Builds Uglina is Back Thread ('78 Mustard FJ40) (1 Viewer)

[spotcruiser]

Do you have the tranny out of the rig? Does it have a good output shaft?

I don't know why you're going to all of this expense and trouble when all you need is a decent H42 (buy one or piece one together). As I mentioned before, I have a good H42 that needs a better output shaft. Pretty simple, really.

 

[PabloCruise]

I think $85 an hour for a wrench who will mess with these, that I would want touching my 40...

Good Luck!

 

[TEQ]

She's Back! All fixed! Purring like a kitten...

This morning I FINALLY picked Uglina up from the wrench.

In then end we decided to just keep the transmission as is with new seals; 2nd gear will eventually go, but it's not like I put 10,000 miles a year on her and this way, when the time comes I can put a fully rebuilt H55 in. We did put in a tcase I got extremely cheaply that was rebuilt.

I also choose not to install the newly-rebuilt '78 carb I have, instead opting to leave in the '76 which the PO put in. It is working fine and while it's not "correct" I think I'm slowly learning "if it's not broke don't fix it." I'm a slow learner. My mechanic pushed me hard not to do the change, assuring me he could make it run right, and after a morning of driving around I'm a believer. No exhaust smells, no "too rich" smell, no rough idle, no valve noise, etc... Just purring.

The speedometer finally works again (new cable; the connector thingy was stripped).

A valve adjustment, tune, and a whole slew of other little things mean that she's now running FAR better than she ever did before (Rodney, remember how noisy she sounded compared to the Colonel? No longer).

The only thing he didn't quite get right was my shift lever. I had him heat it up with a torch and bend it a bit so it wouldn't hit my tuffy box while in 2nd or 4th. Now it's too far forward. So we'll have to bend it back again.

I still need to take my "new" air cleaner assembly off, sand blast it and get it powder coated 'cause it looks like absolute crap. But it fits.

Sucks it was laid up for almost 6 months, but soon that will all be forgotten...

 

[toyman317]

What happened to all the pics? Went back to look at the outcome and they were all gone.

 

[TEQ]

What happened to all the pics? Went back to look at the outcome and they were all gone.

When I scroll back through this thread I still see all the pics I've ever posted, so i'm not sure what you mean. I did not post any pictures today (nothing looks different).

 

[toyman317]

Yep I see them now too. Don't know what was up that first time through. Real nice job by the way. Same color as my 78. Real inspiring.

 

[TEQ]

Just a quick post to list out my current "to dos" on the rig. I want to capture them while they are on my mind because it may be ages before I get to them. The Porsche is due to have most of it's rubber bushings replaced and if I get a chance to spend significant time in the garage this winter it'll be on that.

Plus the FJ40 is running so well; these are all mostly cosmetic...

To Be Completed:

• Fix windsheild washer pump/hose
• Clean frame rails (still some old mud in them)
• Paint half-doors, rear tailgate
• Install replacement seat vinyl I bought from AATLASX about 30 years ago.
• Sand-blast and powder coat air cleaner assembly (current one fits correctly but is rusty & ughly).
• Find a bracket to finally attach emissions thingy
• Address minor body issues (a bit of rust on roof, scratch on hood, etc...)

 

[TEQ]

She's driving beautifully. I've filled her gas tank up more in the last 6 days than I have in the previous two years.

No stink, no leaks. Just works. I'm a happy boy.

 

[Gusb]

Man - give us a break already - that thing looks so good I can hardly stand it. I don't know what black magic you've worked - something about what you've done seems to retain so much good cruiser Mojo

 

[TEQ]

Gusb - I am in awe of your "I'm just learning to weld" welding skills. Your thread showing your workmanship & progress is an inspiration.

 

[thecrazygreek]

get a room guys...

 

[todt]

Busted, I can see you takin the pic. Nice, I hope my 40 looks like that one day.

