Hello everyone!
Well, it's been a little while since my last thread! Hope everyone has been doing well!
Some of you may know that I have been using my almost completely original FST 1965 FJ40 as my daily driver in Los Angeles for over a year and a half. Its wonderful (original AFAIK) F engine has been plugging away like a champ, even at 70mph, and the aluminum 4-core radiator (an unfortunately necessary update) helps keep things cool and happy while idling in stop-and-go SoCal traffic. Aside from regular maintenance, new battery, and a carb rebuild, I have had to do very little in lieu of major repairs. That is, until November, 2013.
A photographer friend of mine who specializes in both epic landscape and automotive photography asked to do a shoot with my truck in early November. Go check him out www.peterdawson.net to see some of his stuff. I was pretty eager to make it happen, and we took off for a cool desert area just north of Santa Clarita, CA, about an hour or so north of Los Angeles up interstate 5. I followed him in his car, and after the long push over a pretty high pass, the truck abruptly died. I coasted off to the shoulder and attempted to diagnose.
I recognized pretty quickly that I wasn't getting a spark, so I went and grabbed a new coil from Autozone... no luck. Still no spark. Then, I noticed that the carb fuel window was void of fuel. So, no spark, no fuel. I then check the distributor and realized it wasn't spinning. Since the dizzy and the fuel pump are both mechanically powered, it became pretty clear that I had a non-rotating camshaft. After towing the truck home and doing some research on the forum, I discovered that the cam timing gear was probably at fault. Given the age of the engine, it was likely that it still held the original fiber gear. Here are a couple photos of what it looked like when I pulled the timing cover:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/websethchalmers/1965 Toyota FJ40/IMG_5295.jpg
Sure enough, the cam timing gear was completely wasted! In later years they made them out of steel, with a dampener ring built in. Mine finally had enough, and skipped some teeth, messing up the crank/cam timing. Once the teeth are out of alignment with the crank gear, the engine timing scenario is pretty bleak. (Like, valves hitting pistons, things breaking, sad-owner bleak.) Now, it was time for the moment of truth... The removal of the valve cover and side cover. This is what I discovered when I removed the valve cover and side cover:
If you didn't catch it, here's a closer look at those pushrods:
BENT BENT BENT. All 6 Intake valve pushrods are bent. So, next I removed the rocker assembly, pulled the pushrods and lifters, and laid them out in order to completely assess.
Now, I'm about to drive up to Specter Off-Road and pick up 6 new (used) ones to replace the bent ones.
I know I have to pull the camshaft to remove and replace the cam timing gear, but does anyone have any recommendations on this process? Will a vice and a mallet do the trick?
Any advice from the peanut gallery regarding things I should do before putting it all back together? Naturally, new gaskets everywhere...
Thanks!
-Seth
Well, it's been a little while since my last thread! Hope everyone has been doing well!
Some of you may know that I have been using my almost completely original FST 1965 FJ40 as my daily driver in Los Angeles for over a year and a half. Its wonderful (original AFAIK) F engine has been plugging away like a champ, even at 70mph, and the aluminum 4-core radiator (an unfortunately necessary update) helps keep things cool and happy while idling in stop-and-go SoCal traffic. Aside from regular maintenance, new battery, and a carb rebuild, I have had to do very little in lieu of major repairs. That is, until November, 2013.
A photographer friend of mine who specializes in both epic landscape and automotive photography asked to do a shoot with my truck in early November. Go check him out www.peterdawson.net to see some of his stuff. I was pretty eager to make it happen, and we took off for a cool desert area just north of Santa Clarita, CA, about an hour or so north of Los Angeles up interstate 5. I followed him in his car, and after the long push over a pretty high pass, the truck abruptly died. I coasted off to the shoulder and attempted to diagnose.
I recognized pretty quickly that I wasn't getting a spark, so I went and grabbed a new coil from Autozone... no luck. Still no spark. Then, I noticed that the carb fuel window was void of fuel. So, no spark, no fuel. I then check the distributor and realized it wasn't spinning. Since the dizzy and the fuel pump are both mechanically powered, it became pretty clear that I had a non-rotating camshaft. After towing the truck home and doing some research on the forum, I discovered that the cam timing gear was probably at fault. Given the age of the engine, it was likely that it still held the original fiber gear. Here are a couple photos of what it looked like when I pulled the timing cover:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/websethchalmers/1965 Toyota FJ40/IMG_5295.jpg
Sure enough, the cam timing gear was completely wasted! In later years they made them out of steel, with a dampener ring built in. Mine finally had enough, and skipped some teeth, messing up the crank/cam timing. Once the teeth are out of alignment with the crank gear, the engine timing scenario is pretty bleak. (Like, valves hitting pistons, things breaking, sad-owner bleak.) Now, it was time for the moment of truth... The removal of the valve cover and side cover. This is what I discovered when I removed the valve cover and side cover:
If you didn't catch it, here's a closer look at those pushrods:
BENT BENT BENT. All 6 Intake valve pushrods are bent. So, next I removed the rocker assembly, pulled the pushrods and lifters, and laid them out in order to completely assess.
Now, I'm about to drive up to Specter Off-Road and pick up 6 new (used) ones to replace the bent ones.
I know I have to pull the camshaft to remove and replace the cam timing gear, but does anyone have any recommendations on this process? Will a vice and a mallet do the trick?
Any advice from the peanut gallery regarding things I should do before putting it all back together? Naturally, new gaskets everywhere...
Thanks!
-Seth
