Build The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota

[RWBeringer4x4]

Oh, and obviously before all this happened, the new wheel bearings and seals went in:

Drive it in (harbor freight bearing driver):

Lube it up (80W-90 gear oil)

Grease the back of the seal to prevent the spring from coming loose while you hammer it in:

Install the seal (harbor freight bearing driver):

 

[Stumpalama]

Is your axle seal riding properly on the axle face? I don't THINK there is an issue with the axle being a little snug, as long as you can remove them later and the axle is properly positioned on the axle seal.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Is your axle seal riding properly on the axle face? I don't THINK there is an issue with the axle being a little snug, as long as you can remove them later and the axle is properly positioned on the axle seal.

@Stumpalama - not sure exactly what you mean by "riding properly on the axle face." Do you mean check whether the axle looks centered in the seal?

I don't think I'll have an issue getting them out in the future- the center pin might require a light tap with a drift (won't fall out) but otherwise I can't see an issue.

I contacted Torq Masters and asked them directly. My guidance from them was install it, run it, and as long as it ratchets properly there should be no issue. The gap between the cam gears is the more important of the two measurements.

By the way: very happy with the customer service over there - not too many companies will respond to a tech support question on a Sunday afternoon!

I'll install it and check for proper ratcheting.

 

[Stumpalama]

I was referring to the depth of the axle into the housing so it wasn't pulled in too far, though that probably isn't an issue. My concern would be the friction created between the center block and the axle shafts pressing on the center block.

 

[Vae Victus]

Good details Rick. I was in the same area today:

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Front shocks went in tonight - they did not go easily. I'm going to be running Gabriel "load leveler" shocks. I've heard very mixed reviews about these, and understand my truck will ride like a brick while I'm running them, but I got them ridiculously cheap. They'll get the job done until I install a lift a couple years from now and need longer shocks. That said, the coils over the shock were too small for my spring compressors, so I had to ratchet strap the shock into position then push it into place with a hydraulic jack...definitely not smart, or safe, but it got the job done...

Then I installed the Tie Rods, and, as usual, the Clustertruck rebelled:

Those Chevy Starter bushings everyone recommends, that I installed months ago? Apparently they're not going to cut it. They didn't take up enough of the slack in the taper. Looks like I'll be going with the $17/ea spacers instead

As you can see, the hole for the cotter pin is WAY too far above the crenelations on the castle nut to do any good...

To add insult to injury, it would also appear that my wheel ate one of my brand new Tie Rod Ends. It puked grease when I tightened everything down:

So, to top it all off, it looks like I'll ALSO be ordering a new TRE boot.

All in all, another one step forward, two steps back kind of night. Quite frustrating...

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Slowly but surely, this thing is starting to look like a truck again. Took a shot of the shocks tonight, before I ran out of daylight. These may be "s***ty" shocks from everything I've read, but they sure LOOK badass...

While I am waiting for another awesome emergency shipment from Georg @ Valley Hybrids consisting of the PROPER steering arm shims, I decided to go ahead and load up the FJ60 calipers and get them installed on my shiny new rotors...

Of course, I ran out of daylight before I could get a shot of them installed, but, in the dark, I proceeded to perform an back-yard alignment. Even though the tie rod ends will have to come out again to replace the bushings in the steering arm, I figured this will probably not be a big deal, as long as I don't move the Tie Rod once it's set.

To align the truck, I first measured out 30 inches on two pieces of wood. I made a mark at 0, 15, and 30. Then I clamped the pieces of wood to the rotor at the 15 inch mark, as close to "centered" on the axle as I could get it:

Then, you measure the distance from one rotor to the other at the "0" and "30" marks:

From everything I've read, "stock" configuration is about 1/8in of Toe-in. I've also read that power steering and larger than stock tires like a little more than that (albeit my tires are not THAT large, @ 31 inches). As a result, I adjusted the tie rod until the front measurement was ~3/16. If I start seeing weird wear, or scrubbing, I'll back it out a little, but this will do for now.

