Bringing the LJ back to life

[Fordzuki]

Well, it's finally come time to start putting the LJ (Fordzuki) back together after a long stint of sitting in the driveway on blocks. :cheer:

All the goodies got sold off it in an attempt to keep afloat for nearly a year with no job, but now I've been back to work, catching up, and have been ordering parts/ swapping parts around with the sami to get it back together.

The parts sold were:
6.5 TG tcase
both thirds, lockright front, welded rear
trailtough chromo front birfs/shafts
34 ltbs on 2.5 bs steel crawlers.
the fuel pump, I gave back to the friend who gave it to me.


So the plan as of now is to get it back to a wheelable state.
The tcase going in is the 4.16:1 case I had in the dd sami. Somehow, I broke the front output on it with an open front diff and 26's. :redneck: Luckily, I had a spare already in a front housing, so it was a quick swap.

 

[Fordzuki]

The t-case.

For the thirds, I used what I think is a lead locked rear in the rear, as somewhat of an R&D thing...:redneck: IIRC, it was in the blue tintop when I got it. It'll work untill I can either locate a good rear third to weld, or rebuild one of the "decent'' ones I have.
The front third is the lockrighted rear third from my dd sami, I swapped a mini spool in to that to get rid of the quirkieness as a daily, and needed a rear for the upgraded axles.

For the axles this time, I went with trailgear's new chromo's. I figured I would try them out to get first hand experience between them and trailtoughs. Plus, with a onetime warranty vs. tt's no warranty, it was a little extra incentive.

(I was tempted to start a thread titled "what kind of grease" when I saw this, but resisted...)
New fuel pump, got the eeeeeee2000, :fawkdancesmiley: I need to pick up a pre filter, and I'm thinking about making a double isolated mounting bracket, so it's pump/rubber/bracket/rubber/body.

I also need to drain and flush the fuel cell, it will eventually get replaced with something smaller, but for now, it's what I've got.

 

[Fordzuki]

Putting the front axle back together.

Because of the steering, I needed at least 2.5" backspaced wheels, or equivilant, so I ordered some 1.5" wheel spacers, and temporarily have some 3" bs wheels with *near new 31x12.50 thornbirds. :redneck: So technically it's .5" narrower per side than before, and 1" wider per side in the front.
Currently saving/keeping an eye out for a good deal on some 35-37s and a better set of wheels (specifically, Brak ones. :haha

So here's how it sits now. Finally got it in the garage and can fiddle with it regardless of weather.

And for those who haven't seen it...

'97 mazda 2.3 w/ m5od.

 

[landbruiser1]

Looks good. Glad to hear your back to work. Sliders are still working great.

 

[Fordzuki]

Thanks. Good to hear. :awesomework:


Today I buttoned up a few things and spent some time on a fuel pump mount.

I got the t-case mounted up last night, and noticed the front driveline slip was pretty dry/caked, so I cleaned it up and regreased it, then installed it. The rear driveline needs to be lengthened from back when I redid the link mounts on the axle. I was running a spacer, but figured while it's out I'll do it right.

The fuel cell is out, I'm not sure I want to even put it back in... we'll see.

Some pics of the fuel pump mount:

Exhaust tube and 11 gauge.

I plugwelded it to retain the "flex" of the tube for installation.

Then made up some tabs and used Genuine Suzuki bolts.

Cut an air hole in the side with a holesaw...

And added a small piece of tube to hold the diff breather hose.

Right about where it's going in the rig.

 

[jimdiddy]

good to see it going back together was wondering why it was always on jack stands when i drove by

 

[rockmike]

Diggin the fancy pump holder nice work:awesomework:

Good to see the sickness is still alive in ya:beer:

 

[Jacob]

Nice work.

Good to see people get back on their feet :awesomework:

 

[hlb3]

That's awesome man! Glad you are finally getting her back together!

 

[Dogboy]

I was hoping it wouldn't just keep getting parted out!!

 

[skinny_pedal]

Sweet! Let me know when its time to go on its re-mayden voyage.

 

[Fordzuki]

Thanks guys.

I got a few little things taken care of. I picked up a fuel filter for between the fuel cell and pump, some gear oil for the diffs, and picked up a battery for the sami, so I could swap the yellow top back into the LJ. I also got the other two thornbirds mounted up. :redneck:

Back when I went from the pinto 2.3 to the mazda 2.3, I ran into a problem with the p/s pump. Basically, the pressure line rests against the upper shock mount, and this is shifted 1/4" to the passenger side from when the pinto motor was in there. So this was causing a vibration in the single u-jointed coupler between the trans and t-case. Not really noticeable crawling, but you could feel it when you got up to speed.
Sooo.... the solution was to cut the upper shock towers out and make something new. I got the towers cut out, and the engine/drivetrain all lined back up.

I also got the fuel pump mounted sometime this week...

 

[hlb3]

Those new tires look great man!!!!! :awesomework::haha:

Let me know when you are ready for a run, I need to get out and test out the propane.

 

[Ty.]

I love the giant shackle.. Rig looks good too. Keep up the good work. Hopefully I'll see you up wheelin' Elbe in the near future. I'm hoping I'll be wheelin' again by next month.. Been a long dry spell for me too.

 

[Fordzuki]

Those new tires look great man!!!!! :awesomework::haha:

Let me know when you are ready for a run, I need to get out and test out the propane.

I was going to go all ghetto and have the white letters out, but decided against it. I did however start in on some grooving. :redneck:

I love the giant shackle.. Rig looks good too. Keep up the good work. Hopefully I'll see you up wheelin' Elbe in the near future. I'm hoping I'll be wheelin' again by next month.. Been a long dry spell for me too.

The giant shackle works out great when people try to follow me. We'll definately have to get out some time. :awesomework:

I had K2blazen bend me up some hoops for the front shocks and leave them unfinished, so I could fine tune and tuck them up in there tight. (**** worked out perfect, Mike. Thanks again. :awesomework: )
After getting all the angles good to clear the ps pump, I welded the hoops to the legs, and capped the legs with some holesaw donuts.

Then I added some gussets that will also get welded to the frame plates.

I still have to grind the rest of the old mounts off the frame tomorrow, and make up some frame plates and shock tabs.

 

[k2blazen]

Glad they worked out for ya,get that mother rolling again :awesomework:

 

[Ty.]

The giant shackle works out great when people try to follow me. We'll definately have to get out some time. :awesomework:

.

Right on. I've got a crane hook on my winch to match.:redneck:

Too bad I can't download pics computer sucks.

 

[Fordzuki]

Finally got the shock hoops done today. I need to add a couple supports back in for my fenders. There's not much there to hold, but theres not much holding them right now either. :redneck:

I made up some frame plates and shock tabs out of 3/16th.

:bling::bling:

Now to reroute all the hoses, lines, and wires I had to move to fit these in.

So that and the fender supports, alternator, new rear driveline, and put (a) fuel cell back in it.

Oh.... and finish grooving the thornbirds.... :redneck:

 

[hlb3]

Looking good man!

 

[boardbysled]

You should "southern cut" the thornturds like on the front of this XJ.