Hey, all. Just became a proud member of the 40 club, and this is my inaugural post... I posses some basic mechanical knowledge, but still have a lot to learn about the nuances of the Land Cruiser, so please bear with me!
I picked up my new Cruiser in Northern California and subsequently began the long, hot drive back home to Los Angeles, with a stop-over in Yosemite for good measure. The 1979 FJ40 I purchased was originally sold in California, then spent some time in Oregon before returning home to the Golden State with its PO. I am the fourth owner. It had been de-smogged, then re-smogged with its original equipment roughly four years ago. It's a relatively low-mileage rig (less than 70k), and DMV records seem to support that. Engine has never been rebuilt and a recent compression test shows consistently strong numbers (130-140) across all cylinders. There are no significant fluid leaks. This is all for a bit of context...
On the first leg of my trip, after 2-3 hours of driving the engine began to lose power and "stutter," which shook the whole vehicle, and became pronounced unless I took my foot off the gas completely. My top speed on the highway was between 60-65, but there were some back roads mixed in so I wasn't going flat out the whole time. It was in the high 80's/low 90's outside but the engine temp gauge stayed between the 1/3 and 2/3 mark, usually closer to 1/3. I pulled off and let the truck rest a bit, then continued on. The problem re-emerged as I climbed into the mountains and the stutter appeared in 3rd and then 2nd gear. I had to pull off completely on a particularly steep incline.
At this point I spoke to the PO, who reported having a similar issue on occasion, but thought it was the result of the smog equipment. After letting it rest, I made it to a gas station and filled the tank (it was down to 1/4). I started on my way again, and the problem disappeared completely. This led me to believe it was possibly some issue with the tank (which is original) or fuel pump/sender. But, again, I mostly have no idea what I'm talking about.
The truck was driving perfectly after that, making a couple of trips down into Yosemite Valley and back out over the next couple of days. No problems at all. Then, on the last leg of my trip back to LA, the stutter re-emerged a couple of hours into my drive (just in time for the grapevine, of course). I let it rest, filled the tank, had some In-n-out, and made it through the pass. But for the rest of the trip it continued to stutter at around 50 mph, sometimes lower.
What do you all make of this, seasoned Mudders?
I picked up my new Cruiser in Northern California and subsequently began the long, hot drive back home to Los Angeles, with a stop-over in Yosemite for good measure. The 1979 FJ40 I purchased was originally sold in California, then spent some time in Oregon before returning home to the Golden State with its PO. I am the fourth owner. It had been de-smogged, then re-smogged with its original equipment roughly four years ago. It's a relatively low-mileage rig (less than 70k), and DMV records seem to support that. Engine has never been rebuilt and a recent compression test shows consistently strong numbers (130-140) across all cylinders. There are no significant fluid leaks. This is all for a bit of context...
On the first leg of my trip, after 2-3 hours of driving the engine began to lose power and "stutter," which shook the whole vehicle, and became pronounced unless I took my foot off the gas completely. My top speed on the highway was between 60-65, but there were some back roads mixed in so I wasn't going flat out the whole time. It was in the high 80's/low 90's outside but the engine temp gauge stayed between the 1/3 and 2/3 mark, usually closer to 1/3. I pulled off and let the truck rest a bit, then continued on. The problem re-emerged as I climbed into the mountains and the stutter appeared in 3rd and then 2nd gear. I had to pull off completely on a particularly steep incline.
At this point I spoke to the PO, who reported having a similar issue on occasion, but thought it was the result of the smog equipment. After letting it rest, I made it to a gas station and filled the tank (it was down to 1/4). I started on my way again, and the problem disappeared completely. This led me to believe it was possibly some issue with the tank (which is original) or fuel pump/sender. But, again, I mostly have no idea what I'm talking about.
The truck was driving perfectly after that, making a couple of trips down into Yosemite Valley and back out over the next couple of days. No problems at all. Then, on the last leg of my trip back to LA, the stutter re-emerged a couple of hours into my drive (just in time for the grapevine, of course). I let it rest, filled the tank, had some In-n-out, and made it through the pass. But for the rest of the trip it continued to stutter at around 50 mph, sometimes lower.
What do you all make of this, seasoned Mudders?