 

[Vae Victus]

Those are large calipers.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Those are large calipers.

Hopefully large enough to stop a 4000lb brick in its tracks!

 

[subzali]

They will. L on ooking good Rick. I like your idea for checking toe-in. Doesn't take that long to take both front wheels off! Did you put disc brake grease on those caliper pins? Based on the amount of flash rust on that caliper already I'd say it would be good to make sure everything is lubed well.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

They will. L on ooking good Rick. I like your idea for checking toe-in. Doesn't take that long to take both front wheels off! Did you put disc brake grease on those caliper pins? Based on the amount of flash rust on that caliper already I'd say it would be good to make sure everything is lubed well.

Thanks! The wheels have not been on the truck for about 4 months now, so I didn't even have to worry about "taking them off." As far as I can tell, I'm about 5 hours, total from having this thing back on the road. Unfortunately I get about 45 minutes of daylight after work, and a business trip this weekend, so it will probably be 2 weeks until I'm rolling yet!

I greased the back of the pads, but not the pins... The joys of living in Delaware....rains almost every day, for at least a little while, and the truck is being worked on outdoors. Everything flash rusts almost instantly. The pins are plated, so I'm not too worried. Plus, as soon as this thing has 4 wheels, 2 axles, and brakes again, it's getting stuffed back in the garage for winter. Hopefully I'll get a couple of decent fall drives in before then...

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Ok, so once again, thanks to Georg for shipping the parts so quickly. Today I dropped the Tie Rod Ends to pull the starter bushings. Turns out, the fit was so loose that this was not an issue at all, they fell right out with the Tie Rod End, and slip right off:

The correct, steel bushings from Georg (who I think gets them from Specter Offroad):

I installed it by pressing it in with a C-clamp. It's not quite as tall as the starter bushing, but I'm sure it got pulled in the rest of the way when I reinstalled the tie rod end:

Even with my habitually horrible photography skills, you can see the definite difference in thickness between the brass starter bushing (too thin) and the steel tapered bushing designed for the application:

Al in all, I'm glad I didn't try to run the starter bushing. In hindsight, it seems pretty . While it SUCKS to have to spend $14 on a little bevelled ring of steel for each steering arm, they will DEFINITELY hold up better.

Once that was taken care of, I spent the rest of the evening (too dark for photography) setting up my steering. This was way harder than I thought it would be.

I had the steering wheel centered to the steering box, and the pitman arm installed centered. The drag link was connected to the tie rod/hubs, which I alrigned had pretty close to centered as well. So logic states you just set the drag link length to run nicely from the tie rod to the pitman arm, connect it, and you have perfectly centered steering, right?

Wrong.

After fidling with the drag link length for a while, I finally got it close. About 2 and 1/8 turns to the left, and 2 and 3/8 turns to the right. Good enough.

Once I got there, I worked the steering stops on the knuckle out so that they would contact just before I maxed out the steering box - that way I'm not "bottoming out" the box when I max out a turn. I also ensured that the stops on each side were contacting the axle at the exact same time, to alleviate the max amount of pressure at max steering.

I won't know for sure how close I am until the tires are back on, but having done this, I should FINALLY have a steering wheel that is centered when the box is centered, and a full 2 turns in both directions. Alleluia!

All that's left now is getting the rear axle back under the truck, confirming the locker works as it should, hooking up, and bleeding the brakes, and slapping the tires back on. Home stretch!

Lastly, a shot of my sexy, already rusty, front disc conversion:

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Back from a business trip to San Diego. Saw this beauty while I was there:

It appeared to be pretty much stock. Paint was about shot, up close, but everything else seemed to be in the right place. Had to snap a photo.

