I'm a first time poster who has heard great things about the technical expertise on this board.
My '77 FJ40 was running great until one day driving down the road when I suddenly began to lose power (chugging as I stepped on the gas). Eventually I had to pull over. After the engine cooled down I was able to proceed for a mile or so before the power loss again worsened. The problem would intensify to the point where the engine would completely shut down.
Depending on the day, I can fire it up and drive a few miles before the problem starts, and other days it will barely run at all, chugging and missing. The only issue I found that may have played a part is that I found that I had forgotten to tighten the distributor down a short time before the problem started and it was able to turn somewhat easily.
I've also found that the gas visible in the carburetor bowl boils as the engine heats up. The temperature gauge on the dash doesn't read too high. Why???
Adjusting the distributor hasn't worked. I've also cleaned the caburetor and bypassed the ignitor (for the hell of it) along with some other trial and error troubleshooting.
I haven't tried replacing the distributor yet and I have speculated about checking out the wear on the timing gears, but that's a big project for a relatively novice mechanic like myself.
Has anyone heard of this problem or have any ideas about what I should do next? My Cruiser has been OOC for far too long.
I look forward to hearing from someone who really feels my pain. Thanks everyone!
Brian
My '77 FJ40 was running great until one day driving down the road when I suddenly began to lose power (chugging as I stepped on the gas). Eventually I had to pull over. After the engine cooled down I was able to proceed for a mile or so before the power loss again worsened. The problem would intensify to the point where the engine would completely shut down.
Depending on the day, I can fire it up and drive a few miles before the problem starts, and other days it will barely run at all, chugging and missing. The only issue I found that may have played a part is that I found that I had forgotten to tighten the distributor down a short time before the problem started and it was able to turn somewhat easily.
I've also found that the gas visible in the carburetor bowl boils as the engine heats up. The temperature gauge on the dash doesn't read too high. Why???
Adjusting the distributor hasn't worked. I've also cleaned the caburetor and bypassed the ignitor (for the hell of it) along with some other trial and error troubleshooting.
I haven't tried replacing the distributor yet and I have speculated about checking out the wear on the timing gears, but that's a big project for a relatively novice mechanic like myself.
Has anyone heard of this problem or have any ideas about what I should do next? My Cruiser has been OOC for far too long.
I look forward to hearing from someone who really feels my pain. Thanks everyone!
Brian