Bizarre Issue with a '76 FJ40 - Help is appreciated! (1 Viewer)

[bagochips76]

So I have a 76 FJ40 that I am having an issue with. I can't get it to turn over. I have checked and replaced the following:

- Starter has been bench tested and is good working order. The Solenoid engages and the motor turns when bench tested. The solenoid engages but the motor does NOT turn when mounted on the motor. I have tried two other known good starters and am having the same result
- Battery has been replaced with a brand new one
- The positive cable from the battery to the starter has been replaced with a new one
- I have added a second ground to ensure that it is properly grounded
- The engine turns freely; it is not seized
- I have bypassed the ignition switch with a remote starter switch - same result.

I have had the truck running and have even driven it. The last time I took it out for a test drive it was doing fine and then as I was driving the truck just straight up died on me. It's almost as if the electrical power just cut out on me. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to restart it. Nothing but a click from the solenoid as it engages the flywheel but it will not turn it.

The engine fuse in the fuse block is good.

Some other items about this truck...the motor has been rebuilt by someone other than me when the PO had it. Have been cleaning up their mess. The block is a later model with flat top pistons and the head is an earlier model that appears to have been decked as it does get good compression. I had it running like a top but while I was getting running, I had the same issue with the motor not turning. I got it dialed in and got it to turn and start after I replaced the battery and cables. Now it is giving me the same issue that I was having before the new battery.

Has anyone encountered a similar issue?

Thanks in advance for any help and input.

 

[swelltimes]

How's the ground on the fusible link look?

 

[Rock40]

My guess would be that cranking voltage is not actually reaching the starter. The solenoid is getting 12 volts (hence the clicking) but the starter is not. I'm sure you probably already have but I'd triple check the battery to starter connections. You may have a starter cable that's very corroded inside and you can't see it under the insulation. If the connections are tight, try replacing the cable altogether. It's a very simple circuit, it should just crank right over.

 

[Rock40]

Nevermind, I see you already replaced the starter cable...

 

[spotcruiser]

2F or are we talking about a V8 or other engine?

 

[spotcruiser]

Huh????

How's the ground on the fusible link look?

 

[kurtnkegger]

You say you have two grounds...from the frame to the block? what about the cable from the battery to the frame? has that been cleaned, or replaced?

 

[73FJ40]

Try starting it with the headlights on. If the headlights dim, but no turning over, low battery voltage or high starter load.

If the lights don't dim, the starter isn't drawing any current.

 

[swelltimes]

Huh????

Oh yeah, I was totally off the mark there. I meant the main ground in the engine bay. My bad.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

To be clear... Are you saying the starter turns the engine... ruh, ruh, ruh... But, engine doesn't catch... vroom, vroom, vroon...?

Or, you don't even get a ruh, ruh, ruh?

Not trying to cute... Just need it simplified for my edification.

If it's the first... ruh, ruh, ruh... With no vroom, vroom, vroom, I have two situations, on my '78... Not sure the first applies on a '76...

1. There are two wires, one red, one white, that run from the igniter, to the distributor. I've installed an ignition interrupt to the red wire... When engaged, it prevents current from flowing, from the igniter to the distributor... ruh, ruh, ruh... No vroom, vroom, vroom. If this applies, you,could have a bad connection from the igniter to the distributor.

2. I have two electric fuel pumps and have a cutoff switch installed... If the cutoff is turned off, the fuel pumps don't run... ruh, ruh, ruh... No vroom, vroom, vroom. The same could happen if your fuel pump isn't pumping fuel.

I have forgotten one or both several times and then I sit there listening to the ruh, ruh, ruh.

HTH

 

[brian]

Yeah that was my question as well.
Is the engine free?
If you put the cruiser in 1st gear, you bump the engine around by pushing on the truck?

 

[bagochips76]

Yes the motor is free. The issue is that it will not turn over. The starter solenoid engages the flywheel but doesn't turn the engine. Yes there is a good solid ground from battery to frame and from the block to the frame. The headlights dim when engaging the starter.

 

[bagochips76]

2F or are we talking about a V8 or other engine?

