What is most likely to break or strand an FJ40 off-road?

[tdskip]

So as many of you know I've not turned a wheel off-road except for the odd occasion I had to turn around in the gravel after missing a turn on a road trip. Hardly confidence inspiring, I know. I am also the dolt that bought brand new black cloth seats for the total open and exposed FJ40, yeah, dumb move. Basically I have very little clue what I am doing off-road (which won't shock those that have been helping me along the way so far).

That said I'm leaving for a 600+ off-road adventure this Saturday AM that I need to get the '68 SBC build I've been working on through, with bonus points for not being towed through 599 miles of it. That leads to a practical question - what is most likely to break or strand this thing? I've tried to be diligent;

-engine has decent oil pressure and good power
-new cooling system that keeps it at 190 even when stopped
-professionally installed new rear differential
-professionally measured and built drive shafts
-professionally rebuilt T/C converted to manual controls
-all new dual line brake system
-fuel lines and coolant lines are all new
-I have a spare ready to drop in new distributor and plugs and plug wires
-i have a spare ready to install mechanical fuel pump at correct PSI
-I have a spare ready to install electric fuel pump if necessary
-all new steering set up (as documented here)
-all new professionally installed exhaust
- New starter, working spare (edit)

My hunch (and prayer) is the major mechanical issues won't be an issue but rather something I'm missing that off-road use will over stress. I've tried to make sure the fuel lines and brake lines and wiring is all properly secured with additional zip ties and nothing fouling rotating parts or exhaust.

Any thoughts / experiences / lessons learned to share?

Thanks!

 

[nor_cal_cyclist]

First thing that comes to mind on an old SBC is the starter. Easy to change and you can roll start it, but an obvious weak link. Fuel filter fresh/clean? With as much work as you've put into the truck, just avoid doing stuff that will stress your truck - if climbing anything steep/slick - 2 hops and no more, or you'll snap your pinion. Try not to crank steering too far if backing up a grade to avoid breaking a birfield or knuckle bearing or a hub. Avoid "charging" into deep water to avoid an "intimate encounter" between your fan and radiator (my last 40 used to eat radiators like they were candy).

Honestly, you put more effort into your 40 than I did before my first serious adventure (signed up for the Rubithon having NO idea what I was getting into). Go slow and easy - better for your truck and you wont miss any cool scenery/interesting spots. Enjoy your trip and post picts!

 

[tdskip]

@Nor_Cal_Cruiser - thanks for the thoughtful response. The starter is brand new and I have a back up, forgot to include that. Sorry.

Would not of thought of the water crossings and radiator consideration, good one. Thank you.

A good amount of this trip is going to be fire roads and there are optional, easier, bypasses for some of the more technical stuff. I was planning on discretion being the better part of valor on the trip. Until the last day, close to civilization, then maybe I’ll get more aggressive about it

 

[pigmony]

Is the SBC carbureted? I had an accelerator pump go bad rather suddenly and it made it very difficult to drive, and then, because of my inexperience and unfamiliarity with carburetors, I worked on every other part of the fuel system before finally narrowing it down to the carb. The problem ended up being a $7 part that took 4 minutes to swap. I've also found that sometimes I need to make small adjustments to my carburetor based on altitude. I live at 4,800 feet, but most of the places I like to take my 40 are at 6-8,000 feet. Sometimes it just runs a little rough and needs a small adjustment to smooth things out. Again, I'm not very experienced with carburetors, and my carburetor isn't a particularly good one (low-end Edelbrock), so that may not be something that other people have to fuss with.

 

[Tancruiser]

I always carry an assortment of nuts and bolts you just never know what might rattle loose.

 

[Rainman]

What? No one is adding the stout utter toughness of the Land Cruiser?

IF:
The trail isn't a hard core, black diamond, white knuckle trail.
Nearly straight up or straight down.
Say, 3 feet or more deep in water. (Drive just fast enough to create a bow wave right in front of the grill, that will keep the water level at it's lowest in the engine compartment.)
There's traction of almost any kind.

