fj40 rebuild

[muddyhilux]

well took delivery of my mates fj40 couple of weeks ago,numerous problems and should never have got through any of its last 3 wofs,for the 3weeks prior to me taking delivery it broke down every day,alot of that due to getting way too hot,things braking,incorrect plug leads just falling off and also due to catching on fire because of dodgy wiring ,heres a few pics

heres the outside of the truck,from these pics you can see the temporary rain flaps,might not be able to see but there is a sheet metal roof lining that my mate welded on but still covered in shape edges and square edges which should have been roundid,also after talking to the cert man it all has to come off anyway as roll cage needs to be foam wrapped







heres more rom the inside,again more sharp edges and just bits that need tidying up



dash with all switches un fused and really badly run wiring






heres a shot of brake line spagetti junction



spaggeti junction of cables etc near battery



other sides not so bad



snorkel which could have quite some improvement



and heres the pipes that run through the firewall,under passengers feet,up the back of the seat (touching) and into the rear radiator,again certainly not ideal and anuther of the jobs to be dealt with



other jobs on the rebuild list include full motor rebuild,galv dipping of the chasis,all bump stops need adjusting as front bump stops are currently shocks and rear is the leaf hanger jamming against chaisis,the tunnel has a had a grinder put through from side to side so when you pull on the handbrake the tunnel lifts up,duel battery set up,remount fuel tank better and run filer to original fuel flap,um,sure theres more but im tired of writing

[muddyhilux]

ok ,so started off with tring to get the thing to atleast run better than it was,removed old radiator (from the front,yes it has 2 radiators),half the cores were damaged and closed off,had about 4 leaks and was just way past it,replaced it with a 4core aftermarket version from silverdale radiators,also attached a new 16" elec radiator to it,the original one burnt out



after doing so i did think there would be a marked improvement in temp but no,strait up to over 200 in what seemed like seconds,more like a min or 2 but still way to high for a simply idling motor,oh better add in here shes running what i believe to be a mildy worked 350 chevy

from here i went to checking over motor,i started by finding a 160f thermostat,i personally believe that for a motor of this size which spends most of its time working hard pulling trailers and on song in the bush it needs a 180f thermo so through one of those in,
next was an obvious decision which was to replace the leads,the dizzy ends where actually the incorrect type,so after changing them it did run alot better but still nowhere near what i would call nice,
something also bugged me about the rpm levels and just how it soundid,i then discover the tacho is set to 4cyl so flip it onto 8cyl and hello its idling at 1200 rpm,yet again im still not convinced this is right,rev it out and it wont go above 3000rpm,again still not right,grabed an old tacho from the shed and wire her in,thats better,idling at 950 and revs to 4500 with out kicking her too much,started sounding ruff at 3800 so yeh,reset the idle to 700 and and then start looking into timing

called my mate to see what had been done so far,used to be lpg which i knew but didnt kno he tunned it himself at 1200rpm (cos he couldnt get it to idle any lower) then removed this and put ona 600cfm edelbrock performer series carb,but didnt re tune it,simply reset idle to faulty gauge described earlyer,thats when i relised no wonder nothings making sence to me so yeh,dont have a timming light at present so just did it by ear,loosened up lock bolt an had a bit of play,soundid good and smooth reving to 4200 so thatll do for now untill i can get a light on it,and now she can idle for a good 5 mins before warming up to 180 and sitting there,still not right but alot better than before

[flyingbrick]

I love how the 350sb swaps are so common in fj40's that it dont even need to be mentioned in ya first post .

Nice looking truck imo!

Does that fan/rad suck air from the cabin? Must be loud?

-Nathan

[muddyhilux]

hey nathan,yeh,completly slipped my mind,like you say pretty common,and yeh,i think it looks nice too,its got all the right bits,cage,350,rear arb locker etc but just been put together really really ruff

and yeh,didnt used to have the stell lid so had naturall air flow but noe just has fans to pull air through,not ideal but yeh,when ive been driving truck i have to have fans on constantly,the heat is just intense as,ok on a cold night but apart from that its horrible

[muddyhilux]

other jobs include repair of rear hub studs,some snapped,adding of traction bars,also front has been lifted via springs but nothing done to the back,so gona look into that,spring lift,soa,not sure where were gona go yet with that one but its done the list,a good reliabe,safe and legal vechile is the 1st priority

[MNC]

other jobs include repair of rear hub studs,some snapped...

