Tragedy on Cross Country Trip Home (1 Viewer)

[pumbaatx]

I figured I was more immune buying a Cruiser with rebuilt engine and transmission that only had about 30k miles on the rebuilds, but sadly I think I'm dealing with the worst. I'm writing this sitting on the side of the road outside of Monroe, LA. I was on my way to Birmingham from Austin when all of the sudden, I see tufts of white smoke through my rearview mirror. I quickly shut off the truck and rolled myself off to the side of the interstate. I started reading about possible white smoke causes, and ended up checking the coolant and oil levels, both look fine. The car was not running hot even right up to this happening. I tried to crank the car again to see if I could hobble to the next exit and the engine just kinda thuds.

So experts, have I thrown a rod? I have a few big repairs under my belt, but I'm still very much a noob. I appreciate any help and suggestions both on troubleshooting and how to get my car to the right person for an engine rebuild. Should I tow back to Austin, or go ahead and get it on the way elsewhere?

 

[HemiAlex]

I figured I was more immune buying a Cruiser with rebuilt engine and transmission that only had about 30k miles on the rebuilds, but sadly I think I'm dealing with the worst. I'm writing this sitting on the side of the road outside of Monroe, LA. I was on my way to Birmingham from Austin when all of the sudden, I see tufts of white smoke through my rearview mirror. I quickly shut off the truck and rolled myself off to the side of the interstate. I started reading about possible white smoke causes, and ended up checking the coolant and oil levels, both look fine. The car was not running hot even right up to this happening. I tried to crank the car again to see if I could hobble to the next exit and the engine just kinda thuds.

So experts, have I thrown a rod? I have a few big repairs under my belt, but I'm still very much a noob. I appreciate any help and suggestions both on troubleshooting and how to get my car to the right person for an engine rebuild. Should I tow back to Austin, or go ahead and get it on the way elsewhere?

Get it back to Austin and diagnose. You don’t need anyone one taking advantage of you because you’re stuck. Chances are that most places won’t have the parts to tackle anything serious anyway.

You’ll need to investigate and plan to get this resolved.

 

[Ocho77]

Man, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. I'm not going to offer you any advice Good luck with whatever you end up doing. Sorry that happened, pretty disappointing.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Are you sure you have not blown a hose ? Mike

 

[lcwizard]

I've seen cruisers that "threw" a rod. It usually exits the block through a newly made hole. Funny thing is you can frequently drive on the other five cylinders. I drove a 40 home 30 miles on five. If you broke a rod and it was still attached to the crank it would make a hell of a clatter. If broke from the crank it can sometimes push the pistonto the top of the bore and stay . Depending where it broke and how much metal was flopping around would determine the level of noise. If the motor won't turn it's probably a piston locked in the bore. It's odd you heard nothing before a catastrophic failure. Try turning the motor at the pulley with the trans in neutral. I once saw a starter that engaged by itself running down an interstate. The starter smoked and siezed

 

[MarkBC]

Head gasket?

 

[roma042987]

I’m confused. Post says cross country trip home but you were headed to Birmingham...Alabama?
Is this a new purchase? I’ll second arranging getting it home wherever that is. Cheapest will probably be a rental truck and dolly. I locked up an engine in Saskatchewan once 2200 miles from home...yours doesn’t sound too bad.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

I 2nd @HemiAlex Plan's of attack ............


right now is NOT the time to make ANY big decisions

only priorty is getting you and you truck off hwy safe !

then tow to hotel parking lot ,

get a good hotel with a Lounge , and have a beer .

then slowly and carefully plot step 2 then 3

one at a time

do not rush this Tommy

alex is spot on, you will be easy prey for a dishonest shop , and loose in the end


maybe after beer and rest , daylight its something simple like a Blown PCV hose

or , the like causing major mechanical stumbling etc ...........




i will PM You my shop hot line now , if u simply need to discuss ........

matt

 

[The Phoenician]

If it were me, I'd tow it back to Austin and have the guys at Land Cruiser Specialist look at it. They'll shoot you straight and it'll be closer to home if it has to sit for a while.

 

[FishTacos]

Looks like you're 80 miles closer to Birmingham, which is your destination if im reading your first post correctly. I would try to get it there.

