LJ70 Build Thread!

[Rich Sims]

If it's auto it could be the reverse control valve sticking. Check the wiring and plugs

I guess the oil level has been checked

 

[TonyS]

It's a manual!

 

[sae70]

Turns out me and tony both jumped onto this for Ben

http://www.landcruiserclub.net/forums/showthread.php/51023-SOS-from-Ben-in-Australia-message-reads

and it also transpires that the truck is a manual!

 

[sae70]

Lol This is getting funnier as time moves on between the two threads. I'm off to Birmingham

 

[Julian T]

Silly question, could it have something to do with the lock out gate that prevents you putting the car into reverse when shifting from 5th to 4th? if you remove the centre console it may be possible to remove the gear leaver and directly select gears below the housing for same, should also see the lockout plate?
sorry I don't have any pictures of where I am talking about.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Hi guys,

Had an SOS from Ben. They are on their way, but Michaels 80 series won't go into reverse, though can easily get every other gear! The box has recently been rebuilt, isn't noisy or vibrating and nothing has gone bang!

Any ideas?

Cheers,

I guess he's checked the obvious but unlikely of a physical obstruction of the gear stick e.g. something trapped between the stick and centre console if he even has one? There is nothing electronic to inhibit selection of reverse. The bottom of the stick pushes selector rods inside the box and they engage the gears. Apart from the stick everything is inside the box and not easily accessible for diagnostic. If jiggling and persistence don't get it going then it's likely to be a shop fix not track side

 

[hairyguy4]

If it just suddenly happened disregard this but I built a transit box up the other day and put the reverse idler in upside down and because of this the shift fork would hit the gear and stop it from slelecting

 

[Ben]

Tony, Steven thanks for posting my SOS up guys.

And thanks to everyone who helped try and diagnose the fault.

In the end Michael decided to do the trip without revers as he didn't really want to remove his front seats and carpet to then remove the gear stick gator to see if he could fix it.

Made for an interesting trip particularly on some of the hair pin bends on the steep tracks up and over the mountains in the High Country.

Some of the hair pin bends were so tight even LJ had to make a couple of shunts to get round.

It was an awesome trip and I've got some great pics and videos for the trip report.

Until then heres a teaser of whats to come.

 

[Igotababyfrontera]

This is the thread that inspired me to sign up! I know I don't have a cruiser but keep looking at the 80's. I'm extremely jealous that you have been able to move down under, I been trying to convince the Mrs to move for the last ten years-no luck yet.

I'm also impressed at some of the quick thinking you do when things go wrong eg your rollover. I spent about three days solid last year reading this thread from start to finish and was so impressed with it I 're read it.

In other words keep going with this much detail Oh and get the new trip report up quick I'm anxious.

 

[Ben]

Aww thanks mate, always nice to get positive feedback.

This Sunday I will have been living in Australia for a year! Cant believe how quickly its gone!

Definitely loving life down here!

I took 630 photos on the trip this weekend +10 videos!

Will take me a few days to get them all edited, re-sized, uploaded and posted on here.

Will be worth the wait though!

 

[Paddler Ed]

Aww thanks mate, always nice to get positive feedback.

This Sunday I will have been living in Australia for a year! Cant believe how quickly its gone!

I did wonder how long you'd been over for; I knew it was getting close to the year, but wasn't 100% sure.

 

[Bodhi]

I think that you need to paint a bit set of teeth on the underneath Ben, as all we ever see of your vehicle now is it wheeling!!! lol

Looking forward to the right up.

Cheers

Richie

 

[clivehorridge]

It would look like a "Jaws" prop, coming up out of the bog hole!

Can't wait for the write-up and photos Ben, getting withdrawal symptoms this end!

By the way, if you're feeling hot during the summer, here's how it is at the moment, -8C "up over" in the northern hemi...

 

[Ben]

Clive thats far too cold for my liking, but saying that this weekend is going to be ridiculously hot!

Its going to be 40+ both days so we've decided to cancel this weekends extreme 4wd trip as the idea of running up and down hills with winch ropes doesn't sound like fun! + camping in that heat wouldn't be too comfortable.

So instead were going to start on the next building work on the house, renovating my room and the spare room. Were hoping to re-schedule the extreme trip for a few weeks time.

I've just re-sized the 650 pics that I took at the weekend and have managed to edit them down to 438.

