Turtle Tractor - my new FJ40
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Jacket
2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
I located a used (cheap) FJ60 starter yesterday at a local salvage yard, so I went ahead and swapped mine out for it, and sure enough it fired right up.:luxhello:
Glad to have the 40 back on the road. My wife and I even managed to have our first date in it last night
I think the fuel gauge will be my next gremlin (since I already ran out of gas once driving it home). The sending unit was replaced already, so it may be a bad ground, or something in the gauge itself. I need to do some R&D....
Glad to have the 40 back on the road. My wife and I even managed to have our first date in it last night
I think the fuel gauge will be my next gremlin (since I already ran out of gas once driving it home). The sending unit was replaced already, so it may be a bad ground, or something in the gauge itself. I need to do some R&D....
Rezarf <><
Explorer
Jacket said:
Who you calling Nuts?
Matt, I love it! When are we going to get it a little dirty?:clapsmile
HongerVenture
Adventurer
Very nice find... that is just about the condition I'd like to find. I'm always keeping an eye out for the right moment. Add me to the list of "I want to own a 40 someday" guys.
Again, way to go!
Joel
Again, way to go!
Joel
Jacket
2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
Updates
Gettin' a little dirty down at Slee!! Christo was generous enough to loan out his garage for the day for some DIY axle servicing. New grease, new seals and new gaskets for the front axle - bearings and axle shafts look pretty good for their age.
Squeeky clean!!
Still working on "setting the baseline" for the rig, so I plan to drain and refill both diffs, plus the transfer case and tranny fluid. New spark plugs and wires, air filter, fuel filter, cap and rotor, etc.
Wheels, Tires and Suspension
I've decided to go with a custom set of wheels in 16" for a couple of reasons. I want to return it close to the OEM look, but the 15x5.5 OEM rims are just a tad bit narrower than I would like for the tire size I want. Rather than going with the OEM rims, and then having them widened, I've ordered a set of 16x7 custom steel wheels from Stockton. They should be perfect for a set of 255/85/16 Maxxis Bighorns :gunt:
I also have a set of OME medium springs, Nitrocharger shocks, greasable shackles and pins on my garage floor, so that will be going on the 40 some time soon to help with the tire fitament.
I won't have the time or all the parts to finish these upgrades before Cruise Moab, so I'll be leaving the FJ40 at home and cruisin' in my Tacoma.
Gettin' a little dirty down at Slee!! Christo was generous enough to loan out his garage for the day for some DIY axle servicing. New grease, new seals and new gaskets for the front axle - bearings and axle shafts look pretty good for their age.
Squeeky clean!!
Still working on "setting the baseline" for the rig, so I plan to drain and refill both diffs, plus the transfer case and tranny fluid. New spark plugs and wires, air filter, fuel filter, cap and rotor, etc.
Wheels, Tires and Suspension
I've decided to go with a custom set of wheels in 16" for a couple of reasons. I want to return it close to the OEM look, but the 15x5.5 OEM rims are just a tad bit narrower than I would like for the tire size I want. Rather than going with the OEM rims, and then having them widened, I've ordered a set of 16x7 custom steel wheels from Stockton. They should be perfect for a set of 255/85/16 Maxxis Bighorns :gunt:
I also have a set of OME medium springs, Nitrocharger shocks, greasable shackles and pins on my garage floor, so that will be going on the 40 some time soon to help with the tire fitament.
I won't have the time or all the parts to finish these upgrades before Cruise Moab, so I'll be leaving the FJ40 at home and cruisin' in my Tacoma.
Last edited:
Jacket
2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
Updates
Suspension parts finally installed:
- OME springs front and rear
- OME Nitrochargers front and rear
- OME Poly bushings all around
- OME steering stabilizer
- OME greasable shackles and pins (except for the rear shackles, which I left as is for now)
Install went fairly well - less a few broken bolts, and some heavy manipulation of the rear axle to get it centered on the spring pins.
The new steel wheels arrived on schedule and fit like a glove: 16x7 with 3.25" BS. Kudos to Stockton Wheel for delivering as promised. I had them shipped bare metal, so I spent some time in the garage cleaning, priming, and painting. I struggled a bit with the final color choice, thinking black, gray and off-white would all look pretty good. The final choice was the off-white, mostly because I think it compliments the green, and makes mine sorta unique. I'm pretty pleased how it turned out, but welcome your opinions as well.
I stumbled upon some good luck for the tires. I was all set to spend the $$ on a new set of Maxxis Bighorns, but about a week before I was going to order, a local guy here posted up a barely used set of 255/85/16 Bighorns that were coming off his 80. Ah, the good fortune....
The suspension ride is 100x better - really. I wouldn't have believed it would make such a dramatic difference - a great balance of stiffness, control and stability on the road. Off road TBD. As for the tires, they do a great job getting me to and from Home Depot.:ylsmoke: Definitely louder than the old AT's, which is to be expected.
On to the pics - as she sits now:
Suspension parts finally installed:
- OME springs front and rear
- OME Nitrochargers front and rear
- OME Poly bushings all around
- OME steering stabilizer
- OME greasable shackles and pins (except for the rear shackles, which I left as is for now)
Install went fairly well - less a few broken bolts, and some heavy manipulation of the rear axle to get it centered on the spring pins.
The new steel wheels arrived on schedule and fit like a glove: 16x7 with 3.25" BS. Kudos to Stockton Wheel for delivering as promised. I had them shipped bare metal, so I spent some time in the garage cleaning, priming, and painting. I struggled a bit with the final color choice, thinking black, gray and off-white would all look pretty good. The final choice was the off-white, mostly because I think it compliments the green, and makes mine sorta unique. I'm pretty pleased how it turned out, but welcome your opinions as well.
I stumbled upon some good luck for the tires. I was all set to spend the $$ on a new set of Maxxis Bighorns, but about a week before I was going to order, a local guy here posted up a barely used set of 255/85/16 Bighorns that were coming off his 80. Ah, the good fortune....
The suspension ride is 100x better - really. I wouldn't have believed it would make such a dramatic difference - a great balance of stiffness, control and stability on the road. Off road TBD. As for the tires, they do a great job getting me to and from Home Depot.:ylsmoke: Definitely louder than the old AT's, which is to be expected.
On to the pics - as she sits now:
Last edited:
Jacket
2008 Expedition Trophy Champion
Haven't talked much about the 40 lately, but I've got a few projects underway:
Rust mitigation on the rear sill:
the damage caused by the tire carrier latch
cutting out the channel
channel gone
new channel (black piece) with new sheet metal piece (white primer)
The new channel and new body mounts are bolted in, and now its time for sheet metal work. Never done it before, so we'll see....
Rust mitigation on the rear sill:
the damage caused by the tire carrier latch
cutting out the channel
channel gone
new channel (black piece) with new sheet metal piece (white primer)
The new channel and new body mounts are bolted in, and now its time for sheet metal work. Never done it before, so we'll see....