restoration after 10 years in the driveway

needed new shocks, so had to get the old ones out, the bottom bolts were not a problem,
the top ones were seized, the one on the left (passenger side) came out with a heat and a set of mole grips wd40 and some wiggling
the enemy on the right took a week and a half of the same procedure.
every day I would spend an hour on it. until one day it moved.
very difficult to get to and you cant grind it off as you would be left with a stud which would be impossible to access.
got new bolts washers and shocks

to be fitted after the control arms get bushes and go back in.

exhaust was out and in great condition, just needed a rub down and paint with VHT aluminium
now I have a very interesting Garden Mosaic

managed to get the control arms out.
got one bolt out with heat and 2 large stillsons
makes me think haw shakeproof these bolts are lol:laugh:

had to cut inside the axle mounts very carefully to gat all four rear ones out.
one had rusted on to the bush liner, no chance of ever shifting that.

got new bolts HT steel, stainless washers and spring washers (same size as shocks)

spent all day today cleaning up the control arms ready for new bushes. the pic is of one mostly done and the other still all rusty.
got them finished and painted hammerite silver, but was getting dark so its tomorrow to finish them.

got the propshaft refitted with new washers and a clean up of the bolts,
derusted and painted black
also the rubber matting for the boot area arrived.
if anyone has any ideas what to stick it down with please leave a reply

next plans are
rear control arms finished
shocks fitted exhaust fitted (will need to take the cat out to derust and paint)
before I turn it round, get the front end up and weld inner sills
clean up steering rods, replace shocks

a tip for anyone trying to remove the top shock bolts, use a hammer and strong flat screwdriver on the spring washer, give it a good hammering. The washer can rust to the bolt and the shock housing. if you free the washer, its half the rusted problem gone and the bolt can move in the thread a bit more, then only the the rusted thread to bother with.

You are certainly going to town on this Jimny! Well done - by the way, how difficult would you say it was to remove the fuel tank?

Thanks Reason2doubt, working every day to get this on the road, hopefully by the end of this month.
for the tank. you have to remove the rear prop shaft and exhaust mid section first, both should take an hour between them though you will probably need a new seal on the cat side of the mid section when replaced.

there was only 1 bolt which moved and I had the advantage of no floor on the 3 bolts nearest the rear. had to drill the other 5 out and re-tap the holes.
M8 bolts 7mm drill.

once all the bolts are out I would advise having a friend help. the tank needs to drop halfway so you can disconnect the bayonet style connectors on the fuel lines.

there is another thread on here and a wiki all about removing the tank.with pictures of the connectors, and I would suggest, spend time on each bolt to remove re-tap, grease etc and replace one at a time. once you have all six, the job is the best part of a day to remove the tank, replace the filter, and reinstall the tank. I had seized bolts on the filter flange and took me a few days after the tank was filled with water using heat, wd40 and a lot of mole grip wiggling, before they moved.

its keeping the tank steady when the tank is half way down where the valuable friend is a great help or it will want to roll around even on a flat surface.

got the bushes fitted at a local garage, money well spent. and found a professional ally for the restoration.
finished painting them, sanded all round the mountings and repainted,
rubbed down a lot of the rest of the rear diff. dont like the silver so painting it unexciting black
will fit them tomorrow, also new shocks and re-fit the exhaust,
then I;m ready to start the jimny again, first time since tank was removed

then its brake lines, then time to turn it around and get the front end up.

a lot has happened with the jimny since September, will post some new pictures soon. once I get out from underneath with the welding. ba weather and various finacial drains interuppted things, but last few weeks has seen steady progress.

just one photo taken a few days ago
more tomorrow
with a description of progress
 

Some excellent progress.  It's amazing how much you can get done yourself when you get stuck into it.  At least now you'll have had a good examination of most components and be happier in the knowledge you've given them an increased lifespan.  

In my experience, heat is definitely your friend with older motors and it looks like you're just about there with it.

thanks,

was really busy so didnt manage to take photos and post.

rewired rear bumper loom and put a decent connector on before it passea through the bodywork, also renewed wiring from the connector to the mess which was lurking behind the body panel. I tidied up the mess during spaghetti time.