I can sort you out with a rear diff if you need one... Let me know. I will be watching your build thread with interest.

Can I ask why you have moved onto a cruiser? Your Hilux looks pretty tidy.

[muddyhilux]

cheers mnc but its all good,this one is resonably easily repairable / rebuildable,thanks anyway though,

and oh sory,i took delivery but not by way of ive brought it,im just doin the work for my mate,hes a builder so not really up his alley

i still have my surf,just putting up a garage at present then ill be getiing into my surf build,have a 3.8 commy lined up for power and trying to source sas parts aswell,altho ive been looking at going down the 350 chevy option myself,will see what happens

[MNC]

cheers mnc but its all good,this one is resonably easily repairable / rebuildable,thanks anyway though,

and oh sory,i took delivery but not by way of ive brought it,im just doin the work for my mate,hes a builder so not really up his alley

i still have my surf,just putting up a garage at present then ill be getiing into my surf build,have a 3.8 commy lined up for power and trying to source sas parts aswell,altho ive been looking at going down the Super Charged Lexus V8 option myself,will see what happens

Good to hear

[chevrolux]

cheers mnc but its all good,this one is resonably easily repairable / rebuildable,thanks anyway though,

and oh sory,i took delivery but not by way of ive brought it,im just doin the work for my mate,hes a builder so not really up his alley

i still have my surf,just putting up a garage at present then ill be getiing into my surf build,have a 3.8 commy lined up for power and trying to source sas parts aswell,altho ive been looking at going down the 350 chevy option myself,will see what happens

bring a trailer down here! I have a 350 bolted up to a 5speed in my solid axled hilux that needs to be taken away. Currently sitting in levin. Weld on some spring hangers and your away laughing!!

[niblik]

*subscribed*

[muddyhilux]

i still have my surf,just putting up a garage at present then ill be getiing into my surf build,have a 3.8 commy lined up for power and trying to source sas parts aswell,altho ive been looking at going down the Super Charged Lexus V8 option myself,will see what happens

not 4 me mate,not a fan of the lexus ae,just way to much wiring etc,im a fan of the old school

n hey niblik,good to see you

[muddyhilux]

so as above,wiring was another big issue and is sort of imposing on getting things in engine bay looking better so started off on the dash,originally the thin steel sheet with 3 switches was a rough piece of aluminum checker but have now made 2x new dash panels and fixed on,simply with self tappers for now as its on and off while i rewire everything,dash now looks like this



still not finished but on its way,have original water temp gauge top go back in as well as a oil temp gauge which is to be purchased,have also picked up a 5" tacho



with shift light which will be mounted above dash just beside steering wheel,I've also added a 3rd fuse block to wire all the accessories through to make things actually how they should be,for the engine bay I've also purchased a set of polished flame aluminum lead holders



one cos the basic steel were out of stock but mainly to keep leads tidy and clear from extractors etc,until now they have been just lying all over them and getting burnt so yeah,pics to come,have also measured up and will be getting 50mm2 cable and lugs aswell as vsr this week and wiring batts on back of tray

[muddyhilux]

well aint got alot done this week due to work but have got a far bit done,lead holders fitted and leads trimmed back so bulk of slack removed making things alot tidyer,




altinator was removed so i could check the brushes,as expected the were long gone,so they were replaced,also did some calcs and changed the wiring,removed the old 2.5mm2 cable and replaced with 35mm2



which runs from alt to just behind dash to kill switch,from kill switch it then goes through 50mm2 cable to battery loacated on tray,this is where ill be putting the 2nd battery aswell in some sort of lock up box,more than likely a cheap glav toolbox to keep it all tidy



also went out and brought a new brakeline flare kit,trimmed brake lines to correct length and reflared,hooked up and rebleed system and now she has better brakes,still dont know if theyll pass cert but see how it goes,im thinking disc conversion in the rear is more than likely required




also picked up this bend collection and 2m of strait pipe for twin snorkels to be made from,originally had 1x 90mm od air intake,will be adding 2nd intake to otheside of air box and going to 2x75mm inlets,although smaller by going twin well add approx 40% more available air capacity



also heres a shot of that broken hub stud,gonna have a look at it this week hopefully,pretty sure ill get it out with out too much trouble


think that was about it for now,hopefully sneak through another wof this week so i can keep driving it while i fix it aswell

[MNC]

Lovin your work. That must be a good mate of yours to be doin' all this work on his truck Wanna be my mate???

