F engine oil pressure problems

[Sir X Loin]

Hey whats up. My name is Brian. I live in vermont and have a 70 FJ40. I bought the rig from an old buddy who got it from an old farmer for $300. the things had a rusted out frame amoung many other vital problems. Anyways, the years past and he got it running pretty good.

I bought it from him about 6 months ago. when i got into it, it had stuck valves, crappy ignition, and some front shackle damage. i did a valve job and some carb work and got it goin good. about 2 hundred miles later i lost oil pressure on the highway at about 55 and shot a connecting rod through the side of my F block.

i did some looking around and found a small shop in southern new hampshire (Cruiser Creations) that would swap in a "Decent compression" F motor. i wanted to reuse my head seeing how i just did a valve job and it didnt recive any damage. with the motor swap i opted to do a premtive strike aganist any future oil pressure failure problems. i had them pop in a brand new factory toyota oil pump.

long story short, i do some light 'wheelin and about 300 miles back road puttin. and my oil pressure drops to a drizzle. i got scared about moving it at all. my wife is furious about my 'clunker'

i know my way around a set of wrenchs, but i need some advice from some seasoned Cruiser folk.

thanks alot.

 

[Mace]

You know where the stock oil filter lines hook up on the DS of the block? That is the oil pressure bypass regulator. You can adjust the pressure there. Basically, the F has a bypass oil system, from the oil pump the oil is either routed to the motor for lubrication or to the oil filter for cleaning..

By adjusting the regulator you force more oil to the motor and less to the filter.

DO you have a rea oil press gauge or aer you trusting the factory gauge. If the latter, I would reccomend that you get a real gauge to see what you motor is really doing. Low oil pressure at idle is not all that suprising..

 

[stumpy]

DO you have a rea oil press gauge or aer you trusting the factory gauge. If the latter, I would reccomend that you get a real gauge to see what you motor is really doing. Low oil pressure at idle is not all that suprising..

i whole-heartedly agree. go to some cheapo autoparts store and get a mechanical gauge. when my F motor pressure started acting funky, i put one in and it was very revealing.

turns out 4psi on oil pressure is still within toyota spec. i had been watching the oil pressure slowly decline over a few years and with 380K on the ticker, i just decided to put in a 2F. bearings were slowly dying. you might have run into the same problem on your "new" short block.


good luck

 

[Sir X Loin]

Thanks for the informative replies.

I am using the stock oil pressure gauge. On your advice I will upgrade to a mechanical gauge. Any reccomendations as to where to plumb the line from the block to the gauge?

What does the adjuster for the oil regulator look like?

Thanks guys.

heres are some pics.

 

[Mace]

Nice dog


Look for where the hoses from the oil filter go to the block

 

[cruiser88]

make sure you get the dizzy tight. .dont ask me how i know

 

[brider]

I, too ws alarmed with the low reading on my stock guage, but when I installed an aftermarket guage, the reading seemed low, but still within spec. If the lifters aren't making any ADDITIONAL noise at idle with the low reading, you're probably OK.

But as one other alluded to, if your main bearings on your used engine are worn, your oil pressure WILL be low.

 

[Sir X Loin]

over the weekend i messed with the regulator. i must have tried in in just about every thread incriment possible. i still have no oil pressure (at least none registering on my stock gauge. i bought a 'sun-pro' gauge that reads from zero to one hundred psi. without knowing that my gauge reading are correct iu cant go much futher. ill be swaping gauges tonight.

in messing with the regulator i felt the spring inside, it felt fine. the inside of the regulator seemed pretty clean.

is it possible the the spring controlled valve is frozen in the oil bypass position? should i pop the regulator off? what should i check next?

HELP!! iots getting nice and i NEED to go wheelin!

 

[Mace]

Ge the rear gauge on first, if you still do nto have oil press then get a new regulator, they are not that expensive and good piece of mind.

If you get a new regulator and you still do not have oil press, you need to redo the bearings..

 

[Sir X Loin]

Great, thanks again for the help. ill install the gauge and give it another shot.

ill check back with all the details.
-Brian

 

[JohnnyC]

by the by...there is a great guy in lower vermont for parts and service of your older cruiser. his name is tyke moses and owns a small shop called "poor wallys land cruiser emporium" his email is farmboy@sover.net he has good prices on used parts and he does custom fabrications. tell him JohnnyC sent ya and welcome to mud and cruisering

 

[Mace]

Don't buy a used oil press regulator. IT is not worth the $20 savings to have it lock up and kill your motor..

 

[65swb45]

Mace, FWIW, new regulators are no longer an option.

x however many on the aftermarket guage!

New guage will come with an 1/8npt fitting that is close enough to the factory metric hole size that you can fit it in place of your stock sending unit [mushroom shaped object near the back of your engine block, left side, a few inches above the oil pan.

You can plumb in a T fitting later if you want to run both guages, but tapping it in directly for now will get you the diagnostic info you need.

Hth

Mark A.

 

[Sir X Loin]

Johnny C, Thanks for the heads up on the shop. ill drop him a line to say hi with your regaurds.

last night i messed with the gauge. the 1/8 npt fitting wasnt that close for an oil free seal. but it did tell me that my stock gauge wasn't working. i used the orignal sender and wired it up and WHAMMY! perfect oil pressure. what is the thread of that hole (oil sender) so i can get the correct fitting and plumb a stainless line to the gauge? the plastic line sketches me out with the semi close header clearence. i also noticed to the rear of the oil sender it looks like there is another place to hook up another oil sender/mech gauge. mine had a fitting pluging it.

thanks again guys. the rig is up and runnin sweeeeeet!

 

[Degnol]

i also noticed to the rear of the oil sender it looks like there is another place to hook up another oil sender/mech gauge. mine had a fitting pluging it.

thanks again guys. the rig is up and runnin sweeeeeet!

That fitting is probably the block coolant drain.

Ed

 

[Sir X Loin]

That fitting is probably the block coolant drain.

Ed

"YESSS! You are correct sir!"

 

[fjwagon]

On my 79 the sending unit thread is what they call "British Standard Thread".....I just pulled my Snap-on oil pressure kit. The adapter that came with the kit is 1/8-27(gauage side) to 1/8-28BSPT(sending unit side) P/n EAC0044L04A. I hope this helps.

 

[Sir X Loin]

On my 79 the sending unit thread is what they call "British Standard Thread".....I just pulled my Snap-on oil pressure kit. The adapter that came with the kit is 1/8-27(gauage side) to 1/8-28BSPT(sending unit side) P/n EAC0044L04A. I hope this helps.

Hey thanx for the informative reply. Your knowledge is some what confusing to me. Are you saying that the thread in the block is 1/8-28BSPT? And what is that part number for, an adapter from BSPT to NPT?

 

[Degnol]

Autometer P/N 2269 adapts 1/8bspt to npt.

http://www.autometer.com/cat_accessoriesdetail.aspx?vid=59

GL

Ed


BTW, good looking dawg. Is that a Red Bone Coon Hound?

 

[Sir X Loin]

Autometer P/N 2269 adapts 1/8bspt to npt.

http://www.autometer.com/cat_accessoriesdetail.aspx?vid=59

GL

Ed


BTW, good looking dawg. Is that a Red Bone Coon Hound?

Degnol, that was exactly what i was looking for. thanks alot!

The dog is a Vizsla. he is a Hungarian 'Pointer' people train them as bird dogs. He is an awesome and some what rare dog. very good with kids. he is so friendly that he tries to make friends with everything... including porcupines... ouch!