Builds "The Milk Truck" FJ45 Preservation Sorta (6 Viewers)

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@samc2447 I am looking harder at the gen 2 compact unit for heat, cool and defrost. How well do you feel like this unit will do in the Fj45 cab? If you would prefer I call your shop to discuss, I can do that.
 
@samc2447 I am looking harder at the gen 2 compact unit for heat, cool and defrost. How well do you feel like this unit will do in the Fj45 cab? If you would prefer I call your shop to discuss, I can do that.
No worries, I hope SAS5 was fun. It looked like a good time from the pictures. I appreciate the follow up bu I am leaning toward not adding ac at the moment. Thinking I will go with a heater and decide later if I want to add ac. If I change my mind I will give you a call.
 
Well I thought I would have some good updates when I was done tonight and I suppose I do but I have a signicant set back too.

First, I bought a Redhead rebuilt 80 steering box with a 105 sector shaft from another forum member. It had been rebuilt 3 months ago but sprung a significant leak at the bottom of the sector shaft. I bought a new OEM seal kit for it and opened it tonight. I found that the oil seal had been installed backwards and it was slightly different than OEM. I replaced all the seals and put it back together. Hopefully it holds. I will install it on the 45 when I pull the steering linkage for paint.
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Things went so well with the steering box I decided I would install some Marlin Crawler low rang gears in my HF1A. I tore into it and got the gears swapped with out too much drama.
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Everything is going back together pretty easy.
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Literally the last bolt I am tightening to secure the tail housing and I hear a very loud pop! Damn it, right above the bolt I was tightening the housing cracked.
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I am now searching for a replacement tail housing for an HF1A or maybe even a complete transfer case.
My other option is to switch to a HF2AV which I have two of. While I figure out my next move, if anyone has a lead on a good HF1A please let me know.
 
Man. That sucks!!! Know why it popped? All else looks good around it. Death Valley Paul may have one. Brandon at classic cruisers might as well. They have 80 parts.
 
Man. That sucks!!! Know why it popped? All else looks good around it. Death Valley Paul may have one. Brandon at classic cruisers might as well. They have 80 parts.
It does suck! I have no idea why it cracked. Everything turns and shifts easily, no binding that I can find. It would seems everything internally is where it should be. Only thing I can think could have caused it is after I tightened three bolts in a star pattern I tightened the rest going clockwise around the housing. Maybe something about the tightening process stressed it too much. I am not going to open it up until I decide what direction I am going and have parts in hand. Very disappointing.
 
It could have possibly had a hairline crack previously; maybe it was dropped at some point?
 
It could have possibly had a hairline crack previously; maybe it was dropped at some point?
Definitely a possibility, I bought the tcase used and had never run it. I have no idea how it was treated prior to getting it.
Edit: this is at least a better time to find this than on the trail.
 
I have been searching for options and found the 100 series transfer cases have similar (maybe the same) tail housing. Anyone know if they are interchangeable?
 
Couldn't you have that case welded and repaired?
Maybe I could but I would rather not. With all the time resources in this project I want to start with something that is solid. If the crack repair didn’t hold and gave out on a trail run I wouldn’t have the parts or tools to fix it. I think swapping the housing is the right way to go. I just need to find one. Sadly I will probably have to buy a complete tcase just to get it.
 
George had what I needed and the tail housing is on it’s way. I will share what I find when I pull it apart.
 
With the replacement tail housing on the way I decided to open it up and figure out what went wrong and make sure I didn’t need more parts.

When the tail housing goes on there are shims that go in the center of the case around the out put shaft. It should look like this.
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There is nothing to retain the shims when putting it back together, so I put a little grease between them, so they would stick in place while I installed the housing. Judging from some grease marks and slight markings it would appear my shims slipped down off the mating surface. The shims are roughly 1/16 of an inch which is enough to to cause this damage. This is where the marks I found show the shims fell to.
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The crack occurred directly below shims and over the drain plug supporting the evidence.

I may just remove the transfer case, so I can orient the mating surface upward to help keep the shims in place when I install the new tail housing.

Lesson learned.

