Some have already heard about my adventure over Elephant Hill in Canyonlands NP. After two real poopy weeks at work, I decided to get the heck out of town and enjoy Da'40. I left early Friday morning arriving at the visitor center around 3pm. By 4:30pm I was enjoying the Needles from campsite #1.
For those that have never been over E Hill. This trail is inside the National Park. It is considered easy, from a rock crawling/4 wheel perspective. Even so, E Hill will get your attention if you have never done a trial like this. It also has the ability to plaster a huge grin on your face. It starts out in a parking lot, climbs to the top of a hill, then drops down the other side. There are a few rocky sections along the way to Devil's Kitchen where I stayed. A $30 permit is required and there are four sites tucked into the rocks. It also has two "outhouses" for your pleasure.
First the good:
This engine rocks. I had no problem grunting up anything Da'40 was pointed at. The gearing was just right, but a tad low for E Hill, which is good. First gear was used very little, and only cuz.
Driving down from Monticello to Gallup this truck purred like a pampered kitten. 65mph, then 70mph, then 75mph. Smooth as silk with throttle to spare. Discount Tire is not known for balancing large tires well, and mine were no exception. Before I left I stopped by TDS on 4th street and they spun them true. It made all the difference in the world at highway speeds. This truck steers straight with no effort.
Now the issues.
Power steering continued to puke. I replaced what I thought was the offending hose before I left. Clearly not the problem. It lost no fluid on the drive out. It wasn't until I hit the rocks that it started leaking. After thinking about it, I believe the problem might be the pump. Specifically the seal behind the pulley. Fluid is getting flung around the front of the engine and that is the only possible source I can think of. A second set of eyes will be needed to confirm.
The charcoal canister was filling up with fuel. It did this once before after I had just filled up. In this case it filled after the climb up E Hill. The port for the canister on the tank is at the rear of the gas tank, so instead of collecting vapor, it sucked straight gas. I have an idea for a fix.
I had an issue after climbing the hill, but on the way to the Kitchen. The engine starting bucking and running rough. I thought it was related to the charcoal canister. The other option was vapor lock. As some know the FJ62s retained the cool air fan from the FJ60s that blows air on the intake. After raising the hood for awhile the truck fired up and things were dandy. Except, when I fired up the truck this morning the problem remained for awhile, then went away. Which make me think it was something else.
Now for the big headache. I left Gallup, at a gallop ... 75mph. Truck was fine until I started to pull off at the Pilot truck stop for gas. The truck started bucking again. I limped into the parking lot and started problem solving. I talked with Mike and Ash. I was ready to accept a tow home. In the process, I installed my spare fuel pump to rule out a gas issue. No change. The truck had also cooled enough to rule out vapor lock. I then decided I was hungry and went to the Subway to think about things. In the process something in my head said look under the rocker-arm cover.
Tools out, cover off and guess what ... STUCK VALVE. The cylinder 1 intake valve was fully compressed. The rocker arm and push rod were flopping about. A screwdriver between the coils popped it up. This leads to three questions.
1) What caused it?
2) How can I prevent it from happening again?
3) Did I damage the valve/head?
I think the answer to #3 is yes. While the engine ran fine on the drive from Gallup to ABQ, it does have a miss at idle. Ryan says pull the head. I have a call into Tim who built the engine to see what he says I should do.
As you can see from the pic there was a chance of rain. The predicted day was Saturday, and yep it poured.
For those that have never been over E Hill. This trail is inside the National Park. It is considered easy, from a rock crawling/4 wheel perspective. Even so, E Hill will get your attention if you have never done a trial like this. It also has the ability to plaster a huge grin on your face. It starts out in a parking lot, climbs to the top of a hill, then drops down the other side. There are a few rocky sections along the way to Devil's Kitchen where I stayed. A $30 permit is required and there are four sites tucked into the rocks. It also has two "outhouses" for your pleasure.
First the good:
This engine rocks. I had no problem grunting up anything Da'40 was pointed at. The gearing was just right, but a tad low for E Hill, which is good. First gear was used very little, and only cuz.
Driving down from Monticello to Gallup this truck purred like a pampered kitten. 65mph, then 70mph, then 75mph. Smooth as silk with throttle to spare. Discount Tire is not known for balancing large tires well, and mine were no exception. Before I left I stopped by TDS on 4th street and they spun them true. It made all the difference in the world at highway speeds. This truck steers straight with no effort.
Now the issues.
Power steering continued to puke. I replaced what I thought was the offending hose before I left. Clearly not the problem. It lost no fluid on the drive out. It wasn't until I hit the rocks that it started leaking. After thinking about it, I believe the problem might be the pump. Specifically the seal behind the pulley. Fluid is getting flung around the front of the engine and that is the only possible source I can think of. A second set of eyes will be needed to confirm.
The charcoal canister was filling up with fuel. It did this once before after I had just filled up. In this case it filled after the climb up E Hill. The port for the canister on the tank is at the rear of the gas tank, so instead of collecting vapor, it sucked straight gas. I have an idea for a fix.
I had an issue after climbing the hill, but on the way to the Kitchen. The engine starting bucking and running rough. I thought it was related to the charcoal canister. The other option was vapor lock. As some know the FJ62s retained the cool air fan from the FJ60s that blows air on the intake. After raising the hood for awhile the truck fired up and things were dandy. Except, when I fired up the truck this morning the problem remained for awhile, then went away. Which make me think it was something else.
Now for the big headache. I left Gallup, at a gallop ... 75mph. Truck was fine until I started to pull off at the Pilot truck stop for gas. The truck started bucking again. I limped into the parking lot and started problem solving. I talked with Mike and Ash. I was ready to accept a tow home. In the process, I installed my spare fuel pump to rule out a gas issue. No change. The truck had also cooled enough to rule out vapor lock. I then decided I was hungry and went to the Subway to think about things. In the process something in my head said look under the rocker-arm cover.
Tools out, cover off and guess what ... STUCK VALVE. The cylinder 1 intake valve was fully compressed. The rocker arm and push rod were flopping about. A screwdriver between the coils popped it up. This leads to three questions.
1) What caused it?
2) How can I prevent it from happening again?
3) Did I damage the valve/head?
I think the answer to #3 is yes. While the engine ran fine on the drive from Gallup to ABQ, it does have a miss at idle. Ryan says pull the head. I have a call into Tim who built the engine to see what he says I should do.
As you can see from the pic there was a chance of rain. The predicted day was Saturday, and yep it poured.
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