What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week? (38 Viewers)

[David70FJ40]

I also installed the power steering pump where you did with the alternator in the stock location underneath the pump. I wasn't able to loosen enough tension on the pump belt to change the belt if needed much less get it on. To long of a belt and I wasn't able to get enough tension on the belt but I could get it on the pulleys and to short of a belt forced the removal of the pump to get the belt on. I struggled with that for two days! And if I ever had to change the alternator it would have been a tougher job. So I moved the alternator to the right side and everything worked out perfectly.

Small world; we both use the same brand of oil filter, I date mine as well, your fuel line looked like mine before I changed it out and we changed the oil the last time within a few days of each other. I guess we all think alike to some extent.

 

[mrboatman]

If you look at the bolts I added a plate to the head then mounted the pump to the plate. That allowed me to move the pump out towards the fender and forward some to align with the front pulley. That gave me more room for adjustment and I like that it is on a separate pulley from the alternator. Also gives the water pump a second belt.

 

[David70FJ40]

Now that you point it out I can see the extra plate under the PS mounting bracket. Good idea.

 

[gator25]

Hey Nolen

You've got some pretty good lighting going on in your shop. Would you mind posting specs in the Home Improvement thread. I'm gonna be redoing the lighting in my shop once the new pallet racks are in, and I like looking at options. @jetranger already reminded me I really do need a fresh coat of paint on the floor.

Don't mind at all Mark, might be Monday or Tue. Gotta burn off the pasture and drag off some trees.

 

[65swb45]

For the second time in a week I got work on my FJ45!

Did a much needed overhaul on the ignition system. I had a hunch my 52 year old vacuum advance diaphragm had stopped working. Tested it and sure enough it had. Even though I have several rebuilt dizzies on the shelf, I decided to splurge and grabbed a new one. Ownership has its priveledges!

Grabbed a good used factory coil to go with it. Took some of the grime off the side cover while I was at it. Gonna go test it out now.

 

[Redgrrr]

Got a little done today to prep the motor to run on the new 72 FJ40 I picked up this week. I'm a parts swapper at my best so I'm going to start a thread on this 40 so some advice on a long sitting 40 would be great!

Put some marvels in the cylinders, replaced the spark plugs with some NGKs, changed the oil/filter and pulled the thermostat housing that a mouse had called home...and broke my first bolt on this 40, many more to come I'm sure of it.

 

[nelsonjm624]

I pulled my front heater/blower motor out and treated it to new paint, foam, and hardware. Trying to get things looking better under the hood.

 

[4Cruisers]

@4 Cruisers great photo-would love to wheel my '78 out in CO

I'm lucky that it's only ~100 miles to Colorado on US 285. There's not a lot of traffic between here and Antonito, so it would be OK to take the FJ40 up there (under its own power ) once I get it in a little better shape. Otherwise, I can continue to flat tow it behind my '09 Silverado 2500HD crew cab with the Duramax, usually with the Lance cab-over camper - the added creature comfort is worth it on extended trips. The FJ40 is also right at home in southern Utah (Red Canyon and the south slopes of Mt. Hillers in the Henry Mountains).

Yep, the FJ40 is in the photo, just barely visible in the left center (the tiny speck of white). One of the two prominent peaks in the Little Rockies (Mt. Ellsworth) is in the background - Lake Powell (AKA Glen Canyon Reservoir) is beyond. On the very far right, faintly visible on the horizon 60 miles away, is Navajo Mountain in extreme southern Utah (it straddles the Utah/Arizona border), on the south side of the Colorado River.

The faithful Land Cruiser waiting to take us back to camp at Starr Springs Campground.

 

[Strategic1]

Replaced the rag joint this sat. only skinned 3 knuckles (wondered where the red stuff was coming from) still trying to improve the steering I know it can be better!! Probably would have taken a mechanic half hour but wanted to try only took me 3 & a half hours

 

[cruiserkreutz]

Picked my newly powder coated wheels and had my tires mounted. My project FJ45 is in literally a thousand pieces, but at least I've got the tires and wheels ready.

 

[jvincig01]

Finally got around to building a hoist using the Racor lift. Beefed up the lagbolts, added some additional support/safety with eye bolts and good tie straps. Also shored up the rafters in the roof just to be safe. This is the first time i have taken the top off.

