his family) and two or three other daughters of friends to drive in my 40; all were pleased as punch to be able to do something that 80% of the boys in their high school could not do.

That's awesome. Hardly any of the kids know how to drive a manual these days!

She got such a kick out of manual roll up windows, no power steering, rattles, and a huge steering wheel. I explained to her that this is a luxury tractor, not a stripped down SUV.

 

[cbmontgo]

Some good friends are in town for a few days, so the girls wanted to load up Pikachu and head to lunch. Evolved into a full day road trip around Florissant, Cripple Creek, and Victor. Hit some back roads, had great food, lots of fun.

 

[cbmontgo]

On a tech note, my engine starting cutting out intermittently on a trip to Colorado Springs/Fuzzy's Tacos the other day. My son got to hear what a true backfire sounds like.

It was a timing problem as I suspected...the 10mm holding nut on the distributor seems to work its way loose every so often and allows timing to go waaaaaay advanced. I reset timing and cranked it down pretty hard this time and it seems to have held the distributor solidly back in place. Gonna replace that hold-down clamp if it does it again.

...

I've been driving this rig a ton lately.

My daughter sold chocolate at the local Farmer's Market and made almost $ 150 today. Very proud of her business acumen. She's also raised over $ 70 for her cheerleading team in the process.

Had some great conversations with a former 40 owner, a former 60 owner, and a current 62 owner when I was loading everything up.

Spent the rest of the day back at my cabin, just doing some odds and ends and relaxing. We've had company at the house for a week straight and I just needed some quiet time.

 

[FJBen]

Absolutely love this cruiser!

 

[70fj40]

For FJ40 adventure entertainment and a captivating writing style this thread is right up there on the same level as the Saving the Rustbucket thread. And you even did it all in flip flops!!

 

[cbmontgo]

For FJ40 adventure entertainment and a captivating writing style this thread is right up there on the same level as the Saving the Rustbucket thread. And you even did it all in flip flops!!

I appreciate it! And yes, the flip flops are almost always locked in and ready to go.

That is quite the compliment...Saving the Rustbucket thread is/was my favorite read on 'Mud.

 

[70fj40]

I love the Rustbucket thread and most threads don’t come close but this thread is up there. There aren’t many guys that can keep your attention through a long thread. This thread seems like an on going story just like Rustbucket. Some of us are not at a point in life where we can go on these type of adventures in person but we certainly experience it through your style of writing! The way you give a little background on the places you visit is great. We can all see pictures but it is the backstory you guys tell us through these threads that make it real. Thanks for the adventure and please continue it so we can ride along.

 

[cbmontgo]

Found a difficult-to-fix slow plumbing leak in my ceiling at the house, so decided to take a drive with my son to get away from it for a little while. Grabbed some lunch and had a great time riding back roads.