What would you do? Just got my first ever FJ40!

[Malleus]

You're forgiven for not posting and driving instead. That's exactly what you should have done.

Try PB Blaster on the transfer case shift linkage. It gets stuck if it's not used regularly. Which is another good reason to exercise the 4wd monthly.

Love it.

 

[Wasatch Jay]

As far as thoughts on what you should do, I think it’s important to know what your objectives are for the vehicle. Things that would bug the cr*p out of me could easily be in the meh category for someone else. That said, thinking of your FJ40 as a canvas waiting for your touches, I think you’ve got a great one to start with!

You might make a list of things you want, some of which may include used parts or aftermarket parts, and especially if you’re looking for used parts, start the search. Depending on the specific part, they may be hard to find. As pb4ugo suggests, highest priority is safety and drivability, but you can get significant cosmetic bang for the buck by installing the missing upper and lower dash pads. Replacing the clutch and brake pedal pads would be inexpensive and you could get rid of the Ford clutch pedal pad installed on your brake pedal. Cleaning up the under hood wiring would also be inexpensive and improve that look as well.

On a different note, I’ve never seen a winch bumper like that. Do you know (or does anyone else) who made/sells that?

 

[pb4ugo]

I think it's an aftermarket jeep thing.

 

[kerplunk]

you can get significant cosmetic bang for the buck by installing the missing upper and lower dash pads

Dash pads were a mandated safety item from the days when no one wore seat belts.

I think the dash looks better without them, just trying to find an easy way to get rid of the holes and that inner support thingy on the top of the dash.

Just buckle up so your head doesn't hit it.

 

[pb4ugo]

You can drill the spot welds on the upper bracket and mig the holes. You can probably sell the dash bracket.

 

[crazzmc]

Take the fill plug out FIRST. Be ready for some to leak from the transmission, there is a seal between it and the transfer case that commonly leaks to overfill the transmission.

Then the drain. 22 or 24 mm on the bottom of the axle, do a search for pictures of the tranny and transmission.

Don't skimp on the pump, once your under the truck pumping gear oil an extra couple dollars for a reliable pump that fits the bottle top and has a clip to hold it in the fill hole will be worth it.

Bought a pneumatic pump from amazon and a manual one in-case the expensive one sucks. Also is the info below still accurate for today? Is GL4 still available if not is 5 okay? or source GL4?

in 2006 Poser (Steve) said:

80W-90 gear oil is what you want to use.


Refill capacities for the drive train:

Front diff- 2.6 quarts

Rear diff- 2.6 quarts

4-speed trans- 3.3 quarts

3- speed trans- 1.8 quarts

Transfer case:

Without PTO- 1.8 quarts

With PTO- 2.2 quarts

After fluids and filter changes, the First thing I did was to load up the grease gun and work my way around the many grease nipples on the steering and transmission.
Number them with a white pen to help you catch them all next time.

After that I'd look at changing all the fuses and adding a couple of packs into the glove box along with a small meter.

Inspecting and changing the soft lines - fuel, clutch, brake would be next.

Just got my grease gun will head through it, normal red grease is fine I'm assuming correct?

Shorter shackles could be on your list too , how is the caster , the axle was probably cut and turn for the soa , do it track staight ?
Show us some pics of the front axle and steering setup, look like it have a saginaw box

You know I feel like this thing is 'too high'. I want to be able to get on the highway and drive to campsites and right now I am unsure if I like the current setup. Once I add the rack + RTT I feel like I am going to get a bit top heavy.

If i wanted to lower how low should I go and what's the best way? I don't mind spending a bit of money to get a good compromise between a bit of off roading and as comfortable as I can get for a '75 on the highway? I am not looking for rock crawling, just able to drive 65 and get a bit off the roads for now, who knows what'll happen in the future all my hobbies escalate in adrenaline and expense haha. I believe its a saginaw as well. Photos below:

I would paint that bezel white first thing. Then I’d sit back and admire the rig while I made a list of the recommendations above.

haha yes, admiring everyday!

 

[crazzmc]

Man I forgot about page 2! Missed a bunch of replies

You're forgiven for not posting and driving instead. That's exactly what you should have done.

Try PB Blaster on the transfer case shift linkage. It gets stuck if it's not used regularly. Which is another good reason to exercise the 4wd monthly.

Love it.

Thanks for the forgiveness haha! Will do, can't live without PB blaster.

As far as thoughts on what you should do, I think it’s important to know what your objectives are for the vehicle. Things that would bug the cr*p out of me could easily be in the meh category for someone else. That said, thinking of your FJ40 as a canvas waiting for your touches, I think you’ve got a great one to start with!