Hoping to get day 1 of the trip report up tomorrow night.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Clive thats far too cold for my liking, but saying that this weekend is going to be ridiculously hot!

Its going to be 40+ both days so we've decided to cancel this weekends extreme 4wd trip as the idea of running up and down hills with winch ropes doesn't sound like fun! + camping in that heat wouldn't be too comfortable.

So instead were going to start on the next building work on the house, renovating my room and the spare room. Were hoping to re-schedule the extreme trip for a few weeks time.

I've just re-sized the 650 pics that I took at the weekend and have managed to edit them down to 438.

Hoping to get day 1 of the trip report up tomorrow night.

Given that they're worried about fires again, it's probably not a bad idea, and there might be a fire ban in place.

We're due mid 30's again (Tamworth is due 40's, but we're always 8*C or so cooler than they are) next week as well. I know at that sort of time National Parks start to not like the 4x4's being in as they're paranoid about sparks and hot underneaths on grass etc, especially given how tinder dry it is up here, and there comes in the added problem that the gas cookers are banned (see below)

For those who are not familiar with Fire Bans, up in NSW they have Total Fire Bans from the RFS and National Parks have Fire Bans as well which include very similar things to the RFS fire ban (but detail what is actually covered in more depth)

Looking forward to the trip photos; Scott didn't let on too much about the trip on Stalkbook...

 

[Ben]

Dargo High Country Trip Report. Day 1.

On Friday I welded up some special order Ford F100 battery trays.



LJ was all packed and ready for the trip, or so I thought.





I got home from work at 4pm and put my clothes and food in LJ ready for the trip. As I had an hour or so before we were due to leave I thought I'd check the engine oil level.

When I lifted the bonnet I spotted a coolant leak.







SO I shot out in the Astra and bought some repair putty.





I scraped back the paint and then wiped the area clean with thinners.



I mixed the putty and pushed it firmly into position.





We then set off on the 4.5 hour drive to the camp site which was just south of Dargo.



The engine temp stayed nice and low with no hint of over heating.



We got to camp just after 11pm and Scott and Steph were waiting for us in Wanda, their 105 series LandCruiser.

I quickly realized I'd forgotten to pack my tent.

Michael had got quite a big tent, easily big enough for 4, so I thought he would let us bunk down with him for the night, and we would shoot off in the morning and buy one.

I was wrong.

I asked if it would be alright if we shared his tent for the night and his response was NO!

Some mate aye!

Fortunately Scott kindly said we could sleep under his fox wing, and he had 2 sides he could put on it for us.







We slept OK and thankfully didn't get attacked by any snakes or insects.

View in the morning.









We got up.



And started to make breakfast.



Sadly the gas ran out half way through cooking the sausages and boiling the kettle.

Despite the fact that I've used a good percentage of that gas cooking Michael's breakfast and dinner on previous trips, I didnt want to ask to use his stove which he had almost finished using, not after hed been such a c*** the previous night.

So we packed everything up, borrowed a map off Scott and drove off to Bairnsdale to get a tent and more gas. We also decided we would turn this trip into a possitive one by stopping some where nice for breakfast.





I also picked up a map of the local area that had much more detail on than Scott's Hema book of Victoria, as I knew we would have to try and find the rest of the group if we could get in contact with them.



We left town and headed back towards Dargo.





With a bargain $30 tent bought from Aussie Disposals, gas refilled, map purchased and full bellies we were all smiles!



I managed to get in touch with Scott who said they would meet us in Dargo.



We got to Dargo and had to wait an hour or so for the rest of the group, but that was cool as Dargo was an interesting little place.





It was past 10am so I deemed it early enough for a beer!



The pub oozed character and had interesting stuff everywhere! Even on the ceiling.



They had an interesting photo board with pics of crashes/vehicle recoveries. Lots of LC's on there.











The FJ Cruiser club of Australia were having a get together/trip in the area so there were lots of FJ's around.











I decided to fill up with fuel from the general store when the others arrived.







We left town and passed a load of 70 series fire trucks on the way.





We stopped just outside town for lunch.







The rad repair was holding up nicely.



Lots of proud Aussies around with flags celebrating Australia day.



We soon hit the road.



And were soon on dirt.





Dust would prove to be an issue on this trip so at times we had to keep quite a distance apart.





Sadly some of the tracks had been closed by the fire people as there was a fairly high risk of bush fires in the area.









