Broken down BJ40 in Medford, OR

[wesintl]

O-k, WTF is a pre-cup?

silly gassers... It's a round "cup" that sits in the head above the pistion next to the valves. Also known as a precombustion chamber. to allow fuel and air to mix to increase ignition and combustion. It's what gives older diesels it's distinct rattle. The new direct injection motors don't have this item and are thus a tad quieter...

 

[Hawke]

Gas and diesel mix. I think some truckers regularly add 5-10 gal of gas to 100 gal as a cheap antigel solution.

I don't want to hijack this thread. Just a word of caution about the above: don't do it. I've been a trucker for over 20 years. I know of no one that would use gas, methyl hydrate, or any kind of alcohol in their fuel, only a proper diesel fuel additive. There is no lubrication in gas etc. Your fuel pump and injectors will be damaged.

ok, now back to the regularly scheduled programming:

 

[Behemoth60]

Well it looks like they did give us diesel.

Ouch, well, that's definately bad news.

I suggest checking the valves. It's possible that if an adjusting nut came loose (as a result of the recent head work - not tightening it properly), you could be slapping the piston.

The other possibility other than pre-cup is a piece of glow plug has broken off. Pulling the glow plugs and checking that they are all intact is also easy to do.

I know for a fact that a 3B head can be removed outdoors with a handful of tools in 2 hours, and replaced in another 2. If it is a broken pre-cup, a replacement is a few hundred from a Toyota dealer and day away by courier.

If it was me, this is what I would do. Call around on the CAC (Cruiser assistance club) and find a close cruiser head who's driveway you can use. Check the valves, glow plugs, and then pull the head. If it is a pre-cup and the head is reasonably straight, and the piston doesn't have a hole in it , I would air freight in a new pre-cup, go for a jet boat ride while it's being air freighted in, install it, put the head back together, and go to Baja.

Worse case scenario, if you need a head, there's a good used 3B head on a broken block in our shop (although not legally mine, it belongs to LumpyBastard on this forum who might be willing to help you out) and a bunch of good pistons in our shop that could be air-freighted to you, installed in a day, and you can still be on your way.

Seroously, dude, his doesn't have to be an expensive pre-mature end to your trip. Get on that jet boat and think about your options.

Peter Straub

 

[Mud_Guppie]

I've got B heads on the shelf. I can order you a gasket set and have it shipped to you ASAP.
The heads aren't rebuilt but they came off of running engines so they would at least get you home.
$230 for a complete head gasket kit, shipping for the head and gasket $?
I'll loan you the head for a few months

or tow the rig home after you enjoy your trip!

 

[fjwagon]

You see what happens when you break down in the states.....People don't know W-T-F is going on. . It's still a sweet engine though....when it's running. Did not mean to hijack this thread.

silly gassers... It's a round "cup" that sits in the head above the pistion next to the valves. Also known as a precombustion chamber. to allow fuel and air to mix to increase ignition and combustion. It's what gives older diesels it's distinct rattle. The new direct injection motors don't have this item and are thus a tad quieter...

 

[cruiser_guy]

You see what happens when you break down in the states.....People don't know W-T-F is going on. . It's still a sweet engine though....when it's running. Did not mean to hijack this thread.

That's why I take my tools and shop manual with me wherever I go. Even so there are shops that refuse to look at the manual because "they know what's wrong". Those are the shops that I don't patronize I've had a shop refuse to do the oil change when I've been on the road 'cause they "couldn't find the dipstick"!?!?! The were a little embarrased when my 12 year old showed them I've also had a dealer in Arizona who was determined that I needed a tranny overhaul when my shifter seat wore out on the H42!!

When one is planning a trip to the Baja or similar then a set of tools and manuals is essential in my book. I carry simple things like belts, hoses, thermostat, fuel filters (2-3 at least for Mexico and CA), injectors and glow plugs.

 

[wesintl]

Like cruiser_guy I always carry the FSM just in case. Look for a hole in the wall diesel shop or call around for a place that works on or can get DENSO parts. VW place.. etc. older diesels are pretty basic

 

[fjwagon]

Good Idea.....you can never go wrong even if you just have the manual and nothing else.

 

[riverguide]

i hope you get all of this fixed soon. At least you are staying safe and keeping a good head about it. You'll get it soon.

 

[Kief]

Hey Sean give me a call, I would be more than happy to help you with storage and maybe a loaner rig, don't know about a long trip but would be happy to help. I also have a truck and flat bed trailer. I will send you another PM. I could also help you find a good local diesel mechanic. I am near Grants Pass- Medford. Sorry to hear about your troubles. Sent you a pm.

 

[alpinestar_01]

anyone know what happend ? I'mon the edge of my seat!

 

[Diescipel]

It's still not over!

