2 years without starting BJ70, sludge question (1 Viewer)

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Feb 12, 2014
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Location
Fort Walton Beach, FL
Friends,

Due to some work commits I haven't been able to get to my 1986 BJ70 in a couple years. It lost prime and wasn't started for approx. 2 years. I tried to turn it over today, no start (good crank).

1) Checked the fuel filer bleed, it was dry.
2) Pumped the primer for a good while.
3) Opened filter bleeder, diesel was produced but was brown, and had particulates.
4) Took off fuel filter, beginning of sludge on top.

What's my best course of action?
1) Can I prime it, add a anti-sludge treatment and run a tank trough it?
2) Do I need to drain all the old diesel first?

FWIW, fuel had the AMSOIL diesel all-in-one additive in it.

Any advice is appreciated!

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Diesel bug. You need to clean your tank and all lines running to the injection pump.
 
Definitely dump that diesel and flush everything. New filter. Change it again soon.

Same with the oil, dump the oil, fresh oil and filter.
 
Starting this project...

1) Pulled the fuel sender unit as my fuel gauge had been inop, it was rusted with crud. Ordered a new one.
2) Drained old diesel, tank was full. No big signs of algae/bacteria like clumps.
3) Here's a pic of the bottom of my fuel tank...how bad is this? Trying to prevent having to remove the whole fuel tank if possible. My plan is to mix a strong batch of PowerService Tank cleaner and let it sit for a while, then rinse it out with diesel from the drain plug.
4) Going to flush lines from the tank forward, I've read acetone is a good option to clean the hard lines?

Appreciate it!
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Indeed, that does not look entirely to be diesel bug. It looks almost as if there was some coating inside the tank which is flaking off (they are bare metal inside from factory).

Acetone might work but will damage rubber hoses. Lacquer thinner is another option. My tank was infested with diesel bug - I pulled it and rinsed it with hot KOH (potassium hydroxide) and glycol solution. I got a 20 litre bucket full of liquid the colour of black coffee and a pristine tank with a few rust spots. Flushed the hard lines with the same and replaced all rubber with new, genuine hoses.

You'll need a lot of whatever solvent you use to get all those flakes out, removing the tank is not too big a job (the hard part is disconnecting all the hoses, which you'll need to do anyway) and makes the job far easier and more effective.
 
Thanks a ton for the knowledge so far! I'm removing the tank and taking it into a radiator shop for refurbishing. Question on tank removal: Other than the two bolts holding the metal straps under the fuel tanks, and the various fuel lines, is there anything else holding the tank in place? Wanted to make sure before I really tried to get it out...its currently not budging.

Edit: That appears to be it referencing this thread, but confirming: remove fuel tank - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/remove-fuel-tank.1169566/
 
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Indeed, that does not look entirely to be diesel bug. It looks almost as if there was some coating inside the tank which is flaking off (they are bare metal inside from factory).

Acetone might work but will damage rubber hoses. Lacquer thinner is another option. My tank was infested with diesel bug - I pulled it and rinsed it with hot KOH (potassium hydroxide) and glycol solution. I got a 20 litre bucket full of liquid the colour of black coffee and a pristine tank with a few rust spots. Flushed the hard lines with the same and replaced all rubber with new, genuine hoses.

You'll need a lot of whatever solvent you use to get all those flakes out, removing the tank is not too big a job (the hard part is disconnecting all the hoses, which you'll need to do anyway) and makes the job far easier and more effective.

Did you order OEM fuel line by the foot? Other than the large diameter hose with the triple bend from the fuel filler neck to the tank, It doesn't appear that there are specialty bends in the rubber fuel line.
 
Toyota sell bulk fuel hose, in modern units. For example, for 8 mm (ID) fuel hose, I ordered 95337-08040 which is 400 mm in length. 95337-06030 would be 6 mm ID and 300 mm length. 95332-10020 is 10 mm ID and 200 mm in length, and so on. I replaced all the standard hoses, and also the thick rubber filler pipe which connects the metal filler pipe to the tank.
 
Shopping for parts while I have things torn apart...having a helluva time finding Fig 84-01 on MegaZip and PartsSouq....any hints?

