A few weeks after that madness I had to contend with the rear axle. The pinion was leaking. It had about 1/16” of slop from side to side and you can imagine the howling it was making. How it stayed together that long I don’t know. Hats off to Mr T for building the rear end right!
Called Bryce at cruiser outfitters and got myself all sorted out with new drop in diffs and all the wheel bearings and gaskets associated. I took this opportunity to regear from 3.73 to 4.10 because I had other big plans for later....
The rear end gave me problems. I had to call out of work for almost a week trying to get the rear axles back into the housing after I installed the new wheel bearings. I destroyed the new seals and destroyed a brand new bearing pulling it back out thinking somehow it must be the wrong part. The axles just would not seat all the way into the new diffs. I called and talked with Kurt at cruiser outfitters. Those guys were an enormous help but we were just stumped. Everything looked and measured just fine.
But I could swear it was hanging up on the axle shaft here...
I went so far as to track down the only machinist in Denver who has the tools to turn a hardened steel Toyota axle. Kurt showed me a page from ARB I believe talking about axles hanging up on a locker so I figured maybe that was it, or maybe there was something in or on the case of the diff itself that was catching.
Had them turned and they still wouldn’t fit. WTF?! The bearings fit over the axle fine outside of the housing, but once the bearing was installed it wouldn’t fit. The housing was perfectly in round.... wtf?!?!
I was at my wits end. Someone on mud suggested I just hit them with a hammer and would you believe they popped right in... but now they were seated too far in and I couldn’t get the center pin installed in the diff... WTF?!?! So, I got a slide hammer and after I got the c-clip resting on the top of the axle shaft I slammed the hammer outward and pulled the sucker into position.
After that the axles turned just fine with no grinding or drag... I guess she likes it tight....
After the howling subsided in the axles I keyed in on the other noise that was scaring me. It was a chattering rumble that I had now tracked down to the transfer case/transmission.... but first.... I HAD to do something about that sagging suspension. I have a feeling that the busted hanger was allowing the axle to shift forward and backward on a plane that it’s not suppose to and it caused the pinion and axle to move around in ways it shouldn’t. So to protect my new diffs I found a local welder who also happens to be a land cruiser owner. She agreed to help me weld things up if I did all the prep. Well worth the sweaty day! Thanks Kathy!
So finally came the day for a lift! Called Cruiser Outfitters and got the package deal. Went with Medium Heavy 2.5”-3” lift. It raised me about 6-7 inches because I was sagging that much...
Now, it’s starting to get cold. First snow of the season drops and I start to worry about my battery... so it’s time to replace all that crap... got new cables from 4Runner. Installed a new Die Hard AGM group 34 battery. It’s a freakin beast!
I also replaced all the original toshiba bulbs in the dash...
So again, I called cruiser outfitters and order all the parts. Transfer case rebuild kit. McNamera gear, and a brand new H55F 5 speed transmission. My buddy was busy doing the work to start his new restaurant so I was completely on my own for this project, with all of you wonderful folks here of course, to guide me along. I’m in way deep here and maybe over my head but I did it!!!
Did I mention it was the first week of January and it was 20-30 degrees the entire time?
I stabbed that baby on the second try... alone... in a public parking lot... it was 25 degrees... and by the time I was done a 6” snow storm hit us. I just finished in time... boy did that feel really really good to accomplish! Maybe my most proud moment of this whole land cruiser ownership thing...
I struggled my way through the winter living in the truck. That was a trying time. Honestly, it was really hard on me mentally. I had to do some things to make my life more bearable so in the middle of the lumber price spike I bought some wood, ditched the rear bench seat (which is just a coffin filler) and I made a sleeping/storage platform. That has greatly improved my situation and I’ve actually become comfortable with living in a land cruiser...
I don’t have many pictures of this project. It’s semi temporary but is functioning okay for now.
Next I made myself a 5 gallon solar heated shower that I can pressurize. And it works great! I also made a shower curtain that opens and closes in seconds.
My dog, Hendrix, was diagnosed with lupus and we’ve been trying to help him deal with that. What an irritating and costly illness to diagnose in a dog... poor boy... his nose has been raw for more than a year and it cracks open every week...
So, now I’m sick of the Colorado scene and what’s going on here. I’ve decided to move to Wyoming or Montana and ditch my smog crap, install a Holley sniper, headers, and..... hopefully a long range tank... but that’ll be further on down the road. This weekend I began pulling all the smog stuff and getting everything ready to install the sniper. I’m also rebuilding the steering pump and gear box because they’re leaking something fierce.
I’m kinda hung up on the headers. They’re not the best quality, but I’ll make due for now. Any opinions here? I’m using a remflex gasket but this mating surface is s*** to be honest. Should I have it machined flat along with the intake? Or should I just throw it on there and let it be for the next year or two until I get moved into a place where I can do a proper engine rebuild?
I’m also having issues with the adapter for the sniper. The Mr Gasket 1937mrg that I ordered is backordered until November so I got what summit suggested as a replacement. Trans-adapter 2086.... it doesn’t fit. The hardware is all in standard and it’s missing pieces. I know I can get new hardware but, I’m wondering if anyone else has run into this issue? I suppose I can file the holes to be elongated but there’s not really anything for the bolt head to grab onto if I do that. If it does work it seems like it will barely work and will be a source for cracks and leaks. Ideas? Are there other adapters that work well for the LC carb mount spacing?
I got my adapter from Downey On ebay.. I had to modify it somewhat. I don't remember the details now, but I used Allen head bolts that I had to grind to fit right. It looks the same as yours.
Trying to get this valve out... it is freakin’ STUCK... what’s left of it anyway... I got it to turn about 5degrees with a box wrench before it stripped out the brass. Vise grips made it worse. So now I’ve pulled the tstat housing off the block and I’ve taken to drilling it out. I’ve crept up on it with a step bit and tried using a large extractor with NO luck. I fear that if I take it any farther with the step bit that I will hit the aluminum threads.... this thing is totally mangled now... lol
