Advanced Off-Road Solutions

The Man-A-Fre Company is the oldest and largest Toyota Land Cruiser parts distributor in the world.  We pride ourselves in providing the newest technologies and the highest quality parts, while maintaining low prices and excellent customer service. Our parts and accessories are available for the FJ CRUISER, FJ40, FJ55, FJ60, FJ62, FJ80, 100 , 200 Land Cruiser series and Lexus LX450, LX470 , LX570 series.

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I am interested in your shackle reversal kit. I have a BJ60 and I have a complete OME suspension kit. I am running 31 inch BFG's. While I love the performance and ride quality of my EMU's, I do not like the mere 2 1/2 inch ride height, nor the front end sag. Will the shackle kit lift both front and rear? Or will it lift front end only? Will i have to purchase new OME shocks or RS9000's etc. How about the affect on the front / rear drive line. Some sources have told me there may be concerns with steering performance etc..

The shackle reversal will only lift the front 1 1/2" we sell a longer rear shackle in many different heights to level the L/C. With only going 1 1/2" higher you should not need new shocks. Their are a few different kits on the market so the people you have talked with are they for sure running our kit because they are not all the same we make our own and we do not have any steering problems or driveline problems.

Does the 3rd member from an FJ-40 and an FJ-80 interchangeable?  Can I use a factory locker from an FJ-80 to my FJ-40?

The rear diffrential from an FJ80 can be used in an FJ40 running on 30 spline axles. The front differential on an FJ80 series is a "high pinion unit" and is not compatible with th FJ40 axle housings.

I have a 1990 FJ-62 that's in need of suspension work. The ride is sloppy and it tends to bottom out in the rear on rough roads or uneven terrain. I am not necessarily looking to lift the vehicle so much as to improve the ride and eliminate the bottoming out. I am planning to replace the shocks (OME) all around and am considering springs. The vehicle is primarily used for highway and rough roads of sand, mud and gravel with some snow travel in the winter. I would appreciate your recommendations as how to proceed.

The OME(Old Man Emu) shocks are a good starting point, and will definitely make an improvement in ride quality and control. I will start with the suspension, but have some items I would suggest you check in relation to the steering slop. Unless you are willing to deal with some lift from the leaf springs & shackles, you are going to be stuck with a marginal suspension. The OME springs for your vehicle are the best riding (on & off road) springs you can buy. I recommend the OME-110 front springs (light), and the OME-113A/B (med) rears. The med rears tend to ride better and give slightly less lift than the 221 A/B light rears. This is due to the fact that the 113's are a true dual stage spring, that is designed to allow the addition of a rear load without the rear suspension dropping dramatically. The draw back to the OME springs is that you will indeed get about 2-1/2"'s of lift at the front, and about 3" at the rear. FJ62's tend to lift more in the rear than a FJ60. This lift can be brought down by  up to an inch by using trim packers, or in the rear by removing a leaf out of each stack. All leaf springs come with our new bushings, which will take care of one of the potential causes for steering slop...worn out bushings. All OME equipment and kits are currently on sale, so it's a good time to deal with this.
   
The other items you should check are, wheel bearings, which are supposed to be repacked with grease and adjusted every 24,000 miles or 24 months whichever comes first. Tie rod ends, check to make sure there is no slop in them when the steering wheel is moved from side to side. Knuckle bearings, these are the bearings that the knuckle housing pivots on, there should be no slop in them. The steering shaft from the steering wheel to the steering box has a slip joint in it, that is prone to wear and can make the steering feel worn and loose. The steering box itself has an adjustment screw on it, but overtightening can result in dangerous handling characteristics (inability to return to center on own), so if you're going to adjust it yourself be very cautious, and test drive the vehicle thoroughly, after each adjustment. Tires & alignment, the obvious here, worn out or defective tires need to be fixed, and the alignment should be checked after any suspension work, or repairs.

I just bought from Man-a-Fre a Weber 38MM carb for my 1978 FJ 40. The increase in power has been great but I'm not getting the proper gas mileage. What can I do to improve gas mileage?

