Build Rescuing a Basket Case '72 FJ40

[diesellibrarian]

Thanks for the reply, @pb4ugo. I'm planning to put a disk brake front axle on it anyway, so maybe I'll move the third member from my front axle to the rear, and just make sure that when I track down a new front axle assembly that it has 4.10 gears.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Finding more unexpected surprises as I continue to dig into the drive train of this ol' 40.

But first! Some good news. I had the tires swapped over to the OEM steel wheels that I bought a couple of months ago. Everything is right with the world once again:

So much better! Pretty much exactly the look I was going for, in fact. Very stoked on this.

Now to the other matter: last night I started pulling apart the front axle in order to remove the third member, and when pulled the locking hub off, this is what I saw:

Absolute carnage! The axle shaft must have broken off at the hub at some point, taking the end of the spindle with it. The spindle was so damaged that I had to cut the lock nuts off. I'm not sure how common this type of breakage might be, but it's not something I've seen before.

I'm not super bummed about this, as I'd pretty much decided to look for a disc brake front axle anyway, but it offers yet another clue about the hard life that this truck has lived.

A quick question: does anyone know if the front brake shoes can be swapped to the back? The fronts have a lot of lining left, while the rears are pretty worn.

 

[pb4ugo]

The brake shoes should be the same frt and rear.

 

[CruiserTrash]

View attachment 3733164

So did you find the splined end piece? Or was that obliterated? Also, was there any sign of twisting yielding present around the break that would indicate it was strained before letting go? I really have no reason to ask other than morbid curiosity.

 

[diesellibrarian]

So did you find the splined end piece? Or was that obliterated? Also, was there any sign of twisting yielding present around the break that would indicate it was strained before letting go? I really have no reason to ask other than morbid curiosity.

No, the end of the axle was nowhere to be seen. I assume they removed the locking hub and chucked the busted-off end. My forensic analysis suggests that they tried to remove the lock nuts with a cold chisel, weren't able to due to the significant mushrooming of the spindle end, and then just slapped the hub back on (with three different lengths of non-matching bolts, of course) and continued to roll it, which might explain why the front driveshaft was missing when I bought the truck...

Strangely enough, the Warn locking hub shows no sign of damage.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Removed the third member from the font axle last night, and was relieved to find that despite the housing being completely caked with dirt and grunge, the internals look very clean, with little wear.

It took quite a while to get the diff to this point, but here it is, all cleaned up:

Gears look good:

To get it ready to swap into the rear axle housing, I installed the spacer block from the rear diff. I believe that's all I need to do before reinstalling, yes? Is it safe to assume the pre-load for this diff is within spec?

l'll be ordering some new cork gaskets and axle clips, too, since one of the clips was broken. I've decided to leave the rear wheel bearings and oil seals in place, as they all seem to be in good shape. Is that wise? This is my first time doing this kind of stuff, so I'm open to any suggestions/advice folks might have.

Spacer block sitting neatly in its new home:

 

[ijonesinsp]

Removed the third member from the font axle last night, and was relieved to find that despite the housing being completely caked with dirt and grunge, the internals look very clean, with little wear.

It took quite a while to get the diff to this point, but here it is, all cleaned up:

View attachment 3734927
Gears look good:

View attachment 3734928

To get it ready to swap into the rear axle housing, I installed the spacer block from the rear diff. I believe that's all I need to do before reinstalling, yes? Is it safe to assume the pre-load for this diff is within spec?

l'll be ordering some new cork gaskets and axle clips, too, since one of the clips was broken. I've decided to leave the rear wheel bearings and oil seals in place, as they all seem to be in good shape. Is that wise? This is my first time doing this kind of stuff, so I'm open to any suggestions/advice folks might have.

Spacer block sitting neatly in its new home:

View attachment 3734935

 

[locklaw]

Removed the third member from the font axle last night, and was relieved to find that despite the housing being completely caked with dirt and grunge, the internals look very clean, with little wear.

It took quite a while to get the diff to this point, but here it is, all cleaned up:

View attachment 3734927
Gears look good:

View attachment 3734928

To get it ready to swap into the rear axle housing, I installed the spacer block from the rear diff. I believe that's all I need to do before reinstalling, yes? Is it safe to assume the pre-load for this diff is within spec?

l'll be ordering some new cork gaskets and axle clips, too, since one of the clips was broken. I've decided to leave the rear wheel bearings and oil seals in place, as they all seem to be in good shape. Is that wise? This is my first time doing this kind of stuff, so I'm open to any suggestions/advice folks might have.

Spacer block sitting neatly in its new home:

View attachment 3734935

Good job. You need the spacer block and cross shaft out to push the axleshafts deep enough in to slip over the c-clips before pulling the shaft outward again, so practice lining all up for installation once it is installed. But you are good to go. I would change the axle seals at the very least, cheap enough. Check the side shafts and outer axle bearings for wear, reuse if still good.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Good job. You need the spacer block and cross shaft out to push the axleshafts deep enough in to slip over the c-clips before pulling the shaft outward again, so practice lining all up for installation once it is installed. But you are good to go. I would change the axle seals at the very least, cheap enough. Check the side shafts and outer axle bearings for wear, reuse if still good.