Beautiful mountain views in this part of Victoria.





We saw a few bikes.







The first of many river crossings.





We stopped for afternoon tea.





And soon hit the tracks again.







We passed some mountain cattle.





I thought Steven would appreciate those pics as I know hes photographed cows on the trips we used to go on together laning in Wales.











We passed a group who had got an awesome camp spot, right on the edge of the plains on the edge of the mountain with amazing views to look out on to.















I found the engine was over cooling, so I decided I needed to refit the thermostat.





We stopped at the first of 5 river crossings, all within a few k of each other as the track snaked its way across the same river.



The leader of our group was driving his brand new FJ Cruiser.



























We got to camp and the other group from our club were alrady there and setup.



We set up our ridicolously small tent.





With the tents setup Michael and I went for a drive. We wanted to explore a closed track. The track in question was the only other track out of the valley we were in and had sadly been closed for a number of years.



They had done a good job closing it, and had dropped trees the entire way up. So to open up and drive this track would have involved cutting up/winching hundreds of trees out of the way. So we decided to turn around and head back to camp for dinner.





As Michael had no reverse I had to tow th 80 back out and onto the main track.
As we got onto the main track I almost rolled LJ but fortunately we stopped just in time.



Back at camp I cooked dinner for Erin and I.





Steak and mash of course!



Michael and I then went for another drive to explore some more tracks.

On the way I found one of the river crossings suddenly gets very very deep if you go even slightly off track.

Ended up completely submerging the bonnet and the river bed went vertically down! I managed to revers a little bit after having to engage both lockers, but I was then going on a crazy angle and decided I needed winching back.









We got back onto the track and started heading towards a track we spotted on the way.



We spotted a hut on the track ahead.













The track was interesting but we soon found ourselves back on the main track and heading back to camp.



We spent the rest of the night around the camp fire and I had a good chat with Scott.

Day 2 coming soon.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Another great write up Ben!

We ran into problems when we were near Braidwood with the FJ73 as the radiator decided to pop it's mortal coil!

If that tent packs down small, I'd be inclined to leave it in the back as an idiot kit/emergency shelter, as it's always useful for the next person (because you'll now never forget it... I've done similar things twice... went to paddle a river and forgot my buoyancy aid (PFD), so had to drive home to pick it up... started to keep an older PFD in my car as part of an idiot kit for those who forgot things. Another was ran my car to the end of the river trip, got taken back to the start and realised I'd left my paddle in the car, luckily I had my breakdown paddle in the back so I used that instead.)

 

[Ben]

Dargo High Country Trip Report. Day 2.

We got up I cooked sausage, egg and cheese sandwiches.



I then decided to fit the thermostat.



Its quite buried in the engine bay but is just about accessible.







This is an old thermostat that I cut the center out of so I could still have the rubber seal fitted, next to then new stat that needed the rubber seal fitting.



I managed to save most of the coolant and only actually lost about a liter.



LJ was soon back together and ready to go.









Passed another group, one of whom was bogged.





The engine was now sitting at a nice healthy temp with the stat fitted.



Back through the river.





The convoy had stopped ahead to look at some mechanical issue on one of the Patrol's.



This gave me a good opportunity to get a video of Wanda crossing the river.











All smiles on the steep climb up.





One of the guys in the other group, who had left 20 mins before us was having overheating issues so we all stopped.



I used this opportunity to try and update my facebook fans with how the trip was going, if only I could get signal!





My last pic of Wanda as Scott and Steph were heading back to civilization. Shame really because the second day would prove to be much more enjoyable than the first with some of the most amazing High Country views I've ever seen, but more on that shortly.



My engine temp was fine despite the long steep climb.

















Once up the steepest section I asked Erin if she wanted to drive and of course she said yes!



A short time later the convoy stopped again as the other group was again having mechanical issues.



We carried on and left them to it.







Beautiful clear blue sky!









We were by this point very high up but we would be going higher!





The next track is an iconic High Country track, but sadly it had very recently been graded removing the technical rock steps on the climb. But the views made up for this.



































Both groups from our 4wd club parked on the summit.







A nice white 80 pulled up having driven up from the other side of the mountain. Our trip leaders had a chat with him, eager to see if the rumors were true.



