Build 1978 FJ40. Waking up the ol’ girl!

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Be aware that 31x10.5s on most white spoke rims run a good chance of hitting and distorting the rear wheel wells (outer lip) the first time you go over a bump and compress the rear suspension. Many, many FJ40s suffer this, so check this carefully after you bolt on the new rubber.
 
SteveH said:
Be aware that 31x10.5s on most white spoke rims run a good chance of hitting and distorting the rear wheel wells (outer lip) the first time you go over a bump and compress the rear suspension. Many, many FJ40s suffer this, so check this carefully after you bolt on the new rubber.
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Ok thanks.
 
-MaTTi- said:
I don’t know, I have tried 3 times by pm and got no answer. Or is @cruiserbrett wrong person?
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Is this something you can do yourself to your own thread? I don't see the icon on your thread, but adding the "Build" tag is something you can do when you create the thread, no moderator support needed. On my build thread the "tag" icon shows up at the top of the page to the right of the username/datetime - I can click that on my thread and edit the tags. I just don't know if you need moderator support to add a tag to a thread which doesn't already have a tag.
 
rossl said:
Is this something you can do yourself to your own thread? I don't see the icon on your thread, but adding the "Build" tag is something you can do when you create the thread, no moderator support needed. On my build thread the "tag" icon shows up at the top of the page to the right of the username/datetime - I can click that on my thread and edit the tags. I just don't know if you need moderator support to add a tag to a thread which doesn't already have a tag.
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Yeah I tried messing with it some more tonight and couldn’t figure it out. Oh well it’s no big deal.
 
Got the new tires on it today. Took out the gun rack and speakers, ripped out the aftermarket tachometer, and started building an order with Mark at Marks off Road... Interior starting to look better without all that clutter!

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Pulled the carb, thermostat housing, and valve cover today. Broke one of the bolts off on the upper thermostat housing. Dammit! Will be sending the carb off this weekend for a rebuild. Now I’m thinking it wouldn’t be that hard to go a little further and take the head off and take it in for a valve job… What do you think? As I said earlier this thing sat for 20 years. Compression on the number four cylinder is 60 or 70 but I haven’t really dug into that yet. This is further than I’ve ever gone in an engine before… A little scary but what’s the worst that could happen!

Then I think well if I get the head off… How hard would it be to pull the rest of it and just go full rebuild? Have to stop thinking… And so the spiraling rat hole begins…ha!

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mrboatman said:
Check and adjust valves.
JP
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Adjusted valves after reading all the threads I could find...definitely learned a lot about engines this last week. Carb got sent off to Marks Off-road today so couldn’t warm the engine. Valves were tight. Couldn’t get a feeler gauge in any of them so loosened and gapped per the manual. I’ll redo when I get it running . #4 compression still around 60% less than the others. Put some compressed air in and definitely can hear the leak...just can’t tell where. Air just goes right on through. When I put air in the other cylinders it actually rotated the engine. Adding oil to the cylinder didn’t change the number much so I would think a valve? Do auto parts stores rent scopes? It would be interesting see what it looks like in there.

Maybe the best course of action is to get it running and drive it for a bit. It sat for 20 years so maybe driving it for awhile will loosen things up.

Thoughts anyone?
 
Eric

Engine oil that leaks down valve guides often ends up leaving deposits on the valves that interferes with proper sealing. Sometimes running the motor will break things loose and the crud will blow out the exhaust. Unfortunately, sometimes it can get stuck at the edge of a valve seat and make things worse.

A vacuum gauge would help identify if it was the intake, as a leaking intake valve would cause a short downward flicker in the gauge.
 
I once corrected a slightly bent valve on a honda after a timing belt break by making a few high rev shifts... it smoothed right out.

I'm not suggesting this method, especially since you've not had the luxury of knowing exactly how it was running prior to it sitting.
 
65swb45 said:
Eric

Engine oil that leaks down valve guides often ends up leaving deposits on the valves that interferes with proper sealing. Sometimes running the motor will break things loose and the crud will blow out the exhaust. Unfortunately, sometimes it can get stuck at the edge of a valve seat and make things worse.

A vacuum gauge would help identify if it was the intake, as a leaking intake valve would cause a short downward flicker in the gauge.
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Thanks Mark. I’ll research that.
 
EStein said:
That’s Really cool! Thanks!
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Suntreemcanic said:
I also have a '78. My daughter drove the'78 all through high school. She said it was a boy magnet. She was driving it in the spring one time up in the mountains and the tires dropped through the packed snow and it went down to the frame. Sat there for 4 days before it froze hard enough to drive it out. My daughter gained a lot of confidence in her abilities changing oil and doing general maintenance. It rubs off and gave her confidence in a lot of other areas .
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Wait!! Boy magnet? Yeah, no unsupervised driving...ever!
 
oestlarsen said:
Bondo and rust can be fixed...bonus on the jack rods and clips! Nice find..
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Thanks! The more I dig into it the happier I am. Everything really solid besides the obvious body work. Once I get the mechanicals sorted, I’ll get going on the aesthetics. Im really antsy to get it driving!
 
thebigredrocker said:
Do you have a "plan of attack" for your fuel tank and lines?
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Well right now my plan of attack his head in the sand! I drained all the fuel in the tank and lines and I couldn’t believe how normal it all looked. Used a bunch to start my burn pile and burned like normal gas! Pre-ethanol? I suppose I should get the tank cleaned and replace all the lines though… Working on the front brakes today. Master cylinder, calipers, rotors, rubber lines…
 
Soak all the fasteners with PB blaster or similar product and let it work, don't be in a rush to get screws backed out. Less broken screws and future work.
 
TCEd said:
Soak all the fasteners with PB blaster or similar product and let it work, don't be in a rush to get screws backed out. Less broken screws and future work.
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Yes! I’ve been waging preemptive strikes on bolts that I know I’m going to work on in the next few days…
 
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