Back to a way BIGGER piece of crap - the Clustertruck:

Got my rear axle and shocks installed tonight. As usual, the truck fought tooth and nail. The shocks fit correctly up top, but where they mount to the U-bolt plates, they had some sort of metal "spacer" tube running through the rubber bushing. The tube, of course, was too narrow to fit over the shock pin on the U-bolt plate. Without the tube, the bushing would be too wide. In addition, this tube was also about an inch too long to allow for proper fitment.

I didn't get any pictures, but I ended up taking a reamer to the inside of the tube and boring it out to fit the shock pin. Then, using sockets and a bench vice, I pushed the tube out one side about 1/2 way, cut the protruding section off with a cutoff wheel, then used the sockets and vice to press it back roughly to center.

So, as usual, a 15 minute job took 3 hours.

Also, in an effort to not deal with having to press these load-assist shocks into the proper position, I decided to install them to the U-bolt plates before I tightened them up against the spring. Having extra-long U-bolts were great for keeping everything in line. Using the big 54mm wheel socket, I pressed the shock, attached to the U-bolt plate, up the U-bolts, periodically tightening the U-bolt nuts to keep everything roughly aligned. Definitely not EASY, but it killed 2 birds with one stone.

So here is where we stand, as of tonight:

Getting darn tired of working in the dark with a floodlight.

This weekend, I plan to finish everything off.

This is how Saturday is shaping up:

1. Install rear calipers/discs (30min)
2. Bench Bleed the brake Master Cylinder (15min)
3. Connect All Brake Lines (15min)
4. Bleed the Brakes, Check for leaks (30min)
5. Cut off excess thread on rear U-bolts (15min)
6. Assuming no leaks (as if I'd be so lucky...) Install back tires and driveshafts (F+R) - test locker for proper ratcheting (15min)
7. Assuming proper ratcheting, install rear diff gasket and cover (15min)
8. Drop rear end back onto the tires
9. Install front tires - test steering (while wheels are off the ground) for any conflict with tie rod ends or calipers. If there are issues, install wheel spacers, or adjust steering stops. (30min)
10. Change Oil (15min)
11. Drop front end, check again for scrubbing, tie rod end conflicts, etc. (15min)
12. Install Battery, reconnect any wires that were disconnected to route the brake lines (15min)
13. Check torque on every bolt touched - cotter pins in all castle nuts (30min)
14. Gear oil, front and rear diffs (15min)
15. Test drive!

So if I get started when I hope to, and all goes according to plan - I should be "wheels down" and driving by around 1pm on Saturday.



So obviously I've still got about 2 weeks left here...

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

You know I'm cheering that it will go as planned, but really I'm like this

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Just in time for Halloween, I have FINALLY resurrected the Clustertruck form the dead. It's ALIVE!

I put in a full 8 hours today, but the wheels are back on the ground, and everything seems to be functioning normally (except one semi big deal, I will get to that later).

So how did I get here? First, I installed the Monte Carlo Calipers on the Rear Axles. I had to grind down a casting ridge on the caliper to make them fit properly:

After that, they bolted right up. I used some lug nuts to hold the rotor in place while I mounted the caliper:

With the calipers and rotors installed, all that was left to do was hook up the rear brake lines. Here's a couple shots of the routing:

Thanks again, @Stumpalama, for the T-fittings - just what the doctor ordered!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

With everything plumbed, my friend Matt stopped by to help bleed the brakes. Seriously crossed my fingers my flaring was good! I really didn't feel like making more hard lines today.

First, we bench bled the master in the truck. The bleeder tubes provided with the master cylinder were BARELY sufficient, but they got the job done:

With the master bled, we went around to each corner, and bled the brakes starting with the one furthest from the MC (rear passengers side) and moving closer. We topped off the master periodically. Once we had bubble-free fluid moving out of each caliper, we pumped up the brakes, and repeated the process again to get rid of any residual air.

Shockingly, not a SINGLE one of my flares leaks. Pretty pleased with myself, given that I had never done any flaring prior to this.

