glazed and confused (1 Viewer)

[65swb45]

I promised Mr Smith down in TX [don't know his user name] that I would post some 'before' pics of his truly remarkable carb...remarkable being a euphemism of course.

First was the unusually large accumulation of debris in the fuel bowl:

 

[65swb45]

It was actually about an eighth of an inch thick. And he said it was still running when he pulled it!

What made this carb truly unique, and me a little confused was the sheer amount of varnish in the venturis and on the butterflies:

 

[65swb45]

In 26 years of rebuilding carbs, I have never seen this level of varnish in a carb before.

Theories?

 

[Callahan Offroad]

Pcv routed wrong? Putting nasty oil into the carb instead of the I/m? Other than that im stumped.

 

[Kynot62]

Does the rig it came out of have an EGR system? I get horrible gunk on the thottle plate of my 62 but as you know it's EFI. If no EGR it can't be that. And I don't know where the EGR system ties into a carb if it has one.

Could the fuel bowl be tied into all this new fuel with a high alcohol content? We get rotten (ie corrosion) carbs at the boat yard with engines that have been stored over the winter with fuel still in them. I have heard (no facts yet) that this is starting to become a problem with carbs

Interesting but a mystery to me, let us know what you find out

Tony

 

[dfmorse]

Find out where 'he-Mr Smith' buys his fuel. I'd bet its caused by crappy juice running thru the carb.

...

 

[Spike Strip]

With a float bowl that ugly, my bet goes to concentrated Methuselah gas and a wicked rusty tank ...

 

[vipergrhd]

my .2 cents

Mark

just looking at the pics for sure he was running some crappy fuel in that tank plus a filter that must have breach past the screen,the venturies and butterfly could have been running too rich or dirty air filter and the rig must be a grocery getter of sorts not getting the engine hot enough to burn all the build up that it accumulates when fuel rest on the intake causing severe deposits.

Will you be attending Surf n Turf Mark? i need some of those spring plates for my 60 if you have some i will be installing my lift this winter. hijack done.

 

[Rockhard]

that tank is straight up EFFED. with that much amount of debri in the carb he has something going wrong with his fuel system....

from my impressions, it looks like a truck that sat along time with gas in it, was picked up, and driven and everything is working its way forward.... i wonder what the fuel filter looks like or if it maybe came apart. I also second junk in the egr. Does this engine use much oil?

 

[Rimmeh]

Thanks Mark for the photos. Received the rebuild yesterday and it looks great!

The '87 FJ60 wagon is new to me. Got it a couple months back as a sort of father-son project. It sat in a friends pasture for 6 years until he finally realized his sons had no interest in it. My son on the other hand had great interest and a deal was struck including even trailering it to the house for me. The tank was about 3/4 filled with legacy "gas".

My son and I spent the first afternoon trying to get some sign of life from the FJ. It would fire up with gas poured down the carb, but it wasn't getting supply to the carb. Pulled the hoses off the fuel pump and blew out the tank supply and return with compressed air, but the hard line to the carb was blocked solid. After enough carb cleaner and compressed air it finally opened up, no doubt in retrospect filling the carb with sludge. The gas smelled terrible, just like actual varnish! Drained the tank as low as possible with a siphon tube and it was a nasty brackish brown. Replaced it with 10 gallons of fresh fuel, still not grasping the severity of the problem, that it was more than just stale gas.

With the fresh fuel and a shot down the throat it would start and idle like a dream, but stumble to stall beyond about 1200. After about 30 minutes total run time checking emissions equipment the symptoms completely reversed and it would only run higher than about 1200. After reading enough threads on the topic it was clear that a rebuild was badly needed. Got the first status report from Mark of what he found and his warnings were sobering. From that point of particulate paranoia, the entire fuel system was stripped down and cleaned. The carb hard line was loaded with rust and varnish. The hard lines were soaked with carb cleaner, then to dissolve rust flushed with undiluted 31% hydrochloric acid until it ran clear/non-yellow. All hoses were replaced.

The contents of the gas tank were not for the feint of heart. Poured into a large catch basin there was a thin layer of crystal clear fresh gas floating on no less than three gallons of a reddish black mud-thick water based substance. After a couple days the liquids evaporated and only an eighth inch thick rust cake remained in the basin. The tank itself was full of large rust flakes which were flushed out by hose for about an hour. The particles could easily have filled a 1 lb coffee can. The pickup was likewise afflicted with the cancer but it was cleaned like new using electrolysis ( Rust Removal Using Electrolysis ). Had the opportunity to troubleshoot the non-functional sender at this time. Son found a broken wire on the coil, twisted it around the back side and soldered it back to life.

Installed the rebuild today, but there are still a few more items on the punch list to reassemble before the test fire. I'm sure it will be good as new.

This has been a great project and the information and tips gleaned from this forum have been invaluable. Thanks to all for such a great service.

-Jeff

 

[Spike Strip]

Needless to say, make sure all the gas lines are clean and blown out (I'd spray at least a can of carb cleaner through them) before you fire up the Mark'd carb... Axe me how I know!

Good luck !

 

[hank14]

Have you checked the Toyota recall info to see if the gas tank was ever replaced on your 87 FJ60? Search here to find more info on gas tank recall.

 

[Rimmeh]

Have you checked the Toyota recall info to see if the gas tank was ever replaced on your 87 FJ60? Search here to find more info on gas tank recall.

Thanks Scott for the reminder. I did call a local dealership with the VIN and they told me the tank issue was taken care of in '91 at a Fort Worth dealership, evidently during a regular servicing as the PO was unaware of such a recall.

I'm still not certain what the actual problem or solution was to the tank recall. Was it an over-pressurization problem? It seemed like this vehicle developed an awful lot of pressure in the tank in just the short time it was run. Is that unusual?

 

[Kynot62]

Over pressure in the tank could be a faulty vent line as I do believe the 87 has a return line to the fuel tank, someone correct me if I am wrong.

Solution on the tank recall was replacement. I think the original recall was due to some seams that were prone to failure. Anyone who knows more please chime in...

Tony

 

[klinetime574]

Over pressure in the tank could be a faulty vent line as I do believe the 87 has a return line to the fuel tank, someone correct me if I am wrong.

Solution on the tank recall was replacement. I think the original recall was due to some seams that were prone to failure. Anyone who knows more please chime in...

Tony

An 87 60 should have a vent line. My 84 does.

I think you're also correct about the tank.

Quit being so awesome.....

 

[Spike Strip]

Yes, recall was due to tank seam rupturing from excessive pressure. An easy fix is to switch the two vent lines that go to the charcoal canister. Check valve inside the canister is now by-passed and no more vapor pressure buildup.

 

[65swb45]

I have been thinking about this scenario a bit more, and this tank pressure/charcoal canister came to the top of my mental checklist as well.

An overflowing of the fuel bowl thru the vent hose would explain how both bores would get shellac-ed.

I would also be very concerned at that point that the engine oil would be diluted from gasoline.

Have you smelled your dipstick?