Hello All - Josh and Jackson's FJ (1 Viewer)

[JamesR]

Over the last couple of days Jared and I installed a new starter & battery in Josh and Jackson's FJ. The engine is now turning over. The spark is weak and irregular coming out of the coil. There doesn't seem to be a spark at the plugs. If the coil is okay (I'm going to have it checked tonight.) what should I look at/replace next?
Any suggestions.

 

[John Smith]

It is probably a bad coil but you should check the resistance of the plug wires along with the condition of the distributor cap and rotor.

 

[fj hunter]

what year ...

is the vehicle? does it have a ballast resistor with the coil? is the coil cracked?

check the battery voltage level. maybe it's not up to snuff (12v plus).

 

[cjgoode]

What year is this, does it have points and condensor, if so they also could cause this, especially the irregular part.

 

[John Smith]

What year is this, does it have points and condensor, if so they also could cause this, especially the irregular part.

My guess is the 72 in his signature and if it has the original distributor you are probably dead on with the points being his issue.

 

[JamesR]

Thanks everyone.
I had the coil checked last night. It's good. I ordered points/condenser/distributor cap & rotor. I'll get those parts installed tomorrow or Saturday.

 

[JamesR]

Well, new plugs/wires/consenser/starter/battery/roter/distributor cap, a lot of starter fluid and some gas down the carb and it started. There was a lot of white smoke. It looked like the JF was giving birth to cumulonimbus clouds. I mean there was a lot of white smoke. It had been at least 2 years since the vehicle ran. Jared and I rechecked all fluids and after a few minutes the smoke stopped.
The temp guage doesn't seem to work, neither does the oil pressure guage. But it runs rough, but it runs. I know the carb needs work.
We discovered the left shock tower had been torn off. I'm going to clean it up and weld it back on.
The brakes are really mushy and the pedal goes to the floor. It's going to be a lot of work; it's going to be a lot of fun.
I appreciate the responses I've received. I know there'll be a lot more questions.
Thanks everyone.

 

[John Smith]

Well, new plugs/wires/consenser/starter/battery/roter/distributor cap, a lot of starter fluid and some gas down the carb and it started. There was a lot of white smoke. It looked like the JF was giving birth to cumulonimbus clouds. I mean there was a lot of white smoke. It had been at least 2 years since the vehicle ran. Jared and I rechecked all fluids and after a few minutes the smoke stopped.
The temp guage doesn't seem to work, neither does the oil pressure guage. But it runs rough, but it runs. I know the carb needs work.
We discovered the left shock tower had been torn off. I'm going to clean it up and weld it back on.
The brakes are really mushy and the pedal goes to the floor. It's going to be a lot of work; it's going to be a lot of fun.
I appreciate the responses I've received. I know there'll be a lot more questions.
Thanks everyone.

Great news that you got the engine running. I would be leery of running the engine for very long without a functioning oil pressure gauge. If the distributor is not seated the engine will still run with no oil being circulated. Many a F and 2F engine have been killed this way.

 

[JamesR]

distributor not seated

Great news that you got the engine running. I would be leery of running the engine for very long without a functioning oil pressure gauge. If the distributor is not seated the engine will still run with no oil being circulated. Many a F and 2F engine have been killed this way.

How can I tell if it's seated or not?

 

[John Smith]

How can I tell if it's seated or not?

The easy way is you will register oil pressure on the factory gauge. Since your factory gauge may not be working... Hook up a aftermarket mechanical gauge and see if you get pressure. You can also pull the valve cover and visually verify the rockers are getting oil with the engine running.

 

[JamesR]

Have oil pressure & white smoke

We removed the value cover to check for oil. I found the oil sending unit; attached the wire and the guage works. The pressure increases as the rpms increase. As I recall, white smoke can mean head gasket needs to be replaced, at best, or the head itself may be cracked/warped, at worse.
The temp guage isn't working. The needle is stuck on far right side "hot" I hope the last guy to run it didn't get it so hot that it warped/cracked the head. I tried to test to temp guage with the omh meter. I'm not to good with that.
What are the chances the temp sending unit is bad? I could replace that so see if the engine is running hot. I would rather not have to remove the head; if I need to, I will.
Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[handcannon]

The temp guage isn't working. The needle is stuck on far right side "hot" I hope the last guy to run it didn't get it so hot that it warped/cracked the head. I tried to test to temp guage with the omh meter. I'm not to good with that.
What are the chances the temp sending unit is bad? I could replace that so see if the engine is running hot. I would rather not have to remove the head; if I need to, I will.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Jemes

When you say the temp guage needle is stuck, does it move/wiggle at all when you turn on/off the ignition switch? I don't have any direct experience with guage problems but think I have read that if you ground the sender wire it will make the needle move to the top end of the guage. Anyway, if the needle wiggles at all when the power is turned on/off there is hope.

Don

 

[JamesR]

Temp guage

It doesn't move at all. Could it be the sending unit?