rover67
Rising Sun Member
I mean I’d say you should call cruiser outfitters. Kurt is typically the best person/company to consult with regarding weird cruiser stuff. Especially 40’s.
Dad's 1978 FJ40
- Thread starter Nate
- Start date
JohnnyP
Rising Sun Member
Orions have a 34mm idler shaft and I suspect that the orion rebuild kit AA sells would work for your case, we can call Friday and try to verify. If not and you cannot find another option I do have a bare 1978 one piece case with 25mm idler from my Orion swapped 78. Will need to see if the gears are laying around somewhere and in good shape, but I can get my hands on new gears for the 25mm.
Old40Dog
Rising Sun Member
Specter Off Road might have some non-USA parts as they bring in cruisers from all over the world.
Nate
Lifted
I think I am settled on moving to Orion t-case via Advanced Adapters. @JohnnyP found the Orion rebuild kit he mentioned above. I spent some time on the phone with AA tech today and they confirmed the Orion comes with a 34mm ilder shaft but the rebuild kit comes with a 25mm shaft as noted on their website. The tech on the phone could not give me a solid answer as to why they would do that beyond maybe the outside diameter is different. I'm pretty well painted into a corner here.
Johnny got the tranny pulled apart for me today, and we found some issues with the input shaft and second gear. If anyone here has good replacements please let me know.
Johnny got the tranny pulled apart for me today, and we found some issues with the input shaft and second gear. If anyone here has good replacements please let me know.
justin4045
Rising Sun Member
I've got an Orion in my 45 and absolutely love it. Makes the 3 speed pretty good on the trails. You'll love it!
Nate
Lifted
I got the Orion and started the build on it today. It is unreal how heavy the case is compared to the OEM T-case. Interestingly, they sent two kits and sure enough, the idler shafts are 34mm and fit beautifully in the t-case I have (I have to believe at this point, it is the non-US spec case.).
I've also torn the carb apart and it is in bad shape. My assessment is not salvageable, so I am not debating a rebuilt Aisin carburetor vs the Holley Sniper 2300.
JohnnyP
Rising Sun Member
The Orion is very burly! Still waiting on the other parts hopefully I have them soon and we can get it all together. City Racer has Japanese ones but there are a few differences to this one vs what your 40 has. They have a good description at the bottom of their page.
Aftermarket 2F / 1.5F Carburetor for Land Cruiser FJ40 FJ60 - Made in Japan
Back in stock! High quality aftermarket 2F / 1.5F carburetor for desmogged applications. Same as OEM part # 21100-61012. Made by Fuji Japan. Notes: If your vehicle is 1976 or newer and your vehicle is registered in California or other areas with smog check requirements, you cannot use this...
www.cityracerllc.com
JohnnyP
Rising Sun Member
I'm a bad influence on myself, finally in stock so I just purchased one 
Nate
Lifted
Big price difference, $355 for the carb and spacer at City Racer vs $1650 for just the Sniper...I'm a bad influence on myself, finally in stock so I just purchased one
https://www.holley.com/products/fue...l_systems/sniper_efi_2300_2bbl/parts/550-850D
JohnnyP
Rising Sun Member
Yeah, I think the Sniper works well when set up correctly and have installed a few but given the likelihood that my 2F gets removed in a year or 2 for something diesel is very high the sniper doesn't make sense in my instance.
For me it'll be this, a 3F distributor with a pertronix unit before Cruise Moab hits.
The fuel injection is nice when it's installed properly though.
For me it'll be this, a 3F distributor with a pertronix unit before Cruise Moab hits.
The fuel injection is nice when it's installed properly though.
Nate
Lifted
I need some expertise guys. I think the low gear on the output shaft is not lining up with the idler gear cleanly like it is sitting too close to the case. Especially in comparison to the picture from AA in the instructions (which are not amazing, btw). And I cannot see an obvious way to case the output shaft to backwards.
The picture from AA:
This gao does not look right either, which could be a symptom of the output shaft needing to come backward:
The picture from AA:
This gao does not look right either, which could be a symptom of the output shaft needing to come backward:
JohnnyP
Rising Sun Member
Nate it looks like the AA photo the idler teeth are more narrow compared to what you have. Look at the oiler hole in the two photos and the relation to the teeth. There's a ~50 ish page Orion thread on mud that may have the answers. You may want to put the rear bearing retainer on and see if that aligns everything better.I need some expertise guys. I think the low gear on the output shaft is not lining up with the idler gear cleanly like it is sitting too close to the case. Especially in comparison to the picture from AA in the instructions (which are not amazing, btw). And I cannot see an obvious way to case the output shaft to backwards.
The picture from AA:
This gao does not look right either, which could be a symptom of the output shaft needing to come backward:
Nate
Lifted
Thanks @JohnnyP. If anyone is looking, the thread is O R I O N, not Orion. I did not counter-sink the bearing race. I ran flush. See in the photo below how much past flush the race sits...
I'll loosen up the extension housing/nose cone tomorrow and sink the race in some more and that should push the low gear off the case a bit.
I'll loosen up the extension housing/nose cone tomorrow and sink the race in some more and that should push the low gear off the case a bit.
Nate
Lifted
That was the trick. The bearing race cannot sit flush with the case. You have to sink past flush to allow room for the shim and the lip in the speedo case.
So it's pretty well buttoned up and ready to mount to the tranny when that gets buttoned up. I also blasted, primed, and painted all the linkages and the backing plate for the e-brake today.
So it's pretty well buttoned up and ready to mount to the tranny when that gets buttoned up. I also blasted, primed, and painted all the linkages and the backing plate for the e-brake today.
Nate
Lifted
I was able to get the trans and transfer mated. One small hiccup though, the Orion gears are bit larger and there was a 19mm bolt that mates inside the transfer close to where the PTO would be. The 19mm head is too large. I think it was not OEM as all others are 17mm. I'll sort that out, but a question for you all, does the order of the spacers on the trans output shaft matter? It looks like it could.
Attachments
Nate
Lifted
I got back from some vacation and found my problem. My bench was messy and the PTO gear decided to hide itself under a shop manual. So, I separated the two parts and reassembled them again and I have the gears sorted now. I had to order one more part as I could not find the transmission output shaft washer to save my life.
The last thing I need to research because it is not at all obvious, is how far in to set the output shaft bearing. There does not seem to be a lip on the Orion to indicate that the bearing is set all the way. It is probably just best to call Advanced Adapters and ask. I think it needs to go toward the trans a bit more because there is some slop between the transfer input gear and the PTO gear on the input shaft and that just does not seem right. I imagine those should not have any room between them on the input shaft.
The last thing I need to research because it is not at all obvious, is how far in to set the output shaft bearing. There does not seem to be a lip on the Orion to indicate that the bearing is set all the way. It is probably just best to call Advanced Adapters and ask. I think it needs to go toward the trans a bit more because there is some slop between the transfer input gear and the PTO gear on the input shaft and that just does not seem right. I imagine those should not have any room between them on the input shaft.
Nate
Lifted
Big ole mental milestone y'all. Lone operator over here.
Nate
Lifted
I mounted the flywheel today, replaced shoddy worn-out engine mount bolts and generally getting ready to set initial cold timing. One question for you all, the Haynes manual says the flywheel bolts should be secured with new tab washers. I am not finding the old ones in my pile and coming up totally blank on the internet. Does anyone have an example of one?