More than likely there are several things you can do to increase mileage. The first is the most critical, give the engine a proper
tuning. Adjust the valves, this is supposed to be done every 12,000 miles, or 12 months whichever comes first. The key to this is doing the valve adjustment properly. Engine must be at operating temp, valves must be adjusted one cylinder at a time, in firing position, 008" intake, .014" exhaust. If you have a distributor with points, replace them, and the condensor if you have one. Set the points to 36-39 degrees of dwell. Install new spark plugs properly gapped. Set ignition timing @ idle of no more than 650 RPM, to 7 DBTDC (small steel ball peened into flywheel), with all vacuum hoses to distributor disconnected.  Check to make sure when you rev the engine that the timing advances, if it does not, time for a new distributor. Make sure vacuum lines have proper type of vacuum for style of distributor, i.e. vac advance units require "ported" vacuum signal. This means no vacuum at idle, and gradual vacuum increase as throttle is rolled on. Highest vacuum reading for ported vacuum will be at light throttle. Vacuum retard distributors require switch controlled manifold vacuum. These switches are located in the thermostat housing. Manifold vacuum has highest signal level at idle, and decreases as throttle is rolled on. Check to make sure vacuum dashpot
is working, apply vacuum to a vac advance dashpot @ idle, and engine speed will raise. Apply vacuum to a retard type dashpot, and idle speed will drop. Next comes carb adjustment. After completing other tuning work, warm up engine. Set idle speed using idle speed screw to 600-650 rpm. The Weber 38DGAS has 2 idle/transition circuits, and 2 idle mixture screws at opposite ends of the carb. You will need to adjust/balance both. Using a tach to watch rpm, pick either of the idle screws to start. Turn the screw out(counter clockwise) 1/2 turn, and wait to see if the idle speed raises. When you turn the screw out
and the idle no longer raises, stop, wait a little bit, then turn in the screw (clockwise) 1/4 turn, wait, keep doing this until the rpm
drops, once the idle drops,  turn the screw back that last 1/4 turn. Reset the idle to 600-650 rpm if it is no longer in spec. Then start the same process with the other mixture screw. After you are finished with the second mixture screw, and have reset the idle speed, recheck the first mixture screw. Test  drive the vehicle, after the test drive, recheck idle speed, you may need to go through the entire process again, but this is part of tuning an engine properly. After all this you will at least have the engine tuned. At this stage you'll be able to judge if you need to rejet the carb. This would be done with either an exhaust gas analyzer, or the old fashioned method of spark plug readings.
Other things that affect mileage, tire size, condition, and pressure. Make sure your tires are set to the recommended inflation
pressure. Big tires are harder to roll, and cost some mileage, this is the trade off we all deal with. Wheel bearings, these are supposed to be repacked and adjusted every 24,000 miles, or 24 months. Gearing/tire size, if you are going 55 mph, and are turning 3,500 rpm, with your foot to the floor, it's time to think about tire size, and gears. Exhaust system, if your muffler is collapsed internally, or you have some other exhaust restriction, you will loose mileage, and power. Check to make sure your EGR (Exhaust gas recirculation) valve is not stuck open. A properly working EGR system will cost you 1-2 mpg, one that is stuck open, will make the engine run poorly, and will cost even more in mileage. EGR's allow exhaust gas to be fed
back into the engine after it has been run through a cooler. The exhaust gas has already had the oxygen used up, and therefore does not dilute the mixture like a vacuum leak would. This exhaust gas takes up space in the combustion chamber at certain rpm, with the purpose of making the engine ineffecient, and lowering NOX levels. Change to all synthetic lubricants, if you read the 80 series online chat, a common thread is the mileage increase from changing to all synthetic oils/grease. These guys typically claim a 1/2-2 mpg increase related to the changeover, and I would believe this to be accurate. The engine's overall condition, if your engine is worn, or your valves don't seal too well, you'll never get good mileage out of it. Of course if your right foot is REALLY BIG, and you've got it to the floor all the time, expect to pay for it at the fuel pump.

I see you have FJ60 and FJ40 full-floater rear axles available. I have an FJ55. Do you have a full-floater that would fit this?

The FJ55 uses the same width (axles) as the FJ40. Some years of 55 have a swap bar mount welded to the axle. The FJ40s' will not have these. They show up randomly with these mounts and if you request them, we can see what we have in stock.
The sway bars on the 55 only appear on later models and their importance is an issue of argument.
 

  I have a Weber 38mm carburetor with the 2F engine on my FJ40. It backfires when I shut the engine off.  The exhaust discharges  black or white smoke when I start the cruiser in the morning and has smells of fuel. What do these symptoms mean?

I believe that you are referring to "run on" when shutting the engine off. This is due to several possible causes. Idle speed is too high. The idle speed should be between 600-650 rpm when fully warmed up. The fuel mixture is improperly set. This adjustment is best done by an experienced mechanic with some carburetor  background. There are 2 idle mixture screws on a 38DGAS Weber. One for each venturi and they both need to be adjusted. Vacuum leak are obvious results in the carburetor. 

One other point, the Webers do not have an idle shut off circuit, like the OEM carb. In most cases this is not a problem, but if the engine is "loose", or is not tuned properly (valve adjustment, timing, plugs, idle speed, fuel mixture), the engine will have a tendency to "run on" when shut off. To stop it, make sure the engine is properly tuned. if there problem persist, leave the vehicle in first gear when shutting off, and slightly drag the clutch as the key is turned to the off position, then release the clutch to completely stop.