Very helpful - thank you!

 

[diesellibrarian]

This post is about a total newbie deciding to rebuild his wheel cylinders instead of buying new. I hope it works out ok - but if not, all I wasted was a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the garage.

Since I have the rear axle apart, removing the wheel cylinders was easy. The inside of the brake drums was pretty nasty (sorry for blurry photo):

To my surprise, no bolts broke off during the removal process, though some crusty old brake line did not survive. It will all be replaced anyway, so no biggie.

The cylinders themselves looked like they'd been sitting at the bottom of a lake for decades.

Most of the pistons were seized and had to be driven out with a long 15mm socket. Lots of PB Blaster gave its life to get the cylinders apart. Although there was rust and some pitting, none of the bores or pistons showed any major scarring, and the cups and dust seals where all surprisingly pliable. This was the worst of the pistons, with a little ridge of rust that I had to sand away.

After cleaning up with some fine emery paper:

 

[diesellibrarian]

Obviously the bores needed some work as well, so I picked up a hone and ran it through the bore a few times.

Still some small pits, but I don't think they'll affect the operation of the cylinder.

And finally, the rear brake assembly cleaned up and reinstalled! All in all a pretty satisfying project. It remains to be seen whether the cylinders will hold fluid or not, but I'm cautiously optimistic. Glad to be putting Toyota parts back in, instead of remans from offshore.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Save the parts under the cups, new kits don't come with some of the pressure plates. You can square up the adjuster notches with a file. Real red rubber grease is your friend. I used anti seize compound on the bolts to put them back in.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Continued my work on the rear brakes over the weekend. All of the rear lines were rusty and crusty, so they all had to go, though I did re-use the fittings. I started out using my crappy old clamp-style flaring tool, but as per usual it messed up every third flare. So frustrating. So I ordered up this Vevor flaring machine and man! What a difference. Was less than $150 shipped. Probably some of the best money I've spent on tools, haha. Makes a perfectly consistent flare in about 5 seconds.

Here are the various lines installed on the truck. I'm using copper-nickel line, which in addition to being easy to work, also has increased corrosion resistance for our Canadian winters.

Also installed a new soft line to the rear axle, and spent some time freeing up the clogged diff breather.

And speaking of clogged diff breathers, over the weekend jumped in my FJ62 and made a run up to Calgary, which is about 200km north of me. I was about halfway there when I noticed that my rear window was covered in...something. I stopped to check it out and realized that it was some kind of oil. Upon further investigation, I discovered that my FJ62 also had a clogged diff breather, causing pressure to build inside the axle and forcing oil past the diff housing gaskets, where it atomized at highway speeds and covered the back of the truck with a fine mist of gear oil. Got it sorted for the way home, but not before losing half a quart of oil out the back. Just another adventure in the Land Cruiser! Totally worth it for a chance to meet some fellow Cruiserheads from my neck of the woods.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Picking away at a few more items over the past week or so:

Finally got around to taking apart the parking brake. Inside the drum, everything was dirty and rusty, but intact.

Pulled the shoe assembly out and gave everything a good cleaning.

Unfortunately a previous owner cut the cable at the firewall and at the brake drum. I'm a little concerned about sourcing a new cable. Anyone have a reliable source or a part number? Can I fit the slightly longer 4-speed cable on a three-speed? Based on the reading I've done so far, there is no clear answer to that, and some versions of the cable are NLA. I'm prepared to jury rig something if need be, but hoping to find the right part if possible.

Also made a stop at my local steel supplier and picked up a 4x5 sheet of 18ga steel for the cargo floor! Making the floor is an intimidating project, but it's exciting to think about making this truck whole again! The cargo floor is the last remaining piece of metalwork on this rig (sorry for blurry photo).

 

[diesellibrarian]

Got the parking brake sorted out, by a somewhat unorthodox method. It was becoming clear that it was going to be tough to find a replacement parking brake cable for the 40. Called the dealer, and the part number isn’t even in their system anymore. Anyway, I got to thinking that there might be a way to hack my spare FJ62 parking brake cable to make it work for the 40. And, yes, as it turns out, it can work!

I started by making the “eye” that attaches the cable to the lever arm. I found a nut of the right size and thickness and drilled and tapped it M6x1.0 to match the thread on the 62 cable end.

Then I welded the 40 threaded adjusting tube to the 62 cable housing ferrule. This is definitely a hack, but it necessary as this is the only way to adjust the slack in the 40 cable.

Then I measured the 62 cable housing and cut it to length. The last step was to move the cable end stop over to the new cable, which I did by cutting a slot in it and tapping it off with a drift and hammer. I pinched it on the end of the new cable, and then welded the end of the cable to keep it from pulling through.

Before putting the end stop on, though, I put the whole brake assembly back together so that I could determine the length of the inner cable.

