FJ60 Smoking Bad After Sitting for a Long Time (1 Viewer)

[Niferous]

I have a 1984 FJ60 that day for a long time and now Lois out white smoke while running. We got it up to operating temperature and the thermostat seems to be stuck. Could that cause it to smoke like crazy?

Here is a video of it driving for the first time in a long time. You can see the smoke as it’s backing up and drives off. We only drove it a few houses down and then around.



So far I have:

- Drained the old fuel and replaced with new
- Added Lucas fuel cleaner to it
- Put on a new fuel filter
- Put on a new fuel pump
- New plugs
- Troll Hole carb
- Changed the oil
- Added coolant (it was near empty)

I’m hoping it’s as simple as the thermostat as I’m pretty sure it’s stuck. When we got it up to operating temp the radiator was cold to the touch and the upper radiator hose didn’t have any coolant in it. What else should I check?

 

[morganism]

Blown head gasket. Don't drive it. Might as well do the galley plug fix while the head is off.


ps. water in the oil pan will eat your crank bearings. damage already prob done, but you should park it where it can stay to work on, and drain all the fluids again.

What did the batch of oil look like when you drained the old stuff. ?

 

[OSS]

Do you know how well the engine ran before it was put into hibernation? How long was it not run?

 

[Niferous]

It ran ok but not great. It would die every once in a while and it was running rough. I’d say it hasn’t really been run is about five years. I have started it from time to time in their to let it idle but no road trips.

 

[OSS]

At this point I would make sure the cooling system is full and air is purged out, then run it fast idle (1200/1500) and examine the exhaust for 15 minutes and keep an eye on the temp gauge.

It's normal for a stored vehicle to billow steam in the beginning because the alcohol laden fuel has absorbed a lot of water in the tank - from condensation inside the tank.

If it's still blowing steam at 1500 rpm idle after 15 minutes- something is up.
With clean fuel, steam should disappear after a few minutes of warming up unless it's really cold outside.

The temperature gauge needle should rise at least 1/3 of the way up the dial face when the engine is warm.

 

[micruz60]

What did the old oil look like?
Is there any oil/water mix on the underside of the oil filler cap?

Check to be sure top end is oiling by looking thru oil filler.
Like oss said, you need to top off the coolant, burp it, run for a while at high rpm.

 

[SteveH]

Sounds like you need to drive it more and baseline things before you dive into the engine. A carburetor rebuild may be needed to iron out the bugs, as well. Until you drive it hot a few times and purge the air from the cooling system, it may be hard to reach a solid conclusion about engine condition. The valve stem seals are likely shot or very stiff, so some smoke on startup or during shifts would be pretty much expected.

 

[Niferous]

After I get the thermostat installed I’ll drive it a little and check things out. Is there a way to check the head gasket? The first reply I got said that it was blown and not to drive it. Could it running rough have to do with that?

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[UGA2018]

After I get the thermostat installed I’ll drive it a little and check things out. Is there a way to check the head gasket? The first reply I got said that it was blown and not to drive it. Could it running rough have to do with that?

Thanks for all the help everyone!

You can do a compression test to determine if your head gasket is ok. It’s cheap and fast to do. I really doubt it’s a head gasket though.

 

[TexasBlue]

My 60 sat a few years, all the above is good advice. If valve stem seals probably stiff. I used Marvel mystery oil and it helped. Less valvevtrain noise and sticky valves after adding to gas and the oil.

And that cooling system being almost dry is a concern to check first, head gasket check with compression test first order of business.

Good luck n let us know what you find.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, Could be head gasket, could be dirty carb. Run a can of carb cleaner through it. Drive until thermost opens up and check then. Still smoking ...do a compression test and leak down test. Mike

 

[Niferous]

Thanks for all the tips. Researching on how to do a compression test now.

 

[Niferous]

Could the problem be the PCV valve if my truck has been desmogged? Right now I’ve just got an open spot with nothing there on top of the valve cover. Does it need to be plugged?

Also I checked the coolant and it’s empty after just filling it up yesterday and only letting it idle. If I fix the thermostat and it’s circulating but coolant is missing I would assume that means it’s getting burnt off somewhere, right?

 

[morganism]

The engine is toast. If you were on a ranch, it would be a good project to learn how to rebuild, in town, would just be a headache and money pit. Sell it, or just get an engine swap done.

Every time you started, and ran it, you were putting fresh water (mixed in the oil) on every single bearing surface in the engine.

You will have to remove EVERYTHING on the engine and replace every seal, bearing, and pump in the engine, and getting it back together within tolerance. Lots of tools needed, including things like bore grinding that you will never use again.

Call cool cruisers of texas, and get a quote for an engine swap. Let that be your decision

 

[Niferous]

That’s a bold statement for an engine that has good power, starts fine, isn’t knocking, and just barely running rough when cold. Also, I have a ranch, 215 acres. So I could do that if I wanted, thanks.

