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Q: Mark, since the water crossing articles only delt with gasoline powered cruisers am I to assume there are no "foul smelling beasts" there?? A:There are not any (well maybe one or two) diesel Cruisers to be found. We had to deal with the same marketing decisions and import regulations that the rest of the US did. The drivetrain considerations for diesels will be the same. The actual crossing techniques (discussed in future articles) will be the same. The fan concerns will be the same. You will not have the same ignition concerns obviously, and there will be some other electronics that you will want to make sure stay dry, but generally the same techniques will work. Q:Breck and Brenda Johnson wrote: Could you tell me the best way to replace a rear main seal on a 79' FJ40? A:This is a simple job, but it entails a lot of work. The rear main seal in the 2F engine is a one piece design which sits behind the flywheel. To replace it, the flywheel has to come off. This means that the transmission has to come out. On the pre '79 models, this requires the removal of the trasmission cover from the floor. The means that the front seats have to come out and the fuel tank has to come out as well. On your '79 with the under body fuel tank, and slightly different profile to the floor pan, you should be able to remove the tranny without all the extra disassembly. If you've never pulled a tranny before, don't forget about the E-brake and speedo cables as well as the drive shafts. Rent a transmission jack, or have a couple of strong, loyal friends on hand. Just a quick overview: Remove the driveshafts, and cables connected to the transfer case. Remove the shift lever from the transmission (First remove the boots to expose the base of the lever, then depress the ring around the bottom end of the lever, and rotate it clockwise about 1/8-1/4 turn to release.) Remove the selector lever from the transfer case. (You may find it easier to remove the transmission cover panel from the floor.) Once this is done, support the transmission and transfer case with a floor or tranny jack. Remove the four bolts securing the tranny to the bellhousing. Slide the transmission backwards until the input shaft is clear of the pressure plate. With the inspection/access cover removed from the bottom of the belhousing, you can now remove the pressurte plate and clutch disc. Once this is done, the flywheel bolts can be accessed. When the flywheel is off, the rear main seal will be exposed, and can be removed with a screw driver or other expediant tool. While you have the flywheel off, inspect it to see if it needs to be surfaced. This would also be a good time to replace the clutch disc and throwout bearing. They are not expensive, and the work required to replace them at a later time can be avoided by doing it while the rig is apart anyway. Check the pilot bearing, and plan to go ahead and replace it as well. When you reinstall everything, use locktite on the flywheel bolts. Some people replace them, but I have never seen the need for this under normal conditions. When you reinstall the pressure plat and clutch disc, unless you are VERY VERY good at it, use an alignment tool to make sure that the input shaft will line up properly. It can be a time consuming, frustrating and parts damaging job otherwise. As you put the transmission back in, do not force it. make sure it is going in straight, and that everything is lining up. be gentle and work it into place. again, DON'T force it. Make sure that you have the clutch fork and throuwout bearing assembled and on the pivot ball before slipping the transmission in. This all has to go together BEFORE the tranny is installed. MAke sure that all the bolts, particularly the drive shaft flange bolts are tightened sedurely when you arte done. If you've never undertaken this sort of job before, do not consider this a comprehensive instruction. It's not. But the job is not complicated if you take your time, and pay attention to details. It's just a dirty tiring drudge :( Q:Funkmail wrote: Is it in any way humanly possible to fit a 454cid engine in an FJ40?? Also to satisfy your curiosity, I will be extending and widening the wheelbase. If not , why not? Steering, fenderwalls, firewall-radiator distance?? A: Big block Chevy engine, GM diesels, and even Cadillac powerplants are among those that have been swapped into Cruisers. With enough fabricating ANYTHING can be done. To be honest, if you are going to lenthen, and widen the rig, as well as replace the entire drivetrain, why not just build a competely custom rig, or start with something along the lines of an early Chevy Blazer, which is already longer/wider/heavier, and much easier to install the big block in? For actual trail use, the only place that the big block will really offer any advantage over a small block (or even the original 6) will be in the deep mud bogs. For just about every other situation, a small block with the extra time and money spent on gearing and suspension will serve you much better. But in any case... The Chevy big block will adapt to the Cruiser transmissions using the same adapters that the small block uses. Engine bay room will not be a major problem, but you will have to switch to a Chevy style Saginaw steering system, as the big block will conflict with the stock steering box. Weight will not be a major concern either, as the original F or 2F engine is about as heavy as the Chevy big block. Radiator clearance will need some attention, but it can be dealt with. Cooling capacity will be more problematic, and you'll probably want to upgrade the radiator. Exhaust routing will be trickier than with a small block swap. In short, it can be done, but there will be a wide varity of small concerns, and a few larger ones. Others have done this swap. If you are comfortable with fabricating and working around problems, then it should not be an undoable project. But it will not the same as tossing a big block into a Chevy pick up truck, or even putting a Chevy small block into a Cruiser. |
