Old fella

G`day mate, good score whether the brakes work or not. Its exactly the same as one that I had back in the early seventies and I loved it. The first thing I would try with the brakes is to fill the master cylinder with brake fluid and pump the brake pedal for a while. You might have to fill it more than once to get fluid all the way through the system. Then follow the brake lines to each wheel and you`ll soon find out if it is leaking somewhere. Drum brakes are not a hard thing to work on, but you are right in asking for assistance if you are not sure of what you are doing. Do you mind telling us what you paid for the old jigger? It looks pretty good. Cheers and good luck with the car.

Angle grinder.....MWAHAHAHAA. No seriously, if you`ve got enough of the threaded bit at the top visible, use an angle grinder to carefilly cut a couple of flats and then use a shifting spanner to hold it while yo take the top nut off. Sounds rough but it does work. Cheers.

Check the dizzy shaft for side play and also that you vacuum advance unit is working. Cheers. p.s. It could be a broken discombobulator spring, but I doubt it.

My next door neighbour (female) was leaving quite an oil slick whenever she drove her Barina anywhere. I offered to have a look and she had filled the oil all the way to the top of the rocker cover. Oil was just pissing out everywhere.

G`day mate, you don`t say where you are. I`m in Toowoomba and have a couple of headlights you can have for free if you can pick them up. Cheers.

+1 on the brake booster vaccuum leak.

G`day mate, changing your car to manual is just a matter of finding a 4 or 5 speed ke70 gearbox and a pedal box and a weekend with a couple of mates and a slab. Don`t forget that you`ll also need a flywheel, clutch and cable and a crankshaft spigot bush. Wreckers are the place to start looking for what you need or buy a donor car (read clunker) and take all the bits you need. I suggest that you buy a Gregory`s workshop manual first though and familiarize yourself with it. Tilt steering was never an option. Cheers and good luck.

Thank you gents for your valued comments. Now for some of mine. A. I`m not a tight arse as suggested, I am simply short of the ready stuff at the moment and need to have the car on the road asap. Haven`t we all been in that situation????? B. Unlike some, I don`t consume alcohol or "go to the pub" as it were.. C. The engine has never been mistreated and I know the full ownership details since new. The crankshaft is perfect and is getting a set of standard bearings as per plastigauge readings. D. The pump is visually ok. I would not consider putting it back in if it were not. It will be checked properly first. E. The initial question related to whether or not the pressure relief valve could be shimmed for better pressure. I have since found my missing workshop manual and, indeed it is a simple job to do. Thanks for all of the posts, but Jeez some of you carry on.

G`day all, I am about to fit a set of bottom end bearings to my FJ62 Landcruiser and am wondering if anyone knows if the oil pump can be shimmed like a 4k to give me a bit better pressure. A new pump is way out of my budget at the moment at over $350.00. Its possible that the new bearings will fix the low pressure problem but I want to be prepared if it doesn`t. The engine has done 370,000k and is in good condition and will only be getting a sump off repair. The oil pressure has been slowly dropping over the last year or so, so I don`t actually suspect the oil pump. Cheers. Sorry if this offends mods. I couldn`t find anywhere else to post it and I know that there are a couple of Toyota Technicians on here regularly.

Off you go out to Bunnings to get the two stroke generator to power them and then go singe the hair off slow kangaroos. Not to mention blinding fruit bats and low flying owls. Just do it, cool as.

+1 on the slide hammer idea. I remember now that I actually made one to get the axles out of my KE70. Cheers.