White billowy smoke in the morning is a sign of either a crack in the block or cylinder head, or a break in the head gasket that allows the coolant into the combustion chamber, and is being burnt off. If it is coolant, it will have a sweet sickly smell to it. If the smoke is bluish/white, this is a sign of oil burning, and internal engine problems. Black smoke is from being too rich, this can be easily adjusted out on a Weber, by rotating the electric choke unit to slightly open the choke flap when cold.
 

  Can you give me information on the Fuel Injection Conversion Kit you'll have available in the near future?  I would like to use it on my 2F motor.

The TBI fuel injection kit is a modified GM Throttle Body kit, using a special DUI computer controlled ignition distributor. The Kit is designed to retain OEM air cleaner, and will clear air injection rail, if you decide to keep it..
 

  I want to install an ARB Air Locker unit. Do I need to replace the whole differential assembly?

No. The ARB Air Locker replaces what is called the "carrier assembly" of your differential. You would still need the ring and pinion, flange, and the housing for installation of an Air Locker.
 

  I want to put a Weber carb on my FJ40 F engine w/ 6 to 1 headers. I would like to know the difference between the 32/36mm and the 38/38mm. I would like to know what the difference in mpg and power.

The 32/36mm and 38/38mm Weber carbs we sell are designed to retain your OEM linkage and air cleaner. These carbs do quite well both on, and off road. Getting the optimum mileage is a matter of proper tuning of your vehicle. We worked on an 1981 FJ60 with a WEBER 38 DGAS, that we were able to get 18mpg out of. I recommend the 38/38mm carb.  I believe the 32/36 to be just a hair too small for the Land Cruiser's vehicle weight.
 

  Will an F series engine with a 3 speed on the column fit the 5-speed transmission?

Yes it will work but will require some modification on the drivetrain and frame.

1. You have to replace the 3 speed bell housing into a 4-speed bell housing assembly.
2. You will need to change the column shift linkage to floor shift.
3. This item does not come with shifter and knob. You will need to order this part.
4. You will need to cut the round tube cross frame behind the transfer case to accommodate longer transmission assembly.
 

  Is the stock Toyota thermostat up to the job or would a high flow thermostat, if available, better suited for 3FE high performance rebuilt engines? Would a larger engine oil cooler be more effective?

There is no alternative to the OEM thermostat for this type of engine (3FE). What we find works is simply a cooling system that is in good shape, i.e. if you are rebuilding the engine, and the water pump, thermostat, and radiator are fairly well aged, it would be a good idea to replace them. The same would be true for the hoses in the cooling system. Engine oil coolers are an excellent idea regardless of the type of engine you are running. We recommend a matching oil cooler thermostat.
 

  What is the difference between Open Air Cleaner vs. Enclosed or Snorkel?

So what's the big deal about cool air going into your engine? Simple physics. Cool air is dense and contains lots of what engines like, Oxygen. Talk to anyone that runs a race vehicle, and they will tell you they run faster when it's cool out. Cooler air also means the combustion chamber runs cooler, and has less tendency to ping or detonate. Your stock air cleaner is designed to draw in air from outside the engine compartment, typically at the front near a headlight. Add a snorkel and the intake raises up to your roof line. The air here is cooler than the air nearer the ground, which has been heated by the energy coming off the road. Cooler, cleaner air = more power, & a cooler running engine. Now let's take the opposite of a snorkel, or the "open" style air cleaner found on some modified vehicles. When you open your hood after driving your Cruiser have you noticed it tends to be a little hot under the hood? Put an open air cleaner on a carburetor that is located right behind the radiator, and you get intake air that has been heated by the radiator. Air that is hot, and less dense than the outside air, makes your engine run hotter, tend to ping or detonate, and produce less power and mileage. Not a real bright idea. Let's take it one step further, say it's wet out, a bunch of water splashes on the front of your vehicle and the fan pulls it through the radiator, what's to keep it from
being sucked through that open air cleaner? That's right, nothing. Running engines do not get along well with water in the combustion chamber. Snorkels work! Not just for crossing water.
 

  How good are the Rancho Shocks  5000 and 9000 Series compared to Old Man Emu shocks when used on
Land Crusiers?