With the brakes fully functional (at least on jack stands), I turned my attention back to confirming that the Aussie Locker did, indeed, ratchet as it should. Seems good to me:



With that, we buttoned up the rear axle, and dumped gear oil into the front and rear diffs:

A shot of the 4 wheel discs, ready to go:

The remainder was basic stuff: torquing everything down, cotter pins on all the castle nuts, etc. Lastly, I bolted the wheels back on, and checked for any rubbing or interference. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be any, so the truck got lowered off the jack stands where it had been sitting for the last 5 months.

Finally, a good shot outlining the cargo capacity of the FJ40. This nightmare has been sitting in the truck for the entirety of the project!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Now onto the one issue that I ran into. My front driveshaft...

It would appear that by adding a 2 degree caster shim to the front axle, I've effectively changed the pinion angle to the point where the driveline is now too steep, and the front driveshaft is binding. You can see where the joint is bottoming out here:

What a difference 2 degrees makes...With the addition of the shims, my caster angle should be about 2.3 degrees - I guess this was just enough, with the ultra-short front driveshaft, to leave zero slack in the system, and bottom out the U-joint.

A shot of the driveline angle:

Short term solution? I pulled the front driveshaft... So the truck is RWD only at the moment...Am I right in assuming this is an issue with pinion angle and a short driveshaft, or did I do something really stupid here? If driveline angle is the solution, this will have to wait until I get around to moving the engine backward. Moving the engine 3-5 inches aft should ease the driveline angle and allow for proper movement. If that's not the issue, please clue me in!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

TEST DRIVE:

With everything (except the front driveshaft) installed, I fired up the truck and took it for a spin. a couple of reviews:

4 wheel disc brakes:

WOW...nuff said. The brakes are strong without being touchy, they stop straight, and it seems the proportioning valves is doing its job, as it's TOUGH to lock up the brakes, and the back end isn't coming around when I do (on pavement). VERY happy.

Steering:

At long last, it is centered...but still not really "self-centering" out of turns as much as I'd like. It is slightly improved. Plus, no more horrible KNOCKING noise as I turn sitting in place. Everything is smooth and quiet!

Aussie Locker:

This is going to take some getting used to. The ratching is NOT loud, in fact I had to stick my head out the window to hear it, nor did I notice it much on normal road driving, but you DEFINITELY feel it when doing tight, low speed manuevering (U-turns, parking, etc.). It seems REALLY jump in reverse, especially, like backing into a parking space. I'm also getting a little big of "tail slide" when I shift too hard, due to the rapid application of torque. Not all bad things - the locker seems to be doing its job, but it will take some getting used to for sure.

Shocks:

Holy crap - with the load leveler shocks at all 4 corners, this truck BOUNCES like I cannot believe. Definitely a very "oversprung" feeling, especially compared to my previously dead shocks. A slight improvement, but now overcompensating. When I put in a lift down the road, I'll be converting to Bilsteins. For the time being, I'll just "enjoy" the bounce!

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

grind a bit off the yoke to clear the driveshaft, if you move the motor back, you'll shorten the rear driveshaft and create binding issues and steep angles there - which is worse, by a lot.

self-centering is a function of alignment - what is your toe set to now?

Aussie locker - what gets annoying about that locker, and not frightening if you know what's happening, is when you're in a corner and you stand on it the vehicle will understeer. The other issue is sometimes it won't unlock when you turn sharp from a stop so you'll get a bit of chirping.

your brakes should lock up, once you get the pads bedded, then revisit this issue... but you need to follow the procedure for your pads (most require 10 stops from 40 to 10 mph back to back then let them cool off naturally). Once you do this, it will take a couple hundred miles of driving normally before then really start grabbing.

the bouncing, make certain that your shackles are pointing away from the axle at rest, preferrably they always point away from the axle - otherwise, it will be a rough ride... generally, it's not the shocks that cause harsh ride.

 

[71FJnick]

Nice work man, glad you finally got to drive it... Again.