Yet another first time FJ62 owner checking in..

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LordHz

LordHz

Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Threads
3
Messages
82
Wanted to introduce myself, since I have already lurked for the last couple of weeks while I attempt to return my new-to-me 1989 FJ62 "Woody" to decent condition. My wife picked this monster from Craigslist and that's where the adventure really got moving... Keep in mind during the story that I live in Marietta, GA and the vehicle was ~100 miles away in Chattanooga.

Saturday 9/4/2010 - Drove up to test drive and check out the FJ62. Noticed a bit of rust (rear gate, rear hatch, passenger side under doors, etc.) It also badly needed some new rubber. Drivers side seat adjuster broken. No leaks under the vehicle. The Carfax had the vehicle in 4 states (Oregon, NC, TN, MD.) 189k miles on the odometer and the carfax showed the mileage matched. I was very leary, but my wife loves the looks and I like the ruggedness. We had experienced the Land Rover Disco and we have currently have a Subaru Tribeca. He wanted $3500 and I started adding up the repairs and basically said forget it.

Monday 9/6/2010 - My wife was still very interested, so she asked me what I thought it would take to get it "safely" running. I ran some rough numbers, started reading on IH8MUD and guessed $1K-$2K. So my wife tells me to offer the guy $2500 and see if he would be willing to let it go for that. He agreed very quickly. I should have been a little concerned at this point, but hey it's a tough reliable beast. Right?

Tuesday 9/7/2010 - Drove up after work with my wife and both kids. Paid the PO's GF, got the title, keys, tons of maintenance records:confused: and a bonus, the factory service manual!!:D My wife was going to follow me over to a local tire place and make sure I was running. I start up the cruiser and go to pull out. My wife starts flashing the lights.. No brake lights.. I also notice the instrument lights are out and the alternator is reading 12v. I check with a volt meter (yes, I brought lots of tools) 11.4V, hmm. The PO had replaced the alternator and battery (had the receipts) so we pulled into a parking lot and I started troubleshooting. No go, mainly cause the kids were getting very upset.

So the plan now is to get it over to the tire place and then let me continue working on it. I figured I could get the tire place to diagnose and probably fix the issue or rig something.

We drive over, get tires on it, it's now 9:00 PM. The diagnostics says battery is good but not getting a charge. They recommend a garage down the street. They are of course closed, plus I do all my own work on cars. I go to pull the cruiser out, and..click..battery is dead. We jump it to get it out of their garage and it proceeds to die a few minutes later.

So here it is 9:30 PM in Chattanooga, with 2 very fussy kids, an angry wife and a very tired me. We use our handy iPhone to find the nearest Walmart and purchase a new battery. It's now 10:15 PM. I suggest finding a hotel and letting me drive it home during the day. Again, figuring I could rig something for the brake lights.

We were on the southwest side of Chattanooga and it took about 20 minutes to find a hotel. I check in and my wife looks at me doubtfully and drives home.

So here I am in the hotel, I really need to be back at work early the next morning. I can't sleep, it wasn't the best of hotels.. So I grab the manual and start reading about the electrical system. Hmm, the diagram shows that all of the components that are out are on the same 12v battery line. This goes to a fusible link that "looks" good. Keep in mind I am going in and out of the hotel room and popping the hood in a hotel in downtown Chattanooga. I got a lot of questioning looks and a couple of hotel staff asking WTF. So I get the fusible link out and back in the hotel room and check resistance..open. Pry back the insulation on the fusible link and the wire is corroded and broken in 2 places. Not melted, just corroded and broken. I have some speaker wire, approximately the same gauge as the fusible link. A little soldering in the hotel room (wondering if the smoke alarm would sound) and reinstall. I put the key in and try it out. I have dash lights. I have brakes! I have 14+V on the alternator!!! :clap: It's now Wed 2:15 AM.

So what to do, stay in the disgusting hotel or pack up and drive home. Of course drive home 100 miles in the middle of the night with a questionable 21 year old FJ62!! I wasn't thinking to clearly at this point.

