Thread: BJ73 Landcruiser

Fish oil is pretty good, I did mine yearly when I lived on the beach in the spray zone. First vehicle rusted within months whilst there, second one was fish oiled from day dot and no issues

You can make your own kit for the transfer to gearbox oil return. Drill two holds in the current fill plugs and fit brass nipples and a length of rubber fuel line with hose clamps.

a couple of weeks later "after" of the wheel arches. probably really need to get it up on some axle stands and do repeated coats. will be ok for now though.



also got a used hi-lift off trademe, and a spare wheel mount for it. Had to mount the jack upside-down otherwise it didn't fit without ruining my angles



Gearbox oil leak seems moderately severe, there's a big stain on the concrete under it after 9 days without moving. Going to do a bit more work on the winch housing in the next couple of weeks

Also have a real sag from back to front, assuming it's been lifted at some point looking at it, if a nylon winch rope & losing the weight of the steel rope doesn't even it up I might have to buy new springs for the front end

I agree with Tussock. There are no short cuts in suspension and if you just get the springs reset it only lasts a short time. Buy new springs, shocks and bushes. New suspension bushes can make a big difference to how well it handles if the old ones are stuffed.

Did you fix the diff leak? It's been years but I think you can do the pinion seal without disassembling the diff. Take driveshaft off, undo big nut on diff and take off the flange on that then pop a new seal in. Carefully do big nut up again back to the same place it was (mark it before undoing it). Cruiser diffs are meant to leak though so in general just top it up.

There is a whole art and science to rusty cruiser bolts. Heat it red hot with the propane torch and then spray crc on it. The heating and rapid cooling cycle breaks the bond on the rust and the cooling of the crc hitting bolt sucks it into the thread. Work the bolt back and forwards for a bit so the crc works into the thread and then undo carefully. Not breaking them is a lot easier than getting the broken bolt out!

I brought a large set of the most common sized of bolts with captive washers from a panelbeater supply place. Before reassembling I run a tap through the old captive nut in the chassis and then put in a brand new plated bolt with either anti seize or locktight on it.

Yeah I did the pinion seal, it was no dramas, took about an hour and a half. Still seems to have a slight seep from somewhere, thinking the pinion flange might be a little work


I will have to get a propane torch. Sick of breaking bolts. Anyone know where I can get a big bag 'o landcruiser bolts? Seem to be heaps of those short ones with the 14mm head

re rust in the body. Has anyone tried attaching sacrificial zinc anodes to avoid rust. This is the same premise that is used on steel hulled sea going vessels. I think that zinc wheel weights might do the trick.

you can buy a whole electronic setup that attatches to the chassis and somehow stops it rusting. they seem quite common in the aussie 4x4 magazines

Originally Posted by gimp

Yeah I did the pinion seal, it was no dramas, took about an hour and a half. Still seems to have a slight seep from somewhere, thinking the pinion flange might be a little work


I will have to get a propane torch. Sick of breaking bolts. Anyone know where I can get a big bag 'o landcruiser bolts? Seem to be heaps of those short ones with the 14mm head

Is the breather blocked?
Or a grove where the seal runs

Originally Posted by gimp

Yeah I did the pinion seal, it was no dramas, took about an hour and a half. Still seems to have a slight seep from somewhere, thinking the pinion flange might be a little work


I will have to get a propane torch. Sick of breaking bolts. Anyone know where I can get a big bag 'o landcruiser bolts? Seem to be heaps of those short ones with the 14mm head

Heating and cooling it is the secret. The bolt expands at a different rate than the nut\chassie that it's bolted to so the expansion\contraction cycle breaks the rust weld between bolt and nut. Do this first and then apply lubricant so the lubricant can get into the thread. Run a tap through the captive nut afterwards.

I brought a whole box of those short 14mm bolts with captive washers from a panelbeater supply place so ask around. It's lots simpler than trying to save the old ones.

I did some work on my FJ40 over the weekend after parking it up for 4 years. I at least need a new radiator and breaks but at least the engine still turns over...

Does anyone have the faintest idea what sort of offset I need on 15" rims for this beast? & what width I need for 31x10.5 tyres? (assuming like 8")

15x8 -19 offset is what I put on my BJ70 Cruza. With 31x10.5 the tyre walls just poked out of the guards, which is ok. VTNZ don't like tread past the guard line.

+1 what Mathias said. You want 15x8 inch rims for an off roader as a small diameter means more rubber sidewall to soak up the bumps. You want a narrow rim so the sidewall baloones out otherwise the edge between the tyre and the rim is exposed and crap get in there and causes a flat when you are 4wding through ruts etc...

Tyres for 16" rims seem to cost more anyway. Have 15xsomething at the moment, just considering whether to repaint or just buy new rims

Originally Posted by gimp

Tyres for 16" rims seem to cost more anyway. Have 15xsomething at the moment, just considering whether to repaint or just buy new rims

It was cheaper for me to change from 16" to new 15" rims and tyres than just get 16" tyres. Get better selection and cushioning with the 15".