You should be fine, you're driving a Land Cruiser. A stock Cruiser will go farther than it should. If you have any driving skills you'll be fine. Let more knowledgable drivers guide you when needed. With your setup and spares so ready, you'll get through the ride without a hitch.

 

[too tall]

You haven't mentioned your recovery supplies and tools. Winch , Hi-lift ,tow strap etc. Who are you going with ? do they carry any recovery stuff? Do you trust them to drag you out if you break way back in the bush? Sometimes it's more important who you go with than what you take.

 

[tls3601]

What? No one is adding the stout utter toughness of the Land Cruiser?

IF:
The trail isn't a hard core, black diamond, white knuckle trail.
Nearly straight up or straight down.
Say, 3 feet or more deep in water. (Drive just fast enough to create a bow wave right in front of the grill, that will keep the water level at it's lowest in the engine compartment.)
There's traction of almost any kind.

You should be fine, you're driving a Land Cruiser. A stock Cruiser will go farther than it should. If you have any driving skills you'll be fine. Let more knowledgable drivers guide you when needed. With your setup and spares so ready, you'll get through the ride without a hitch.

And this is why I chose mine. Few if any vehicles ever made were as stout.

 

[pb4ugo]

Is the SBC carbureted? I had an accelerator pump go bad rather suddenly and it made it very difficult to drive, and then, because of my inexperience and unfamiliarity with carburetors, I worked on every other part of the fuel system before finally narrowing it down to the carb. The problem ended up being a $7 part that took 4 minutes to swap. I've also found that sometimes I need to make small adjustments to my carburetor based on altitude. I live at 4,800 feet, but most of the places I like to take my 40 are at 6-8,000 feet. Sometimes it just runs a little rough and needs a small adjustment to smooth things out. Again, I'm not very experienced with carburetors, and my carburetor isn't a particularly good one (low-end Edelbrock), so that may not be something that other people have to fuss with.

Instead of adjusting the carburetor, try just advancing the timing back to a good idle.

Tdskip, you should have good tow points/hooks front and rear. A nylon strap designed to pull a vehicle out an obstacle or mud hole. The straps should not have permanent metal hooks on it, you want a 4" strap with sewn in loops. I usually have a carb rebuild kit. If you are unfamiliar how to work on carbs, then its probably not needed. Take tools that are common to your vehicle and rags. My 40 is a stick so I take a spare slave cylder and clutch cylder. As I recall you have a auto tranny, so a couple of quarts of ATF, a u joint or 2, brake fluid, some oil, grease, some gear lube, water, drinking or cooler water will work and lug wrench and a spare tire. Grease it and check all fluids and tire pressures b4 going on your trip. Have fun.

 

[nor_cal_cyclist]

You haven't mentioned your recovery supplies and tools. Winch , Hi-lift ,tow strap etc. Who are you going with ? do they carry any recovery stuff? Do you trust them to drag you out if you break way back in the bush? Sometimes it's more important who you go with than what you take.

Gotta agree with this 100% - only thing better than a well equipped and maintained truck with full recovery gear (including a winch), is wheeling with a buddy in a similarly equipped and care for vehicle.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Knowledge and understanding is the most important thing to carry along.

Knowing how parts of your rig operate, understanding how to adjust, adapt, and repair parts and systems.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Where are you going? That will make a difference in how you prepare.

As long as you keep up on the preventative maintenance 99% chance nothing will happen. If in that 1% something does happen, as long as you have another person to get you out then I wouldn't worry about it.

If you're going to the desert with washboard roads, I would double check all the critical bolts and maybe apply loctite to them. Washboard have a way of rattle everything loose, anything that isn't secured will either work itself lose or start cracking.

 

[1911]

What? No one is adding the stout utter toughness of the Land Cruiser?

IF:
The trail isn't a hard core, black diamond, white knuckle trail.
Nearly straight up or straight down.
Say, 3 feet or more deep in water. (Drive just fast enough to create a bow wave right in front of the grill, that will keep the water level at it's lowest in the engine compartment.)
There's traction of almost any kind.