I added Marvel Mystery Oil to the fuel and the engine oil. I also changed the thermostat and added more coolant. I started it and this was the result.

 

[Niferous]

The engine is toast. If you were on a ranch, it would be a good project to learn how to rebuild, in town, would just be a headache and money pit. Sell it, or just get an engine swap done.

Every time you started, and ran it, you were putting fresh water (mixed in the oil) on every single bearing surface in the engine.

You will have to remove EVERYTHING on the engine and replace every seal, bearing, and pump in the engine, and getting it back together within tolerance. Lots of tools needed, including things like bore grinding that you will never use again.

Call cool cruisers of texas, and get a quote for an engine swap. Let that be your decision

Furthermore the oil isn’t milky at all. If it was full of water my hydraulic lifters would be making all kinds of noise and they aren’t.

 

[Spike Strip]

Solid lifters.

Compression test needed.

 

[Comet]

Could the problem be the PCV valve if my truck has been desmogged? Right now I’ve just got an open spot with nothing there on top of the valve cover. Does it need to be plugged?

No plug for the Valve cover. That usually runs into the air cleaner. If its not set up to run into the air cleaner just put an air filter on that part.

Also I checked the coolant and it’s empty after just filling it up yesterday and only letting it idle. If I fix the thermostat and it’s circulating but coolant is missing I would assume that means it’s getting burnt off somewhere, right?

I filled my 60 series about four times before all the air worked its way through the cooling system.

OSS knows what he's talking about. Follow his thought process. I would baseline all fluids, check compression, valve adjustment, timing, and enjoy. My rig wasn't running for at least a year according to the PO (I suspect more than that). These rigs are forgiving but a maintenance schedule is a great idea for some piece of mind.

 

[Niferous]

At this point I would make sure the cooling system is full and air is purged out, then run it fast idle (1200/1500) and examine the exhaust for 15 minutes and keep an eye on the temp gauge.

It's normal for a stored vehicle to billow steam in the beginning because the alcohol laden fuel has absorbed a lot of water in the tank - from condensation inside the tank.

If it's still blowing steam at 1500 rpm idle after 15 minutes- something is up.
With clean fuel, steam should disappear after a few minutes of warming up unless it's really cold outside.

The temperature gauge needle should rise at least 1/3 of the way up the dial face when the engine is warm.

I refilled the coolant today and drove it around for 10-15 minutes. I already had drained the old fuel and replaced it with new fuel plus I stopped and added fifteen more fresh gallons today. After driving around my neighborhood I got home and the coolant reservoir tank was half empty. It was all the way full when I left.

Would you suggest repeating this tomorrow and seeing if the results are the same? I’ve got plenty of coolant so it’s no issue to fill it up again and take it on a spin.

 

[OSS]

The coolant level in the overflow bottle normally rises when the engine warms up and then stays at that higher level until the engine is shut down and cooled all the way down.

That's a lot of steam/smoke coming from the tailpipe in your last video. On a warm engine there should be zero smoke visible even for these old 2Fs.

What we sort of know is:
1. The engine keeps on consuming coolant
2. There's excessive steam/smoke coming out the tail pipe.

Normally 1+2=3, and 3 in a this case isn't a pretty number, but if the lucky gods are with you, maybe, just maybe the cooling system still is purging air (which would explain the coolant consumption) but that wouldn't explain the excessive steam/smoke out the exhaust.

If I were in your shoes, this is what would be going through my paranoid mind:

I wouldn't be sure if that was smoking oil billowing from the exhaust or steam (or both) but I'd assume the worse.
I'd assume that the head cracked from an overheat that wasn't noticed until too late. (Why was the cooling system way low on coolant if the car was in storage for 5 years?)

Cylinder heads are hollow inside and any crack, just about anywhere, if it's big enough, will allow pressurized coolant to get into the combustion chamber (and create steam).

Also as mentioned, a leaking head gasket at the right (wrong) spot can allow coolant to get into the combustion chamber.
Both of those scenarios suck, but the first one sucks way more than the second.

IF coolant is getting into the combustion chamber/s (creating steam) it's doing so because the cooling system is pressurized. It isn't getting sucked in, it's getting forced in by the radiator cap.

If the cooling system isn't pressurized, no coolant will get into to combustion chambers (unless there're a big hole in the head or head gasket). But exhaust gasses could still get into the coolant.
That is something that can be checked with a test kit.

This is what I'd do,
I'd get another radiator cap and dismantle its pressure release spring mechanism so that the coolant will flow freely to the overflow tank. Get rid of the spring in the cap. It's easy. Then screw it on the radiator neck.

Then make sure the radiator is full- then run the engine. - with an unpressurized cooling system (no it won't boil over).

Take a look at the exhaust after driving it for a while. If the steam/smoke is gone, then the head has to come off. Crack or head gasket issue.

If the steam/smoke is still there, the head still has to come off because an engine shouldn't do that.