BJ60 Air Leaks Only When Cold (1 Viewer)

[FJ40SBC]

So I've spent a fair bit of time scrolling on the forums looking at how most solved this issue and have a pretty good bearing on where to go but I'm hoping I can get some educated guess' what the culprit could be..

My new to me '84 Bj60 has been an absolute trooper this year, bought it on Vancouver Island when I was trying SO HARD to get something a little more modern and turn key and less of a project than my '74 40 series ... I guess it's new enough . Anyway, put down about 20k-ish kilometers and she needs some lovin'. Recently I've been having air leak issues, replaced the primer pump with a Bosch unit and thought I had solved it but after a couple weeks it stalled on warm up - after an hour of priming I finally got it going and made it back home.

So it runs fine when the weather is fairly warm, about zero Celsius and up, but soon as it gets -5 or colder I get air leaks until I get it warm enough that it goes away.. Once it's at operating temp the issue is gone for the rest of the day I can leave it off for several hours and get in and go with no dramas. I found one thread that someone was talking about heated fuel filters have an o-ring that can cause leaks but that was 80 series related - note sure if the same can be said for a 3B?

With all that being said, if it goes away after the truck warms up, this would tell me whatever the leak is it's somewhere under the hood? I've read a lot of threads that people found their leaks around the fuel tank but I can't see that being my case. My plan is to get to the fuel filter, check the fuel line off the banjo fitting, and water separator - every time I bleed the air out first thing in the morning the initial spit of fuel looks pretty nasty. I'll be tackling this in the next couple days, hopefully someone with a little more toyota diesel knowledge can diagnose my dilemma from their end of a computer

 

[FJ40SBC]

Forgot to mention glow plugs have been just replaced and the truck fires up strong as hell with factory super glow system at -15 as of this morning. Soon as it starts getting a little warm it stalls, I prime until it can run steady and work out the air until its warm and then I carry on with my day with frozen diesel covered hands

 

[duncanrm]

I would bypass the factory sedimenter/water separator and drive it for a while, its a very common source of issues with B/H engines.. Unless its been opened for cleaning recently its likely to be full of sludge and may have a pinhole or two as they corrode out. You can fit an aftermarket unit if it turns out to be the issue.

 

[Dusten]

Does the fuel filter housing have a heater built into it? It's a common source for cold weather leaks.

 

[FJ40SBC]

I would bypass the factory sedimenter/water separator and drive it for a while, its a very common source of issues with B/H engines.. Unless its been opened for cleaning recently its likely to be full of sludge and may have a pinhole or two as they corrode out. You can fit an aftermarket unit if it turns out to be the issue.

I was thinking along those lines - I did try draining it when I had the issue before swapping out the primer pump and clean fuel came out no problem but it's getting replaced for the sake of process of elimination and it really has seen better days. Gonna see if a local parts store has a Racor, if not I'll put one on order.

 

[FJ40SBC]

Does the fuel filter housing have a heater built into it? It's a common source for cold weather leaks.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. This is my first diesel so I'm not sure what to look for.. I can post a pic in pretty quick and maybe someone can confirm

 

[FJ40SBC]

So there's no lines going to the housing that would give it heat, unless there's something in the housing that creates heat?

 

[duncanrm]

• There's no heater in the filter.
• The filter looks really really old
• The engine has clearly been neglected over many years
• Your air crossover pipe looks pretty dodgy
• Sedimenters always flow clean fuel out the drain even when they're full of gunk, its not until they're opened the full extent of the issue becomes obvious. Its my goto first step always on an old Toyota diesel when its sucking air or there's a fuel supply issue - a few images here -> HJ60 Sedimenter - https://photos.app.goo.gl/yTBd1qwecH7oP5L77

 

[FJ40SBC]

• There's no heater in the filter.
• The filter looks really really old
• The engine has clearly been neglected over many years
• Sedimenters always flow clean fuel out the drain even when they're full of gunk, its not until they're opened the full extent of the issue becomes obvious. Its my goto first step always on an old Toyota diesel when its sucking air or there's a fuel supply issue - a few images here -> HJ60 Sedimenter - https://photos.app.goo.gl/yTBd1qwecH7oP5L77

Okay that's what I figured. Damn that's gross - I have no doubt mine will turn out like that. And yes the last few owners have done very little to keep this truck going. Slowly picking away at the maintenance work while learning as much as I can. Bought it with 595k on the odo, stopped at 600 flat but I'd say it's got 615k now from all the work travel I've had this year. My plans is to restore it into a happy long distance daily and turn key camper, give it another chance to live a long life.

I'm heading to napa for some tail light bulbs so I'll grab some fittings to delete the water seperator and see how it runs tomorrow morning. Warming it up at 0 degrees right now so shouldn't have any issues today but it'll be a low of minus 20 tonight .

