That is the cover over the flywheel on the bell housing. I think the plug is just there to drain any fluids that may be trapped. I had the rear sill leaking years ago and it accumulated in here and dropped out.
What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week?
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Toyota OEM, there’s a photo of the part number in my post.Thanks! And which gasket
If you email @cruiseroutfit , along with pictures and a pic of your info tag in the driverside door, they will send you exactly what you need for the gasket and seal.
So we just bought this beauty! I yanked out the wiring someone installed for an EFI(?) the harness was literally hooked up to nothing! re connected the speedo cable but the speedo still doesn't work. will have to do some troubleshooting.
![20250707_184324[1].webp](https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/20250707_184324-1-webp.3945537/ "20250707_184324[1].webp")
![20250706_182424[1].webp](https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/20250706_182424-1-webp.3945540/ "20250706_182424[1].webp")
There is no “preaching to the choir” here as the guys who know….know. BUT, @Jdc did my disk brake conversion a few weeks ago and it has made such an amazing difference to the use of my truck with the driving experience here in New Jersey. Driving my precious 40 in a population where 75% of the entitled drivers ignore any common courtesies allows me to brake in a “immediate” situation as good as any new vehicle I have ever driven. That inspires confidence, security and a much better attitude on the road.
For those dealing with less than satisfactory braking as I did….you gotta try it. If you have a future desire to convert, start looking for needed parts and stash them. There are only so many …. I am so freakin happy with this mod, I had to tell it again. Sorry
Thanks, Al. The current recipient of the disc conversion was almost undrivable. It’s going to be a fun driver for its family after a few modifications.
I spent two full days searching and reading every thread on Mud related to aftermarket wheel size, backspacing/offset for my impending wheel purchase. Yep, ALL of them. Every single word of every single one. Seriously. Combined, it was about 9 hours of reading. Somehow, after that epic journey, I know far less than I did when I started. The only solid conclusion that I reached is that ih8wheels and I don't want them anywhere near my truck. I'm thinking it would be far simpler to convert to dozer style tracks. Fun idea for a new thread - "What tracks will fit on a 4" lift without rubbing?" I think I need a nap.
You want the cable tracks not the metal pinned ones. Be sure and get ones that take dogs so it can bite on the ice.
Start with what you have and a tape measure.
Measure clearances and buy tires/wheels accordingly.
With 4" of lift you probably want youre tires sticking out a bit which will be accomplished by changing offset.
Ackerman angle be damned .
Every inch out that you space em will put more stress on the bearings and trunion and make rhe steering worse on the road because now instead of pivoting on a point in about the center of your contact patch youre pivoting on an imaginary point inside where the tire rides.
No balancing of the gyroscopic effects if the wheels will result in terrible handling.
The correct way to do this is with longer axles...
Your setup is going to be different than others so youll need to measure your ride and fit tires. Nothing written about other rigs is going to be relevant.
I'm not trying to do anything groundbreaking here. I just want to run a 33x12.5 on a generic 16x8 inch black steel wheel like this (obviously not 8 lug but you get the idea.) 4 inch lift, cut and flared rear quarters, daily driver, moderate trail use (mostly muddy forest trails.)
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I haven't bought new wheels in a long time. In the past I'd buy 15x8 wheels with a 4" backspace and then run a 1/4" spacer to clear the tre. Then I mount a 35 or 36x12.50's tire. I hate 10" wide wheels because they stick out to far and make a mess on the side of the 40 on rainy days and on the trail they'll throw mud all over the place. The narrower 8" rim helps keep the bead on the rim a little better when aired down and the tire only sticks out a little bit. I dont run flares.
Many years ago (like 20) someone posted the exact PN for a 15x8 wagon wheel with the magic offset to work on a 40 series. It was offered by 4 wheel parts, but I don’t remember who actually made the wheel. Not sure why, but I think @Mace and/or @wngrog were involved in the discussion.
I don’t think backspacing is an issue with 16” rims as much, and 16x7 are almost always neutral.
If you’re interested in a really good deal on some 15x8s that will clear the 40 TR ends, I think I have a set that I took off a rig and put in storage…36 years ago!
Here’s one with a 4” backspacing:
www.summitracing.com
I don’t think backspacing is an issue with 16” rims as much, and 16x7 are almost always neutral.
If you’re interested in a really good deal on some 15x8s that will clear the 40 TR ends, I think I have a set that I took off a rig and put in storage…36 years ago!
