I was planning to take a bunch of pictures as I worked but, it did not work out that way. I am happier for it. This job was a mess. I have clipped some bits out of the microfiche so that you can follow along as I describe what I did. I believe that this will be easier to understand than a bunch of pictures of me pounding on stuff in my garage. 

So, on to the drama... er... I mean trauma....

 
I started this whole ordeal at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The finishing touches were on by 9 AM. Make time for this job if you have to do it. I did take a break to eat and watch some TV in the early evening so... I started by printing the FJ microfiche for my particular year. I then wrote the part numbers next to the numbers on the page so that I would have an easy to look at map as I went on with the bearing installation. I used the shortest piece of all thread I could get on the swingarm along with a stack of washers that fit over the outside of the swingarm and a stack of washers that were the same diameter as the bearing race. The nuts that threaded on the all thread were 3/4" SAE. Centering the all thread once the whole thing was cinched down was the tough part. The all thread needs to be at least roughly centered in the bore to get the bearing to go in straight. It is a bit tricky but, I did it with 8 USD worth of parts from the local hardware store so how bad can it be? The rest is just tightening the nut. You want these bearings to go in with the stamped numbers facing out and the edges of the race should be flush with the swingarm body. Grease all of the parts up good before you start to push the bearings in with a quality chassis lube. I used a Valvoline synthetic because it was what they had. If I had my choice I would have used the traditional blue molly but, the auto parts store was out so... The grease helps to make the parts slide in better and you will have to do it eventually so why not make a mess too? 
The steel piece that bolts up to the center stand bracket came next. I did the same thing to it only I used a grade 5 bolt to pull with. It was tough. I would not recommend that you use any lower grade bolt. The inside of this part does not have the cleanest finish so the pressing took two people. One to hold the part and one to turn the wrench. If I had clamped it into a vice I could have done it myself but, I did not want to repaint the part. The pressure was so great that we almost pulled the head of the bolt through one of the washers and we bowed 3 of the washers that were stacked to pull against in to the point that they looked like a cup when we pulled them off the bolt. Plan ahead and get good hardware to use on this part. Where there are rubber grease seals that go inside the pivot I just pressed the depth of the first washer that was up against the bearing in the pivot. It was good that the washers were very close to the same thickness as the grease seal. There was one more tricky thing that occurred with this part. I had to turn the bolt around with the head facing out on the last press on the side with two pivots. I found that I was able to press the first bearing in on that side with the nut facing out but, I had to slide the bolt through the other pivot to get it free from the part. I guessed that this would not be possible when I did the other side and I could not get the bolt to turn the angle to come free from the part. If the distance was even a half inch greater between the two pivots you could get by with having the head of the bolt to the inside but, it is not so you must reverse the way you insert the bolt. Did I mention that I could not get a ratchet and deep socket into this space either? I had to turn this one with a combination wrench. 
On the aluminum linkage part the only trouble I had was getting the bolt to center in the bore. I ended up using a half inch bolt to do this with. The thicker shafted bolt is not necessary for strength it is however easier to center. The bearing is very easy to get crooked in this part and it will press in at an angle. This will obviously just tear up the pivot in an aluminum part. Be careful went you approach this step because you might be calling the scraper for a replacement. There are rubber seals here too. I used the same technique as above of pulling the width of the first washer in to make room for the seal. Look at what you have in front of you when you do this. You may need to press a bit more than just one washer in depth in to get the grease seal to seat properly. 
 
With the bearings all in place I took a break. 

A few hours later a returned to the garage to reassemble the rear end. I put the swingarm on first. Big mistake! The steel linkage piece that bolts up to the center stand mount must go on before the swingarm. You cannot get the bolt to slide into place because of the aluminum foot rest brackets. Back to the drawing board I went. I had to pull the swingarm out again to get the steel part in place. I was mad. I sat down and smoked once both parts were on the bike. Then I put the aluminum linkage piece on the swingarm. Next I put the rear rim on the bike. Man that looks good! Happy I went about the business of pounding the pin in that holds both linkage pieces to the lower shock mount. I had already hung the shock in place a few days prior. I put a couple wrenches under the tire to lift it up and got out a hammer. When I lifted up the rim to get my wrenches out I heard this clunking sound. All I could think was (pardon my French) SHIT. Okay let's figure out where it is coming from. I lifted and listened. The upper shock mount. So, I dropped the shock and saw that there was a gap in the upper mount of half and inch between the shock mount and the bolt. I was less than pleased. I am told that there is a nylon bushing that you must remove from the old shock and put into the new shock when you do a swap but, I did not know this at the time. My old shock was gone. I traded it away before I got to this point so I had nothing to look at but the parts on my bench. I started looking at the bushings that I had replaced in the suspension linkage. I noticed that the bushing that had lived in the steel linkage up where it mounted to the center stand bracket looked like it might fit. The diameter of the bolt was dead on and it looked like it might be pressed into the upper shock mount. So, that is what I did. I spent the next two hours pressing the bushing in with a vice and cutting it off to length with a fiberglass cut off wheel. Needless to say this was absolutely no fun. I watched the sunrise while I was doing this. I am stuck with this now and I am told that if I can keep it lubricated that the hardened steel piece that is in there now might be an improvement over the stock arrangement. So, I need to figure out how to install a zerk fitting in this area. Should be fun! I would not recommend that you make this swap but, I am willing to live with it.

The chain and sprockets went on the following afternoon. I have tip for those of you wanting to replace your chain. Most people when asked will say put the bike in gear and have the wife stand on the brake peddle to keep the rear tire from turning when you install that front sprocket. That is fine but, I found a simpler solution. I put the new chain in place with the master link half installed and a piece of duct tape to hold the outside plate in place, stuck a wrench or two under the rear tire to keep the back wheel from turning, and gave it hell with the impact. (Note: My rear brake line is not even hooked up because I intend to replace it and my old chain was sitting on the ground next to the bike because it was dirt simple to remove with the swingarm sitting in a corner.) It worked great and I am happy. If you have an impact I highly recommend this because it gives you another thing you can add to your list of "cool things I can do with duct tape".

 
Would you like to see the results?

 
 
 
 

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