With everything back together, I made a couple of adjustments, and it works perfectly!

Here’s my hacked FJ62 cable, ready to be installed in the 40:

 

[CruiserTrash]

Got the parking brake sorted out, by a somewhat unorthodox method. It was becoming clear that it was going to be tough to find a replacement parking brake cable for the 40. Called the dealer, and the part number isn’t even in their system anymore. Anyway, I got to thinking that there might be a way to hack my spare FJ62 parking brake cable to make it work for the 40. And, yes, as it turns out, it can work!

I started by making the “eye” that attaches the cable to the lever arm. I found a nut of the right size and thickness and drilled and tapped it M6x1.0 to match the thread on the 62 cable end.

View attachment 3752965
View attachment 3752966Then I welded the 40 threaded adjusting tube to the 62 cable housing ferrule. This is definitely a hack, but it necessary as this is the only way to adjust the slack in the 40 cable.
View attachment 3752967 Then I measured the 62 cable housing and cut it to length. The last step was to move the cable end stop over to the new cable, which I did by cutting a slot in it and tapping it off with a drift and hammer. I pinched it on the end of the new cable, and then welded the end of the cable to keep it from pulling through.
View attachment 3752968 Before putting the end stop on, though, I put the whole brake assembly back together so that I could determine the length of the inner cable.
View attachment 3752972 With everything back together, I made a couple of adjustments, and it works perfectly!

Here’s my hacked FJ62 cable, ready to be installed in the 40:
View attachment 3752973

Great work. I figured the later cables could be adapted somehow but have never seen it done.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Made some progress over the weekend. The first thing was to pull the driver's side door apart to fix a screw that had broken off in the lower window frame, and also to figure out why the window regulator was not working. Ultimately I think the sticky window was the result of the frame being out of alignment due to the missing bolt, and a regulator that was all gummed up with solidified grease. Spent quite a while cleaning up the regulator mechanism and re-greasing it. Reinstalled, and the window moves up and down smoothly and easily. Will need to replace the crusty window runs, but for now I'm pleased to have this working as designed.

The cleaned-up regulator:

I also bit the bullet and started working on the rear cargo floor. Lots of thinking and planning and measuring when into laying out the pattern on the sheet metal. I had to work within the constraints of my small, cheap bead roller, and I also had to figure out how to give myself enough room to work, since the sheet is almost 4' x 4' and the vise is only about 30" from the shop wall. In the end I decided to cantilever the thing out into space with a length of 2x6. Believe it or not, this actually worked quite well!

Anyway, a buddy popped over to help me roll the beads into the cargo floor panel. Started off a little shaky, but by the end we had it down to a science. The panel is still far from perfect, but it'll be plenty strong, and the wavy beads will be covered by a rubber mat...

Still need to finish off the ends of the beads, and then break the panel where it meets the inner fenders and rear sill, etc. But by the weekend I should be ready to install this thing into the truck!!

More updates to come later.

 

[diesellibrarian]

The cargo floor is a little closer to completion! Last night was an adventure in working with metal using substandard tools, but hey — you’ve gotta work with what you have.

So, with the raised beads finished, I was able to do my final measuring and cut the panel to size. I knew that adding the beads would change the overall dimensions of the panel, which is why I left the panel a little larger than necessary. But once the beads are in, it can be cut to its final size. This was my first test run of this handheld metal shear that I found at a garage sale for $20. Man, what an improvement over the grinder and cut-off wheel!

This thing slices through steel like butter, and doesn’t make any dust!

With the panel measured and marked, I folded over the side flanges first. These will be welded to the inner fenders. I don’t have a brake, so I folded the flanges by clamping the panel between a 2x4 and a length of 1 1/2” square tubing and hammering it into submission.

I then repeated the process for the rear section that wraps around the sill. Here is my first test fit:

The thing is far from perfect, but will be covered by a mat, so I’m not worried about appearances. I’m confident it will be plenty strong.

You’ll note the significant “potato chip” shape that the panel is displaying. This is due to tensions within the panel. The raised beads gather metal to the center of the panel, causing the material around the perimeter to distort. The cure for this is to stretch the metal in the middle of the panel, so I spent a couple of hours with a hammer and dolly, stretching the metal one hammer blow at a time. This process would take 15 minutes with an English wheel, but I don’t have one of those, so hammer and dolly it is. Still a bit more stretching required, but the panel is laying much more flat than at first.

Next steps involve spot-welding the floor cross member/brace to the floor, and then making and installing the piece of heavier gauge steel that runs between the two body mounts right behind the front seats.

 

[120mm]

I'm a little surprised you did that as one piece.

 

[diesellibrarian]

I'm a little surprised you did that as one piece.

My original plan was to do the part that wraps around the sill as a separate piece, but once I started laying things out, I realized that there was no good reason not to shape it from a single sheet. It’s still not fully installed, so I may find myself re-evaluating at some point, but for now things are looking good!

The one thing I didn’t want was a weld seam down the middle of the panel, though that would have made the bead rolling process a hell of a lot easier.