LJ73 1UZ build/repair in Dubai

[Ako]

Found one more pic from one of the drives when she overheated.

 

[Ako]

So I made it to the auto parts store in my lunch break

Found nice some rubber bungs :

One and a half behind the bracket, one in front :

Now the radiator is fixed firmly, but only a tiny bit of give forwards and backwards.

I then had to chop up the random radiator hoses until the right corners made a suitable shape. Note they are just sitting in place, nothing is tightened up yet.

Upper connection :

Lower connection :

I have never been a fan of jubilee clips so will eventually get some T-bolt clamp types. Also the second hand joints are pretty low quality so I will need to get something like this :

After that I started on replacing the fuel filter. Of course to replace the one drilled hole with a riv-nut would mean removing the battery and a few other bits shifted.

Fortunately I always like to put these type of battery terminals on :

You can get the battery in and out really quickly, and it is easy to add extra accessories like driving light looms etc.

Riv-nut finally in :

As with everything done by the 'mechanics' of the PO, they had also bodged up the bracket for the fuel pump. So I had to bend both tabs at weird angles to align with the wheel arch, and also replaced the screw in barb with the correct size. PO had 8mm on one end, fitting to a 6mm fixed line.

I also replaced the hoses from the hard piped line to the fuel filter inlet, the outlet to the fuel rail, and the fuel rail return line back to the return hard pipe.

Each of these lines were routed with a bit more care, like a 250 degree casual loop rather than a too tight 110 degree bend of insufficient radius.

Unfortunately once again the handy work of the previous mechanics has bit me in the arse, as when doing the conversion they have simply cut off the (assumed) original hard piping to clear the engine, and left no flare at the end of the hard pipe. I tightened up the jubilee clips as tight as possible but the lines did leak when I pressure tested it.

I guess my two options are to just slap some sealant in there and hope for the best, or to buy a pipe flare kit.

I have never used one of these so not sure of my chances of fixing in-situ, or would I need to remove the hard piping and do the flaring in a vice?

 

[goodoldboy]

So I made it to the auto parts store in my lunch break

View attachment 129832

Found nice some rubber bungs :

View attachment 129833

One and a half behind the bracket, one in front :

View attachment 129834

Now the radiator is fixed firmly, but only a tiny bit of give forwards and backwards.

I then had to chop up the random radiator hoses until the right corners made a suitable shape. Note they are just sitting in place, nothing is tightened up yet.

Upper connection :

View attachment 129835

Lower connection :

View attachment 129836

I have never been a fan of jubilee clips so will eventually get some T-bolt clamp types. Also the second hand joints are pretty low quality so I will need to get something like this :

View attachment 129840

After that I started on replacing the fuel filter. Of course to replace the one drilled hole with a riv-nut would mean removing the battery and a few other bits shifted.

Fortunately I always like to put these type of battery terminals on :

View attachment 129837

You can get the battery in and out really quickly, and it is easy to add extra accessories like driving light looms etc.

Riv-nut finally in :

View attachment 129838

As with everything done by the 'mechanics' of the PO, they had also bodged up the bracket for the fuel pump. So I had to bend both tabs at weird angles to align with the wheel arch, and also replaced the screw in barb with the correct size. PO had 8mm on one end, fitting to a 6mm fixed line.

View attachment 129839

I also replaced the hoses from the hard piped line to the fuel filter inlet, the outlet to the fuel rail, and the fuel rail return line back to the return hard pipe.

Each of these lines were routed with a bit more care, like a 250 degree casual loop rather than a too tight 110 degree bend of insufficient radius.

Unfortunately once again the handy work of the previous mechanics has bit me in the arse, as when doing the conversion they have simply cut off the (assumed) original hard piping to clear the engine, and left no flare at the end of the hard pipe. I tightened up the jubilee clips as tight as possible but the lines did leak when I pressure tested it.

I guess my two options are to just slap some sealant in there and hope for the best, or to buy a pipe flare kit.

I have never used one of these so not sure of my chances of fixing in-situ, or would I need to remove the hard piping and do the flaring in a vice?

Yes the flare tool needs to be in a vice if it's anything like a brake pipe flare tool.

 

[Ako]

Thanks for confirming. Just add that to my list then.....

 

[clivehorridge]

So I made it to the auto parts store in my lunch break

View attachment 129832

Found nice some rubber bungs :

View attachment 129833

One and a half behind the bracket, one in front :

View attachment 129834

Now the radiator is fixed firmly, but only a tiny bit of give forwards and backwards.

I then had to chop up the random radiator hoses until the right corners made a suitable shape. Note they are just sitting in place, nothing is tightened up yet.

Upper connection :

View attachment 129835

Lower connection :

View attachment 129836

I have never been a fan of jubilee clips so will eventually get some T-bolt clamp types. Also the second hand joints are pretty low quality so I will need to get something like this :

View attachment 129840

After that I started on replacing the fuel filter. Of course to replace the one drilled hole with a riv-nut would mean removing the battery and a few other bits shifted.

Fortunately I always like to put these type of battery terminals on :

View attachment 129837

You can get the battery in and out really quickly, and it is easy to add extra accessories like driving light looms etc.