 

[duncanrm]

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[duncanrm]

I've been as low as -7deg with my 2H powered Troopy.. and that was very very rare for me. Even 0deg is rare. -20deg seems arctic and incomprehensible to me.

Get a fuel filter at NAPA at the same time, just be aware that you may struggle to prime it depending on state of the primer pump etc, so if you do have a source of good clean diesel consider prefilling the filter. Alternatively if you can get some "Liqui Moly Diesel Purge PLUS" you can prefill with that (just make sure its the "PLUS" stuff, its the only Liqui Moly product that you can safely fill the filter with.

I like the sound of your plans!

 

[FJ40SBC]

I've been as low as -7deg with my 2H powered Troopy.. and that was very very rare for me. Even 0deg is rare. -20deg seems arctic and incomprehensible to me.

Get a fuel filter at NAPA at the same time, just be aware that you may struggle to prime it depending on state of the primer pump etc, so if you do have a source of good clean diesel consider prefilling the filter. Alternatively if you can get some "Liqui Moly Diesel Purge PLUS" you can prefill with that (just make sure its the "PLUS" stuff, its the only Liqui Moly product that you can safely fill the filter with.

I like the sound of your plans!

Lol yeah it gets pretty cold in Canada this time of year, weather app may be off a couple degrees but it's averaging around -15 through the week. I made my rounds before I read your post so I'll run back out shortly and make the swap later before it gets too cold. I have a new Bosch primer pump so I should be okay with priming. I'll come back with an update after tomorrow mornings cold start test

 

[bcsteel]

Is it possible you still have some summer diesel in your tank and it’s partially gelling? Have you looked at your fuel line connections for cracks? That would likely be a thing in the cold. Definitely a filter change is in your future. Cross over pipe too. That thing is crap. Where in BC are you? I may have a spare crossover pipe.

 

[FJ40SBC]

Is it possible you still have some summer diesel in your tank and it’s partially gelling? Have you looked at your fuel line connections for cracks? That would likely be a thing in the cold. Definitely a filter change is in your future. Cross over pipe too. That thing is crap. Where in BC are you? I may have a spare crossover pipe.

Mmm.. I doubt it, this has been my daily rig and it hasn't spent a lot of time parked. I've checked every one I could without knocking rust off with my noggin and they all 'look' good but that being said everything on this truck is old if not original and needs replacing so I'm just gonna get a good length of fuel linen and start changing it out on a warmer day. Didn't get to deleting the water separator last night so did it this morning .. hands were ice cubes by the time I was done. Still had air issues afterward but probably took on air overnight... So I'm changing the filter now and we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning.

I'm in Kamloops. I'm not working at the moment so I'm pretty mobile - we're heading to the Fraser Valley for Christmas holidays if you're there or somewhere along the way?

 

[bcsteel]

I’m in Northern BC but the mail system should get it to you within the month .

 

[FJ40SBC]

I’m in Northern BC but the mail system should get it to you within the month .

Lol I just noticed your profile says you're in Terrace, I grew up in Rupert Hey I'll take it, the ol bus needs all the love she can get

 

[bcsteel]

ok, pm me and I’ll look and make sure mine aren’t crap. @crawlin cruiser may have something that’s close by as well…

 

[FJ40SBC]

Made a rookie mistake and didn't check the filter before purchasing, turned out to be the completely wrong. So exchanging that tomorrow.. still had an air leak without the water separator so can rule that out. Once I finally change the fuel filter maybe I'll have a go at the return line off the banjo. Might as well order a fuel pick up from Radd Cruisers while I'm at it... Just retracing my footsteps, is it common practice to change any hardware when swapping out primer pumps? All I did was screwed off the old one and put the new one on.

 

[duncanrm]

is it common practice to change any hardware when swapping out primer pumps? All I did was screwed off the old one and put the new one on.

Screw off, screw on.. nothing to change over.

If you disturb any of the banjos be sure to replace the crush washers, front and back. Also, one of the banjos will have a gauze mesh inside it - usually lift pump inlet, its worth cleaning - if you have crush washers ready to replace when reinstalling.

 

[lacalvette]

Keep in mind that the fuel system is under vac from fuel tank to hand priming pump.
Including the fuel injector leak line to hand priming pump.
There is a non-return valve after the hand priming pump.
Right after the hand priming pump, in the same housing, there is the fuel feed pump (booster pump) actuated by the fuel injection pump camshaft. There too is another non-return valve. The feed pump keep the fuel system pressurized so the injection doesn’t suffer from cavitation.

Hence you won’t have an « air leak » after the hand priming pump to the injectors but a fuel leak.

There is many connections between hard steel line and flexible rubber line, the clamp may be weak…
I think it happen to someone that the fuel pick up was the culprit.