October 7 2010 by Darrin.

So it’s been about a year since dragging the old HJ out of the barn and blowing the dust and rat turds off of her.  Finally, the tables have turned and new parts are going on.  During the last couple weeks, I’ve managed to reassemble the axles with all new brakes, bearings, seals, gaskets, hoses, nuts and bolts.  If it was replaceable, it’s been replaced.

The front axle was the most work, and a real learning experience for me.  I’ve never been into a Toyota Birfield front end, so I started out with a Gregory’s No.502 Australian aftermarket service manual for the HJ-series Land Cruisers.  I bought it when I was Down Under in 1996, and it’s okay, but a guy named “SteelArt” on the following Aussie website really helped out with his own forum thread here…  http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=90889  MANY THANKS, Mate!  I owe you a Four X.

My steering knuckles, or “swivel hubs” in Oz-Speak,  were old, filthy, leaking gear oil, and in need of serious attention.  The chassis spent most of her life on railroad tracks in 2WD, but I wanted to do everything up like new.  The knuckle bearings were even a little “bindy and catchy” after 299,000 km, so it was time for a full rebuild.  Here they are before attacking the project…

The first steps involved disassembling the Aisin locking hubs, the main hubs, and the pulling the Birfield CV shafts.  The result was a big mess of parts, and a slimy mix of grease and gear oil - from the axle seal evidently being toast for a long time…

With all that stuff removed, I could knock the knuckle bearings apart by removing the lower bearing retainer and the upper steering arm.  (The hardest part of that involved getting the top cone washers to pop out - after being stuck in the same hole for 25 years.) The mess just gets bigger and bigger!

Next comes the tricky part!  The swivel bearings’ cups and cones get replaced and the knuckle itself has to go back onto the axle housing with the proper amount of tension on the bearings.  It’s measured with a spring scale at the end of the steering arm, and you’re shooting for about 3.5 to 6.0 kg of force to move the assembly.  Both my left and right sides were a little tight, so more shims were needed.  The shims simply take pressure off the bearings, and I found that an extra 0.012″ shim on the left and 2 x 0.012″ shims on the right resulted in 4.5 kg and 5.5kg respectively.  Well within tolerance!  Here’s how it looks when taking the measurements…

Next comes checking out the Birfield CV joints, and packing them with good grease.  I used Valvoline synthetic, No. 985 - the best stuff NAPA had.  It’s important to get plenty of grease in here.  If not abused, the Birfs are pretty robust, and unlike a single U-Joint so common to American stuff, these are “constant velocity” and don’t create any jerking and binding when turning with the hubs locks.  Throw in that they’re protected inside that big steel ball at the end of the axle and I think Land Cruiser’s really got the system down well.  No wonder they have such a great reputation.  A packed CV…

Et voila!  A completed swivel hub assembly, ready to go to Alaska and (hopefully) back again…

Looks great, doesn’t it, almost like new!  And if I did it right, it IS as good as new.  Oh, and by the way, the ARB air-locker is back in the rear axle, and all the new parts are in there too.  Here’s the last side of the drum brakes, before the drum and wheel go back on…

And finally, the curtain lifts and here’s the rolling chassis ready for her engine, a few other little things, and then a short trip to the other shop bay and back under the body…

Next step: Replace the clutch assembly with parts I got from Oz, then install the engine and 5 speed transmission.  Look for that pretty soon!  I’m on a roll…

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September 14 2010 by Darrin.

While waiting for the rear axle parts, I tackled the front axle.  First step, remove it:

Next, clean it with oven cleaner and a pressure washer:

That worked pretty well to remove 25 years of grease!

Next, wire brush the axle, clean it again with laquer thinner, and coat it with POR-15…

After it dries, reinstall with new Dobinson’s springs, bushes, and greasable anti-inversion shackles, just like the rear axle.  (You’ll notice my anti-inversion pins are not installed at this point.  With no weight on, I can’t make it happen.  I’ll see how it goes as I progress with reassembly, and make some new travel-stops as needed)…

Next step - rebuild front axle: brakes, knuckles, bearings, etc.  Gotta paint some house trim first!

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September 12 2010 by Darrin.