Riv-nut finally in :

View attachment 129838

As with everything done by the 'mechanics' of the PO, they had also bodged up the bracket for the fuel pump. So I had to bend both tabs at weird angles to align with the wheel arch, and also replaced the screw in barb with the correct size. PO had 8mm on one end, fitting to a 6mm fixed line.

View attachment 129839

I also replaced the hoses from the hard piped line to the fuel filter inlet, the outlet to the fuel rail, and the fuel rail return line back to the return hard pipe.

Each of these lines were routed with a bit more care, like a 250 degree casual loop rather than a too tight 110 degree bend of insufficient radius.

Unfortunately once again the handy work of the previous mechanics has bit me in the arse, as when doing the conversion they have simply cut off the (assumed) original hard piping to clear the engine, and left no flare at the end of the hard pipe. I tightened up the jubilee clips as tight as possible but the lines did leak when I pressure tested it.

I guess my two options are to just slap some sealant in there and hope for the best, or to buy a pipe flare kit.

I have never used one of these so not sure of my chances of fixing in-situ, or would I need to remove the hard piping and do the flaring in a vice?

Is there any chance of getting a blowtorch to the end you want to flare?

It's a bit of a long-shot, but you might be able to get a copper water pipe compression joint "olive" from a plumber's merchant, and after a good clean up and flux, solder the olive on.

I did this on a heat exchanger I made for delivering hot windscreen washer water, and it worked well. (Its -20C here in the winter).

 

[Ako]

Not a bad idea Clive but it is right in the middle of the fire wall behind the engine. I doubt I would get a good joint all the way around.

Hard enough to reach in to mess with hoses.

 

[clivehorridge]

OK, thought it was a long-shot.

Then I suggest you glue it, dry, with a semi hardening sealant.

 

[Ako]

Busy day yesterday picking up supplies so I didn't get anything done. However I did get a 20L paint drum full of metric automotive bolts from a Nissan Patrol wreckers.

Spent a few hours turning a bucket of mixed bolts into tubs sorted by size. Some have a bit of surface rust to tidy up, but not a bad find. At least I can remove all the non-automotive style bolts from my engine bay now.

 

[Ako]

Was searching on google for a photo of a 73 series with black steelies. Somehow I came across a photos of my old Cruiser, which was neither a 73 series not equipped with black steelies.

Before play :

During play :

 

[Ako]

Found a pic on my phone of the rear disk after the wheel spacer incident. Bit of a flat spot

 

[AlexanderVanBaelen]

Was searching on google for a photo of a 73 series with black steelies. Somehow I came across a photos of my old Cruiser, which was neither a 73 series not equipped with black steelies.

Before play :

View attachment 130264

During play :

View attachment 130265

Wauw, what a beast!! Why w-did you ever get rid of that !?

 

[Ako]

In the UAE, a land cruiser ute is classed as a commercial vehicle. Only UAE Nationals or a company can own it.

I had to change companies during the economic crissis, so I had to sell it to ensure my old company didn't screw me over as technically the company owned it, not me

It is not a very clever law as for some reason you can own a Chevy/Ford/Dodge pickup with more load capacity and towing capacity, but they can all be classed as personal vehicles.

 

[Ako]

Finished up the mounts on the AC condenser, now they are connected to the radiator brackets. The condenser sits as close to the radiator as possible, only the cross member keeps them apart about 40-50mm. Will see how that ends up.

Not sure I really like the 4mm cheese head bolt, bit it will do for now and that's what fitted the condenser holes.

I replaced the PO's bolts on the cross member with stainless bolts, and then replaced them again with OE spec bolts. Pic is taken before all the stainless bolts came out.

Also got a new bonnet strut clip fitted which was on back order for about a month

Removed and fixed the connection detail on my indicator. It was not sitting flush because the plastic piece was not installed correctly.

Sorry Ben they will need to stay orange for a while longer, the clear ones do look nice but not on my cash spending priority list

My new JEGS 1 & 1/2" connecting pipes arrived for the radiator hoses, have a joint on both inlet and outlet hoses. These were installed with some sealant and now all the plumbing work in mostly complete. Waiting on some 8mm ID silicone hose for the radiator overflow, should arrive tomorrow. Old one was not long enough.

Had to drill out some of the bolts on the original chromed bumper to get it off, old ones were all rusted up and no access for tools coming from inside.

I only have arc welder, so had to get a local fabrication shop to weld up my alloy shorty bumper I am making

That's my super awesome marking out skills on the left, but everything lined up and after a few more cuts it should be ready to bolt on.

The main item I have been waiting for is a new cooling fan, got a deal on Amazon for a new fan with damaged packaging. It was about $60 cheaper so happy with that. It is the biggest Flex-a-lite fan that will fit in the gap left over, a black magic extreme 160 rated at 3000 cfm.

It has just arrived at my office now, so tonight will be judgement day to determine whether my design and measurements have worked or not

 

[Ako]

Good news is that everything will fit. It's all a bit tight but should be no clashes. The Flex-A-Lite will mount sideways and above centre to the align at the top of the radiator.

