Builds Stretched 1-Ton FJ40

[peesalot]

Sweet, with rough mock up I figure almost exact same numbers although my lowers will have WAY less triangulation due to packaging constraints.

 

[peesalot]

Thanx Ditch

 

[Ditcherman]

Sweet, with rough mock up I figure almost exact same numbers although my lowers will have WAY less triangulation due to packaging constraints.

IIRC 46* combined between the two of them is considered minimum on a 4 link, not really hard to hit that, most are way over that just because we can.

Not sure if you’re aware of the “how’s my numbers thread” on irate? Very informative and helpful.

 

[Mike Shull]

Well technically the link length is the x frame end minus the x axle end…so your rear, upper link is 35.13 minus 1.38 long and the lower rear is 39.25 minus 4.13, to clarify for @peesalot .
It’s how you fill it out in the form, and when your filling it out on the later versions it’s much more visual and makes more sense than seeing a chart IMO.

It’s too late to panic but it looks like I may have entered the wrong numbers into the calculator. I’ll need to crawl under the Cruiser to get actual upper link measurements but the rear lower measures 40” from center to center of the bolts, and the front lower link is approximately 36”.

 

[Mike Shull]

Shenanigans…

 

[Ditcherman]

It’s too late to panic

Hey good news, nothing matters!!
You love the ride, everything works great, the number no longer matter!
Looking forward to that feeling…

 

[peesalot]

I use the posted builds for R & D. Firemedics 40 has proved the layout works traingulation wise, my wb will be shorter than Shull's so 32 ish uppers and 36 ish lowers. Got it all figured and these shake down run vids provide proof of concept, such as his front carrier bearing hasnt spit anything out.

 

[Mike Shull]

I use the posted builds for R & D. Firemedics 40 has proved the layout works traingulation wise, my wb will be shorter than Shull's so 32 ish uppers and 36 ish lowers. Got it all figured and these shake down run vids provide proof of concept, such as his front carrier bearing hasnt spit anything out.

Haha. I was sad that we didn’t get any video at the end of the trail when I was more familiar with the setup but I was using high horsepower to blast through the drifts. The carrier seems fine as I got on the pavement with the hubs locked and drove to the nearest town afterwards. The only thing that went wrong was a blown fuse and a cooked power steering pump.

 

[Mike Shull]

Hey good news, nothing matters!!
You love the ride, everything works great, the number no longer matter!
Looking forward to that feeling…

I still need to test it in Moab, which was my main focus for keeping it around 95% squat/dive. It’s probably closer to 80-85%. No problem. That’s a worry for next year.

 

[Mike Shull]

I am going to assume that the information below is common knowledge and I am posting it for future reference and in case I am making the wrong interpretation so that I can get a chance for clarification before I make repairs.

A 30 amp blade fuse is not an acceptable replacement for the stock FJ40 30 amp fusible link that powers the main fuse box inside of the Cruiser. Oops.

As I mentioned above, there were a few problems that we found during the trip last weekend. One of those problems was a slow burn on one of my 30 amp blade fuses that is part of the fuse box that I built under the hood. This circuit has blown three times over the past 1200 miles, and powers the main fuse box inside of the vehicle, which turns on two relays to additional fuse boxes that I have added to power the rest of the vehicle.

I’ve read that the fusible link is intended to take higher amperage spikes during short durations that do not harm the wiring, but would blow a traditional fuse. These spikes occur when turning on an accessory, such as the headlights or windshield wipers, and I believe is leading to a very slow burn with my blade fuse.

Since I no longer have my factory fusible link, and my wiring is a little more complex than the original, I am planning to install a painless wiring 30 amp breaker. I’ve read that breakers are also intended to take a higher amperage draw than the circuit rating just like a fusible link. Please let me know if I am mistaken as I am also considering installing a new fusible link.

 

[matzell]

I am going to assume that the information below is common knowledge and I am posting it for future reference and in case I am making the wrong interpretation so that I can get a chance for clarification before I make repairs.

A 30 amp blade fuse is not an acceptable replacement for the stock FJ40 30 amp fusible link that powers the main fuse box inside of the Cruiser. Oops.