The rumors were that the track down to the other side of the mountain which was a dead end, now went through and came out onto another track.
The story was that the grader that recently graded the track went all the way down to the other side, but then couldn't get the machine back up the steep twisty track so he pushed a new track through the bush to another track to get out.

The guy in the 80 had camped down that side of the mountain the night before, but wasnt sure if the track carried on.

So off we went to investigate, while the other group went back the way we had come.































Michael's 80 needed towing back on one of the hair pin bends so he could get around the corner.



We made it to the bottom to a river crossing. I went across the river and the track went for 50 meters and then dropped back down into the river.

I learned that night that its possible to drive up the river for a few k's and come out onto another track, but great care needs to be taken as its deep in places and trucks have been drowned.





We stopped for lunch.







And then waited while another convoy came down.















The engine appeared to get hot on the long steep climb.



But the standard gauge failed to show it.







Amazing views again as we neared the top.





There was another group on the summit when we got back up there.



















Michael needed to winch his front end round a hairpin on one of the tracks.







Lots of fallen trees had been cut out of the track.













We stopped to look at an old train carrage. The story is that this was brought up here to store food in for the miners in the area.







It pisses me off that theres 4 wheel drivers out there who feel the need to carry cans of spray paint with them when they go bush so they can vandalise anthing of any interest.



We soon hit the tracks again.





Very dusty still!



The next track descended for miles down a steep mountain side.











We crossed a river at the bottom and the exit out of it was very steep and washed out.



LJ ended up on 3 wheels with the door and roof embedded in the bank, had the bank not been there the car would have gone over for sure!







Thankfully the window was down or else it would have broken the glass. The window wouldnt actually go up past half way after this as the door was dented in too much.





I was lucky not to break a side window.



We soon got to another river crossing.













We stopped for lunch and the Ford Maverick was having an issue where by the mud flap bracket was hitting the tyre.



Michael got his angle grinder out, and fortunatley the trip leader suggested we do the cutting on the road and not on the dry grass in the camp ground we were on.



With the Maverick moved onto the dirt road, cutting could commence.















On the road again.







More river crossings.









Loads of river crossings on this track!

















A bit further on the guy in the Ford Maverick behind radioed to say there was something dragging under his car and could some one come back and help. So I about turned and shot back to help the guy.

Guard underneath had come loose so needed removing.



So under I got.





Guard removed we were on our way again.









Soon it was me needing assistance!

Id got a puncture!







By trying to blow the tyre up with air we easily found where the puncture was.



Michael then proceeded to plug the hole using this kit.







I've not used them before but was impressed with how quick and easy it was.

I got a nice little video.



We soon hit the tracks again.













Lots of 4wd track visible snaking there way up and down the mountains.

Eventually when we had finished descending the steep tracks we got to the first of many river crossings. The track must have crossed the river 10+ times it was awesome!









































I discovered the coin slots in the center console are perfect for holding beer bottle lids.



The small access track leading down to our camp site was quite washed out and challenging.



We got to camp and went straight in the river to cool down and wash the dust off us. We had to be vigilant as a yellow bellied black snake had been spotted in the river shortly before we arrived.







After our swim we set up the tents.



I Just realized I never mentioned the annoying flies!

At the second nights camp spot the flies were really annoying landing all over you and particularly on your face. We had the ame problem on the 3rd night.

A face net made things a lot more bearable.





Michael's setup.







I cooked dinner for Erin and I. No prizes for guessing what!





The evening was then sat round the fire drinking beer andchatting to the other guys. I met a few new people, one who is into the comp scene. He was telling me he was responsible for helping to start the comp scene in Victoria and hes competed in the Malaysian Rainforrest challenge, comps in NZ aswell as the Outback Challenge and Cliff Hanger.





Right thats me done for tonight!


Will try and get day 3 up when I get some more time.

 

[Paddler Ed]

Those tyre plug kits are useful; I've got one that we had in our van which then went into the Land Cruiser, came back to the UK (where it was used for fixing the wheelbarrow) and then back out to here. We used them a lot on the quad bike tyres and on one of the lad's utes when I worked on the Coast; the quad tyres were easy, even at 10psi, but a LT (or C) tyre is a bit harder as they tend to have a few more plies in them.

Looked an awesome trip, and looking forward to Day 3!

 

[stumog]

well those pictures are amazing thanks for posting them.

those aus mavericks look alot like a patrol and nothing like the crap we got here.

stu