Here’s one with a 4” backspacing:
Cragar 1529390014B Cragar Soft 8 Black Wheels | Summit Racing
Free Shipping - Cragar Soft 8 Black Wheels with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Wheels at Summit Racing.
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Pretty sure it was a Pro Comp wheel and they were crazy inexpensive, like $49/wheel back in the day. We used them for all kinds of Cruisers and I rocked them on both my Tacoma’s too. I’m not sure where Pro Comp landed after the TransAmerica->Polaris->Wheel Pro->Hoonigan->ORW changes.
Kicked it out of the garage and washed the dust and pollen off it...and first time the garage has been even close to cleaned out in a while.
I feel your pain, brother. I went with Method 301s 17X9X6.5 -12 with Goodyear Territory MT 315/70/17 on 4" lift. It clears and doesn't rub; however, I only have about 100 miles on it and they've all been around town and haven't articulated crazy off road. I am going to do power steering and probably rear fenders before taking it out in the deep sticks. In hindsight though, I probably would have went with a greater offset so it is wider and I don't want to run spacers. It's already top heavy.
FWIW Both our 40s run 16" wheels with 3.125 backspace. That backspace was recommended by "Mr. Manny" (I think) here on MUD as optimum for disk brake modifications. Wheels are 16x7, made by U.S. Wheel 15 years ago.
My '75 runs 255/85/r16 Toyo M-55s with an unknown lift on the P.O. installed front shackle reversal and a 2" Alcan lift in the rear.
My son's '72, with a 4" HFS lift all around, runs 10.5x35xr16 Super Swampers
We have had absolutely NO problems with either set-up, both mild wheelin' and highway (The Super Swampers are a little squirrely at upper-highway speeds).
We are currently looking for 18" wheels for the '72 and I'm comfortable we could go with 18X7 or 18x7.5 with 3.25 backspace .
Sick. I should also mention I did the rear disc conversion and obviously have no issues clearing that setup. And what a huge difference it makes. Can stop quicker than my F150.
Took the passenger door of the Karma Cruiser apart to change the window runs and did the vent window weatherstrip while I was at it. Interestingly, I can't remember ever changing a vent window weatherstrip before. And after today, im not likely to ever forget!
I used a mat knife to carve the 56 yo rubber out of the frame, and it fought me every step of the way. Used two blades, at least three passes on each side of the trapezoid, and over an hour of pretty steady swearing! It was obvious from looking at the new weatherstrip that the original design was very different. The original rubber completely filled the channels.
After contemplating the differences in the design with the new weatherstrip, I elected to take the mat knife to the standing center ribs on the two sides of the replacement that had one, realizing that there's no real way for the weatherstrip to release from any of the channels, and that it wasn't going to be easy getting it in anyways. That done, one more relief cut was necessary IMO, where the tab of the forward vertical track drops down inside the vent side of the frame. It still took a very tedious half hour to get it in. I chose to start at the bottom forward corner and push the forward edge in first. In hindsight, I think that was a good choice. Then the bottom, then the backside, and lastly the top.
Lastly, I did something that I had been curious to try for a while . I cut two pieces of 1/8" thick shim stock, drilled a hole in each, and slipped them through the access hole to go between the two main channels and the inner door skin. This had the intended effect of tipping the upper door frame in slightly, closing the gap with the hardtop nicely.
I hit the upper frame and vent window with some polishing compound. They cleaned up pretty nicely for 56yo paint.
I used a mat knife to carve the 56 yo rubber out of the frame, and it fought me every step of the way. Used two blades, at least three passes on each side of the trapezoid, and over an hour of pretty steady swearing! It was obvious from looking at the new weatherstrip that the original design was very different. The original rubber completely filled the channels.
After contemplating the differences in the design with the new weatherstrip, I elected to take the mat knife to the standing center ribs on the two sides of the replacement that had one, realizing that there's no real way for the weatherstrip to release from any of the channels, and that it wasn't going to be easy getting it in anyways. That done, one more relief cut was necessary IMO, where the tab of the forward vertical track drops down inside the vent side of the frame. It still took a very tedious half hour to get it in. I chose to start at the bottom forward corner and push the forward edge in first. In hindsight, I think that was a good choice. Then the bottom, then the backside, and lastly the top.
Lastly, I did something that I had been curious to try for a while . I cut two pieces of 1/8" thick shim stock, drilled a hole in each, and slipped them through the access hole to go between the two main channels and the inner door skin. This had the intended effect of tipping the upper door frame in slightly, closing the gap with the hardtop nicely.
I hit the upper frame and vent window with some polishing compound. They cleaned up pretty nicely for 56yo paint.
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