As I mentioned above, there were a few problems that we found during the trip last weekend. One of those problems was a slow burn on one of my 30 amp blade fuses that is part of the fuse box that I built under the hood. This circuit has blown three times over the past 1200 miles, and powers the main fuse box inside of the vehicle, which turns on two relays to additional fuse boxes that I have added to power the rest of the vehicle.

I’ve read that the fusible link is intended to take higher amperage spikes during short durations that do not harm the wiring, but would blow a traditional fuse. These spikes occur when turning on an accessory, such as the headlights or windshield wipers, and I believe is leading to a very slow burn with my blade fuse.

Since I no longer have my factory fusible link, and my wiring is a little more complex than the original, I am planning to install a painless wiring 30 amp breaker. I’ve read that breakers are also intended to take a higher amperage draw than the circuit rating just like a fusible link. Please let me know if I am mistaken as I am also considering installing a new fusible link.

I think you need to calculate load on vehicle and see if 30 amps is enough. You mention it feeds the main box. How much power does that pull?

I am not sure about the breakers. I have them in the racecar as they are easy to push to reset if needed. I am not sure if they trip slower than a blade fuse.

 

[Mike Shull]

I think you need to calculate load on vehicle and see if 30 amps is enough. You mention it feeds the main box. How much power does that pull?

I am not sure about the breakers. I have them in the racecar as they are easy to push to reset if needed. I am not sure if they trip slower than a blade fuse.

I would measure the amp draw if I had a meter large enough but mine is only rated for 10 amps. I can’t imagine that I am pulling more from this main fuse panel than before as I have removed the engine, radio and heater from this circuit. Adding a breaker will be an experiment.

 

[Mike Shull]

I’m knocking out a long list of tasks this weekend, including adding balancing beads to the tires.

The A/C lines are mocked in place and ready for a shop to crimp and charge. They are just setting in the engine bay for now. Note that if you order the custom hose kit from Vintage Air that the #10 hose from the evaporator to the compressor comes with 45* and 175* fittings. Neither will work for an LS that has the compressor in the lower-right position, and the Vintage Air instructions call for a 90* fitting at the evaporator. No big deal but I would not purchase this kit from them for this application in the future.

I’ve also added a 30 amp circuit with a Painless Wiring beaker for the original fuse panel inside of the Cruiser and this thing has never started as well as it does now. I also learned that I had the 18 gauge ECM power trigger wire (not main power) on the same 30 amp circuit, which I moved to a dedicated 5 amp circuit and I blew that fuse. I increased this to a 10 amp circuit and it has behaved so far.

I’ve also measured for PSC hydraulic assist and it is looking like the 1.75 x 8” ram will work the best.

 

[Bripars40]

I’m knocking out a long list of tasks this weekend, including adding balancing beads to the tires.

The A/C lines are mocked in place and ready for a shop to crimp and charge. They are just setting in the engine bay for now. Note that if you order the custom hose kit from Vintage Air that the #10 hose from the evaporator to the compressor comes with 45* and 175* fittings. Neither will work for an LS that has the compressor in the lower-right position, and the Vintage Air instructions call for a 90* fitting at the evaporator. No big deal but I would not purchase this kit from them for this application in the future.

I’ve also added a 30 amp circuit with a Painless Wiring beaker for the original fuse panel inside of the Cruiser and this thing has never started as well as it does now. I also learned that I had the 18 gauge ECM power trigger wire (not main power) on the same 30 amp circuit, which I moved to a dedicated 5 amp circuit and I blew that fuse. I increased this to a 10 amp circuit and it has behaved so far.

I’ve also measured for PSC hydraulic assist and it is looking like the 1.75 x 8” ram will work the best.

View attachment 3924459



View attachment 3924462

View attachment 3924465

Are you planning to run a baffle or something above the air intake so you don’t suck in rain/water through the hood lovers? I thought about running my intake to the same location, but stuck with it in the middle of the engine bay for now.

 

[Mike Shull]

I would measure the amp draw if I had a meter large enough but mine is only rated for 10 amps. I can’t imagine that I am pullin

Are you planning to run a baffle or something above the air intake so you don’t suck in rain/water through the hood lovers? I thought about running my intake to the same location, but stuck with it in the middle of the engine bay for now.

