Grey Gardens FJ62LG-PNEA: An idiots guide to resurrecting a high mileage FJ62 (2 Viewers)

[HemiAlex]

I’m really trying hard to just make use of what I parts I alresdy own. I’d like to keep the overall look and feel of a well used stock truck.

I really only have carpet and a dash pad to buy and the truck is “done”.

 

[Hokie LX]

I'm really happy with my Dash Designs dash cover from RockAuto. This pic is right after install but the wrinkles have since gone away.

 

[HemiAlex]

I can get a cap for $200 ish and a $600 real oem dash pad. I’ll probably do the pad and stick the cap over it.

I’ve had a cap on my 60 for years and it still looks great.

 

[HemiAlex]

It goes and gets coffee like a pro. I’ll start doing some short backroads trips today and see how it does. I want to burn the 1/4 tank of old gas I mixed with NEG 87 yesterday.

 

[open country]

Rivaling @wngrog with these mural shots

 

[HemiAlex]

Rivaling @wngrog with these mural shots

I’m merely an apprentice.

He was born to be the sandwich shop photo master.

 

[wngrog]

 

[HemiAlex]

3FE+ 5 speed is the best driving old truck combo. You know this.

 

[wngrog]

3FE+ 5 speed is the best driving old truck combo. You know this.

Yes I do. Once all the garbage is made sound on the 3FE it’s a beautifully performing motor

 

[HemiAlex]

Yes I do. Once all the garbage is made sound on the 3FE it’s a beautifully performing motor

I did TPS, valve adjustment, bb desmog and new cats.

I’d take a smogged 3FE over smogged 2F all day and tomorrow.


Friendly reminder to all, desmog these things and change your oil. This engine was completely locked up with carbon at 291,000 miles. The lifters actually stopped moving and had to be beat out.

I can’t believe this came back and runs so good.

 

[Hokie LX]

A story of perseverance

 

[HemiAlex]

A story of perseverance

*unmedicated ADD.

 

[Hokie LX]

*unmedicated ADD.

We're the same haha

 

[Spike Strip]

Wow. What did you use to clean the sludge off the Rocker assy ?

 

[HemiAlex]

Wirewheel, emory clotch and time. And I soaked the engine crank case in diesel, and I changed the oil multiple times in a very short duration.

It was a mess. I've easily changed the oil 10 times in 300 miles. Every time its black, but getting better. I even put a dual oil filter on it, this second one filters 5 micron min. I run good filters, a magnetic drain plug and 15w40 diesel oil.

These engines are very resilient.

Patented bypass oil filtration systems: TopDog-V, PuppyLub.

Patented bypass oil filtration technologies complementing full-flow oil filters remove the smallest, most dangerous debris a full-flow oil filter will not capture.

www.paretopoint.com

 

[RevISK]

Amazing. I did a half bottle of seafoam a couple hundred miles or so before the last two oil changes and saw a big difference between the two, weren’t as bad as yours but pretty gnarly and now look a lot closer to where you’re at now.

Also did the throttle body cleanse twice with the seafoam intake cleaner and that helped performance immensely.

 

[HemiAlex]

Yota Filters Business Vehicle.

 

[HemiAlex]

The muffler is no longer muffling.

Had it up to 80 mph. Didn’t die.

 

[HemiAlex]

Fixed a few things today.

Found a m8x1.0 nut for the wiper motor to linkage. Wipers work now.

Added my depo clear corner makers. I wanted to get inspected and have normal functioning lights. I’ve got new orange turn signals by depo and reproduction headlight bezels coming too. I’ll do those next week.

Added new grounds. I went from the wiper motor to the chassis ground on the engine, and went from the main chassis ground at the rear by the spare tire to the hatch hinge bolt. This might be overkill, but when I first bought the truck and drove it home; it popped the EFI fuse with no warning. Over kill on grounds is one way to prevent it.

I trimmed my patch panel for the cut out that one of the many PO’s put into the trunk floor. Unsure if I’m going to put this oem panel in, or get a stainless panel and screw it in.


I took it up to 80 mph on a 40 mile round trip down a country road.

The temp climbed a little bit. It got a bit above 3/4. When I got home, I hit it with the IR temp gun and it was at 208*. It started climbing, I backed off and took it to 60 mph and it instantly started coming down.

This engine was a complete basket case when we first started working on it. Radiator had failed from main circuit to trans cooler and the truck was empty of coolant. It was crusty. Lots of galvanic cell corrosion.

I had flushed it a little bit with water and flush over 1.5 years ago, and it drove fine the 50ish miles to get the trans swapped and then it sat with just water in it for a long time.

I easily put 20 gallons of water through it today. I started with just the drain on the radiator, and it was pretty murky. Then I got the block drain off as one piece; it didn’t want to unwind in place.

The worst of the flushing came from the block drain and I made a complete mess of the garage.

I’m hoping that the overheating at speed was all just junk in the lock and possible air trapped in it.

 

[HemiAlex]

Junk in the block, new grounds and the little present the PO left me.