I was a little worried about my fix and the rest of the truck functioning, so I drove exactly 55 the whole way home. It rode great, It didn't seem to have any issues.. The instrument light on the tach/oil/temp/fuel gauges was burned out, so every 20 minutes I used a small LED flashlight to check temp and oil pressure. No issues. I got home at 4:30 AM and crashed hard. It had been a rather stressful day.

Next step was to get emissions and get the tags, but that needs another post...
(continued)

BTW, love the forum, seems to be an excellent group!!

-LordHz
 
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Woody Story (continued)

Some background, I have been wrenching on my own cars for 25 years. The only thing I haven't attempted is a complete engine rebuild, but everything else including automatic transmission rebuilds. I am a Miata enthusiast and part of the reason I purchased the FJ62 was to tow my car to local events.

So to continue in a somewhat more brief format.

1. Tried to get emissions to pass, Failed high NOx, just under limit HC and CO
2. In all my other vehicles that usually meant stuck EGR. Remove and clean, no clogs, check the vacuum and wiring to all the various EGR related stuff. No issues.
3. Run some Seafoam, drive hard and retest emissions, Fail! Same basic results.
4. Replaced the O2 sensors, since they were not responding within spec, retest emissions, Fail! Worse results.
5. Replace both Cat's, muffler and switch rear pipe to side exit behind the rear tire. Like the look and the Flowmaster 40 is a good fit. :D
6. Retest emissions, PASS!
7. Engage the 4WD both Hi and Low and it pulls like a tank! Use it to move a couple of trailers on my very steep driveway. The 4LO is very handy.
8. Have a very nagging belt squeal at 2000 RPM and a little earlier under load (1500 RPM). Power steering belt and pulley are glazed to a mirror surface. Still pending repair on that.
9. I now have a leak at the front oil seal, rear oil seal and the drivers side knuckle is leaking diff fluid. My reading here indicates a worn inner oil seal and a complete knuckle rebuild would probably be a good idea on both fronts.

So the saga continues, I won't bore you with all of the other minor issues. Also, if it sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not.. Having a blast and other than being a little under-powered, it's great to drive. I have gotten a ton of compliments on the rig and a lot of people have come up and asked about my Woody :D.

Funny but true story. I went to pickup my son from Cub Scouts. They were at a park waiting near the parking lot and I pulled up. I'm walking over to the other kids and adults and my son yells out, "That's my dad and he's got a Woody!" My wife was mortified and I just grinned. Yes I do..

(The photo shows the rust, under the bear sticker is a 6" diameter hole, you can see the rocker panels and the hatch has some issues at the fluid nozzle. The plan is to cut the rockers at bumper level and then do a custom wrap around bumper. The hatch and gate are going to have the rust cut out and new steel welded in and then filled and painted. The rear frame rail reinforcements are also rusted badly, so I will be doing the stainless steel replacement I saw in another thread. The main frame rail is actually rust free.)

PS, the A/C blows cold and power windows work. The power locks work on the front doors only, more wiring to chase down.

-LordHz
 
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Great stories!

The bear sticker and the woody joke made me laugh out loud.

You are crazy for buying that thing, fixing it at night, and driving home the same night.

Good times!
 
I make it sound much worse than it is.. Heck, finding a 1989 anything with working A/C in Georgia is nearly impossible. ;) The bear sticker has been replaced with a Florida Gators sticker (wife attended). I like projects and and this isn't nearly as bad as some of my other "project" cars. Let me tell you about the 1979 Honda Prelude with no floors I bought for $50. The carb needle would stick, so I would literally disassemble, un-stick the float and reassemble it in a parking lot in under 15 minutes and drive off. Did that for 2 years after the Ex-wife nailed me in a divorce settlement. That was a serious POS.
 
"Woody" Future Upgrades

1. OME Spring Kit with a 4" Lift? Advice?
2. 33" A/T tires and a second set of wheels, any suggestions?
3. "Boston Mangler" style custom front OR ARB Front Bumper plus Winch
4. "Boston Mangler" style custom rear bumper (gotta get my fab on)
5. Front Disc Upgrade and possible rear disc kit?
6. Valve Job
7. Clean Intake Manifold (oh so dirty)
8. Front Knuckle Rebuild {sigh}
9. Full Fluid Flush (Tranny, Diff's and Transfer) ASAP! Front diff may wait until after front knuckle rebuild.
10. Replace front windshield (pitted and chipped badly)

Yeah, I've got a few things to take care of.. Any other suggestions on a refresh/renovation? Anything blatant I've missed.