We did a little touring in a rental car and went back to Roseburg where we got the "suspected" bad fuel. Well it looks like they did give us diesel. The reciept they gave us says so, and it comes from the pump that the fuel was dispensed with.

Do you still have this fuel? Even if it comes from a diesel pump, the fuel can be contaminated by water etc. This is why we always buy fuel from places that get a lot of business so the fuel gets used before contamination--was this an 'out of the way' gas station? In any case, you can have it tested to see if its flashpoint etc. is within specs for diesel fuel, and if not then the station is liable for the repairs. Ask me now I know (didn't happen with my BJ42 though, learned my lesson before).

I know this is a little late--just saw the post for a new eng, thought I'd bump up for folks to see the whole story.

B

 

[brownbear]

See the wanted section for his advertisement for an engine,

Other thread deleted. Next time just add to this thread, an exsisting one.

 

[wesintl]

I see his ad.. but what was the final outcome on the engine? Did it drop a precup? thow a rod? Did you tear into the engine? closure?

 

[haryv]

I would like to also know what happened to his mis adventure.

 

[Sean Allan]

The Final Story!

Thread Summary:
Low oil, overheated bottom end bearings, clack clack clack, stuck in Medford, vacation in Mexico, towed back to Vancouver, found metal chips in oil pan, repairs underway, advice sought



So after a beautiful 1 month vacation in sunny Baja Mexico, my girlfriend and I returned to Vancouver, BC where we are about to break records with 28days-straight with rain.

Last rainy weekend we drove from Vancouver to Medford with a flatdeck trailer to go and pickup my BJ40 that broke down. Many of you are very curious to know exactly what went wrong... read on... this is the current state of affairs!

The drive from Vancouver to Medford is a boring blast straight south on I-5 that takes about 10hours each way. It rained pretty much the whole damn way. We got to Medford and found the Cruiser sitting sad and forgotten in the "All your Treasures Storage" and we used ratchet straps to work the truck onto the flat deck. The batteries (and therefore the winch) was dead after all the cranking we had done at the Toyota dealership to try and get her to run. I'm sure there was an easier way, such as taking a run at the ramps for the flatdeck, but I was kinda tired out after a 10h drive, ya know? so we slowly ratched the cruiser onto the deck.

Long story short, when I got it back up to Vancouver in my garage I drained the oil and pulled the oil pan to discover all kinds of metal bits :0( NOT GOOD. Upon further analysis the metal bits are magnetic, and therefore steel. My best guess is that this is from a crankshaft bearing or a crankpin bearing. I am more than open to other sugguestions as to what these little shiny bits of metal are from.

Tonight, I'm going to pull the caps off the crankshaft bearings and the crankpin bearings one at a time to try and identify which one(s) are wrecked (I'm hoping only one). My hope is that the two halfs of the bearing shell have been destroyed but the crank surface that the bearing rides on is still okay. I know, I know, this is a slim hope, but this means I can rebuild the bottom end bearings and not have to pull the engine. Has anybody had any experience with bottom end bearing failures? I seem to recall reading some threads to that effect.

I'm glad I didn't try and sort all this out while on my vacation... I'm sure I could have, but I wanted to surf, not wrench.

NOW? Now, I want to fix this, and I'm still probably interested in selling this cruiser. Several people have made tentative inquiries about my really crappy posted ad with no pictures, and I promise you more pictures when I get to my home computer.

 

[cruiser_guy]

All the 3B's I've torn apart (3 total) were well within factory specs on the bearings and all bearings looked good. If you had low oil, the low oil cutoff should have shut you down before damage occured (mine shuts down in under 30 seconds).

 

[haryv]

Cruiser_guy,

Is there a way to test the low oil cut off on my cruiser? Just because the edec is designed to shut off the engine does not mean it could be working when the oil goes low. I was once a Heavy lift helicopter mechanic and the first things a pilot does before starting up the engines or lifting off is he test everything there is or look at the master caution panel BEFORE the engines are started or rotors are turning. How many of us neglect to read the idiot lights in all the cars we own to see the oil pressure light was not lit? I dont see this in my bj-60 but it should have been included when assembled at the factory.

Is there a kit on the market that would send a audiable warning if water or oil goes low? I had a unfortunate example of having the stereo to loud in my thunderbird and did not know it was leaking water and heard this knock knock knock comming from the engine. I turned down the radio and engine temp was sky high. There was no flashing light or warning sound to tell me in advance this was happening when I was more in tune with my driving and stereo. My thunderbird blew a head gasket. Anyway, This 3b engine is just WAY to expensive to have only a temp or oil gage. Looking for somonething to send a audiable warning which will shut off after the oil pressure comes up then shut the engine down. If anyone knows of anything let me know.

Harryv

 

[Sean Allan]

Good bearing cylinder #4

 

[Sean Allan]

I'm having difficulty getting some pictures of the failed bearing up on this site... ug.