Sorry I can’t be of any help. I have a bj74 but have very little technical knowledge when it comes to stuff like this. I’m just popping in to encourage you to keep posting and thank the folks that are smarter than me and offering good advice!
Build 1988 BJ74 “Number 1”
- Thread starter FJBen
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #243
glad you got that figured out!
- Thread starter
- #245
Going to try later and hunt down the electric draw. So close to starting.
- Thread starter
- #246
So after a sleep deprived weekend (daughters prom and we did the after party) I went tackling this again. I got the ground sorted out and the starter would bump. Also thanks to @jfrench and @saltycoconuts I found out that connector was for the VSV. 
Had my middle daughter help me troubleshoot clicking. One such click was the ARB compressor as I had flipped the switch on. After I turned that off, no drain on the battery. Gaining ground.I'm still not sure why the compressor didn't turn on.
The other click was the vacuum modules on the firewall. I assumed that should probably happen.
I still had the issue of if I turned the key off and took it out, power would still stay on. I happened to look down and see this powered up, and hit the "stop" button and low and behold, all power goes off.
Forgot all about that little nugget.
Yeah, Mr. Turbo Timer is working fine. A lot of worry over nothing. At this point it was finish fluids, new oil in the tranny/t-case, slap some diesel in and lets try starting this beast.
Pulled it out of the shop and hoped no loud metal on metal clanging was going to occur. Still not really happy with how the overflow hose is. I will probably reroute that.
Thats a great sound.
13BT Alive
Had my middle daughter help me troubleshoot clicking. One such click was the ARB compressor as I had flipped the switch on. After I turned that off, no drain on the battery. Gaining ground.I'm still not sure why the compressor didn't turn on.
The other click was the vacuum modules on the firewall. I assumed that should probably happen.
I still had the issue of if I turned the key off and took it out, power would still stay on. I happened to look down and see this powered up, and hit the "stop" button and low and behold, all power goes off.
Forgot all about that little nugget.
Yeah, Mr. Turbo Timer is working fine. A lot of worry over nothing. At this point it was finish fluids, new oil in the tranny/t-case, slap some diesel in and lets try starting this beast.
Pulled it out of the shop and hoped no loud metal on metal clanging was going to occur. Still not really happy with how the overflow hose is. I will probably reroute that.
Thats a great sound.
13BT Alive
- Thread starter
- #247
Shut her off and took a quick look. Had a leak at the heater core hose (more on that later) tightened up and we seemed to be good to go. I only idled for about 45 seconds as idling with a new engine is not a good thing. Get it out and running to get those rings seated.
I pumped and pumped on the primer until I felt like I had good pressure built up. A few cranks and a little catching. I decided giving it a little throttle and she fired right up. Idle was set WAY too low. It spit and sputtered and belched smoke for about a minute, purging air and getting settled in. I turned the hand throttle to idle around 800rpm which seemed to sound good.
Shut it down and then went to get more diesel. Put 5 more gallons in and loaded up my wife and middle daughter for the first test drive.
Smooth. Torque.
I was actually surprised but how quiet it was engine wise AND just vehicle wise. I was expecting a more 40 series squeaky rattly obnoxious ride. It was quite the opposite. Now, it's no lexus 570, but I was impressed. The boost feels really good and the little green light comes on pretty quick.
It's peppy for sure. I only missed a few shifts but easier than I thought to drive on the right side. It shifts pretty good too. I was afraid with higher mileage it might be pretty notchy. So far so good. Took a few mile drive on back country roads to our friends house to get my son and he ran up and was so excited. He said he heard the diesel coming and ran up cheering.
Popped the hood and oil!!! Crap. running down to the front driveshaft, leaf spring, not good. Checked oil, still in the range but dripping from what looks like oil cooler area. Grabbed some tools and tightened a few things. I "think" pretty sure, that the alternator pressure wasn't on tight enough to crush the washers allowing oil to come out. Tightened up and everything else around, wiped it down as much as I could. When I got home I didn't see any new oil on the driveshaft and dripping so I think it's fixed. I will investigate further in the next few days.
Fun to drive and I can't wait to push it a little harder. Right now its breaking in, running at different RPM's, occasional power bursts, nothing crazy yet.
NO SUSTAINED SAME RPM DRIVES OR LONG IDLING. Not good for a new non-broken in engine.