As I mentioned in the first part of this, my wife is really the person who convinced me to jump into this project. I was more than willing to pass it up. There was a nice Defender Troopie that I had my eye on, 350, Dana front and rear, restored. It was so pretty. But my wife liked the Land Cruiser better. Plus the Defender was real $$,$$$.

Thanks again for the comments, I think by the time I have this thing back in reliable shape I will owe a lot of folks here some beer. (maybe a bear sticker as well.)

-LordHz
 
Ya! Good times! I also bought my 88 for $2500. about 3 months back. I have not kept track of the maintenance cost so far, but I'm guessing a little under $1k.

When I got the 62 it was running pretty rough. Cleaned out the intake, Seafoamed the engine and fuel, did about four oil changes. I now run MMO with every tank full, and she's now smooth as silk.
 
The hotel story is great! I love it! Good on ya for keeping this thing running!

:)
 
Benjamin, glad to hear someone else is using MMO. I wasn't going to admit to the MMO since my Miata buddies think its snake-oil. But for the 3FE it seems to help considerably. The engine is actually running very strong. I did a compression check and did a lot of other routine maintenance that the PO didn't do. Basically it had been sitting unused for 2 years. So far (in 31 days) I'm out $500 for tires, $800 in parts and $200 labor for the Cat and Muffler install. All the other work I have done myself.

Question? How bad was the intake to remove, I have read the FSM, but its not the same as doing it.. There is a lot of junk attached. Vacuum lines, coolant, EGR, etc, etc. Plus the bolts on the block look nasty.

-LordHz
 
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Great stories. You will love that wagon, wait till you take it wheeling....

My story is a little longer. On Xmas eve I was straightening the replacement frame for my diesel. Xmas day I put the engine and tranny in. Next four months was everyday in the side yard working on the rig, fast forward to April when we took it wheeling in Oregon. Even took the rig to Rubicon in August.

By the way a knuckle rebuild is no big deal, just a big very greasy mess. Lots of rags and a garbage bag to put them in. And get a pair of external snap ring pliers if you don't have them already.

Tony
 
Kynot62, I read all the threads on the knuckle rebuild, not really dreading it too much. Just not looking forward to 8-12 hours of grease. One thing to say for Miata's, they tend to stay very clean.

Regarding the snap ring pliers, I have plenty of tools, but its a good reminder.

With the current tires, I won't be doing very much wheeling. They are really for highway driving. A set of A/T's will be coming next year, but require the spring kit and that's going to have to wait.

-LordHz
 
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LordHz said:
Benjamin, glad to hear someone else is using MMO. I wasn't going to admit to the MMO since my Miata buddies think its snake-oil. But for the 3FE it seems to help considerably. The engine is actually running very strong. I did a compression check and did a lot of other routine maintenance that the PO didn't do. Basically it had been sitting unused for 2 years. So far (in 31 days) I'm out $500 for tires, $800 in parts and $200 labor for the Cat and Muffler install. All the other work I have done myself.

Question? How bad was the intake to remove, I have read the FSM, but its not the same as doing it.. There is a lot of junk attached. Vacuum lines, coolant, EGR, etc, etc. Plus the bolts on the block look nasty.

-LordHz
Click to expand...

I did not pull the intake itself, just the plenum ducting, as to spray a can of carb cleaner into it. She smoked for 10 minutes after, just to burn off all the gunk.

Also, I flush out the trans fluid and I'm now running RedLine D4 ATF. Every week that passes the shifting gets more precise. Add a large trans cooler as well.

The trans guy(Rodney)claims a stocker is good for 200k miles, add synthetic fluid and a cooler, early enough, and 300k miles can be had. The cooler and fluid ran me $300. and I just hope it buys me another 100k miles;)

And the knuckle rebuild can be put off for near one year(or more), by removing the grease plug and putting a tube of grease in each side. This will slow/stop the oil leak for some time.
 
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