Neither is specifically designed for use on a Land Cruiser. The adjustability of the 9000 allows you to achieve a dampening rate that should be close to what would be needed for your vehicle. The beauty and the bummer of these units is that they take a shock with a certain overall length, and compression, with mounts of either pins, or eyes, and by making them adjustable, they get a very wide coverage out of one part number. The non-adjustable shocks from most US companies that fit Land Cruisers are generally designed for 1/2 ton pick up trucks, and they have the right lengths (extended and compressed) and mounting eyes for Land Cruisers, they are just not specifically designed for Land Cruiser use like an Old Man Emu. The main reason Old Man Emu can put so much effort into Land Cruiser applications is simple, the Land Cruiser is the number one vehicle found on the road in Australia. They have 10 times the number of Land Cruisers as found in the USA, and less than 1 tenth the population. This is the reason Old Man Emu has 9 different shocks that are designed and tested specifically for the 80 series Land Cruiser.

  I am thinking about doing a V-8 conversion on my FJ40. What are my options?

Well, first off installing a V-8 into a 40 is typically anything but inexpensive when done right. You will not only need the engine, but, an adapter kit $455, a special short throw clutch assembly $259, special 164 tooth flywheel, exhaust (usually custom), fuel delivery system, drive shaft work, upgraded cooling system, and a whole bunch more, plus a few weeks of 8 hour days, with a welder, and engine hoist, etc. And then you hope it turns out alright. Of course you can pay some one to do all this.  I've heard of a few shops that get about $12,000 but I haven't found them. Then of course is the down side, a V-8 converted FJ40 is worth about 1/2 of what the same vehicle with a 6 cyl is. Rebuilding the 6 cylinder is not easy for most machine shops that do not have a long background in Land Cruisers, but you can buy a stock compression 2F long block from us for $2950 exchange (we need your old core), or you can buy one of our Hi-compression 6 cylinders for $3,495 exchange, and simply bolt them in.
 

  I recently purchased a '78 FJ40 that has your swing-away tire/cooler carrier tow bumper on it. The tire carrier side is very difficult to move ( I have to use a crow bar ). Any suggestions?

Dirt or rust may have accumulated between the shaft and the bushing in your tire carrier. Try this procedure:

1. Remove the locking collar arm from the bushing.
2. Apply steady pressure using a crowbar to lift the arm from the mainframe. While doing this swing the arm back and forth until the shaft pulls out of the bushing.
3. Use solvent to remove grease on the bushing and arm shaft.
4. If it has surface rust, apply fine sandpaper.
5. Re-grease the arm shaft and bushing and replace unit back.

  What is the difference between the 4+plus Safari and Family cages? How are strong are these cages? Can I customize it to my needs?

Our 4+Plus roll cages run the gamut from simple improved protection, to custom, competition level cages.  We have fully
pre-welded roll cages for FJ40's in either a standard "Safari" version, or "Family" version that features a high rear area to
protect rear seat occupants. Cages feature main tubing that is 2" diameter by .120" thick wall tubing, full penetration wire welds, and 6 built in floor mounting pads. The bottom plates of our floor mounts are "corrugated" to match the FJ40's floor pan, so you won't distort your body tub when they're tightened down. The "Safari" cage is designed to offer optimal protection to the driver and his front seat passenger. Our "Family" cage follows the roof line all the way to the "tail" and provides protection for passengers sitting in the rear of the FJ40. We can fully customize these cages to suit almost any individual requirement. Available options include: "Seat cradle", supply us with your seats, and we'll custom fit them to your cage, and install harness tabs at the same time. We made a custom seat cradle for one of our customers who is 6'5", by getting rid of the interior fuel tank in favor of a rear 22 gallon tank, and dropping his cradle down so he could fit into his FJ40. "Dash Bar" Add one of these at the dash level for added strength and rigidity. "Corner Gussets" The more serious your off roading, the more protection you
will want these corner gussets help your cage keep its' shape in those times of ultimate need. Dash bar, and corner gussets are made from 1" x .120" wall tubing. Remember that no matter how good your cage is, without padding, good/well mounted seats, and high quality restraints (seat belts, harnesses) they are worthless. Get the best quality safety equipment you can afford, buckle up, and make sure your passengers are buckled in! It only takes one accident to make you wish you had.

  Do your full floating rear axles have provisions for an emergency brake cable on them?

The 60 series 75 series have built in parking brake actuators.

  What are differences between a Toyota TRD SuperCharger and the Safari Turbo Charger?

The Safari Turbo Charger is an exhaust flow driven. There is no energy required to drive the turbo system. You gain 2 miles per gallon. It includes the inter-cooler and a gigantic trans-cooler. There is no maintenance after installation is complete. No belts to replace. I has more horsepower. You gain up to 40-45% horsepower from stock 235hp to 340hp.

The Toyota TRD supercharger is belt driven which requires energy. You will lose about 1 mile per gallon. The installation is easy. Your engine will tend to run hotter but it offers now a special TRD thermostat to help with this. There is no trans-cooler and inter-cooler. This option requires maintenance after installation e.g. belt. You gain up to 30%-35% hp from the stock 235hp to 317hp.