I was smiling pretty big all last night and today. I will be more excited when I license it and start driving in the next week.
I pumped and pumped on the primer until I felt like I had good pressure built up. A few cranks and a little catching. I decided giving it a little throttle and she fired right up. Idle was set WAY too low. It spit and sputtered and belched smoke for about a minute, purging air and getting settled in. I turned the hand throttle to idle around 800rpm which seemed to sound good.
Shut it down and then went to get more diesel. Put 5 more gallons in and loaded up my wife and middle daughter for the first test drive.
Smooth. Torque.
I was actually surprised but how quiet it was engine wise AND just vehicle wise. I was expecting a more 40 series squeaky rattly obnoxious ride. It was quite the opposite. Now, it's no lexus 570, but I was impressed. The boost feels really good and the little green light comes on pretty quick.
It's peppy for sure. I only missed a few shifts but easier than I thought to drive on the right side. It shifts pretty good too. I was afraid with higher mileage it might be pretty notchy. So far so good. Took a few mile drive on back country roads to our friends house to get my son and he ran up and was so excited. He said he heard the diesel coming and ran up cheering.
Popped the hood and oil!!! Crap. running down to the front driveshaft, leaf spring, not good. Checked oil, still in the range but dripping from what looks like oil cooler area. Grabbed some tools and tightened a few things. I "think" pretty sure, that the alternator pressure wasn't on tight enough to crush the washers allowing oil to come out. Tightened up and everything else around, wiped it down as much as I could. When I got home I didn't see any new oil on the driveshaft and dripping so I think it's fixed. I will investigate further in the next few days.
Fun to drive and I can't wait to push it a little harder. Right now its breaking in, running at different RPM's, occasional power bursts, nothing crazy yet.
NO SUSTAINED SAME RPM DRIVES OR LONG IDLING. Not good for a new non-broken in engine.
I was smiling pretty big all last night and today. I will be more excited when I license it and start driving in the next week.
- Thread starter
- #249
Drive by.
So the issue I'm having now, going to try in Diesel tech as well, is hard starting. It almost acts like its starved for fuel. I have to press on the accelerator to start and then it sputters and smokes for about a minute. The idle is very low on start and won't stay running. After that it smooths out just fine and then starts instantly with just a small bump of the starter.
Rebuilt IP
Rebuilt Injectors
Cleaned fuel tank
Cleaned fuel lines
New Fuel soft lines
New Filter
Cleaned seperator
It leans towards an air leak but then I (wrongly?) assume that once it runs normal it would purge the air?
So the issue I'm having now, going to try in Diesel tech as well, is hard starting. It almost acts like its starved for fuel. I have to press on the accelerator to start and then it sputters and smokes for about a minute. The idle is very low on start and won't stay running. After that it smooths out just fine and then starts instantly with just a small bump of the starter.
Rebuilt IP
Rebuilt Injectors
Cleaned fuel tank
Cleaned fuel lines
New Fuel soft lines
New Filter
Cleaned seperator
It leans towards an air leak but then I (wrongly?) assume that once it runs normal it would purge the air?
Last edited:
My 13BT idles low at cold start. That's what the hand throttle is for. It smooths out and picks up after a few minutes. It takes some throttle at the start. Obviously pumping the throttle does nothing. Is your glow system working?
- Thread starter
- #251
I'm not sure if the glow system is working. It's hooked up. I'm guessing it doesn't activate at the temps we are at now. I tried this yesterday at 70 degrees and it did the same thing. Pumping the throttle like a carb doesn't do anything before, but it does make this start. I can crank and it will sputter but not catch. As soon as I pump while cranking, it catches and starts to run.
Just hold the throttle slightly open. Don't pump.
- Thread starter
- #253
I'll try that. I don't "pump" just only a little as I don't want to over-rev. Does your sputter to start even at warm temps? I guess I assumed it would start much easier in the warmer weather.
Hot starts are fine. Sometimes the initial idle is low so I just wind the hand throttle a bit.
- Thread starter
- #256
Did a few little things. Drove to work in it. Going to get the VIN inspection today so I can license it.
Air Pressure: I set it at 45psi since they are E rated tires 235 85R16 and the ride was much more solid feeling.
Horn ring: That was screeching annoyingly. I cleaned with contact cleaner, but it needs a little dielectric grease to be silent. Noise level is down about 95%.