2F

 

[mtquivr]

If the headlights are dimming, I would think the starter is drawing current. The engine is free. Can you feel the starter to see if it is spinning? Maybe the Bendix gear is binding.

 

[spotcruiser]

I was going to mention that if he was running a V8. I've seen V8 installs where the starter needed to be shimmed or rotated to correct binding, but I don't think I've ever heard of this problem with an F/2F engine.

Maybe the Bendix gear is binding.

 

[mtquivr]

I was going to mention that if he was running a V8. I've seen V8 installs where the starter needed to be shimmed or rotated to correct binding, but I don't think I've ever heard of this problem with an F/2F engine.

Yeah, I haven't worked on an F in quite awhile. If his starter checks on the bench, he has enough voltage and current to the starter and the engine is free, the problem has to be the interface between the starter and the flywheel. Bad teeth on the flywheel or starter gear or the Bendix is not engaging the flywheel.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi all,

If the truck died while driving it is unlikely to be a starter problem.

Have you checked the distributor for proper operation?

Good luck,

Alan

>I have had the truck running and have even driven it. The last time I took it out for a test drive it was doing fine and then as I was driving the >truck just straight up died on me. It's almost as if the electrical power just cut out on me. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to restart >it. Nothing but a click from the solenoid as it engages the flywheel but it will not turn it.

 

[Tancruiser]

I would push start it and see if she runs if so it's in the starter.

 

[bagochips76]

Its not the starter. I've bench tested it and it tests out fine. I have also tried two other known to be good starters; same issue.

Yeah, I haven't worked on an F in quite awhile. If his starter checks on the bench, he has enough voltage and current to the starter and the engine is free, the problem has to be the interface between the starter and the flywheel. Bad teeth on the flywheel or starter gear or the Bendix is not engaging the flywheel.

The teeth on the starter are good and the teeth on the flywheel are good. This is an electrical issue it would seem. I have successfully started it on multiple occasions with the starter that is in it.

Hi all,

If the truck died while driving it is unlikely to be a starter problem.

Have you checked the distributor for proper operation?

Good luck,

Alan

>I have had the truck running and have even driven it. The last time I took it out for a test drive it was doing fine and then as I was driving the >truck just straight up died on me. It's almost as if the electrical power just cut out on me. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to restart >it. Nothing but a click from the solenoid as it engages the flywheel but it will not turn it.

So, there is an issue with the dizzy... I have also run into a situation with this truck that I have never experienced with a 2F or F. If the dizzy is all the way down seated into the block, it will not run. I have it shimmed so that it sits slightly out of the dizzy hole in the block so that it will run. This makes no sense to me. Logically, it would seem that there is an issue with oil pump but I cannot figure out what that would be. I have not pulled the oil pan yet in hopes that I can resolve this without having to get into the oil pump.

Is it possible that if the distributor is some how bound up in the oil pump that it would prevent the motor from turning?

 

[spotcruiser]

Hey, I didn't notice the earlier mention that the engine died on you previously. But thinking about that and the fact that it won't turn over right now made me think of something. Are you sure the engine turns over freely? Are you sure that the engine is not so tight that the starter cannot turn it over?

About 10 years ago, some friends and I were doing some "death wheeling" in an area called Rimrock and we were running down a trail that ran straight down the mountain side and was at least a 45 degree angle. We were basically doing a controlled slide by feathering the brakes while "standing" on the firewall. Part way down that trail my 2F lost oil pressure and there was no way to stop and do anything about it. That engine idled away for more than an hour, giving me the steering and brakes that I needed, thankfully, but with no oil pressure on the gauge the whole time. I got to the bottom of the trail, crossed a stream, pulled up onto a gravel road and the engine started to sound a little "muffled". I put in the clutch and the engine went silent. The bearings were toasted from all that idling with no oil pressure.

So I ask, are you sure that the engine is not tougher to turn over than it should be? Did you have the distributor out of the engine shortly before it died and perhaps didn't get the oil pump slot lined up properly when the distributor was reinstalled? Just a thought.