Also, my priming pump actuator is broken on my fuel filter cap (the black cap that holds in the spring and locks the priming pump down). I can still prime by placing vice grips on the machine screw but I can't lock the priming diaphragm back down in this circumstance....any reason I can't run it like that?

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Got the tank out, outside doesn't look bad.

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Couple pics of the fuel level sender and the pickup tube to fuel your nightmares...

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Shopping for parts while I have things torn apart...having a helluva time finding Fig 84-01 on MegaZip and PartsSouq....any hints?

Also, my priming pump actuator is broken on my fuel filter cap (the black cap that holds in the spring and locks the priming pump down). I can still prime by placing vice grips on the machine screw but I can't lock the priming diaphragm back down in this circumstance....any reason I can't run it like that?

View attachment 3659460
You can find these sensors in the 'Switch, Relay & Computer' section. Looks like you can get the relay, but everything else is out of production.

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If I understand your question - the black button is broken but you can still pump the screw head down? There is no locking mechanism for the black button normally, so there should be no change in function.

Nice to see a BJ70 with the winch bumper - do you have a working PTO winch too? Can you tell me if the winch spools out from the top of the drum (like my BJ60), or from the bottom through a slot in the front bumper? Is it a turbo model as per the badge?
 
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You can find these sensors in the 'Switch, Relay & Computer' section. Looks like you can get the relay, but everything else is out of production.

View attachment 3659698

If I understand your question - the black button is broken but you can still pump the screw head down? There is no locking mechanism for the black button normally, so there should be no change in function.

Nice to see a BJ70 with the winch bumper - do you have a working PTO winch too? Can you tell me if the winch spools out from the top of the drum (like my BJ60), or from the bottom through a slot in the front bumper? Is it a turbo model as per the badge?

Ah gotcha...I was having a hard timing finding that page.

As for the fuel tank, the radiator place is gonna run it through a couple steam and wash cycles and see if they can get the failing liner out...they didn't want to run it through an acid wash. I'll post pics once they get done.

I'll post pics tomorrow, but my black button is gone, I can prime by using vice grips on the screw which still connects to the pump. It's more like I can "pull it up" since there's no spring or black cap. I was curious because I believe my HDJ81 primer locks down... either way it "was" running fine without it. Looks like i can get a new fuel filter cap with heater for about $200... probably not worth it if I can get it running normally. Might look at 3d printing a new cap since there's no individual part number for it.

Winch: 90% sure it wraps from the top, I'll check tomorrow. It operates minus the shear pin being...sheared ha. A project I've still yet to tackle.

It's a non-turbo 3B but I did the Garrett turbo kit like 10 years ago...has been solid after I replaced the head gasket and got the EGTs under control.

Thanks for your help!
 
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You can find these sensors in the 'Switch, Relay & Computer' section. Looks like you can get the relay, but everything else is out of production.

View attachment 3659698

If I understand your question - the black button is broken but you can still pump the screw head down? There is no locking mechanism for the black button normally, so there should be no change in function.

Nice to see a BJ70 with the winch bumper - do you have a working PTO winch too? Can you tell me if the winch spools out from the top of the drum (like my BJ60), or from the bottom through a slot in the front bumper? Is it a turbo model as per the badge?
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Sorry for the delay mate. This is how mine is setup....I can't be sure it's the factory setup however...
 
Ok finally getting back to this. I got the tank steamed and then soaked in evaporust and completed restored the tank exterior with Tamco 1k and Herculiner. How's the interior look? I'm hesitant to use a full tank coating product like POR-15 or KBS as I've heard of them failing... There's also some plastic components inside these tanks which might complicate it.... Worse case is I get it running and then eventually do the long range upgrade or figure out how to get a new tank from Japan if this one completely rusts out....there are some available but they won't ship because "fuel" is in the description. I also plan on using the Amsoil Diesel all-in-one and running SeaFoam peridoically.

Hard lines and filter were flushed with SeaFoam and actually didn't produce dirty fuel..

Would you run it?

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I had 4yr old diesel in mine from sitting. Pure sludge. I used lacquer thinner. Pulled the tank, put some nuts/bolts in and drove it in the back of my pickup for a few hours.

Looked brand new
 

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