Same orientation as this :

To make this work with my radiator with the 3 brackets per side I designed this :

Sent off for profile cutting because I am lazy and also don't have any stock bar this size

 

[Ben]

Nice work.

 

[Ako]

Rushed out and picked up the water jet cut brackets during lunch break.

Look alright, just need to clean up the surface oxidisation.

Will have a go at fitting everything tonight after work. Getting closer I guess....

Also due to the hot weather I bought new fan to cool me down when working on the car. Some dirty bastards stole it before I even got to use it once. Crime rates are really quite low here, but opportunistic theft can be a problem. Guess I will need to get a new one and keep it locked up in the shed.

 

[Ako]

Got the brackets home and a quick tidy up with the sander :

Then test fitted to the radiator tabs :

Then got Flex-A-Lite fan in place :

Happy with the fitment then realised I forgot to get some longer M8 bolts for the mounting to the tabs, so back to the hardware store which was just near the office I left earlier, so another 1 hr round trip.

Got everything bolted up last night, and started running all the wires. Main +ve and -ve are wired in, along with fuse. Still need to pick up an ACC and A/C tap.

If you look directly to the left of the radiator inlet, you can see an extra Jubilee clip on the hose. It is there so the worm drive box sits on the conical black lug and keeps the radiator hose a few extra mm away from the accessory drive belt. Clearance gets a bit tighter lower down.

 

[Ako]

So I did a bit more work on my car on Friday afternoon through to the night, finishing up around 4am on Saturday morning.

Radiator was filled, ACC trigger to the relay added, fuel hoses in engine bay replaced, fuel hoses under chassis rail were replaced, and finished fabricating a small front bumper.

This is the bumper before painting :

Slept into midday on Saturday, then off to a mates house for leftover roast suckling pig.

After that we went off to an A/C specialist for them to add the right amount of oil in the compressor, check they are happy with all the fittings and to fill the A/C gas. They also unplugged the blockage in the tube where the water around the evaporator collects. It used to run onto my toes every time I went around a corner.

The specialist agreed with Clive that the condenser is not getting enough airflow, so they sold me a SPAL pusher fan that I will mount another time. I will use the same ACC line to trigger a relay to run this as well as the radiator fan.

I then went to the next Emirate to Dubai, which is called Sharjah. Traffic is normally bad but tyre prices are better.

I went for a set of Cooper STT Pros in 285/75/R16 which is close enough to 33". The Pro is a slightly updated model to the older STTs I had previously on my LC ute (called pickup here in English, Bu Shanab in Arabic). I had previously had both 35" and 33" and decided the 33" are the best for local conditions.

This is out the front of the tyre shop :

So since I bought this 73, it had always sat lower in the back. Since Sharjah is the home of all dodgy suspension shops I just wanted to try and find some second hand springs to lift the back up until I can sort out a full set of suspension.

So I worked out I currently had King Springs for a GQ Patrol fitted, a KDFS-40 R/H in the left and a KDFS-40 L/H in the right. I don't know if that's correct to have GQ springs opposite hand, but that's how it was.

Anyway they found some springs to give me a lift, and then the mechanic complained the Tough Dog shocks in the rear were way too short. So they found shocks too, and went to go about fitting everything. I knew the previous owner had just chucked on whatever he had on hand, didn't know the shocks were limiting travel.

Turns out the bolt hole in the new shocks is too small, so they use a hammer, socket extension and large rattle gun socket as a make shift press to get the centre pin out.

You would think they would have a press in a full time suspension shop, but we are bordering on 3rd world conditions here. In these type of shops they also 'set' springs with an oxy acetylene, so I keep and eye on them to make sure at least they don't try that on me.

Eventually they got everything fitted, and I check the rear was now about 20mm above front, rather than 40-50mm low. It will do for now and the guy was saying it will settle. Not sure how much on second hand springs though. I made the point of keeping my previous set, just in case I want to go back or use the King Springs with spacers or something.

So tonight on the way home from work tried to get a few pics of how she looks now.

I am sure my short bumper is not to everyone's liking, and I wouldn't have one in Australia. But here the only real animal strike you will have is a camel, and there you need to worry about your windscreen and not your radiator or front end :

Think the Coopers look better than the Yokohama Geolander All Terrains they replace, and will definitely fix the lack of traction in the sand.

So now to move onwards with the remaining 1000 jobs to do, at least now she is back on the road and movable for working on different parts.

I have a worker coming this week to drop some concrete, I am filling a gap of sand between the road and my car parking area. This should hopefully keep sand out of the area, as I do all my repairs in the open out the front. Here no one has cement mixers, they do it by hand and with temps above 40C I cannot be bothered. Sweating enough just working on the car.

 

[clivehorridge]

Nice too, and good to see you've made progress even at the expense of a good night's sleep.

As for the shortie, I think it would look better with tapers coming from the ends as they are now, sloping up to the seam between the body and the arches, but that might be complicated to fab and TBH it does look fine as-is. I do like Cooper STT Pros and want a set for my 80, in 305/70/16 but its proving impossible to get them here

 

[Ben Stratford]

A nice job there Ako with lots of progress. Now its mobile it should make things easier.
I like the way the springs look and the front bumper too.