G`day mate, its not a hard job to replace a rear wheel bearing if you have a basic tool kit and an hour or so to spare. Jack the side of the car that you are going to work on and chock your front wheels so it can`t move. You`ll be working without a handbrake. Remove the wheel and brake drum. You`ll see a distinct hole in the axle flange and that will allow you to undo the four nuts that hold the bearing carrier. Remove them and then withdraw the axle, with the use of a dead blow hammer or puller if neccessary. This is the rough bit. You can either cover the bearing with a bag (for safety) and then bash it hard with a hammer until it shatters and then do the same with the inner bearing...or....if you have an angle grinder, cut a couple of grouves in the outer race and then see part one.ie Hammer. Repeat for the inner. Installing the new bearing is not hard at all. You will need a peice of water pipe or similar that is the same diameter as the inner race of the new bearing. This is to use as a drift to nudge the bearing into place when fitting it. First place your axle in something really cold (freezer, esky with ice and water etc) and leave it there for about ten minutes. It will shrink slightly in diameter.( you won`t be able to see how much, but it does work).Take the bearing out of the packet and put it in Mums nice sparkly oven at 150 degrees for about ten munutes. (it will grow in diameter). Then take the axle out of the water, drying it quickly and drop the hot bearing over the axle and slide the pipe drift over the axle to gently bash the bearing until it is seated. Then put it all back together again. Sounds rough but it really does work and is done in the workplace every day. Good luck and cheers.

OY Rob, if you can get over to my place I`ll shout some firewood. I`ve got a mate who is rebuilding his house so I`ve got a trailer load of timber bits and pieces. Just bring a bag or something and pick out what you like. Cheers.

Put a hammer or a drift up against the eye part and then hit the other side with another hammer. That distorts the eye momentarily and the taper should pop out. Works for me. Cheers.

G`day mate, I run 10.50 x 15 x 31`s on my landcruiser and they are on the recommended size rims of 8 inch. I`m not sure why you want to run 33`s meaning is it for comp work or just plain looks. I`ve been around comps for a while now, (not as a competitor) and most that I have seen that are using 33`s are putting them on 8 inch, but some use 10 inch with beadlocks. I think that your best bet is to have a chat to a reputable tyre dealer and ask those who know what the actual rim sizes should be. Just remember that the wallopers love picking on 4wd`s with oversize tyres. Cheers and good luck.

G`day mate, check out NBS4x4 website. Thats North Brisbane Suzuki 4x4 Club. Those guys have done a million conversions and I`m sure that they will be able to help you. I`ve been on a lot of trips with them and most are ready and willing to help out fellow Zook nuts. Cheers and good luck. p.s. you should be able to do rings and bigend bearings without pulling the engine out of the car.

Thats the one that my son owned breifly. Sold it in favour of a Nissan 180sx. Cheers.

Check that the wires at the starter motor are not shorting out onto the exhaust manifold/extractors.

G`day mate, I suggest that you put a thermostat back in the engine. Even though you are running a restrictor, the coolant will not be slowed down enough to be able to cool properly in the radiator. For some strange reason whenever someone has a cooling problem the poor old thermostat gets the blame. The engine was designed to have one, so spend a few bucks and just put one back in. If by chance that doesn`t fix the problem, at least you will have eliminated one more possibility. Cheers.

G`day mate, according to my son who works in the car electronics industry, he reckons that it is more than likely a faulty air flow meter and is usually caused by a dirty air filter. To be certain take the car to a local auto electrician or aout mechanical place and ask them to put their diagnostic computer on it. It`ll take about 5 minutes and then you`ll know for sure. If you happen to be around the Toowoomba area, message me and I`ll tell you where to go. Cheers.

Spotted on Nine News tonight...Blue ke30/55, black stockies with chrome dress rings, shortenned by a few inches each end. Owner just got it on the road apparently. Bad luck to whoever owns it. (In Toowoomba)

1+ what Evan said. I`ve had the main starter lead short on the exhaust. If you`ve got extractors fitted its a fairly common problem. Cheers.

Thats my birthday. I`ll have to seriously consider this one. Actually took my boat for a run out there yesterday. The dam is as full as it is ever going to be and it sure was a pleasure just scooting around in the old tinny sight seeing. Cheers.

Mate, that looks absolutely sweet. I must admit that I was a bit aprehensive about you putting a dark colour like that on a small car but it has turned out real pretty. Can`t wait to see it with some clear and a cut and polish. Cheers. (still dunno about that wheel colour tho)

Cressbrook is looking pretty good. So when do you think it will happen. If I come out to stay this time I`ll bring my boat. Just remember, no water sports on Cressbrook.i.e. no swimming etc. but dunno about kayaks. Cheers.