so i picked up a fairly decent 79 fj40 . its basically all stock with a spring over lift and 36" tires . but i got a few questions since im new to fj's

the truck is very solid and seems like it was well taken care of. but when pulling out it viberates a good bit . possibility of tires being military spec that is cuasing this ? the driveline angles look fine u-joints feel tight

exhuast manifold is leaking . thinking of getting this header . any good ? for 160.00 it seems like a good buy

http://www.jtoutfitters.com/performance-header-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-fj60-p-3867.html

other than those 2 things , what is everyones take on the driveline in these ? as far as engine/t-case/rears ? any good or junk ? plaining on only trail riding it nothing rough since i also plain on towing it behind our motorhome on vacations .


sorry for all the newb like questions i did alot of reading on these vehicles on here and well i just didnt find my answers .

thanks

The driveline's are good - nice size u joint - but these seem pretty fussy with angles - a soa requires a c/v at the case and a 2 degree down pinion angle - Jess

The driveline's are good - nice size u joint - but these seem pretty fussy with angles - a soa requires a c/v at the case and a 2 degree down pinion angle - Jess

ahhh . so thats where my viberation may be coming from . hmmm . just looked at the rear shaft ... it is a regular shaft with a u-joint on each end .

so after doing alot of searching ..... jess , looks like your the person to come to for this . can you help me out with a new rear shaft ? ill give you a ring tuesday sometime . hopefully its an easy project to put together .

thanks

i got some pics just to let everyone see what im seeing .

here is the rear shaft ... to much angle ? i read that some guys are putting on a antirotation device , will this also help or should i just go with a cv shaft ?

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr81/tedsfab/fj40011.jpg

front steering ... it has a soa but is the steering i have standard or something hombrewed ?

http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr81/tedsfab/fj40007.jpg
http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr81/tedsfab/fj40008.jpg



thanks

Rear driveshaft- I don't think the operating angle is your problem. Not having the angles match at the opposite ends is your problem. If you would do a double cardan (CV) joint at the transfer case, you'd want there to be almost no angle at the pinion end. (Jess' idea of pointing it 2* down is probably good since it would tip up under power).

An antiwrap device will help your driveshaft and pinion live longer. Depending on how hard you're going to drive it- you could get into axle wrap which puts the u-joints into crazy operating angles and will break something.

Steering- that is factory for your truck. But it looks like you have a double steering arm at the passenger knuckle. I can't quite see it in the shadows.

The driveline's are good - nice size u joint - but these seem pretty fussy with angles - a soa requires a c/v at the case and a 2 degree down pinion angle - Jess

I've done 4 or 5 soa's without cv's and had no vibrations . I don't think it's necessary but a lot depends on your wheelbase and soa height . After you get it to run without vibes an antiwrap bar is a very good idea . I also prefer stock manifolds over headers . They seal up easier and last longer without as much maintenance . The power difference isn't worth it IMHO .

thanks for the replys , i do have one more question . this truck sits crooked ... driver side sits about 1" lower than passenger side , so im thinking of maybe changing out the springs since they have alot of rust coming out of them so im sure they are original springs .

so who makes a decent package for this ? im not sure if the springs on it are stockers or something else but i like the way it sits now so id like to keep it that way .


sorry for all the questions , but 1st toyota and i dont know shit about them


thanks

thanks for the replys , i do have one more question . this truck sits crooked ... driver side sits about 1" lower than passenger side , so im thinking of maybe changing out the springs since they have alot of rust coming out of them so im sure they are original springs .

so who makes a decent package for this ? im not sure if the springs on it are stockers or something else but i like the way it sits now so id like to keep it that way .


sorry for all the questions , but 1st toyota and i dont know shit about them


thanks

That'd be "Cruiser Lean". All the Land Cruisers I've had did that to some degree. If it bothers you, you can try to address it. I'm just happy that mine starts mostly when I want it to- I'm not worried about appearance.

That'd be "Cruiser Lean". All the Land Cruisers I've had did that to some degree. If it bothers you, you can try to address it. I'm just happy that mine starts mostly when I want it to- I'm not worried about appearance.

lol ... well then maybe its ok .... i used to work on highway trucks and some volvos did the same thing ... there fix since it didnt look right ..... a shime between the axle and spring to make it look better ................i know i know its mainly looks but , i like to see the vehicle sitting level on level ground .

I also have a 79

The header can end up being a pain in the ass - There is a connection on the manifold currently for the EGR which is usually lost when you switch to a header. If the truck is de-smogged or you plan on de-smogging it (can be a real pain in the ass FYI) then it isnt a big deal. The header wont buy you much power.

The drivetrain is pretty stout, the weak point is usually the transfer case which can split the case itself in half if abused, there are t-case savers that help adress this issue but a better solution is to swap in a split case out of a Fj60 (you lose the parking brake when you do this).

One of the best things you could do is saginaw power steering, especially with tires that size. The stock system has so many TRE's and pivot points that is can develope slop pretty easily.

As others have mentioned the driveline vibrations can probably be solved by lowering the pinion so the pinion and the t-case output are parallel - the angles at the two ends of the driveshaft need to be equal unless you are running a CV

I also have a 79

The header can end up being a pain in the ass - There is a connection on the manifold currently for the EGR which is usually lost when you switch to a header. If the truck is de-smogged or you plan on de-smogging it (can be a real pain in the ass FYI) then it isnt a big deal. The header wont buy you much power.

i do plain on removing all the smog . having the carb done by jim , im not really looking for more power , im very surprised at how it goes right now with the 36"s on it . mainly doing it becuase alot of the vacum hoses look dry rotted and the exhuast manifold appers cracked .

The drivetrain is pretty stout, the weak point is usually the transfer case which can split the case itself in half if abused, there are t-case savers that help adress this issue but a better solution is to swap in a split case out of a Fj60 (you lose the parking brake when you do this).

thats great to know , i really dont think ill be wheeling it hard , just street driving and mybe off road sometimes , but if the axles can handle the big tires then it should live a long time with me

One of the best things you could do is saginaw power steering, especially with tires that size. The stock system has so many TRE's and pivot points that is can develope slop pretty easily.

anyone have a build thread on this ? id like to look into that .

As others have mentioned the driveline vibrations can probably be solved by lowering the pinion so the pinion and the t-case output are parallel - the angles at the two ends of the driveshaft need to be equal unless you are running a CVlater this week im brining it into the shop and pointing the pinion down a bit and seeing i that helps , if not im getting a cv . but i may hold off , i may do the t-case swap if it isnt to consuming and to hard to do .

see above

thanks !

I'd lower the rear pinion a few degrees, that will most likely make the vibrations go away. If you plan on changing the leaf springs, then hold off on the pinion angle until new springs are installed.

Stock steering you'll find is junk. Saginaw is the way to go.

There are several write ups for saginaw steering here:

http://www.ih8mud.com/cruisertech.php

as well as a bunch of other tech, check out their forums as well

I should have clarified - in order to swap in a split case you need to swap the transmission in with it, it has a different output shaft spline count and bolt pattern (other than that it is basically the same transmission).

For headers also check out spector off road, and man-a-fre, there are a lot of different options at different price points

for some reason the larger cruzer joint shafts are more suseptable to vibs because of angles - the outside snap ring one's will tollerate more angle with less vibs . it does in-deed need a c/v - Jess