Sheila's evisceration and birth of an HJ62 -> Tofudebeest

[FL cruiser]

Tell ya what...if you can make it down earlier than planned, you can help me figure this out and possibly help with whatever degree of t-case rebuild is necessary, and also pick up your parts. I'd like to not wait nearly two months though (you were coming the first week in December, right?),

Right. First week in December. Only problem is my wife is with me. Although she is a good sport, it's probably not a good idea for me to get involved in something too time consuming. Will be happy to help on any small project though.

Did you get by a car wash or take a pressure washer to the undercarriage yet?

You should get whatever leaking seal it is replaced before some idiot driver runs you over while tooling around on a scooter.
I know it's hard to resist going for the lift, but if the leak is preventing you from driving, if it were me , it would be 1st priority.

 

[Tofudebeest]

I bought the rebuild kit from Kurt last week. It arrives Wednesday. It will be my weekend project, and you can bet your ass it will take me the whole god damned weekend. I do have access to a lift and prolly a bearing press.

No pressure washer yet...

Deo thinks he's got a spare 2F or 3FE oil sending unit. Looking for a used 3FE's coolant temp sending unit... Jeremy nabbed mine.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Crappy job of gluing the glow indicator plastic to the back of the 4WD indicator (after carefully sanding away the black paint obscuring it). Gotta redo this.

White smoke at start up:

62 gauges L, 60 on the R. Note the difference in the indicator lights. The 62's brake light is there instead of in its own spot above the column.
After the photo was taken and the new oil pressure sending unit was put in, I realized that it is the gauge that got fried, not the sending unit. Now the needle sits well below the first hash mark and won't move...

After drilling and pulling and new lens put on... Bummer.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Faded paint on roof

Faded paint on bonnet

437th person to do this. Took an hour.

Gonna do this side like the original, in three pieces. The rear washer bladder fill neck was a tight squeeze through that hole, but once through, it fit perfectly. Now that pannel will not ever need to come off, unless repairs are needed.

Open...

Possibly the first to try this? I'll rig up some quick-release brackets to bolt to the floor and some brackets to make the seat back and bottom one solid unit. Then Install seat belts and it'll do...

The rugrats approve!

Even with the seat back sitting on the floor, it sits up about 4" higher than the 2nd row. I can make them level by angling the back more to match the angle of the 2nd row, and give up about 4" of foot room between the tailgate and the seat. I think I'll do just that...

Self explanatory from here:

 

[Tapage]

proto ratcher angled wrench set .. ? cool stuff !!!

 

[cruiserjunktion]

Give the lil ones the most leg room as possible.

It also doubles as a crumple zone.

 

[Tofudebeest]

proto ratcher angled wrench set .. ? cool stuff !!!

You're not kidding. Pound for pound, the best tools I own. They're Husky (Home Depot) with the same lifetime replacement warranty as Sears Craftsman.

 

[Tofudebeest]

That buldge took a lot of whacks with the 3 lb. hammer and various sizes and shapes of wood behind it to reproduce. It's dumb actually, because the bottle jack is next to useless once you put bigger tires than 31" on there...

Diamondplate may be redneck and ghetto-fabulous, but it is really easy to work with (the aluminum kind) tough, light, won't rust, and is paintable. I'm going to Durabak it along with the floor, probably in smooth dark gray. I think the end result is very utilitarian and looks good. I'll add some small bungee fixtures and anchor points later.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Extra diamondplate laying around...

Custom battery tray. It is amazing how maleable this stuff is if you beat the crap out of it with a 3 lb. hammer with various things to shape the metal around. Chunks of 2 x 4 were quite useful...

 

[Spike Strip]

Very very nice work!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

You are pretty freaking resourceful my friend.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Thank you people. Wasn't hard.

Know what? I gotta get a friggin' welder. Then I'll be the one fabbing up s*** that makes people drool...

Bumpers, tailgate storage, etc...

I see you quoted me. Hardly quotable, but flattered.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thank you people. Wasn't hard.