Q: Mark Teague wrote: I've been "lurking" the Land Cruiser Mailing List for some time now and own a '62 and '69 FJ40. In fact the most recent post in the digest turned me on to "Rockcrawler". Anyway, if you're in the mood for ideas, I'd appreciate some pointers on how to "tighten" up the steering in the FJ40 without compromising the off-road ability. While I don't have the off road necessity you have in Alaska, Mt. Shasta, CA has quite a bit of off road opportunity. Anyway, I know that shackle conversions and spring-overs have been hot topics on the list...but I'd like to keep my rig as stock as possible. A:If you've watched "the List" closely for long, you've probably see my comments to folks who want to solve steering wander and other annoying control woes. I will tell anyone who will listen, that if you aren't happy with the way your rigs steers, fix what is wrong before modifying, fabricating, and adapting. Shackle reversals, P/S conversions, and Spring overs can offer fantastic improvements to the rig depending on how you use it, and what your abilities are (or wallet depth is). But at the same time ANY cruiser will provide worry free handling and one handed steering control at 65mph+ if it is returned to factory nominal condition. Then you can spend your money to make it more capable, or go ahead and spend it on the shackle reversal, P/S conversion, or spring over if that is what you use demands. But then you'll be able to compare the improvements to a properly functioning cruiser, instead of a worn and damaged one. In many cases the tremendous gains people refer to after these mods are the result of a rig that was sick to start with. The first things I would look to in an FJ40 that likes to dart, wander and pull are as follows; If it has extended shackles, make sure it has caster shims installed. Lack of these will mean that the factory caster setting is not obtained, and this will usually make the rig dart like a teenager in a shopping mall. If there is any reason to suspect that the Ubolts have ever been replaced, or even loosened and retightened, make sure they are tight. The only way to properly tighten these is with the weight off the axle (ie: with a jack under the SPRING supporting the weight while the Ubolts are checked and tightened if need be). Check the spring bushings. These are usually pretty hammered by 60,000 miles or so. Worn bushings will allow the entire front suspension to shift from side to side. Don't forget the rear end as well. While you are looking at springs and attachment points, make sure the shackles are straight, and not bent. Hard wheeling can be tough on these parts, and "s" shaped factory shackles are not uncommon. Tighten up the center arm pivot. This is made to be adjusted on a regular basis, to account for wear. Often it is not. The center arm should rotate smoothly around the pivot, with no side to side,or fore and aft movement. If tighening the pivot doesn't remove all the slop, then the pivot need to be rebuilt or replaced. Check the steering box itself for slop. There is an adjustment screw on the engine side of the box to tighten this up as well. While you are at it, make sure it is properly lubed. Check all the tie rod ends for any play. They should spin in their sockets as needed, but there should be no discernable side to side motion in any of them. Check the factory steering stabilizer for any sign of leakage or damage. If you detect any, remove one end from the linkage, and make sure that it is still functioning correctly. it should slide in and out smoothly without binding, but it shouldn't do so easily. On the subject of steering stabilizers... I personally prefer the aftermarket type which attaches to the tie rod, rather than the replacment type which mounts in the factory location. Two reasons. First, you can run these type in addition to the factory unit, as opposed to instead of it. More importantly, by attaching to the tie rod, you further isolate the tie rod ends and the center pivot units from the road shock than you can with the factory location. An additional stabilizer to complement the factory unit can help with rut following and darting on ineven road surfaces too. Make sure that your wheel and knuckle bearings are in good shape. Any looseness at these points will translate in to improper alignment, and slop in the sterering too. Knuckle bearings in particular will contribute to erratic handling. Many FJ40s will have never had the adjustment of the draglink tightened (heck many have never seen any front end service). This adjustment at the rear of the draglink will compensate fot wear to the "ball joint" at the pittman arm, and can account for a lot of steering system slop. When you get all of these wear points and potential mechanical flaws inspected and serviced as required, then get the front end aligned. The only factor that is intended to be adjusted it the toe in, but this will also tell you if any other alignment consideration is out of parameters. Caster can be altered with shims (as it must be when longer shackles are fitted). Camber can also be altered with special lower knuckle bearing mounts, but I have never seen these available anywhere in the US. I am only aware of them on the Austrailian market, but they may very well be available here, and I am simply unaware of it. Regardless, if you caster is off for an reason other than extended shackles, or your camber is off at all, you have either missed some damaged suspension (not steering) components, or you have a bent axle (not common at all in Cruisers, but still possible if it has been wheeled REAL hard). The factory stock steering and suspension of a Cruiser is a bit higher maintenance than many rigs if you want to keep ing in top condition. It can be improved on in many cases, and it is not a Porsch by any stretch of the imagination. But once you get it to a correct state of maintenance it is fairly easy to keep it that way, and it will serve you well. Send your questions to Mark at cruiser@rockcrawler.com |
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