 

[Shark56]

Went for a drive and a little Predator control.

 

[Mongoose317]

Scraped / chipped off the driver side floor pad off the floor pan; started chemically removing rust...It's a slow method, but not a lot of work. A few more treatments to go.

 

[roma042987]

Took it camping at an old abandoned campground.

 

[4Cruisers]

I did some more work to get the '76 FJ40 ready for my upcoming leg(s) of the FJ40 Cross Country Expedition. In addition to the rear shackle replacement I already mentioned, I changed the air filter, added a mechanical oil pressure gauge, and removed/cleaned/lubricated/reinstalled the drivers side door handle and lock mechanism. It got to the point I couldn't even open the door from outside the vehicle, so it was a pretty urgent maintenance item. As I started to remove the inner door panel I pretty soon discovered why I was having trouble with the door. There was absolutely no evidence that the inner door panel or the mylar sheet covering the internals had ever been removed, ever. Kind of amazing for a 41+ year-old vehicle. The factory grease was pretty solid and some rust had developed. After a few hours of work everything on the door works great. Tomorrow I'll wire up the light in the oil pressure gauge and grease the driveshafts. Here's a photo of the oil pressure gauge a few minutes after starting up the engine:

As you can see, the stock oil pressure gauge isn't working at all.

After the engine warmed up the oil pressure dropped to ~53 psi, so all seems well. More peace of mind for the upcoming road trips.

 

[4Cruisers]

Took it camping at an old abandoned campground.

View attachment 1396622

View attachment 1396623

View attachment 1396625

Well, it looks like you've turned it into a nice, private campground again. Out in this part of the country, a primitive campground doesn't always have a picnic table.

 

[65swb45]

I did some more work to get the '76 FJ40 ready for my upcoming leg(s) of the FJ40 Cross Country Expedition. In addition to the rear shackle replacement I already mentioned, I changed the air filter, added a mechanical oil pressure gauge, and removed/cleaned/lubricated/reinstalled the drivers side door handle and lock mechanism. It got to the point I couldn't even open the door from outside the vehicle, so it was a pretty urgent maintenance item. As I started to remove the inner door panel I pretty soon discovered why I was having trouble with the door. There was absolutely no evidence that the inner door panel or the mylar sheet covering the internals had ever been removed, ever. Kind of amazing for a 41+ year-old vehicle. The factory grease was pretty solid and some rust had developed. After a few hours of work everything on the door works great. Tomorrow I'll wire up the light in the oil pressure gauge and grease the driveshafts. Here's a photo of the oil pressure gauge a few minutes after starting up the engine:

View attachment 1396627

As you can see, the stock oil pressure gauge isn't working at all.

After the engine warmed up the oil pressure dropped to ~53 psi, so all seems well. More peace of mind for the upcoming road trips.

Nice floormat.

 

[4Cruisers]

Nice floormat.

I haven't cleaned up the floor well enough to install the aftermarket rubber floormat I bought last year from Trail Tailor. The floormat in the photo is one I snagged off of an '81 Toyota pickup I parted out at the local landfill. Back in those days you could go and scavenge in the landfill for parts. One find was good brake booster from a 2WD pickup that turned out to work fine on an FJ40. The '81 4WD pickup had some good interior parts, including a rear view mirror and 3-point shoulder harness seatbelts - they're still in the garage waiting to see if they'll work on the '76 FJ40 once I install the later hardtop sides that have the attachment points. The best find was a fairly complete '73 FJ55. I snagged a good F engine, a good bit of the wiring harness, the accelerator pedal and bracket, a section of the steering intermediate shaft, the driveshafts, a floor insulation mat, the 3-speed transmission, and the 3-speed transfer case, which I swapped for the H41 4-speed that's in my '76 FJ40.

 

[roma042987]

Well, it looks like you've turned it into a nice, private campground again. Out in this part of the country, a primitive campground doesn't always have a picnic table.

Far from primitive. It even had toilets.

 

[JohnnyC]

@roma042987

One day when that pole and sign are totally engulfed it will make somebody's day really suck when the chainsaw hits it lol

And... did you use the potty? It's nice to not have to go behind a tree