The Plan...

[dieselcruiserhead]

Kurt says I can borrow his plaz when he is not using it to cut off all that IFS & other junk... Also check this out:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=295920&posted=1#post295920

This has me really thinking too. This will be a "later" rather than sooner but this would be killer to fab up...

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Kurt says I can borrow his plaz when he is not using it to cut off all that IFS & other junk...

Axle mounts, perches, and the frame mounts on the IFS should really be cut off with a flame, while the plasma will work for some, it won't for others. Take for instance a spring perch on the solid axle, the head on the plasma is ~1" around, so the closest you can get to the axle is about 1/4", likely more... that leaves you a ton of grinding. The same goes for the bracketry on the frame. The plasma is idea for clean new steel, with flat surfaces ideally. Do you guys have a torch setup? Didn't I send one home with you once?

 

[ntsqd]

Second using flame and recommend that a Scarfing tip be obtained.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Second using flame and recommend that a Scarfing tip be obtained.

That would be super handy for cutting off old brackets

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

We have the tanks and I found out Bill just bought a torch set off ebay. So with luck within a week There are a couple spots mostly 55 related that a plasma will actually go a lot farther and be a lot cleaner than a torch, but either way...

 

[Jacket]

:lurk:

 

[taco chaser]

It should take about 1 hour to 1.5 hours to torch out the IFS on that mini truck. I second what Kurt was saying about how the plasma may be to much tool for the thin metals used in the frame and brackets, you may blow straight through the brackets in to the frame very easily with minimal experience on a plasma in tight areas .. If your torch is set up right it will cut like butter with minor slag and it is pretty hard to blow through with the torch unless your trying to, torching is the best way to remove layers of metal with out damaging whats underneath in my opinion.:sombrero:

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Sounds good, I actually have quite a bit of time with plasmas and have only used ones with 1" tips on sheet metal and the rest had fairly narrow tips. The mini truck stuff is very thin so it is something I would definitely be concerned about... We had a torch at the shop for a number of years but it belonged to a friend. Particularly with the engine and parts near-by and the preheating required the torch will drive me nuts but possibly such is life (especially if Kurt's has a 1" tip -- this may be interchangeable).

The pick n pull style place where I was several FJ62s several months ago doesn't answer their phone. Their style of inventory was very slow changeover and the vehicles were not picked clean at all. I am really really hoping the FJ62 parts are still there. There are also mini trucks and 4 runners all over the place, at the time it was a real gold mine on the Toyota front...

We cleaned and completely re-arranged the shop on Saturday and last night again, it looks great and was getting a little cluttered. I even did some small amounts of work on the 55 for the first time in eons Including just cleaning all the crap out of it... Bill Hartlieb who is one of the guys who shares the shop was down in his Isuzu 4BD-1T powered FJ62 last night. It is a sweet ride with a 4L60 (not an E) which is a mechanical 4L60E with a lockup converter. It is a '88 and 220K miles or so and very clean, Old Man Emu and mildly lifted. He has been doing little things all over the place for a little while but I look at the truck project a lot like his where it will basically still be a nice clean Toyota but fairly stockish other than the suspension and engine. So good stuff Bill replaced the turbo and the thing just rips and again is getting about 25-27 mpg all day long...

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Not much to add except Kurt Williams and I spent the morning pulling the FJ62 axle out and I spent most of the afternoon cleaning it up.

We have a new torch set coming in and the tanks so just a matter of time. Will be nice to finally have our own torch at the shop. Not sure when I'll start tearing in, hopefully next week some time at the latest or maybe even Sunday... The axle was both super grimy and a little rusty but should clean up nicely. About 198K miles on the axle, just getting broken in for a 60 series axle I love 62 axles and all of their little perks and quirks. I'm sure they'll be "covered in depth" as I started tearing in.

Technique (per recommendation from Kurt) was to blast with degreaser, let sit for an hour or so, and then pressure wash. In this case I used Junk engine degreaser which is very chemical heavy, but did the trick Made a huge mess of the truck and myself and the truck wreaks of strong degreaser for hopefully just a couple days, but such is life... Boxes next to the axle and FZJ80 radius arms are new brake pads and a OEM parts front axle rebuild kit from Cruiser Outfitters.

$150 Axle (admittedly very cheap)
$24 Brake Pads
$89 Knuckle Rebuild Kit

FZJ80 radius arms were a gift (thanks Ryan!) but can usually be had for $50-$100 pretty easily...

Brings the total so far to about $874

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That cleaned up nicely!

 

[DaveInDenver]

I don't remember, why are you using a Cruiser axle instead of the mini? Obviously since you're doing coils the whole thing is gonna be a one-off deal, so there's no advantage to starting with a mini truck axle since you're cutting off the spring perches anyway. But the 9.5 axle is a monster and a regular cab Hilux is not a big truck. Plus now the thirds don't exchange FR<->RR, which is one reason I don't like IFS. If a rear end blows, if I had an 8" axle in front I could steal the third and make it home. Unless you're doing a Cruiser axle in back, if so, nevermind.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

a couple reasons but the biggest is that the 62 axle matches the IFS axles well out of the package as far as width.

I have thought a little about being able to use the same diffs front and rear but concluded it is not that important as none of my trucks since about '05 have been set up that way, they all used different diffs. And I've never actually blown a diff even with 35s and heavy wheeling, just birfields (and axle housings, LOL) so it was not a big deal to me. I ran the identical setup under my 55 (using leafs) and the 80 series under the new 55 uses the 8" up front and the cruiser diff in the rear.

It is a big heavy axle (versus a mini truck) but geared correctly, and overall heavier duty so I'm psyched to use it. I found out about a bunch of guys who have run LC axles and Luke from 4x4labs who knows the conversion well (both benz and SAS and is a real outside the box thinker) also said it was a killer way to go. So I'm psyched.. It will be more like a non USA LC pickup now than a typical SAS on a mini now

 

[DaveInDenver]

Axle width makes sense, always hated the thought of needing to use wheel spacers to match widths.

I would be concerned with the unsprung weight of a monster LC axle compared to a mini truck, though people do successfully use Dana 60 and LC axles on mini trucks. I'd have thought they are bit of a handful on washboard, but I don't have any reason other than speculation.

There's also that the pumpkins are 1.5" bigger, so you lose a bit of clearance there. But not since an LC axle would be safer with a 37" tire than a mini truck axle with a 35", you could pretty easily overcome that.

 

[ntsqd]

For hard core washboard use I'd recommend at least a 2.5" shock per tire in the front. My 84 mini currently has yellow (!) 5100's on the front and when I push really hard I can fade them. The heavier axle combined with the lower internal friction of coils springs is going to work the dampers that much harder.

In my mind & I could be wrong, but the first weak point of the mini LA axle is the Birf's. Which the 60/62's share. Or so I've been told.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...In my mind & I could be wrong, but the first weak point of the mini LA axle is the Birf's. Which the 60/62's share. Or so I've been told.

Minis as well as 79' & later FJ40/55/60/62 and non US variants all share the same birf. With simple upgrades (Longs) you can have a pretty bullet proof front end. This is where the LandCruiser 3rd shines, it has a much stronger R&P over the standard 8" which has inherent ring gear issues under heavy use. One can improve on this by using the V6/E-Lock variants.