Some FJ45 Questions

[PATROLSNIFFER]

Hi all I have recently purchased a 1977 FJ45 Tray Back.Pretty stock with the 2f motor.It sits about 30mm lower on the drivers side than the passengers.I assume the springs may have sagged more on this side???nothing looks bent.Is this a common thing and is it a case of new springs or getting existing reset to remedy.

One of the side welsh plugs was weeping so I have changed 3 of the larger side ones.I think I will need to drop the manifolds to get the 4th side one.Was curious about any at the rear of the block between engine and gearbox.Whats the easiest way to access them.Pull motor forward or drop gear box out??.

Another question while I am typing,I took it out for a bit of a hill climb to test the 4wd side of things and it was all good.Is the final drive in low range 1st gear lower than the newer cars.Have recently owned a couple of nissans 1995gq and 2000gu and it seems to get up hills easier than they did on the same incline.Or maybe just the low down torque of the 2f?.

I really only bought it to tow the boat to the ramp and back and the odd dump run,but absolutely love the thing.Can see me getting it to a reliable state and doing some camping with it.

[Busiboy]

nice rig there mate and welcome to the 40 series club

The old girls tend to sag a bit I think, wouldn't worry about it too much.

the reason your 45 got up those hills easier than the nissans is because they were nissans and now you have a 40 series ( to the nissan boys)

Have fun with it mate

[ToyTruck]

the spring sagging is pretty common
i had to replace the rear welch plugs on my old H diesel , i didnt have to remove gearbox or engine (that might just be the luck of the diesel check with other 2F owners)
All i did was remove passenger seat .... remove gearbox tunnel cover and they were almost easy to get to
if you have to remove the gearbox an easy way is to use a standard engine hoist in through the passenger side to lower g/box.... much easier than using trolley jacks from underneath
finally the first gear is heaps lower than new vehicles 45s are onroad / offroad TRACTORS

[hj 45]

That is a nice 45. Just get new suspension, don't bother resetting the old ones. 1st gear is real low, I use 2nd to take off in mine unless it's a steep hill start. And the 2F has excellent power down low

[plowy]

WELOME, and truck thats tidy truckin use the nissans for boat towing she's to good for that

[PATROLSNIFFER]

Thanks for the replys guys.Yep without doubt the best $1200 I have ever spent.
While it would be great if the motor or box did not have to come out for the welsh plugs it also has a noisy thrust bearing that I was wanting to change,so I might just have to do the engine stand thing through the passenger floor.Unless it can be lubed via the gearbox inspection cover (short term solution I know).
I am trying not to spend too much on it as it was bought to be a cheap vehicle and funds are not at there greatest at the moment.I would imagine a new suspension setup would cost around $1000 ??.It appears as though it has new bushes and 2 new rear series 2000 shockies.Are the more modern day tray backs fitted with the same springs as in mounting dimensions as I have access to some of those cheap???

[bad_religion_au]

nup. spring mounts are wider in the newer trucks. sorry

[matt73]

The spring sag thing is common, but I read about this on a US website ( cool cruisers of texas- just do a Google search). This guy spent a lot of time on it and it turned out to be a minor alteration needed. Sorry I can't give any other details, but its one of the things I recall as I was looking at getting a 40 series a couple of years back.

[speed=t/d]

Had the same thing with my HJ45, sagging at front. I purchased new front springs from 'Lovells' and had the big rear ones reset to sit up about 3 inches higher. The blacksmith boys did a great job and added an extra 3 h/duty leaves in the back. This was done about 5 years ago now, I had had some unbelieveable loads in the back and she still sits nice. Only problem with raising the arse end was had to get longer shocks and if you loaded up too much they bottomed out before the springs did. The 45 is one tough ute, not as nice a ride as the GUIII TD-6. Good luck. P.S . It was way way cheaper to get the rear springs reset than to buy newones.