That said, I second this assessment:

I 2nd @HemiAlex Plan's of attack ............


right now is NOT the time to make ANY big decisions

only priorty is getting you and you truck off hwy safe !

then tow to hotel parking lot ,

get a good hotel with a Lounge , and have a beer .

then slowly and carefully plot step 2 then 3

one at a time

do not rush this Tommy

alex is spot on, you will be easy prey for a dishonest shop , and loose in the end


maybe after beer and rest , daylight its something simple like a Blown PCV hose

or , the like causing major mechanical stumbling etc ...........




i will PM You my shop hot line now , if u simply need to discuss ........

matt

Maybe it will be something obvious in the light of day and, hey, at least you're not in Saskatchewan on Dec 21.

 

[pumbaatx]

I got my roadside assistance to tow it to a Toyota dealer in Monroe who was kind enough to let me keep it there for the week. I plan to grab a Uhaul and dolly here in Birmingham and grab it on the way back home in Austin ~$600. Good thing is I was able to get a rental, and my pup and I finished out the rest of the trip.

This is not my first long distance trip. I've had the cruiser about a year and a half now. Never any trouble from it on long trips 500 miles or more.

As for the possible causes suggestions, I very much appreciate them. Likely I will tow it back to my apartment or to Land Cruiser Specialist and investigate from there. Like I said, I'm no expert, so this will be a learning experience for me as I get everything working again. I'll make sure to keep you all posted!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

@g-man

@CenTXFJ60

@HemiAlex


while soldering new LED bulbs into some oem analog toyota factory radios late

last night , i had time to reflect a bit about the busy day ......

it came to me that : What would happen if Tommy's Cylinder head OIL Galley

plug was already leaking a bit and loose like they do from age and time ,

and simply Shot Out under pressure or under load up a hill , or vibrated out

during highway overland operation ?




i know this can happen , at base idle in my shop , during a tune up and some

manual carb rev's with my fingers on the accel pump arm .....

i had one simply pop out like a spit ball and ping on fender ,

i was surprised how much oil came out in such a short amount of time , in Real

Time Live seconds , before i got to the key switch , after a quick WTF ? visual

inspection ..


i did not get the smoke he describes but i was not cruising at ORANGE 55 either


the force of rushing air and the fan clutch operation would quickly

blow oil all over a hot hot exhaust manifold and maybe make engine

stumble too ?


well.......

that's my what if it could theory ?




thoughts?

 

[pumbaatx]

My observations on the fluids are:

1. I had plenty of coolant; the overflow reservoir was at the full line and the radiator had some in the elbow under the cap. It was the same pink color as when I put it in.
2. Oil level may have been a bit on the low end. It was still within the hashed area on the dip stick, but not full, maybe a quarter way up. The oil was also pretty dark nearing on black, moreso than I would have expected for 3000 miles, probably a result of the white smoke. This may not surprise anyone, but I'm just giving the info I have. I intended to change it right when I returned (~5000 miles).
3. I will say, when I climbed under the truck, I used my same oil rag, and noticed some oil drip next to the oil drain plug, as well as at the seams of the oil pan. This could just be regular leakage, but it was a bit oily IMO.

HTH. Thanks everyone!

 

[g-man]

@g-man

@CenTXFJ60

@HemiAlex


while soldering new LED bulbs into some oem analog toyota factory radios late

last night , i had time to reflect a bit about the busy day ......

it came to me that : What would happen if Tommy's Cylinder head OIL Galley

plug was already leaking a bit and loose like they do from age and time ,

and simply Shot Out under pressure or under load up a hill , or vibrated out

during highway overland operation ?




i know this can happen , at base idle in my shop , during a tune up and some

manual carb rev's with my fingers on the accel pump arm .....

i had one simply pop out like a spit ball and ping on fender ,

i was surprised how much oil came out in such a short amount of time , in Real

Time Live seconds , before i got to the key switch , after a quick WTF ? visual

inspection ..


i did not get the smoke he describes but i was not cruising at ORANGE 55 either


the force of rushing air and the fan clutch operation would quickly

blow oil all over a hot hot exhaust manifold and maybe make engine

stumble too ?


well.......

that's my what if it could theory ?




thoughts?

Good theory but if (as we now know) the oil was above the low/fill mark on the dip stick I think he is safe from a low oil condition. I've run my for months at or below the fill mark. yes because I'm that dumb to not check it that often. My buddy kidded me that I was trying to wean my motor of the oil.

 

[Godwin]

Good theory but if (as we now know) the oil was above the low/fill mark on the dip stick I think he is safe from a low oil condition. I've run my for months at or below the fill mark. yes because I'm that dumb to not check it that often. My buddy kidded me that I was trying to wean my motor of the oil.

