Reverse Jerry-Rigging a 1973 FJ40 to operation

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Purchased an Ididit tilt column. I should have purchased one with the ignition switch in the column.
 
I'll have to meet up and check out your whole set up. @David1947 curently the 40 is out of commission though as I have to replace some radiator hoses that bust and caused some overheating issues.
 
@David1947 Wheb you say you orders the tie rod from rareparts, which piece of the steering are you referring to? I seem to be confused about what is what. Is the tie rod what is running from knuckle to knuckle or from passenger knuckle to the gearbox?
 
IMG_3175.webp
Does anyone know how to remove this? I'm replacing s wheel stud and need to remove the disk with the studs and can't figure out how to remove the round thing on the shaft that is in front of the nut
 
There are likely set screws in those holes. Once removed, use a face spanner wrench to spin the circular nut off.
 
IMG_3177.webp
Once I removed the set screw, I was able to wiggle that thing off with my hands. I then had to remove the large nut, much to my surprise, it was finger tight, I don't think it's supposed to be that loose. Does anyone know how tight it needs to be? I got the new stud installed(far right) and I am ready to reassemble.
 
So I know I'm way behind on updating the thread but I figured I'd get on it finally. Since the last post the 40 has undergone numerous mechanical transformations. I have completely sorted the brakes out using new rubber and hard lines as well as new shoes and wheel cylinders where due. So now it stops excellent and I have no worries about it stopping. It's always ran fairly well but suffered from extreme lack of power. To solve this problem all it took was some accelerator pump maintenance and now it has a tremendous increase in power. One huge issue before was also the steering, to solve this hurdle I sourced some used steering arms from @65swb45 amd replaced the toerod as well, this gave us a stock configuration which is much safer. Then it was time to address the play on the steering, replacing the worn out rag joint and tightening up the steering box successfully reduced the play to almost none. And finally I addressed some potential overheating issues. A few minutes after driving one day I heard a pop and suddenly coolant was going everywhere. I assumed it had boiled out of the radiator and let it sit overnight. The next day I decided to refil it in order to move it into the garage and next thing I knew coolant was coming out as fast as I could put it in. Upon investigating I discovered the hose from the water pump to thermostat housing had bust wide open, causing the coolant to pour out. I replaced all the hoses that were part of the cooling system as well as the thermostat, before installing I flushed the head and radiator throughly. I buttoned it back up and since then I've only had it like once because I had overfilled the overflow tank and it didn't have space to ebb and flow. So while she's just as ugly as before, she is much safer.
 
So we took the 40 to Uwharrie, accompanied by @JohnVee. We would've been lost without him. Sadly we never even got to run the trails as our 40 had severe overheating problems just driving slow to the trails. Nonetheless we still had an adventure and made it home. We also uncovered some issues. I have to address the overheating problems as well as fix the passenger side locking hub. The hub I'm sure is a simple fix as I just recently disassembled it and probably didn't assemble correctly. I have since found a diagram of our hub and will follow it. I am currently addressing the overheating and am diving straight in.
 
IMG_3648.webp
We began by removing the KC lights mounted on the winch, as well as the mess of winch cable which we coiled and stored.
 
How was the temp gauge on the way home? I'm wondering if the overheating was only at the slow speeds on the forest roads or if it continued on the highway (since it was clearly boiling in the overflow when you pulled into the Outpost). I know you stopped to tighten the lower rad hose, but did you ever have to add coolant? How much, if so?

I'd like to add that Anderson handled the situation on our outing well, especially considering his age and his obvious enthusiasm for wanting to hit the trails. He knew that he had issues that could easily go much farther south and knew that the right thing to do was turn around and go home (and he had a support vehicle with him) instead of risking a meltdown on the trail where a strap would have to had to drag him back to a road where AAA could grab him.

The only thing I can add is this:
Hood Rest Pads
Dash Screw Knob
 
John, on the way home we stayed around the first mark, the 205° mark. Only once did we loose coolant when we stopped at a gas station and it was just a little out of the lower radiator hose. We tightened it up and no more. When we got home it was still full. I appreciate the accompaniment and we couldn't have done it without you! @JohnVee
 
So there were more accomplishments on the 40 today. We drained the coolant and removed the radiator. And we began preparing for the muriatic acid flush by removing the fan, fan shroud, and plumbing up the lines.
 
Back
Top Bottom