First FJ40 build in a long time (1 Viewer)

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Details are coming along and the short list is getting shorter. THANK GOD!!!

If everything goes as planned I will be attempting the inaugural "Cranking of the Engine." Once more around the truck checking hoses and clamps. The stupid bird's nest surrounding the tank filler neck. I figured since this was my first ever valve adjustment I'd best double check. Glad I did since I discovered I was out 360 degrees... or something like that. It's good to go now.

Schedule:
Wednesday the 24th/ Start the truck. Drive up and down my country road and check for tweaks. Call Gayle and let her hear or see it running.
Thursday the 25th/ Gayle goes out of town for almost two weeks. Drive it some more and check more stuff.
Friday the 26th/ Take a break and pull the Hemi out of the '32 and get it over to the dyno shop to get ready to paint it. (It's already rusted again.)
Next week... Do anything that's left other than giving the Cruiser a bird bath. Then give it a bird bath.
Deliver "2NDCHNC" to her on the 9th of July.
 
...behind schedule.

crap...
 
One dead coil. The parts store sold me the wrong one. Go figure.

When I have a second set of eyes to help, I'll recheck the timing and start again...

(Interestingly enough, boiled oil out of a coil looks just like brake fluid on the concrete floor.) Took me a few minutes to figure that one out.

dead coil.jpg
 
Okay guys. Time to ask my Cruiser mechanic buddies who are better mechanics than I am:

Ignition and basic wiring checked and correct.
Completely rebuilt engine with cam and crank installed by the shop. (engine timing off?)
TDC 1 and valves adjusted. (yes, half then the odd have after 360.)
Battery is new - works
Starter is new - works
Coil is new (no external resister needed) - works
Distributer is in very good shape including points and new condenser - it is getting fire at the points
Plugs are new and getting fire according to the timing light.
All new gas lines so spraying gas into the freshly rebuilt carb for starting.

Turn the key and it tries so hard to start but never ignites. No bump. No cough. No backfire. Nothing.

Any incredibly good ideas? Please? HE'P!
 
Well, unfortunately it sounds a lot like what I ran into. I installed the cam 180 deg off because reading the FSM I thought for sure the #1 was at TDC but without the head on I had no idea whether it was power stroke or not. In retrospect I think the only indicator at the time would have been the dowel on the crank. And this is coming from a relative noob that hadn't rebuilt an engine in 25 year and never a 2F. Now we can let the much more knowledgeable members chime in.
 
Stick to the basics first - make sure it has good clean spark , if you're adding fuel that's fine but be careful . Have you looked at a couple of plugs to see if it's flooded ? The next step is check the idle solenoid to make sure it's getting power , then mechanically verify timing again , everyone makes mistakes .
Sarge
 
If you have turned the engine over several times, there should be no need to spray gas into the carb, the pump should supply it fine. If you don't mind me making a redneck suggestion for first time starting you might want to try this approach. Turn the engine over a few times to get gas to the carb. With the air cleaner off, look down in the carb and open the throttle a couple of times and make certain you get a shot of gas from the accelerator pump. If you see gas it is time to see what is going on with ignition. Either use a remote starter switch or just make a jumper wire to jump from the positive battery post to the small terminal on the starter solenoid. This willl allow you to stand on the passenger side and actuate the starter without sitting in the cab. Losen the distributor clamp enough to be able to rotate the distributor by hand. Be certain the trans is in neutral and turn the key to the on position, pump a couple of shots of gas into the carb. With either the remote starter switch or the jumper wire, engage the starter and see if the engine hits at all, if not, systematically rotate the distributor slowly as you turn the engine over. Slowly rotate in one direction and see if you find a point where it trys to hit. Give it another shot of gas and rotate in the other direction. If the cam timing is correct, and the distributor is anywhere close you should find a point where it will hit.
 
vtgbeemer said:
If you have turned the engine over several times, there should be no need to spray gas into the carb, the pump should supply it fine. If you don't mind me making a redneck suggestion for first time starting you might want to try this approach. Turn the engine over a few times to get gas to the carb. With the air cleaner off, look down in the carb and open the throttle a couple of times and make certain you get a shot of gas from the accelerator pump. If you see gas it is time to see what is going on with ignition. Either use a remote starter switch or just make a jumper wire to jump from the positive battery post to the small terminal on the starter solenoid. This willl allow you to stand on the passenger side and actuate the starter without sitting in the cab. Losen the distributor clamp enough to be able to rotate the distributor by hand. Be certain the trans is in neutral and turn the key to the on position, pump a couple of shots of gas into the carb. With either the remote starter switch or the jumper wire, engage the starter and see if the engine hits at all, if not, systematically rotate the distributor slowly as you turn the engine over. Slowly rotate in one direction and see if you find a point where it trys to hit. Give it another shot of gas and rotate in the other direction. If the cam timing is correct, and the distributor is anywhere close you should find a point where it will hit.
Click to expand...

Fuel:
That makes sense. New tank and lines and hoses and filter. I'm guessing that would take a while to get through with just the starter speed.

Ignition:
That's not the problem. All tests show everything there is firing correctly.

Timing:
We've set that three times with no change. The distributer is clamped lightly and slightly rotating hasn't helped.

Valves:
Next step will be pulling the valve cover and setting TDC again then checking the valves to see if they are correct.

If not:
Pull the bib dammit and the radiator and the fan and the timing cover and see if the goobers missed the cam timing.

Crap.
 
Last edited:
I feel like such a goober...:cool:
 
myquestoyota said:
I feel like such a goober...:cool:
Click to expand...

Don't.. They are professionals that do this all the time. There's no excuse for them to make this mistake. It was their first 2F...
 
IT'S RUNNING!!!

AhahAhahahaahaahAhHaahhaaaa...

It was the spark plug wires. plug ends were to far back in the boot. How three of us missed that early on is beside me.

Now. I just need to adjust the carb. It's way out and won't stay running. Everything else is double and triple checked.
 
Goober :clap::clap::clap:
 
Rainman said:
IT'S RUNNING!!!

AhahAhahahaahaahAhHaahhaaaa...

It was the spark plug wires. plug ends were to far back in the boot. How three of us missed that early on is beside me.

Now. I just need to adjust the carb. It's way out and won't stay running. Everything else is double and triple checked.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear it was something so major and expensive :rimshot:,

i have gotten lots of good information from your build up page, thanks for posting it all up!

congrats:cheers:
 
Then learn from this...

I've been reading all I can about adjusting the carb since it runs but not well. One (major?) problem is I can't hook up the carb solenoid. The carb has a double plug and my harness has a single plug. What do I do?

I'll rebuild your t-case or brakes or even assemble the engine but I don't have any real experience with carbs and I'm no good at guessing. The Cruiser starts and runs but won't idle and cuts out under any load. I was able to rock it back and forth in the barn with the tranny. That means the clutch is good.

So. Stinkin'. Close.
 
Weber Sarge said:
If I remember correctly , the two-wire solenoid used the second wire as a ground instead of relying on engine grounds .
Sarge
Click to expand...

That's what I was figuring. I'll check and see if I can figure out the ground wire and make new connections. I'll have to remove both existing plugs.

Thanks!
 
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