Joined
·
10,370 Posts
Being lucky enough to have 3 Cruisers is not something I take for granted, I have been truly blessed to be able to pursue something I enjoy and to have the strength and meager finances to keep these trucks running and maintained as they should be.
Knowing when to throw the towel in while trying to get a stalling "miss" out of my FJ40 I had just dropped it at the local shop. Good fuel, plugs & filters had yielded no results and further tinkering by me was futile at this point so I gave in. Returning home I hopped in my reliable FJ60 and for the first time since taking ownership she refused to start...
It was Friday and I was home alone wondering how in the hell I ended up with 3 trucks and no ride, feeling a bit defeated I sat down and drank a beer and pondered how I might get to work Monday morning.
The FJ45 was the only truck running and losing the keys was an adventure in its self. While I was very happy to be able to start and drive the beast around I still had a 35-45 mph death wobble that I needed to track down, the p.s. pump was toast and no tail lights or turn signals had me using hand signals that people didn't understand.
Taking all my Christmas presents (tools and a creeper) I fired up my only running truck and pulled her in the garage, Monday morning I had to have a ride to work and this was it! It only took a few minutes to find the wobble, a taco'ed tie rod and a gutless steering stabilizer. With limited skills and new tools I rolled under the truck and went to work.
After the first hour of cursing and knuckle bashing I had straightened the tie rod but the stabilizer would not budge, every nut and bolt was seized and nothing was working. Getting pissed is not always a bad thing as it makes me creative and this is when I found my new tool of choice, THE ANGLE GRINDER!
Standing at the counter at Auto-Zone I was in no mood to debate about what was in the computer. Likewise, I didn't bother to tell the counter jockey that bumping the year model to 1968 while searching for FJ45 parts was NOT going to help. Placing the blown out shock on the counter ended the conversation and after some prodding I even got the rubber grommets and nuts I needed for the install.
Re-installation took no time, it was Saturday night and I took a test drive around the block and the wobble was gone. I still had Sunday to prepare and went to bed feeling very proud of my work and dreamed of Cruisers and grinders all night
Sunday was another beautiful day, 71 degrees in January in the Deep South... unheard of. I painted the old chrome wheels black and re-installed the BFG mt's, the 45 was looking good and running great. I soaked every nut and bolt I could reach with rust eater for future projects, cleaned all the glass and removed the broken trailer lights from the rear.
As darkness fell Sunday night I scrambled around picking up tools and cleaning up. I felt great about the progress and parked the 45 in the house garage for the a.m. trip, I had overcome adversity and learned alot wrenching on my own junk, life was good.
Walking by the still parked FJ60 I reached inside and grabbed my garage door opener and a jacket, I wondered if bad fuel had gotten to both trucks since they failed simultaneously, when almost as a joke I popped the key in the ignition and she fired on the first try.
Jerry Hocutt
Knowing when to throw the towel in while trying to get a stalling "miss" out of my FJ40 I had just dropped it at the local shop. Good fuel, plugs & filters had yielded no results and further tinkering by me was futile at this point so I gave in. Returning home I hopped in my reliable FJ60 and for the first time since taking ownership she refused to start...
It was Friday and I was home alone wondering how in the hell I ended up with 3 trucks and no ride, feeling a bit defeated I sat down and drank a beer and pondered how I might get to work Monday morning.
The FJ45 was the only truck running and losing the keys was an adventure in its self. While I was very happy to be able to start and drive the beast around I still had a 35-45 mph death wobble that I needed to track down, the p.s. pump was toast and no tail lights or turn signals had me using hand signals that people didn't understand.
Taking all my Christmas presents (tools and a creeper) I fired up my only running truck and pulled her in the garage, Monday morning I had to have a ride to work and this was it! It only took a few minutes to find the wobble, a taco'ed tie rod and a gutless steering stabilizer. With limited skills and new tools I rolled under the truck and went to work.
After the first hour of cursing and knuckle bashing I had straightened the tie rod but the stabilizer would not budge, every nut and bolt was seized and nothing was working. Getting pissed is not always a bad thing as it makes me creative and this is when I found my new tool of choice, THE ANGLE GRINDER!
Standing at the counter at Auto-Zone I was in no mood to debate about what was in the computer. Likewise, I didn't bother to tell the counter jockey that bumping the year model to 1968 while searching for FJ45 parts was NOT going to help. Placing the blown out shock on the counter ended the conversation and after some prodding I even got the rubber grommets and nuts I needed for the install.
Re-installation took no time, it was Saturday night and I took a test drive around the block and the wobble was gone. I still had Sunday to prepare and went to bed feeling very proud of my work and dreamed of Cruisers and grinders all night
Sunday was another beautiful day, 71 degrees in January in the Deep South... unheard of. I painted the old chrome wheels black and re-installed the BFG mt's, the 45 was looking good and running great. I soaked every nut and bolt I could reach with rust eater for future projects, cleaned all the glass and removed the broken trailer lights from the rear.
As darkness fell Sunday night I scrambled around picking up tools and cleaning up. I felt great about the progress and parked the 45 in the house garage for the a.m. trip, I had overcome adversity and learned alot wrenching on my own junk, life was good.
Walking by the still parked FJ60 I reached inside and grabbed my garage door opener and a jacket, I wondered if bad fuel had gotten to both trucks since they failed simultaneously, when almost as a joke I popped the key in the ignition and she fired on the first try.
Jerry Hocutt
