Roushman90 91' 3fe Revival Maintenance (1 Viewer)

[Roushman90]

Hello!

Longtime reader, first time member.

Picked up this 91' back in April or May 2019 with the intention of baselining so I can use it as a weekend adventure toy. I have a lot of experience with Toyota's but coming into this purchase, zero with 4x4. This is a new realm but so far it's been fun.

So far I've done basic maintenance: plugs, wires, cap, rotor, filters, intake hose (OEM) and finished one birfield refresh/rotors & pads.

Plan going forward is to finish off the front axle then move to the brakes. Replaced master cylinder but need to flush the lines of old fluids.

Before it really gets driven it also needs cooling attention, planning to swap out the radiator and all hoses, thermostat, etc next.

I've also got a driveline clunk I haven't been able to hone in on yet, may have more to come on that. Hoping it's not something catastrophic.

For now, this is her at Pismo in the summer:

 

[FearNoGrave]

Nice ride, same color and year as mine!
I have a ‘91, and also have “the clunk”. I have been trying to track it down for a while. I even took it to the dealership and they said it was the rear drive shaft. They regreased it etc. but it just came back. I’ve searched on here for answers, but most say it’s “common”. That it’s general slippage at the differential, and that repacking the grease can help. But

 

[Roushman90]

Nice ride, same color and year as mine!
I have a ‘91, and also have “the clunk”. I have been trying to track it down for a while. I even took it to the dealership and they said it was the rear drive shaft. They regreased it etc. but it just came back. I’ve searched on here for answers, but most say it’s “common”. That it’s general slippage at the differential, and that repacking the grease can help. But

Interesting,

I've climbed under and tried to rule out driveshaft slop but my God it's a terrible sound. I've ran into loose driveshafts before but this one's weird. It's only during deceleration when you let off of gas when it happens. I still have so much to go through so I'll keep ya updated.

 

[BILT4ME]

Interesting,

I've climbed under and tried to rule out driveshaft slop but my God it's a terrible sound. I've ran into loose driveshafts before but this one's weird. It's only during deceleration when you let off of gas when it happens. I still have so much to go through so I'll keep ya updated.

The clunk is common on the 91-92, as they do not have the viscous coupler in the transfer case to absorb the slop. It is the gear lash between the font and rear driveline during operation, especially audible between acceleration and deceleration.

 

[jonheld]

Driveline clunk has been discussed to death on this forum.
Very common in the early FJ80s.
The most likely reason is dry/worn slip yolks and/or universals.
Second likely reason is worn front drive plate splines and/or worn short shaft spines.

Keep in mind that there are trucks running around with 300K+ miles on them that have been clunking since new. My old 91 started clunking around 30K miles. After driving it for another 23 years, I got used to it.

 

[Roushman90]

The clunk is common on the 91-92, as they do not have the viscous coupler in the transfer case to absorb the slop. It is the gear lash between the font and rear driveline during operation, especially audible between acceleration and deceleration.

Is there any fix for this? I had googled around too and didn't see this pop up yet.

 

[BILT4ME]

Is there any fix for this? I had googled around too and didn't see this pop up yet.

See Jon's post above. He's the foremost individual on everything related to the 9-92 trucks.

 

[Roushman90]

Driveline clunk has been discussed to death on this forum.
Very common in the early FJ80s.
The most likely reason is dry/worn slip yolks and/or universals.
Second likely reason is worn front drive plate splines and/or worn short shaft spines.

Keep in mind that there are trucks running around with 300K+ miles on them that have been clunking since new. My old 91 started clunking around 30K miles. After driving it for another 23 years, I got used to it.

That makes me feel better about it, thanks.

I'll still get under there and go looking but it's good to know this isn't rare.

 

[jonheld]

Is there any fix for this? I had googled around too and didn't see this pop up yet.

As Bill mentioned earlier, the later FZJ80s had a viscous coupler in the center diff that really quieted things down. The earlier trucks did not have this.
Certainly look for the obvious worn driveline parts as mentioned. But if it all looks and feels good, then it is good.
Drive shaft slip yolks should have zero rotational play in them.
Universal joints should be firm and smooth throughout the range on both axis.
Front drive plates do have a bit of slop in the splines, but should be greased.
You will notice that the front driveline has way more slop in it than the rear. More interfaces=more slop.

 

[paulzak]

A new set of Birfields and one u-joint quieted mine quite a bit. Clearly there are multiple causes and I just can't be bothered chasing all of them. I have a new set of drive shafts which I'll install the next time I need to do any serious work under there.

 

[Roushman90]

Started her up tonight after replacing plugs & wires (denso), cap/rotor, and new intake hose. Idling quite a bit lower than before, then I noticed this hard line missing a vacuum. Not sure if it was missing all along or if I misplaced a line but anyone know what this is for? Didn't make a difference in idle when I put my finger over it..

Also had a predicament with the brake hard line on passenger front while attempting to reinstall the new flexible brake line to caliper. Ended up having to completely remove the passenger side front hard line from the car to get it on the bench and reconnect the soft line. Not much more left before she's back on the road.

Also dropped in a new battery, group 34 iirc. 1000cca, 1160ca. Need to shave down the hump in the battery tray but she fits in there without a hiccup.

 

[Roushman90]

Front axle done, going to take a couple fluid changes in the front diff to cycle out the goop though.

Motor also running so much better after a tune up/air intake hose.

Since I got it registered and drive-able again I wired in a stereo but found the PO mangled the stock speaker mounting. They rigged some speakers in with self-tap screws, anyone know where I can find/order the mounting bracketry for the door speakers? (front and rear) Got some nice JL 6.5" but they are a bit too deep, going to have to find some door speakers before the Tahoe trip later this month!

Pics to follow

 

[Marco Lau]

Also do a search on the forum on which aftermarket replacement radiator to use. I would avoid CSF brand if it was me.

 

[Roushman90]

Drove from Bay Area down to Apple Valley Speedway, about an 2 hours outside of LA area.



Maiden voyage post birf rebuild.

Made the grapevine no problem, cooling system is leak free and held steady at 1/2 temp all the way down 5 and over the vine. All I had replace do far was the rad cap just because I had a new one laying around. Still going to do my hoses and thermostat as well as flush but for now it seems the rad is holding up fine.

Ended up taking it out for a few hours yesterday riding some trails through the desert area surrounding the racetrack. I'm afraid I may be hooked to wheeling! Even with no lockers we managed to find our way up some pretty rough stuff. My other cars may be severely neglected going forward.

Have run into one issue, a loud sound coming from the front end. To me it sounds like the birf is rubbing the housing or something but only very intermittently. Also could possibly be the wheel bearing preload too lose, allowing the axle to go too far in? I'll probably have to tear it back down when I get home to diagnose properly.

 

[Roushman90]

Few more

 

[Roushman90]

Ignore the random photos haha.

 

[Roushman90]

Went out for a bit of snow Wheeling off I-80 near Truckee, CA. So much fun and once again found stock form can get you through more than you'd expect! Although tires and lockers would have been nice!

 

[Roushman90]

 

[Roushman90]

Finishing up J spring/L shock lift with some 37s tonight. Still on the lift at the moment.

 

[Roushman90]

Woof! Major stinkbug, got some leveling to work out and need more clearance up front but overall happy with a new starting point now.