FJ40 That's been sitting for ~20 years...HELP?

[CruisD64]

Hey all,

First off, I know I don't deserve to own this FJ40 due to what I'm about to tell. Regardless, I'm keeping it and plan to bring it back to its former glory. It was purchased by my dad in 1996 (when I was in 7th grade) as a project that was supposed to become my first car eventually. It only has 87k original miles. He was so busy with work and all that it never happened and went into storage shortly after without any fluid drainage.

Fast forward 20 years...the time has come to bring it back to life and I intend to do the entire thing myself having brought 2 FJ40's back to life in the past (My current one and recently my brothers). As I've gotten older I've wanted more of a stock FJ40 with just a few minor upgrades such as OME and power steering which this one will eventually get.

Anyway, this past weekend I went over to where it is being stored to change all the fluids and get it ready to start up. My plan was to replace the radiator, change the oil, pull the plugs and get some oil in the cylinder chambers to manually turn it before firing it up. When I pulled the radiator hose NOTHING came out except a whole bunch of rusty sludge. I had a feeling this might happen and realized it that day. The question is, could the block be toast? Or is there hope that it can just be cleaned really well and if so, how would I do it? My thoughts are to pull the water pump, clean it as best I can (and purchase a replacement that I would install after cleaning) run water through it somehow under pressure and rinse and repeat until flow seems good. Then put a s***ty radiator (which I have) back in and get it to operating temp and rinse and repeat again.

What are your thoughts? Are there tools out there to assist in this process if it's possible? Any additive to prevent further corrosion?

Anyway, I've attached a photo and have even sourced a complete 1977 hardtop in excellent condition in the original smurf blue color which this car was before the P.O. painted it piss yellow on the outside...

Here is the one I just recently did. I still need to paint the hardtop but that'll happen soon.

 

[shawnfj40]

They have chemicals to run through that can boil it out. you might lose the heater core or radiator if you leave them in the loop and the water pump might already be toast after running th sludge.

 

[Varty Yo]

If its been sitting for 20 years you will have to replace alot more parts then just the rad. Have it towed to a old school rad shop and have them do a couple flushes to really get a good a good clean up of the block internals if possible. Seals are gonna be pretty dried up and most everything. Water pump is def gonna be sketchy if not seized up. There is alot to consider before that 1st test fire.

Looks like a decent platform to build off of! Enjoy!!!!

 

[Ryan842]

We had a 2f sitting in a shed for 35 years. The motor had only done about 30-50k kms. Fired it up after only lubricating the cylinders.

We went through and replaced all seals, but we soon realised that we never really needed to replace them. Rear main and front crank shaft seal were both still nice and soft. Id flush it out and just see if you can get it running before doing much else.

 

[RAYJON]

soak the cylinders real good in marvel or a acetone/atf mix, I would soak it for a couple of days and add more wait a week or so before trying to turn it over by hand, just to make sure the rings are free. also doesn't hurt to pull the valve cover and soak the top and the valve guides..

on the radiator flush, mixed bag I have had them clean stuff up and had them mess stuff up, personally I like to just flush it with water and dishwasher soap. Most of the chemical flush can take metal off. if you have alot of buildup even after flush and are worried you can run a filter in the heater core line, most semi trucks have a standard spin on coolant filter just need a filter head for it.

you may be amazed at how well it comes back to life, just plan on alot of seals being dry and cracked..

good luck,

 

[Steamer]

Myself and others have posted setups and methods about for flushing of just the block with the radiator, water pump and thermostat housing removed. Might be what your looking for.

Here's one link. Little help: flushing coolant / engine block...

 

[CruisD64]

This is good stuff everyone! Should be just what I need to get it going again THANKS!!!

 

[CruisD64]

repeated post for some reason...

 

[spotcruiser]

When I first read the thread title and saw that you were in San Francisco, I thought that you might be talking about the 40 that has been sitting alongside 19th Avenue as long as I can remember. If I remember correctly though, that truck was red and was earlier than a 77. You've probably seen the truck about which I speak.

It looks like you'll make a nice truck out of this 77. Good luck with it.

 

[thebigredrocker]

Great story. You’re gonna love building a stocker.

I recall a couple posts that might be helpful. They are by a bonified cruiser mechanic from Alaska. Mark W.
F engine block flush/ muriatic acid

 

[CruisD64]

When I first read the thread title and saw that you were in San Francisco, I thought that you might be talking about the 40 that has been sitting alongside 19th Avenue as long as I can remember. If I remember correctly though, that truck was red and was earlier than a 77. You've probably seen the truck about which I speak.

It looks like you'll make a nice truck out of this 77. Good luck with it.

