Before I fire up the engine for the first time in 13 years. (1 Viewer)

[IslandJ]

Okay so I changed the oil and filter, new fuel filter, new pcv valve, flushed fuel lines, cleaned fuel tank, carb rebuild(mark), new plugs and wires, dropped MMO down the cylinders and rotated the engine manually.
85' FJ60 parked 13 years ago in a garage 6-12 months after a rebuild.

A friend just suggested hooking up a manual oil pressure gauge to make sure the oil pressure is good before firing up. Would you FJ60 gurus recommend this as well? I'm barely a shade tree mechanic, so I apologize if this is a newb question.

Anything else I could have missed?

best,
Jason

 

[mattressking]

Oil pressure gauge is always a good move, though if it is an entirely stock motor, I don't see it being necessary.

Any idea why it was parked after? Any visible leaks anywhere?

I would pull plug wires and fuel line from carb and crank it a bit before firing. Then if all sounds good, add fuel and spark and see how she does. Make sure you have a good battery as well.

Good luck and record it! I think you've hit all the bases.

 

[IslandJ]

Oil pressure gauge is always a good move, though if it is an entirely stock motor, I don't see it being necessary.

Any idea why it was parked after? Any visible leaks anywhere?

I would pull plug wires and fuel line from carb and crank it a bit before firing. Then if all sounds good, add fuel and spark and see how she does. Make sure you have a good battery as well.

Good luck and record it! I think you've hit all the bases.

Wheres a good spot to plug in a mechanical fuel gauge?

From what I know it is stock. PO, the dad of a friend of mine, bought it from the original owner in 87 or 88 and never modified it.
He parked it due to the fuel economy. Must have told me a dozen times how bad the fuel economy was. The PCV valve and fuel filter weren't stock and Mark had mentioned how he fixed some funny business in the carb so maybe that was the MPG issue. Not that these get good MPG to begin with.
Only leaks I have noticed are off the rear diff, brakes and steering fluid i think. Nothing noticeable off the engine.

 

[mattressking]

i would just put it in right before it enters carb, that way you can see fuel pressure into the carb.

Easier check is to pop off the air cleaner and make sure accelerator pump squirts fuel initially. Or just hope for the best and give her a crank after you dry crank it.

Where in LA are you? I'm assuming near burbank if you went to Mark.

 

[Mace]

I'd just start it and look at the oil gauge on the dash. You will know fairly quickly if there is a problem. Oil pressure should rise fairly quickly.

Oil pumps don't normally go bad sitting.
And, if it has a knock at startup, it was already there. It takes a bit to build up enough heat to spin a bearing.

 

[IslandJ]

Where in LA are you? I'm assuming near burbank if you went to Mark.

Close. I'm in Eagle Rock right where the 2 and 134 meet.

 

[Output Shaft]

The biggest hazard to starting an engine that has sat unused for years is running it for the first 15 seconds after start up. There is zero oil lubricating anything and everything is grinding dry, metal on metal. The cylinder bores likely have rust on them too.

Personally----

I'd drain the new oil you just put in the pan (I know, I know) and refill it with a super thin synthetic oil, like a 0W-20.

That oil will pump the fastest and lubricate the engine the quickest during the critical startup period when everything is running dry.

After the engine has been started and warmed up to temp, you can shut down & swap in your original thicker oil before driving it around the block if you want.

 

[Mace]

Not sure if I believe that a zero weight oil will pump up faster considering the old way of getting a oil pump to prime faster was to fill it with grease. And that low of a viscosity will flow faster out of any loose tolerances. But that's based on seat of the pants and not any actual empirical data..

He's already put Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinders. So the rings will be lightly lubricated and that will flow down onto the crank (in some fashion).

If you want to be extra careful, I can see putting the motor at TDC, pulling the distributor, and using a hand drill to prime the oil system. If you pull the valve cover you can see if the oil is making it to the rockers. A little bit of time doing that and you will have a nicely lubricated motor. You can also see if the oil pressure gauge works when doing this. BUT, you have to make sure that the Distributor is seated properly while starting the motor afterwards, or you will not have oil pressure.

 

[Mace]

btw, with a new motor the amount of ZZDP in the oil is very important for cam/lifter longevity. A lot of modern oils have almost none..

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

I use the lucas stuff with every change, about a quarter bottle. The first run got a full bottle and only rand for a hundred miles

@Mace, is TDC where the oil gets to the top? I can't recall but I thought it was off of TDC where the cam lines up with the oil galley. I know that the bottom end and cam are all getting oiled thruout but IIRC the top got squirts only every cam rev, and if you're not lined up just right you won't get rocker oiling while priming.

 

[Mace]

I "thought" that the cam holes align at TDC, but may be mistaken. But honestly, it's not a huge deal as long as the motor has oil pressure. Getting the crank and cam bearings lubed first is of paramount importance considering the motor has already ran for 6-12 months and (presumably) there was oil to the rockers.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

heck, I can't remember; I was hoping you'd remind me...

guess I have to go prime that 3FE for some chips and giggles

 

[Mace]

You can always hand crank the motor over till something happens

 

[mwebfj60]

The oil passage opens right as the #6 intake valve closes. On a 2F anyways.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

you belong in a hospital and I commend you.

 

[mwebfj60]

I second these guys' opinions on priming oil pump first. At a minimum, I would pop valve cover off and pour oil across all the rockers and seats etc. 6mo old rebuild, do this right and get a couple hundred thousand more miles out of it.