Turn Signal: It's nice going to the auto parts store and grabbing a 12v bulb.
Rear bumper. I'm going to re-paint it and put it back on along with the trailer hitch.
Heater Core: pretty sure it's plugged. Zero heat so I need to flush it with a little power. I tried flushing before without using much pressure and it ran clean, but I had a hunch it might be plugged. Going to do that fairly soon so nothing dislodges and gets into cooling. Coolant still looks new.
Still probably chasing air in the lines in the morning. I pumped the primer a few times and it instantly fired then died. Happened 3 times before it caught then sputtered and smoked for a minute. After driving 500' it was all clear.
Air Pressure: I set it at 45psi since they are E rated tires 235 85R16 and the ride was much more solid feeling.
Horn ring: That was screeching annoyingly. I cleaned with contact cleaner, but it needs a little dielectric grease to be silent. Noise level is down about 95%.
Turn Signal: It's nice going to the auto parts store and grabbing a 12v bulb.
Rear bumper. I'm going to re-paint it and put it back on along with the trailer hitch.
Heater Core: pretty sure it's plugged. Zero heat so I need to flush it with a little power. I tried flushing before without using much pressure and it ran clean, but I had a hunch it might be plugged. Going to do that fairly soon so nothing dislodges and gets into cooling. Coolant still looks new.
Still probably chasing air in the lines in the morning. I pumped the primer a few times and it instantly fired then died. Happened 3 times before it caught then sputtered and smoked for a minute. After driving 500' it was all clear.
Awesome man. Nice to see it on the road. Sounds great!
Sometimes the butterfly disc in the throttle intake may not be at the right position at start. I know @CenTXFJ60 had a hard start issue on his 12HT and needed to see if it was per FSM. Not sure what it is for the 13BT. You might want to check this.
- Thread starter
- #259
Even though it was 38 degrees this morning, it starting on the first little bump but still smoked. Didn't stumble as much. I guess I wouldn't say it's a "hard" start as it does catch pretty much instantly, just more of a do I have everything else correct sorta deal.
Possibly still a fuel issue and the fact the engine maybe has 50 miles on it now? There is a butterfly for shutdown so I will look into that.
- Thread starter
- #260
Went for a 1.5hr drive, up hills and around to keep breaking the engine in. Seems to be running fine. I have no baseline on how this engine should run/pull???
I've got about 200 miles on her now.
Put the rear bumper and tow hitch back on.
Now I have a leak at the bell housing. Its not engine oil which is good, but it's gear oil which is slightly annoying as it means the tranny needs to come off. I replaced the input seal and gasket and sealed the threads on the bolts so I'm not sure what could be leaking.
It's still sputtering/smoking on first startup after sitting. Rev it a few times, the sputter and smoke go away and all is good. Pretty sure it's air in fuel lines.
I still have a list of things that need to be fixed:
heater core flush, no heat whatsoever
air coming through passenger footwell (think its outside/recirc vent possibly)
HVAC controls recirc/fresh is broken and doesn't work, plastic on HVAC controls broke
slow wipers
wanders...probably tie rod ends and general front end cleanup
Stereo factory radio screen is shot and only one speaker works. While that one speaker actually sounds OK, I think with all 4 and eventually the sub/amp I have it will be much better. I'm probably not spending much on a new receiver.
I've got about 200 miles on her now.
Put the rear bumper and tow hitch back on.
Now I have a leak at the bell housing. Its not engine oil which is good, but it's gear oil which is slightly annoying as it means the tranny needs to come off. I replaced the input seal and gasket and sealed the threads on the bolts so I'm not sure what could be leaking.
It's still sputtering/smoking on first startup after sitting. Rev it a few times, the sputter and smoke go away and all is good. Pretty sure it's air in fuel lines.
I still have a list of things that need to be fixed:
heater core flush, no heat whatsoever
air coming through passenger footwell (think its outside/recirc vent possibly)
HVAC controls recirc/fresh is broken and doesn't work, plastic on HVAC controls broke
slow wipers
wanders...probably tie rod ends and general front end cleanup
Stereo factory radio screen is shot and only one speaker works. While that one speaker actually sounds OK, I think with all 4 and eventually the sub/amp I have it will be much better. I'm probably not spending much on a new receiver.