Oh man. I drove by that thing yesterday. I remember when it was still running and in good shape! I left a note on his car before I had a 40 seeing if he'd sell it and he called me back saying no chance. Look what happened. Anyway, do you remember a mustard cruiser that was parked outside on 15th and Ulloa for many years? Black fiberglass top, spring over blah blah. That's the mustard one above. The Sunset moisture really messed it up but it's all good now

 

[spotcruiser]

No, I don't recall seeing the mustard truck. It looks like you've done a nice job with it. The red truck on 19th I've seen many times when visiting. It looks worse each time I see it.

 

[Pete]

Great story. You’re gonna love building a stocker.

I recall a couple posts that might be helpful. They are by a bonified cruiser mechanic from Alaska. Mark W.
F engine block flush/ muriatic acid

Check out this referenced link, especially the posts by Mark W(hatley). Mark wrote the tech column for TLCA for many years and is tops when it comes to Land Cruisers. I dropped out of TLCA when he "retired" from writing the column but I learned tons about Land Cruisers from him.

Pete

 

[CruisD64]

Check out this referenced link, especially the posts by Mark W(hatley). Mark wrote the tech column for TLCA for many years and is tops when it comes to Land Cruisers. I dropped out of TLCA when he "retired" from writing the column but I learned tons about Land Cruisers from him.

Pete

Looks like pulling the plugs and using muriatic acid may be the way to go...eventually. For now I just want to get the flow going well enough to start the car, drive it onto a trailer and drive it off into the garage where the work will be performed.

You guys have been loads of help! If you're ever in the Bay Area and wanna grab a beer and talk cruiser, hit me up!

 

[greenbeasty]

I agree Pete, I dropped out also when it became all about newer vehicles.

Check out this referenced link, especially the posts by Mark W(hatley). Mark wrote the tech column for TLCA for many years and is tops when it comes to Land Cruisers. I dropped out of TLCA when he "retired" from writing the column but I learned tons about Land Cruisers from him.

Pete

 

[Cleg]

Curious to know how the muriatic acid works out.
Full strength acid however sounds bad.

I've used muriatic acid on concrete and lime deposits but is there a (chemistry) reason to expect it to work on rust?
I use Phosphoric acid against iron oxide.
Thought I may have done permanent damage to my lungs years ago from muriatic acid on a boat hull.
Proceed with caution!!

I have a 1950 Plymouth that has been in storage for 13 years, last started about 8 years ago and quickly started to overheat.
Was running like a modern car when it first went into the garage.
Now sitting 8 years with plain (distilled) water in the block.
I expect the engine will need to come out but hope for some magic to be disclosed in this thread.

Also my son's 1996 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 inline 6, pulled the water pump off and blasted a garden hose in there for about 30 minutes.
There seemed to be no end to the rust pouring out yet I'll bet most was still left behind.

 

[pondjumpr]

What I am about to say may be basic and already thought of but whatever you do, drain the old gas and put all new fresh in. Don't just try to add some fresh to an old tank with old gas already in it.
When I got my 40 I drained the tank. there was about 4-5 gallons of old fuel in it. I put about 3-4 gallons in a car that was my daily at the time. That was mixed with at least 10 gallons of fresh fuel. I swear that car would have trouble starting and ran rough until I got that fuel out.
Never aging.... There is no way the 40 would have started, even with adding some fuel to the tank. BTW, I ended up replacing the tank as well because it was a mess inside and mine only sat for about 6-7 years.

 

[CruisD64]

Yeah, the gas is getting replaced. I'm actually going to pull the entire tank out and have a peek inside before attempting to fire it up. The yellow cruiser above was actually plagued by gas that was only 3 years old so I can't imagine what 20 year old gas would do. It's probably distilled (without going through the whole vapor process of course) into some really strong alcohol by now

Anyway, made some progress... I used a fogging spray which was recommended by a shop to spray into the cylinders and let it sit for a while. After seeing this stuff come out of the oil pan I tried giving the engine a nice light manual crank. It moved freely without any resistance at all so we're good there. I've attached some photos of what I saw when I pulled the thermostat housing off as well as the water pump...

All in all though, it doesn't look like the inside of the block is THAT bad. Obviously I won't really know until I pull the freeze plugs out after I get it back to my garage but it's promising.

 

[Varty Yo]

Oh man! Yikes.

If all you want to do is get it going to pull onto a trailer id suggest just running the fuel supply from a jerry can. THen no need to fuss with pulling the tank right now till you have the proper time

 

[pjohnson]

I would get a come along and a strap and not mess with trying to make it run for 30 seconds. You could end up doing more damage than it's worth.