Edit: I learned another lesson from this. I purchased this transfer case a couple years ago as an HF1A never questioned it, so thought I had an oem part time transfer case. Turns out I have a HF2A full time transfer case. Good know now but I guess my selectable Aisin hubs are mostly for show. Oh well, unless I have driveline issues I am fine with it.
 
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With the replacement tail housing on the way I decided to open it up and figure out what went wrong and make sure I didn’t need more parts.

When the tail housing goes on there are shims that go in the center of the case around the out put shaft. It should look like this.
View attachment 2768532
There is nothing to retain the shims when putting it back together, so I put a little grease between them, so they would stick in place while I installed the housing. Judging from some grease marks and slight markings it would appear my shims slipped down off the mating surface. The shims are roughly 1/16 of an inch which is enough to to cause this damage. This is where the marks I found show the shims fell to.
View attachment 2768537
The crack occurred directly below shims and over the drain plug supporting the evidence.

I may just remove the transfer case, so I can orient the mating surface upward to help keep the shims in place when I install the new tail housing.

Lesson learned.

Edit: I learned another lesson from this. I purchased this transfer case a couple years ago as an HF1A never questioned it, so thought I had an oem part time transfer case. Turns out I have a HF2A full time transfer case. Good know now but I guess my selectable Aisin hubs are mostly for show. Oh well, unless I have driveline issues I am fine with it.
You could lock the center diff and then unlock the front hubs and viola you have 2wd.
 
Truly a great and unique build. Lots of ideas that folks will be borrowing. I know I've already noted a few.

You're going to love this truck once it's done. She is going to SCOOT. The A750 and the 2UZ work superbly together.

Since you're already in the case, you can install a spool to convert that full time case to part time. Kurt seems to keep them in stock and it's a reasonably priced component.

One note: the factory range shift lever is cantilevered off the passenger side of the mounting pad by about an inch a half. If I am correct in assuming that you intend to use the factory shifter, then I recommend mounting the shifter and then seeing how that is going to affect your tunnel cover. I expect you'll need to provide some clearance.
 
You could lock the center diff and then unlock the front hubs and viola you have 2wd.
Yeah I considered this, I have some flexibility with the hubs just not exactly what I intended. I am fine having the all wheel drive and would prefer it. My reason for going with the part time set up was to compensate early on for any front driveline vibrations that could occurs. With all the customization I have done to put it together I figured there was chance I might have an issue. This was my thinking when I bought what I thought was a part time case early on.
I have a DC front drive shaft I plan to install which should also help that possible issue. Since I have what I have I will just run it and adjust later if I have too. Now that the pieces are in place I feel better about the way it has turned out. Eventually we will know.
 
@Zjohnsonua I really appreciate the kind words. It has been a ton of work, so I really hope the combination is awesome together.

You are correct on the shifter for the tcase. There are different versions as you pointed out that place the shifter in different locations. I have the version that comes straight up over the mounting surface but if I use it there I would still have to clearance it.

I have been experimenting with a number of ideas trying to find the best way to package the trans and tcase shifter. I may not end up using the factory mount on the transmission, I am looking at options to make my own mount to mount it more forward similar to what is shown on the H151F in the link you shared.

I am still waiting on a piece I ordered for the tunnel cover before I finish it and finalize the shifter location. I will share how I got there when I have it all figured out.

This build has bun fun to work through all the fitting of different pieces, keeps me thinking.
 
Big thanks to Valley Hybrids for having what I needed and shipping it out quickly with a new seal too. I received the replacement housing today and couldn’t wait to get it all put back together.
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I tore the cracked housing apart and transferred my parts to the new housing. Then pulled the rest of the tcase off the 45, so I could assemble it with the spacers facing up.
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After cleaning it up and applying some sealant, assembly went smoothly. No loud noises this time! Everything turns and shifts smoothly.
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I will let the sealant dry and reinstall it on the 45 tomorrow.

If I had to do this again, I would pull the tcase and work on it on the bench rather than chance having this happen again.
 
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This will help many avoid your misfortune. Thanks for sharing it. Glad you found a replacement housing.
 

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