The rear axle is finally back under the Troopy.  I’m waiting on a few seals (diff, axle, hub) and then the parts can go back together.  My brake drums were right at the edge of usable, so I got a set of meatier used ones from California.  Here’s how the rear axle assembly looked prior to removal…

The axle was removed, wire-brushed, then coated with POR-15.   The new Dobinson’s heavy-duty rear leaf springs were installed, with new greasable anti-inversion shackles, and then the axle was bolted back in…

After reinstallation, the assembly was stripped of its remaining parts, like hubs, brakes, and backing plates, and those parts were cleaned up, painted, and prepped with new Japanese bearing races…

Next comes the front axle.  That’s currently outside soaking in generic oven cleaner.  It’s time to go wash it off!  Look for Part 2 in the very near future.

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August 21 2010 by Darrin.

After a couple days wire-brushing all the dirt, loose paint, and loose rust off the HJ-75 Cruiser chassis, she looked like this…

 Three hours more with a 2″ brush and a can of POR-15 yielded the following…

It’s the first time I’ve used POR-15; I’ve heard great things.  If it sticks to the metal like it sticks to my hands, legs and face, it ought to be superb.  Wearing black shorts was a good idea.  Wearing black shorts was a bad idea.  I think I’m going to look filthy for a while!

Anyway, the chassis is now ready to go back together, and it should be a lot of fun to reassemble it.  The next step will be to remove and rebuild the axles.  I have everything I need except for the front brake rotors and calipers - and they’re on the way.  When I reinstall the axles, they’ll mount to an Aussie-manufactured Dobinson’s one-ton suspension.  Everything will be new - springs, shocks, shackles, bushes, etc…  It’ll be really nice to get all the piles of new or rebuildable parts back into a vehicle.  My shop is a cluttered mess…

And then we see if the JDM engine Michael and I brought back from California is worth a crap!

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August 15 2010 by Darrin.

The tank fabrication is finally complete.  This has to be one of the longest small projects I’ve ever done, as I managed only a couple days a month for about three months!  Here are a few photos of the tank in place in the old spare tire location.  (This was more recently filled by hi-rail gear for use on the railroad.)

 This tank adds about 30 gallons of fuel capacity, and will function as the main tank.  The original 18.5 gallon tank will effectively become the auxiliary tank, and it will pump its fuel into the new main tank when the main tank is depleted.  This was done because the original tank does not incorporate a fuel return port for fuel coming from the engine.  The original 2H diesel did not bypass any fuel, but the newer 12H-T does.  The simplest solution was to build the new tank for the newer engine, and transfer fuel from the original tank into it when needed.  The combined fuel capacity should easily provide a 1000-mile range

All that remains to totally complete the tank is an interior POR-15 fuel tank coating and some external paint.  I’ll hold off on that until the body is back on the frame.  I was careful to consider any potential interference, but there’s no test like actually putting it all together!  If I need to modify something, it’ll be much easier BEFORE paint.

What’s next?  Paint the chassis, rebuild the axles, and install the new suspension.  At the rate I’m going, look for that in, say, 2013.

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August 12 2010 by Darrin.

Summer’s been pretty hectic here. In May, our 20-year Mexican ranch hand finally left us and our “bunk house” modular home - after getting a job with the local billionaire.  On his way out, the vaquero walked off with some family heirloom furniture, most light bulbs, and an unpaid balance of heat and rent from the year he lived in the house and worked for someone else.

Mom decided to clean and redecorate the modular home in June and early July, before she was inundated with guests in late July.  Anna and I had friends coming from Germany about the same time as Mom’s family was to arrive, and Anna’s dad, Frits, visited last week from Holland too.  We did get to make a couple little trips here and there with Frits - most notably to Devil’s Tower and Mount Rushmore…

We made the trip just a few days before the huge Sturgis Bike Week in South Dakota, so as you can imagine, most traffic was on two wheels. Here’s a photo from Deadwood on Aug 5th…

 Back at home, I got a few hours per day of welding in on my new fuel tank for the old Land Cruiser.  It’s taken forever to get it done, and I’ve been procrastinating for a couple reasons…  1) I wasn’t sure how I was going to fill this tank at fuel pumps, and 2) I’m not an accomplished TIG welder.  I’ve had this machine for over a decade now, and only used it to build about 60 Unimog engine block heaters back in 1999 or so.  That’s a decade of dust…

 Good, clean TIG welding takes talent and skill - neither of which I possess.  I learned the basics of stick welding in junior high some 28 years ago, and have been welding with MIG for most of my years fabricating in Wyoming.  I set a goal to TIG this tank together, and that’s exactly what I did.  By the end, things were looking okay.  The real test will be if these joints hold #2 fuel oil without leaking…