I hadn’t thought about doing that. I’ve driven through some pretty mean rain storms and so far I’ve been okay. I’m not too concerned about river crossings as those louvres are too high for any river crossing that I would attempt. I’ll have to ponder that idea.

What is your air intake temperature running during normal operating temperature? Mine runs about 110 to 130°F when it’s around 80 to 95° outside.

 

[Ditcherman]

I’m knocking out a long list of tasks this weekend, including adding balancing beads to the tires.

The A/C lines are mocked in place and ready for a shop to crimp and charge. They are just setting in the engine bay for now. Note that if you order the custom hose kit from Vintage Air that the #10 hose from the evaporator to the compressor comes with 45* and 175* fittings. Neither will work for an LS that has the compressor in the lower-right position, and the Vintage Air instructions call for a 90* fitting at the evaporator. No big deal but I would not purchase this kit from them for this application in the future.

I’ve also added a 30 amp circuit with a Painless Wiring beaker for the original fuse panel inside of the Cruiser and this thing has never started as well as it does now. I also learned that I had the 18 gauge ECM power trigger wire (not main power) on the same 30 amp circuit, which I moved to a dedicated 5 amp circuit and I blew that fuse. I increased this to a 10 amp circuit and it has behaved so far.

I’ve also measured for PSC hydraulic assist and it is looking like the 1.75 x 8” ram will work the best.

View attachment 3924459



View attachment 3924462

View attachment 3924465

Those fittings also don’t work for a Cummins 5.9 swap with the compressor in the upper right position.
You know, just in case you ever needed that info.

Hydraulic assist!?! That sounds nice! Didn’t even know that was being considered!

 

[Mike Shull]

Those fittings also don’t work for a Cummins 5.9 swap with the compressor in the upper right position.
You know, just in case you ever needed that info.

Hydraulic assist!?! That sounds nice! Didn’t even know that was being considered!

Good to know. Hopefully someone else will find our comments helpful.

Having A/C in the Cruiser seems so wrong but I am also very excited to get it charged.

I may not have mentioned it but PSC assist has been on the list since I started this version. I am not running anything on the front axle to stabilize the steering and I am very surprised that it doesn’t have death wobble. It actually steers amazingly well as is but it was very hard to steer it in the rocks last weekend. Very hard …impossible to steer in the rocks.

 

[Mike Shull]

 

[Bripars40]

I hadn’t thought about doing that. I’ve driven through some pretty mean rain storms and so far I’ve been okay. I’m not too concerned about river crossings as those louvres are too high for any river crossing that I would attempt. I’ll have to ponder that idea.

What is your air intake temperature running during normal operating temperature? Mine runs about 110 to 130°F when it’s around 80 to 95° outside.

I believe I’m running about 20 degrees warmer than the ambient air temp.

 

[Mike Shull]

The PSC hydraulic assist steering ram and supplies have been ordered.

I was going to put a heat sink fluid cooler under the front bumper but I opted to adapt a thinner transmission cooler that I can strap to the left side of my radiator. I am running out of room and I’d rather not route power steering lines to the rear of the vehicle, or put anything else under the hood unless I can fit something up by the radiator. Feel free to offer any advice as this is one mod that I have never done.

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I couldn’t get the order for the assist ram to go through on PSC’s website and I found that they had a store on Amazon. I saved $50. I have seen many posts of folks mounting their ram to the diff cover on a Dana 60. I have a Ruffstuff cover that seems stout enough to support that kind of force so this is most likely the route that I will go.

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For my future reference I am linking this Billa Vista how-to article that walks through tapping the Saginaw box for high pressure lines. I am planning to get those hoses locally from the Parker Store and use field serviceable high pressure fittings and make my own lines.

Where to Tap a Saginaw Power Steering Box for Hydro Assist

Where to Tap a Saginaw Power Steering Box for Hydro Assist By BillaVista (actually - all photots are from PBB contributor's - I simply compiled and posted them here) The following are a couple of threads on the PBB Forums regarding Hydro Assist box tapping: pics of taped box...

www.pirate4x4.com