Maiden voyage of the Diesel FJ60

I finally finished my FJ60 Banks powered 6.2 diesel last week, and the first run would be towing my FJ40 to Oregon to “Cruisin the woods 08” http://www.cascadecruisers.com/eventsframeset.htm I did the engine swap in a 1983 cruiser, and swapped in a 1989 body for nicer panels, paint, and power window’s door locks.

The plan was to leave for Oregon on Thursday night after work, and set up camp that night for the Friday trail ride. Prior to making the long drive, I decided to test tow my fj40 on the freeway and work out any bugs. I get about 2 miles before I hear the engine dying, then I look back to see smoke coming from the batteries… The battery cable had melted and welded itself to the exhaust manifold, causing the whole system to shut down. I proceed to pull the smoking hot cable from the manifold to remove the short, and then think “Now what?”. I ended up buying jumper cables from walmart, and jumping the fj60 from my fj40’s batteries.

After returning home, my wife says “Tor, I don’t think you should go to Oregon this weekend, too many things have gone wrong” I agreed, and after talking to some friends I find out there’s another trip scheduled for Evans Creek this weekend, which is a much shorter distance with a good group of people. We scheduled the trip to leave early Saturday morning, and that gave me Friday to work out the kinks.

On Saturday I loaded the FJ40 “Calico” on the tow dolly, and pulled it with my banks turbo powered 6.2 liter diesel FJ60 “Smokey”. The tow went great until I was on the off ramp between I-405 and Hwy-167 where the left wheel fell off, and rolled right by my car. I jumped out to catch it, and found that all the wheel bolts had backed out. Since we were on a schedule, I inserted 3 bolts and took the FJ40 off the trailer and decided to drive the 60 with an empty trailer, and the 40 to follow.

After having breakfast and setting up camp, we went on a quick trail run. After a bit of driving Andy tried to conquer a gnarly mudhole with no success. His clutch got jammed and he wasn’t going anywhere. We ended up winching his 40 out of the hole, and I towed him for the remainder of the trail down to the camp.

The following day we all went on a run around the area. John and Alan were in Josies landcruiser, Sondre and I took Calico, Gary and his brother were in his red YJ, and Alex and Jenna were in his newly painted 40 series. We went high and low, with lots of beautiful scenery and lots of great trails. Some good obstacles were found along the way, but nothing too serious. We made it back to camp at about 4pm on Sunday, and we started packing up.

After packing, I hooked Andy’s 40 series up to “Smokey” my diesel FJ60 to tow him home, and Sondre took Calico to follow us. We made it to Andy’s about 7pm after a pit stop along the way. I then headed out with Sondre following to find the nearest gas station to fill up Smokey with some much needed diesel. We found a chevron station, but no diesel there, so we continued to the next station to fill up. We hit 509 going north, and as soon as I hit 60 Smokey died. I ran out of fuel and coasted about 1.5 miles, got off at the exit and rolled to a stop in southpark.

Sondre pulled up in Calico and as we were discussing the next move the radiator spewed water and steam… He had turned off the fan, and it overheated at 280 degrees. I turned on the fan, and it idled down to 200 before we started towing Smokey to the next gas station. As we pulled up to the AM/PM station I filled the tank in Smokey with Diesel and tried to start the engine. Since I ran out of fuel, the whole system needed to be primed, but I had no bleeder on hand.

I cranked the engine, bled air from the fuel filter, cranked some more etc. Once air stopped coming from the filter I needed to prime the injector pump. I then used a rubber tube and some old fashioned mouth power to get the air out of it. After a mouthful of diesel fuel I got the car running again. Then it was off to home for dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Overall it was a fun weekend due to good friends and great support. I’m glad I didn’t make the trip to Oregon, and really happy the 60 series held up to all this abuse. The 6.2 diesel runs great, and the banks turbo does the trick (although the turbo needs a rebuild so it’s smoking hence the name “Smokey”). The NV4500 shifts smooth, and I’m overall happy with the build.

Tor

60 series build

The Bike Chariot

I love the idea of a bike chariot, because you can tow your kid behind you on a nice bike ride.  Nothing like the freedom of wind going through your hair on a scenic bike ride, towing your baby in a bike chariot only 24″ from your butt.

BUT!  Let’s not get carried away!  The other day I saw a woman riding her bike, towing her child in the chariot, which sits at the same heigth as a fire hydrant, IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC!!!

Imagine trying to navigate through the chaotic streets of downtown Seattle.  Now place yourself on a bicycle towing your kid in something so delicate it would simply get crushed by that guy in a ford f350 lifted 2 feet in the air.  He wouldn’t even notice anything unusual if he ran over your kid!

Come on people, think before you act.  I realize these bike chariots are great for taking a bike ride in the suburbs, or better yet a bike trail, but in rush hour traffic?

FZJ80 “Big Green” Build

Vehicle:  1995 Toyota FZJ80 Landcruiser, factory front and rear lockers, 4.5 liter straight 6, auto transmission.

Build includes:

1. OME Lift Kit
2. Cooper 35″ Mud Terrain tires
3. Front axle rebuild
4. remove side steps
5. install ARB Bull Bar
6. replace stock pads with ’98 UZJ100 pads
7. LED interior lights

1. OME (Old Man EMU) 4″ lift kit and caster correction.

I removed all 4 coils, and installed the longer OME coils, along with OME Nitrocharger shocks (very easy job).  There were no tricks involved, with the exception of the caster correction.

You need a 20 tonn press to remove the old bushings from the lower arms on the front axle.  I milled a template out of an old jack end, which worked out good.  Installing the new bushings was a snap, and was necessary to get a clean highway drive.

2. I removed the old stock tires, and installed Cooper Mud Terrains.  On the trails, these are excellent and have a reasonable road manner as well.  They held up well on various trails, and have been good tires.

3. The front axle needed a rebuild, so I purchased all the bearings and seals from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters.  During the axle rebuild I also chose to replace the brake rotors with Brembo OEM quality rotors, and new brake pads from a ’98 UZJ100 .  As part of the rebuild, I repacked the birfields, and redid the front alignment.

Overall this is the most comfortable rig I ever owned.  It’s an extremely capable vehicle, with rock proof drivetrain.  My family and I drove it to California and wheeled in Deer Valley, then drove home with no problems.  I averaged 12 miles per gallon which is why I decided to sell it.