Know what? I gotta get a friggin' welder. Then I'll be the one fabbing up s*** that makes people drool...

Bumpers, tailgate storage, etc...

I see you quoted me. Hardly quotable, but flattered.

It was totally necessary. The cynical humor really cheered me up after such a terrible couple of days.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Well, quoting me might lose you a friend or two 'round here...
You're surely the first.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Well, quoting me might lose you a friend or two 'round here...
You're surely the first.

I don't know about losing a friend or two, but I'm glad I'm the first to quote you.

Now get back to work!!

 

[cruiser88]

Good s*** my man

 

[Tofudebeest]

If minor fab work earns me this kind of kudos, I'll just have to do more of it!

 

[Tofudebeest]

Auto transmission hole panel. I used 1/16" steel plate.

A "Panavise" 8 lb. speaker mount, mounted to the front of the console. Double knuckle design, for twice the adjustability. Two adjusting points offer a full range of motion 210° tilt, 360° turn and 360° rotation.
16-gauge steel surface mounting plate. Awesome for GPS, a small laptop, clipboard, etc. http://www.panavise.com/f/speaker/speaker_8lb.html

New improved location of the glow button, old 4WH button.

 

[Tofudebeest]

Ok. Starter is actually still acting up, sometimes strong, somethimes nothing.

New problem: Unless I hold the key, the engine shuts off. If I disconnect the EDIC motor arm, it will stay running. Other than low oil pressure, what would cause the EDIC to move forward into the off position? I note two oil pressure thing-a-majigs, one is the oil pressure sending unit (3FE) and another one, higher up. Never touched that one. I had swapped in oil pressure senders to mate up correctly with the 3FE gauge, and fried that sender (and gauge?), by putting the wire on the ground tab instead of the nipple. Now there is a new 3FE sender in (has no ground tab) and a 2F oil gauge in. If I hold the key, it will read 1/2 oil pressure. As soon as I let the key go, the motor shuts off.

 

[Tofudebeest]

OK, time to bring over the lessons learned from my EDIC thread to this one...

When I moved that glow button from its first position (the spare dash hole to the left of the steering wheel next to the dash light dim knob) to the spot where the 4WH button used to reside, I bumped both terminals against the back of the metal dash and there was a nice spark, pop, and some blown fuses. I replaced them all but never thought that might have fried my EDIC relay too. After a long process of elimination and checking for continuity and ground on all ignition-related wires, I finally had no choice but to pop open the EDIC relly itself for a quick examination. The burnt smell, the hot spot and scorch mark on the circuit board told the tale. $100 used unit from SOR (the ONLY 12V EDIC relay I could find, including Neil at RooDogs). I get it in the mail today.

So with this done, and with the discovery that the fusible link for the glow plugs was bad and now repaired (and was the cause of my hard starts and white smoke), the only mechanical issue left to deal with (barring some unforeseen gremlins) is sealing up that transfercase with a new bearing and seal. It does seem as though the leak is entirely from the rear output. I think my starter is fine. Apparently my oil pressure gauge only going to (at best) half way, is normal (?) too.

I will install a EGT, boost and oil pressure gauges in an A-pilar pod when I turbo, which should be relatively soon. Until then I am driving with no temperature gauge, as the one I have is dead. Scary, and will cause me to rig something up in the meantime.

So now, it is a cosmetic overhaul for the most part...

I do still need to throw Sheila's 2.5" Terrain Tamer lift springs under Tofu, but that's definitely not urgent. I will also run this bitch with just my exhaust downpipe until I go turbo (no sense on spending any $ on an exhaust if I am going to have to redo it).

Next up:
1) Have my a/c hose made and recharge the system.
2) Pressure steam clean the upholstery and headliner (I do have a replacement headliner if I'm not satisifed with the outcome).
3) Get the stereo working (or replaced).

Then: Sliders, a bitchin' front bumper, respray/bedliner job (including the interior floor), and whatever accessories I opt for (Aussie rear locker, OBA, ???)

I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it appears that it is not a train coming my way.