New owner of BJ41V (B2 engine) - fuel/engine oil additives (1 Viewer)

[CookieBird]

Hey Guys I am the proud owner of a BJ41 which I drove all the way from San Diego 500miles. Engine runs like a champ and it has a little under 200k miles on it. I have several NewBee questions, they are really short so here goes:

1. Do you use any fuel additives? Previous owner had a couple of additives in glove box. Are they worth using, and if yes, which ones do you guys use for the older BJ cruisers?
2. How about engine oil additives, and which engine oil you guys use?
3. Engine has minor oil leaks - mechanic told me that nothing to worry about, leaks are small enough not to cause any significant oil loss. Is this common, and worth fixing? Previous owner said that oil didn't need to be topped off.
4. How often to change the oil, every 3months 3k miles?
5. On long distance drives, what's the max RPM when cruising? My BJ41 goes about 63mph @3000 rpm, and 66mph @3200rpm. The yellow like is at 3500, red line 4000. Is it bad for the engine to run at 3200 rpm for cruising?

 

[roscoFJ73]

Ive tried them, never seen any difference.
I have also never seen the benefits of adding oil additives. Modern oils have all the good stuff already added. I would just use a quality oil 20/50 oil , at least in summer in CA
Oil leaks are deadly to motorcyclists and traffic in general. They get worse and the oil migrates all over the engine. I think its sloppy maintenance. Oil leaks make me mad.
Oil changes in diesels are usually done by distance, usually 5000klms. Old style IDI diesels need changes more often.
I would keep it under 2800rpm if you want it to last. Maybe a quick trip up to 3000, but not for extended time. At 200000 miles, you could be looking at a rebuild at 250000-300000. It could go much longer if driven affectionately.
They were never designed for the freeway.
A 2B is just above an old tractor diesel in terms of technology. Its designed to lug a heavy load over bad ground.
A BJ41 is a tractor/car hybrid. Compared to a modern car, its more tractor than car.

 

[CookieBird]

Ive tried them, never seen any difference.
I have also never seen the benefits of adding oil additives. Modern oils have all the good stuff already added. I would just use a quality oil 20/50 oil , at least in summer in CA
Oil leaks are deadly to motorcyclists and traffic in general. They get worse and the oil migrates all over the engine. I think its sloppy maintenance. Oil leaks make me mad.
Oil changes in diesels are usually done by distance, usually 5000klms. Old style IDI diesels need changes more often.
I would keep it under 2800rpm if you want it to last. Maybe a quick trip up to 3000, but not for extended time. At 200000 miles, you could be looking at a rebuild at 250000-300000. It could go much longer if driven affectionately.
They were never designed for the freeway.
A 2B is just above an old tractor diesel in terms of technology. Its designed to lug a heavy load over bad ground.
A BJ41 is a tractor/car hybrid. Compared to a modern car, its more tractor than car.

Thanks for the advise, Rosco! Very helpful... I'll keep that in mind re: the RPM... I wanted to get home sooner so I did drive it for a couple of hours on the freeway between 2900-3100rpm, hopefully I didn't do much damage. Since I don't know for sure when the last oil change took place I've scheduled one at my local mechanic's shop.

 

[roscoFJ73]

When you push them too hard, you may see oil in the air intake if the sump gasses are recycled, or it will just drip out the bottom if you have the the original system.

 

[CookieBird]

When you push them too hard, you may see oil in the air intake if the sump gasses are recycled, or it will just drip out the bottom if you have the the original system.

Hi Rosco,

Thanks for the info, one more question about the diesel engine, does it have a timing belt or a chain? I read somewhere that these engines have timing gears, which do not require maintenance. Can you confirm this is true or false.

On a side note I took a look at the engine oil level today, the level is in the middle but the oil is so black. The previous owner must have ignored oil change and I drove 600 miles on that black oil. Going to the shop to have the oil changed tomorrow and fix the original a/c unit which it came with.

 

[roscoFJ73]

Im prety sure the 2B has iming gears. 3B gears below. On these kind of diesels the oil goes black in about 10 minutes, so the PO may have well done the oil changes.

 

[AirheadNut]

I don't know whether fuel additives make any difference (except in very cold weather) but when I changed oil in my 300k mile FJ62 I put in a bottle of STP oil additive and noticed a significant difference in how the engine ran. It was much quieter and smoother.

 

[CookieBird]

Im prety sure the 2B has iming gears. 3B gears below. On these kind of diesels the oil goes black in about 10 minutes, so the PO may have well done the oil changes.

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@roscoFJ73 Thanks again you're very knowledgeable with this, makes me feel better about the black oil. I'll see what it's like after the oil change and driving it around for a little while. And so happy to hear about the timing gears, this is so awesome that I don't need to worry about that.

Now just need to fix the minor oil leaks and hopefully I'll be good for a while!