What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week?

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I was worried about leaving my cap and bought a new one, first I was looking for a magnetic cap like the plug I have for my Ram 3500 or a tethered cap like most new cars and trucks have. Didn't find either so got one with the slotted handle for hooking on the locking tab. Once I am driving it someday I will get to test the theory.
 
Little rabbit hole. Even though I decided to take a pass on fixing the rear sill right now:worms: , I couldn’t resist taking off the 4plus bumper and putting some paint on the rear crossmember. I had ordered some chassis paint from Eastwood to address the surface rust on the frame during the winter, so I figured I would give that a try.

You know all those cautionary warnings on the product labels that say ‘test this in an inconspicuous area’?
The rear crossmember is definitely not that!😛

It’s a 10 footer for sure.
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jesus888 said:
Funny story... I did the same thing driving my 40 to Florida to see @cruisermatt ... realized at the 3rd and final gas stop after I filled up that I couldn't find where I put the cap... thought about it, talked to 2 friends (both more mechanically inclined that I) and both said... "it'll be fine, just don't fill it up all the way..." which of course was impossible bc I just discovered it AFTER I filled it up all the way... anyway, between the pending heat stroke and the white knuckle driving on the interstate for 6 hours, I said F-IT... apparently I likely drove off from the last gas station without it (I'm 95% sure I left it on top of the tire when I was pumping gas), and I didn't catch on fire... #fullsend
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You don’t lose it! I took it off your rig while you wasn’t looking.
 
🎶🎹” that’s what friends are for” 🎼🎻🎺🥁🎷
Dione Warwick
 
jesus888 said:
Funny story... I did the same thing driving my 40 to Florida to see @cruisermatt ... realized at the 3rd and final gas stop after I filled up that I couldn't find where I put the cap... thought about it, talked to 2 friends (both more mechanically inclined that I) and both said... "it'll be fine, just don't fill it up all the way..." which of course was impossible bc I just discovered it AFTER I filled it up all the way... anyway, between the pending heat stroke and the white knuckle driving on the interstate for 6 hours, I said F-IT... apparently I likely drove off from the last gas station without it (I'm 95% sure I left it on top of the tire when I was pumping gas), and I didn't catch on fire... #fullsend
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I lost a couple doing that until I made a habit of putting the cap in the cradle for the filler nozzle. Even if I forget, it’s in the way of putting the nozzle back. Been working for last couple years.
 
Unfortunately, I’ve not had any time to work on my 40. Been working on this instead…
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Any guess what it’s for? Hint, that’s a 33 x 10.50 tire (for scale).
 
Washed it. Seems like I just washed it but Sara and I did an 1100 mile journey 3 weeks ago and I've run another tank through it since then.
Damn truck was filthy inside. Took everything out, cleaned it all and put it all back together in an orderly fashion. Now if I decide I want to go fishing, I jump in and go, and if I want to stay fishing, I probably can stay out for a week before I'll actually need to catch a fish.
Tools organized, camp gear organized, truck clean, new Mexican horse blanket for the driver seat. Life is good.
 
CruiserTrash said:
I’ve seen Good State Parts on social media and wondered about their legitimacy. They look a bit more “real” than the very obvious scammers, but they don’t seem to have a presence here in the US, where I’m at, so I wasn’t really sure. Thanks for letting us know they’re reputable!
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You're welcome...l've dealt with them since l bought my ute, genuine parts and they will take returns if needed. Their prices includes shipping...& they're cheaper than alot of others l've dealt with.
 
POPO AGIE said:
That is an axel shaft for a full floating axle like the one the tire is mounted on.
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It is a FF axle, I’ll give you that much. The axle under my 40 (the tire) is a six bolt FF axle from a 45. The axle leaning against my 40 is 8 bolt and it’s sealed by a reusable steel gasket.
 
bikersmurf said:
It is a FF axle, I’ll give you that much. The axle under my 40 (the tire) is a six bolt FF axle from a 45. The axle leaning against my 40 is 8 bolt and it’s sealed by a reusable steel gasket.
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Then that shaft is for a domestic pickup like a GM, Ford or RAM 3/4 or 1 ton not a LC axle. It also looks way to long for a LC axle too.
 
POPO AGIE said:
Then that shaft is for a domestic pickup like a GM, Ford or RAM 3/4 or 1 ton not a LC axle. It also looks way to long for a LC axle too.
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Definitely too long for a Landcruiser. It’s the longer of the pair at 41”, and the shorter is about 37”. It’s even longer than most pickups.

I’d considered replacing the whole axle with a newer one with disc brakes but single axle pickups have the wrong bolt pattern (8x170) whereas my 12/96 is (8x6.5”). Unless I swap both axles I need to find a dually van rear axle. Theoretically I could run Adapter spacers… but who wants to do that when empty there’s 6000+ pounds riding on those tires.

It’s from a Dana 70U in a type three Ambulance.

One thing I found out is the rear disc mounting plates for a Sterling 10.5 axle have a drum brake inside the disc, and bolt onto a round flange that can easily be duplicated and welded onto a different axle. All the parts are fairly cheap and readily available. If I convert the Dana 70 to disc brakes, I’ll check to see if 15 inch will clear. If they will clear the rims, I’ll see if the components will work with 6 bolt rotor.

Sterling backing plates could be a solution to replace the e-brake on the back of the transfer case. So far I’ve only seen them used to convert an older drum brake Dana 70 to disc brakes. In that thread there was even a cad tile to make replacement mounting flanges for a Dana 70. It would be straightforward to modify the size of the hole in the middle to fit a Landcruiser rear axle.

Here’s the Dana 70 disc brake conversion post mentioned above…
fordmann.com | F-250: Dana 70U Rear Disc Conversion - https://www.fordmann.com/F250.Dana_70U.htm
 
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Another day, another project.

Before I went on my last off road adventure, I took a peek at all the brakes, scuffed and and adjusted the shoes and drums, and made a mental note that there was a dark ring on the axle tube, left side rear, indicating it was getting to be time to change axle seals.

Well, since I didn’t put the aux tank back in yet, that rear diff cover was a LOT easier to get to. So bright and early yesterday I got on it. Sure enough, the time was right.
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Dusty old memories slowly filtered back in. Back in the mid nineties I had found this obscure part number supersession in the Toyota system that netted me a half dozen OE third members for $350 a piece! The regular list price at that time was already $1200!😱 One of those 3rd members went into this truck.😊

Everything still looked good and tight inside, but owing to the fact that I hadn’t been back in there since, I decided it would be a good idea to change the axle bearings and races while I had it apart now.
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I love how the pre-74 axleshafts are designed to be serviceable, unlike the planned obsolescence of the newer ones
 
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