You might make a list of things you want, some of which may include used parts or aftermarket parts, and especially if you’re looking for used parts, start the search. Depending on the specific part, they may be hard to find. As pb4ugo suggests, highest priority is safety and drivability, but you can get significant cosmetic bang for the buck by installing the missing upper and lower dash pads. Replacing the clutch and brake pedal pads would be inexpensive and you could get rid of the Ford clutch pedal pad installed on your brake pedal. Cleaning up the under hood wiring would also be inexpensive and improve that look as well.

On a different note, I’ve never seen a winch bumper like that. Do you know (or does anyone else) who made/sells that?

Comfortable on the highway, enough off roading to get through campsites a bit of light trails and ability to comfortably hold a roof top tent. I've done a bunch of research on racks and with the condition that my roof was in I had to end up ordering a Gobi rack that attaches to the body instead of the roof, so now I will have a very sturdy exoskeleton on it to carry whatever I need.


I am currently looking to get it mechanically worry-free (for the most part) and then will slowly progress to the interior. I think I've done enough shopping for 'accessories' so it'll most likely be anything engine/brakes/suspension first. I'll look for dash pads, they're awfully expensive for my other old cars, but will fix the pedal pads! I re-did the entire wiring system in my F100 made it very clean under the hood, you can't see a single wire until you get to the carb, that's definitely on the todo for the fj40.

I will ask the previous owner because I believe he did install the winch/bumper. It looks similar to a 4Plus product but I didn't browse thoroughly enough. I've sent a photo in the post above this.

I think it's an aftermarket jeep thing.

It could very well be! As my rear fender trim is from a Jeep!

Dash pads were a mandated safety item from the days when no one wore seat belts.

I think the dash looks better without them, just trying to find an easy way to get rid of the holes and that inner support thingy on the top of the dash.

Just buckle up so your head doesn't hit it.

It looks nice, may buy one may not, we shall see, mechanical stuff first though!

You can drill the spot welds on the upper bracket and mig the holes. You can probably sell the dash bracket.

Was considering doing this on my F100 as well.

 

[Wasatch Jay]

Thank you for the added winch pics, and any additional info you can provide.

It's only fair for me to preface my remarks by saying there are many people on this forum smarter than I.

My impression is for some reason people are going away from springover conversions. Maybe it's because some owners want to forego some off road capability and install smaller tires and lower their rigs. (In the interest of full disclosure, my FJ40 has a spring over conversion that was done during my ownership.) Quite often the conversion is done in conjunction with a front shackle reversal. Doing it properly, which means a "cut and turn" of the front axle housing, is quite a bit of work and expense. I would think undoing a springover is essentially the same money and work in reverse. Sometimes too, as has been pointed out, the steering components are moved above the springs, which of course adds to the costs.

There's a youtube channel done by Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers and in an early episode Jeremiah Profffit explained the benefits of the springover. If you prefer a deep dive into the process, somewhere there's a really thorough document done by Andre Shoumatoff (I'm sure I butchered the spelling) that's a good read.

The stock front shackle length is 2 3/4". It looks like your shackles are somewhat longer, so going with stock shackles would lower your FJ40 by 1/2 the difference in shackle length between your current shackles and any shorter shackle you install.

Something I would also offer for your consideration is this: The photos in your first post were taken when it was snowing lightly and I recall you mentioned you live in Connecticut. I'm originally from Northern New England and I think there is value in having an operational defroster. Presumably it was done by a previous owner, but in pic number three on page one someone has removed the defroster ducts from the windshield frame and replaced them with some bent sheet metal panels which close off defroster air to the windshield (they're painted black in photo 3). This is what it should look like.

As you've already figured out a relatively narrow, short wheelbase vehicle with a high center of gravity and weight up high is a recipe for instability.

 

[crazzmc]

Thank you for the added winch pics, and any additional info you can provide.

It's only fair for me to preface my remarks by saying there are many people on this forum smarter than I.

My impression is for some reason people are going away from springover conversions. Maybe it's because some owners want to forego some off road capability and install smaller tires and lower their rigs. (In the interest of full disclosure, my FJ40 has a spring over conversion that was done during my ownership.) Quite often the conversion is done in conjunction with a front shackle reversal. Doing it properly, which means a "cut and turn" of the front axle housing, is quite a bit of work and expense. I would think undoing a springover is essentially the same money and work in reverse. Sometimes too, as has been pointed out, the steering components are moved above the springs, which of course adds to the costs.

There's a youtube channel done by Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers and in an early episode Jeremiah Profffit explained the benefits of the springover. If you prefer a deep dive into the process, somewhere there's a really thorough document done by Andre Shoumatoff (I'm sure I butchered the spelling) that's a good read.

The stock front shackle length is 2 3/4". It looks like your shackles are somewhat longer, so going with stock shackles would lower your FJ40 by 1/2 the difference in shackle length between your current shackles and any shorter shackle you install.