Before I could locate the tank in its final position in between the rear frame rails, I had to solve the fuel fill problem.  My friend Paul in MD cut a fuel hatch and fill pipe from a car in his tow yard, but it turned out to be for the wrong side of the vehicle and a big pain in the butt to reverse.  I went to our local wrecking yard and found this donor - a 1983 Suburban…

A couple cordless tools and 30 minutes is all it took to get what I needed (plus a trip to NAPA for a new locking fuel cap)…

Back at the shop, I check the location for the new “Aux Tank Fill”, added a 2″ fuel filler pipe, and then located the tank at a good spot in the frame…

  All that’s left now is a tank vent, and the mounting brackets.

(Thanks to Mom for snapping a few pix at the junkyard, while watching for rattlesnakes - and sparks, that might light up the grass.  Thanks to OK-Wrecking owner Dave for charging me $0 for the old Chevy parts.)

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June 15 2010 by Darrin.

June’s been “Spring Cleaning” month, and in between a bunch of old DOS software, I found this photo of the Troopy sporting her Hi-Rail gear.  Just some cool old nostalgia.  I have no idea if this is here or Down Under…

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May 29 2010 by Darrin.

Things are sure green around here!  We’ve had lots of rain, and even some snow last Monday, May 24th.  Gotta enjoy it; it only lasts a few weeks or so before some of the grasses head out and turn yellow.  Last month, I decided my 1991 Kawasaki KLR 650 had been dormant in the garage for far too many years.  She got a little “freshening-up”, with a new battery, tires, chain/sprockets, cables, a clean carb, etc.  Here’s the bike, AND the green.

Before I forget, thanks to all who gave their lives to keep America safe and free.  Really.  I cherish what we have here.  A while back, I posted a video on my website.  What’s our flag mean?  Check it out if you like…

So what else is new?  My friend Michael and I were supposed to go to the Netherlands in April, but the volcano in Iceland shut that down.  We rescheduled for four weeks later, but wound up canceling again.

I did get to Maryland just before we were supposed to go to Holland.  I went to get Mom, do some chores, and drive back to Wyoming.  29 hours total time en route, covering ~1849 miles.  That’s almost 64 mph of average speed!  Amazing for her older Ford Expedition with 150,000 miles on the clock.  And we never went over 4 miles above the limit! It was an excellent run.

In the shop, work on the Land Cruiser continues.  The chassis is ready to get painted, but first I have to fabricate and install a custom fuel tank.  In the photos below, you can see the beginning of it.  It’ll hold just over 30 gallons, and will be located behind the rear axle in the factory spare tire location…

Finally, here’s the rebuilt rear differential, now with an ARB Air-Locker.  So long as it works, it’s a “best of both worlds” device, providing an open diff for normal use that can be pneumatically locked for maximum traction.

It’s a great concept if it doesn’t leak!  I’ve had mechanical, pneumatic, and electric lockers over the years, and by far, the older mechanical Unimog lockers are my favorite!  Not much to break.  We’ll see how this goes a few years down the line!

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April 3 2010 by Darrin.

Finally, only a few months late, I’ve got the chassis out from under the Land Cruiser Troopy and in another shop bay for restoration.  I only managed a few hours a week in 2010 so far, but I hope I can spend some more time on the project now.  I have to keep reminding myself - “Alaska 2011, Alaska 2011″.  Motivation is good to have…

Fortunately, the chassis restoration is the fun part of the project.  (I hate bodywork and painting.)  I’ve got the newer 12H-T turbo-diesel to go in, complete new suspension on the way, new brake parts, steering linkage, and virtually everything I need to rebuild the axles. I also want to weld up another fuel tank to go behind the rear axle.  There’s plenty of room available - enough to easily build in a 1,000+ mile highway range.

I’d like to think I can have the chassis ready to go back under the body by June, and get the bodywork completed while it’s still plenty warm here in Wyoming.  Here are a few photos of the body removal process.  I used 4 x 1-ton camper jacks (the same ones I use to build the AATREC and Unimog campers) to raise the body about 20 inches so the chassis could roll out…

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January 4 2010 by Darrin.

I needed a place I could throw a couple photos “in public” and the blog is the handiest site.  I’m about to cut the frame back down to a factory length (it used to hold Hi-Rail gear) and I’m hoping some Land Cruiser forum members will have a look and tell me how long it’s supposed to be…

Pretty boring, huh?

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