Agree. I have a couple times run 2Fs down to about 2 quarts before realizing how low the level was. Refilled and have not had any short term or apparent long term issues.

 

[g-man]

white smoke and power loss sounds like a blown head gasket. Also associated with a blown head gasket would be a wheezing sound of air pushing out the carb/intake, coolant violently being pushed out the radiator with the cap off and the engine cold, very rough running at idle with stalls and trying to compensate with higher throttle to keep it running.

But don't jump ahead. Start with the basics, Fuel, air, spark, compression and timing are what makes an engine run. It's a big air pump that takes some fuel too. #1 start with a compression check, then check fuel getting down the venturi in the horn. Next spark...check each spark plug with the wire still attached and look for jump of the spark. Youtube it.

I did notice the OP says "pink coolant" wondering if he has mixed it with the green...not good. green plus red equals sticking clogging goo.

 

[g-man]

What were the oil pressure readings and temp gauge readings at the time this happened?

 

[lcwizard]

Agree. I have a couple times run 2Fs down to about 2 quarts before realizing how low the level was. Refilled and have not had any short term or apparent long term issues.

I have friend that beats that. In 73 , his first year college , he bought a new FJ40. He drove it like a college kid that loved wheeling, dirt bikes ,etc, would. Maintenance was limited to zero oil changes in two years. He did top it off when low. One cold winter morning
in 75 he got up to go to class and the truck would turn over, just groan. He thought he seized the engine. He checked his oil and there was tar on the end of the dipstick. He pulled the oil plug and nothing came out. He poured a quart of kerosene in the crankcase and waited about a half hour. The engine slowly started turning with the starter. He poured in another quart of kerosene an in a a half hour or so the engine was turning. Now he could drain the oil which looked more like black oatmeal. He refilled the engine with fresh oil, drove it all day and drained it again hot. Rinse and repeat two or three times. Two months later he drove to the dealer , late at night, and traded in for a new 40. If he'd taken it in during the day he figured they wouldn't have taken it in trade. I can't remember how many times he jumped it. It was beat. Funny thing is he took really good care of his second. Now his son is driving it today.

 

[pumbaatx]

white smoke and power loss sounds like a blown head gasket. Also associated with a blown head gasket would be a wheezing sound of air pushing out the carb/intake, coolant violently being pushed out the radiator with the cap off and the engine cold, very rough running at idle with stalls and trying to compensate with higher throttle to keep it running.

But don't jump ahead. Start with the basics, Fuel, air, spark, compression and timing are what makes an engine run. It's a big air pump that takes some fuel too. #1 start with a compression check, then check fuel getting down the venturi in the horn. Next spark...check each spark plug with the wire still attached and look for jump of the spark. Youtube it.

I did notice the OP says "pink coolant" wondering if he has mixed it with the green...not good. green plus red equals sticking clogging goo.

When I replaced my radiator, I went back in with Asian Red. It has only had red since the flush and replacement.

What were the oil pressure readings and temp gauge readings at the time this happened?

Oil pressure AFAIK was right at the line 3/4 of the way up the stock gauge, where it is pinned when it's above idle. Temperature was pinned right in the middle of the gauge. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to getting more accurate digital gauges, so still running everything stock.

 

[Godwin]

I have friend that beats that. In 73 , his first year college , he bought a new FJ40. He drove it like a college kid that loved wheeling, dirt bikes ,etc, would. Maintenance was limited to zero oil changes in two years. He did top it off when low. One cold winter morning
in 75 he got up to go to class and the truck would turn over, just groan. He thought he seized the engine. He checked his oil and there was tar on the end of the dipstick. He pulled the oil plug and nothing came out. He poured a quart of kerosene in the crankcase and waited about a half hour. The engine slowly started turning with the starter. He poured in another quart of kerosene an in a a half hour or so the engine was turning. Now he could drain the oil which looked more like black oatmeal. He refilled the engine with fresh oil, drove it all day and drained it again hot. Rinse and repeat two or three times. Two months later he drove to the dealer , late at night, and traded in for a new 40. If he'd taken it in during the day he figured they wouldn't have taken it in trade. I can't remember how many times he jumped it. It was beat. Funny thing is he took really good care of his second. Now his son is driving it today.

It's not a contest but he wins. When I bought my '86 FJ60 the 2F leaked and burned a lot of oil. Knowing at some future time I'd be replacing the engine I quit with fresh oil changes and used the old oil from the other Cruisers to top it off. Also saw no point in spending any money on a new oil filter.