Something I would also offer for your consideration is this: The photos in your first post were taken when it was snowing lightly and I recall you mentioned you live in Connecticut. I'm originally from Northern New England and I think there is value in having an operational defroster. Presumably it was done by a previous owner, but in pic number three on page one someone has removed the defroster ducts from the windshield frame and replaced them with some bent sheet metal panels which close off defroster air to the windshield (they're painted black in photo 3). This is what it should look like.

As you've already figured out a relatively narrow, short wheelbase vehicle with a high center of gravity and weight up high is a recipe for instability.

Thanks Jay I will take a look at the defroster block-off panels. As for the spring-over already being converted I don't think going back down makes financial sense. Perches already flipped, I think my only solution is finding the shortest shackles possible and potentially taking out some leaf springs. I'm not sure of any other way to get the center of gravity back down.

 

[kerplunk]

To a certain degree, handling is just going to be poor and you're going to have to just slow down. They never had sway bars. They are what they are....

seems like some experts kinda hint at GL5 NOT being a replacement for GL4...

Discover the Difference - GL4 vs GL5 Gear Oil | VP Racing

What's the difference between GL4 vs GL5 gear oil? The main difference is the amount of extreme pressure (EP) additives. GL5 has more EP than GL4.

vpracingfuels.com

The Difference Between GL-4 and GL-5 Gear Oil - AMSOIL Blog

The main difference between GL-4 and GL-5 gear oils is in the level of extreme-pressure (EP) additives.

blog.amsoil.com

I'm using this stuff:

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/masterpro-chemicals/masterpro-gear-oil-80w-90-1-gallon/mp03/80037?q

(But, saying my truck hasn't blown up yet running it is hardly an endorsement with the limited miles I drive it and as slow as I typically go....)

And, I use the red grease for everything (but the suspension, which I've never tried to lube before, am planning to replace with poly bushings and have read not to use regular grease on). But if you're off road enough, the waterproof stuff might be better?

 

[45Dougal]

GL5 is not a replacement for GL4, however some modern Gear Oils are compatible with both GL4 and GL5.

The mineral oil specified in the 60s is arguably not the best thing to use given a whole raft of lubricant developments.

Also, most gearboxes are now worn way beyond spec, so a heavier oil than listed in the manual might help quieten it down and perform better.

Ultimately though; don't drive another 5000km while you decide which is the right or best oil - changing anything frequently is better than rarely replacing the best oil ever.

 

[knuckle47]

This question has been sticking in my mind for months. I had a 5 gallon pail of Amsoil Severe Gear GL-5 that I refilled front and rear differentials on my FJ40 and 45.

Just got this email response tonight from Amsoil Tech;

Looking at the specifications from Toyota, it appears that either a GL-4 or GL-5 rated fluid can be used in your transmission and transfer case. A GL-5 rated fluid has more extreme pressure properties over a GL-4, and in some cases that can affect yellow metals. With our Severe Gear 75W-90, product code SVG, it is a GL-5 rated fluid that is safe in GL-4 applications. That is what I would recommend using.

 

[jim land]

Please relocate the front brake hoses

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Fluid film the undercarriage. Looks like you drive it in the snow.

 

[Paul_A]

New dash pads from FJ40Dash.com and open defroster vents, fix hanging brake lines, change all lubricants.

 

[ryanwk628]

I'm also in CT, I may have a spare exhaust manifold if yours is leaking. I do have a factory carb that needs a rebuild I would part with. Definitely fluid film any seams and crevasses.

If you want to go back to spring under, I saw a pair on market place and there is someone in Mass selling a rear axle. They have been up there for a while. Would be easy to rebuild off the truck and swap in.

 

[White Stripe]

I would recommend a anti wrap bar and rear disc brakes. I also don't see a air filter of any kind on the engine. The transfer case in my opinion is what most needs watched on a purchased fj40. They don't hold a lot of fluid and it's easy to run them dry and do damage.

 

[ryanwk628]

The transfer case in my opinion is what most needs watched on a purchased fj40.

Agreed. Bypass hose is cheap insurance until it can be addressed

 

[knuckle47]

@ryanwk628 …this bypass hose is new to me…can you elaborate on it a little more? I recently opened the fill plug on a FJ40 transmission and it had to be 1 full quart over filled

 

[ryanwk628]

@ryanwk628 …this bypass hose is new to me…can you elaborate on it a little more? I recently opened the fill plug on a FJ40 transmission and it had to be 1 full quart over filled

So as I understand it the seals separating the transmission and T case can fail, resulting in oil being forced out of one and into the other, overfilling and underfilling respectively. Mud stepped in with a well made solution. The bypass is a work around that connects the fill plugs to allow it to drain back. Obviously this is a work around or an insurance measure but is easier than a rebuild