 

[TEQ]

Tire rubbing on steering box arm

My 33" tires rub on the end of my pitman arm (the arm that connects the drag link to the steering box) when I turn left. It only rubs right at full stop to the left and JUST BARELY. But it's annoying. See these pics to see how the paint has worn off:

I figure I should be able to re-index the "center arm" a few clicks to the right, exposing a few more threads on the drag link where it connects to the center arm. This would give me the 5-10mm more clearance I need. It looks like I have 5-10mm threads available on all my steering linkage bars. Will this actually work?

See how I can expose more threads here making my drag link effectively longer?

Or should I just try to find a longer drag link and re-index the pitman bar on the steering box?

(Oh, and don't give me cr** about not putting POR15 on those steering arm ends. It's on my list.)

 

[LSUfj]

Sorry if I am missing something, but cant you just adjust the steering stop? Mine did the same thing before I tore it apart. I think this is the solution I will try first.

 

[TEQ]

Sorry if I am missing something, but cant you just adjust the steering stop? Mine did the same thing before I tore it apart. I think this is the solution I will try first.

Steering stop on that side is already as far as it will go.

 

[subzali]

You will probably lose full rotation in your steering box one way or the other if you do that. But as long as you hit the steering stops in both directions it sounds like it's a feasible solution. Surprised your tire doesn't hit the uncoated tie rod end pictured, my 31x10.50s would always hit that when turned to the right (especially with chains on). But maybe your taller skinnier tires are different enough that it clears.

 

[TEQ]

As I lay myself to sleep last night (sounds like a familiar poem) I considered the geometry some more and realized that the best thing to do is to focus on making the drag link longer by about 1cm. I _THINK_ the amount of threads available will support that.

The 2nd best thing will be to make the relay rod shorter. This will cause the center bracket to rotate counter-clockwise pushing the drag link back which is what I want.

Neither of these will impact how much rotation my steering box has.

My steering wheel is currently slightly off center at center. I may get lucky and this fix might straighten it (or make it worse; i have to check).

 

[TEQ]

I got it all figured out and fixed.

It turned out that I had plenty of ability to make the drag link longer. I loosened the clamps and rotated it extending it by about 3cm.

Before:

The ends now looks like this:

There's no lateral force on the drag link so I'm not too concerned about the fact that there's only about 2cm of threads inside the link on either end. Right?!?!

While I was looking at it I noticed that not only did it rub turning to the left, but that I had more steering range to the left than right. I couldn't see why I was not hitting the steering stops when turning to the right.

It turns out that the relay rod was setup too short and was causing the relay shock absorber to "bottom out" when at full lock to the right. Loosening the clamps on the relay rod and turning it to extend fixed this (which also explains why I extended the drag link so much more than the 1cm I thought I needed; extending the relay rod causes the drag link to pull in).

Now with just me in the rig I now have no rubbing. It may rub with a full load, but i doubt it. I also have more symmetric full lock steering angles right & left.

Lastly I unbolted the steering column inside the rig and loosened the bolt attaching the column to the steering box below the rag joint, pulled the steering column off and rotated it to get it straight. It's still not perfect (I should have been more careful before re-seating it) but it's better than it was.

All in all a fun simple wrench job.

 

[TEQ]

Moving my rear axle back?

Ok, another n00b question (although I don't really think I qualify as a n00b after almost 4 years of owning and working on my rig ).

After installing my lift it appears my rear axle is slightly too far forward. See in the picture below:

It appears this is easy to fix: Simply loosen the bolts holding the leaf springs to the axle and slide the axle to the rear about an inch.

It appears my drive shaft will support this. In this picture it looks like there's quite a bit more it could extend without sliding all the way out.

Am I on the right track here? Am I missing something? Why shouldn't I do this?

 

[LSUfj]

if you slid the axle back, you would have to drill the spring packs and relocate the pins. I think this is common with the OME lifts. Keep in mind that the axle moves toward the rear as the springs are compressed. I would leave it as is. Just my $.02.