You should be fine, you're driving a Land Cruiser. A stock Cruiser will go farther than it should. If you have any driving skills you'll be fine. Let more knowledgable drivers guide you when needed. With your setup and spares so ready, you'll get through the ride without a hitch.

This.

I've driven mine to and from wheeling trips, from Texas to all over the western US and back numerous times, and it's never been on a trailer and never stranded me. The things that have broken all happened closer to home (since I daily drive it also) and I was able to limp home in each case. Even for those, the list is short - 40-year-old soft fuel line split and leaked (was still able to drive it), heater hose clamp was loose and it leaked a bit of coolant, and most recently the factory original brake master cylinder rear seal finally gave out.

IMO you can dramatically lower your risk of having unpleasant surprises on the road by: 1) doing your own maintenance and repair work, 2) doing preventative maintenance when it makes sense, and 3) driving it as much as possible around town, then trying some longer trips. You will get to know your Cruiser and its sounds and quirks, and your confidence in it will increase.

An example of preventative maintenance when it makes sense: when I converted my rear brakes to discs and installed an ARB locker in the rear diff, it would have been stupid (IMO) not to replace the rear axle oil seals and the rear wheel bearings, even though the 40-year-old originals were still functioning fine.

 

[cruiserboy14]

I love how half the people lean towards babying their cruisers as though they where gutless and the other half is up to have a few replacement parts and spare bolts. lol. truly 2 kinds of Toyota owners. lol

 

[4Cruisers]

Yes and yes on basic recovery gear. At this year's Solid Axle Summit in Ouray I had an issue with my front drive not engaging at the transfer case. So I had to winch myself (and get dragged for a bit) up over the last part of Imogene Pass, in the rain. Glad I had my winch, straps, etc. As a short-term fix, I've tied the transfer case shift lever back to the passenger seat frame to keep it engaged. So a couple of narrow tie-down type straps (or ratchet straps) would be good to have.

On the way to the first SAS, @Mr Cimarron lost a caliper bolt somewhere in west Texas or eastern New Mexico. This was on the highway. I recall hearing since then that another MUD member have the same thing happen to him. So definitely check into that.

 

[srgould41]

In my experience the one thing that strands FJ40's is the driver.

My SBC always ran at a steady temp on-road, but would overheat when under load offroad. I finally resolved it, but it was a long odyssey. Not something you can fix on the trail. You might not have enough time to stress test your's before the trip, though.

 

[Marn0]

Some basic tools in the truck and then just wing it. Its more fun that way. No one ever came back from a trip away and talked about how smooth things went....

 

[offrd63]

I've seen 5 or 6 broken birfields over the years, and It wasn't always on hard core technical trails. Mine included.
I was carrying a spare birf, and a 2' length of pipe for separating the birf from the axle. I was rolling again in a hour and a half. I have since replaced my birfields with 27 spline versions of Longfields, and I don't worry nearly as much or even not at all.
How many of y'all remember The Broken Birfield Bar?

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Yes and yes on basic recovery gear. At this year's Solid Axle Summit in Ouray I had an issue with my front drive not engaging at the transfer case. So I had to winch myself (and get dragged for a bit) up over the last part of Imogene Pass, in the rain. Glad I had my winch, straps, etc. As a short-term fix, I've tied the transfer case shift lever back to the passenger seat frame to keep it engaged. So a couple of narrow tie-down type straps (or ratchet straps) would be good to have.

On the way to the first SAS, @Mr Cimarron lost a caliper bolt somewhere in west Texas or eastern New Mexico. This was on the highway. I recall hearing since then that another MUD member have the same thing happen to him. So definitely check into that.

It was in Cimarron New Mexico of all places I had a few spares with me so no big deal. It would have been bad if the second bolt fell out also as it was on its last few threads. I noticed when I was turning and the caliper was binding on the rotor.

 

[terrx]

Make a habit of re/check/torquing knuckle studs and drive line bolts each morning. Reducing tire pressure helps if you have the means to air back up.