[UBZ]

looking good mate, amazing that it hadn't burnt to the ground with that wiring
just don't neglect the surf for too long, but i assume the 40 is contributing to the SAS fund.

wish i knew you had that flaring kit yesterday , i would have been round to commandeer its services.
At least when your finished ya mate will be able to drive it with out spitting both drives shafts .

Got a big battery lug crimping tool and light at home if ya need to borrow them as well.

[muddyhilux]

MNC,of course you can be my mate,unforunatly i dont do all work for free,i would if i could and i do always do small jobs here and there with mates to help them out,i usually have all the tools etc but yeh if i did it all for free id never be able to pay for my truck,

and hey chris,yeh its just ridiculous ae,nothing on this thing is safe at all but it just keeps getting wofs,but not any more,ive told him im fixn it all properly,
oh tru,buga mate,well you know now so yell out any time,and cheers for the offer,ill let ya know if i need them,usually just cut then crimp at work with all there gear

and yeh,its all goin towards that funding ,things are getting there though,got some work done on mine tonight,made a set of draws for the back,absolutly mint,fits all my gear and more,check my thread for the pics

[muddyhilux]

well bit more progress today,got the broken hub stud out,mission ,just didnt wana come out ,got there in the end though,replaced stud and while at it check out the others,everyone was loose,so bit of locktight on each and that was sorted,then went to do it all up and hello,2 of the studs stripped,so wipped them back out,through in some spares i had and all done



also got tacho bracket finished and fitted,endid up pretty good,stioll gota clean up edging etc but it works which is the main thing and fits in well,when in vechile you can see 0-6000rpm which is all thats needed and shiftlight is easily seen

[MNC]

:lol: MNC,of course you can be my mate,unforunatly i dont do all work for free,i would if i could and i do always do small jobs here and there with mates to help them out,i usually have all the tools etc but yeh if i did it all for free id never be able to pay for my truck,

Time is my main problem. Haven't had the time to spend with my wagon

I'm not a fan of the small fiddly jobs either - I get bored easily. Nice work on getting this thing tidied up. Sure your mate will be stoked once your finished with it -

[muddyhilux]

yeh thats his trouble to,currently trying to get his first farm up n goin,n yeh,small things luckily dont phase me too much,and yeh hes really happy with things so far and theyre only getting better

updates for now also is i managed to sneak her through anuther wof,he questioned a few things but talked my way through them,in 2-3 weeks time all things he mentioned will have been revamped anyway,made up a temporary battery clamp to get through wof but then picked up new galv toolbox,this will be mounted length wise on the RHS of the deck and contain both batterys along with a bit of storage space,was cheap and should tidy things up nicely



over this week jobs are setup dual battery and hook up winch again,mount spare tyre,get started on making new box for gear,find a large fuel tank (commy or cruiser / flat and big / 80L + a must) and hopefully get it fitted and then get out to cert man to discuss things and how he wants a couple of things tidyied up,and also fit oil temp gauge

so not too much lol

[muddyhilux]

well unfortunatly this project has come to an end,4 weeks ago my good mate brent hung himself,im gona finish off a few things for the family so its safe but yeh,wont be a build thread any more

RIP brother,u were one of the best

[haynzy]

well unfortunatly this project has come to an end,4 weeks ago my good mate brent hung himself,im gona finish off a few things for the family so its safe but yeh,wont be a build thread any more

RIP brother,u were one of the best

that sucks dude

[curly12]

well unfortunatly this project has come to an end,4 weeks ago my good mate brent hung himself,im gona finish off a few things for the family so its safe but yeh,wont be a build thread any more

RIP brother,u were one of the best

that sucks dude

What he said ^^^^

[muddyhilux]

cheers guys