FJ62 Fuel Filter Change

[Spiva]

So I want to change my fuel filter...1990 FJ62... Rig's running fine, but it's been sitting (barely being used by PO) for a couple years. I'm replacing all the fluids, and filters, easy/cheap stuff first, right?
Anyway, what's the best way to change the fuel filter?
I've read (on non-LC sites) that some mechs will remove the fuel pump fuse or relay, and let the engine run till it dies. My concern with this is a long time ago I heard it was bad to run out of gas when you have fuel injection. Is that really the case? Is this the "right" way to do it? Or is it best to clamp the hose with vice grips before removing the filter?
Sorry if this is too basic of a question, but I don't want to mess something up if it can be avoided.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Pylehooker]

I didn't consider doing any of that, just unbolted the lines and bolted the new one in. It leaked a little gas when I unhooked the old one and took a few extra cranks to start back up, but it was all good. Mine was so plugged up that it would barely pull a hill. Quite a difference, but I never should have let it get that bad!!

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Spiva-you and I have nearly identical FJ62s. Mine's an 89 and a 5 speed, but from the outside, very similar.

I'd leave the fuel filter alone unless it's on your PM schedule. They go a very long way before needing to be replaced. Spend your time on the front axle, tie rod ends, and other steering parts, unless you know the fuel filter is clogged.

Don't know your miles, but the belts and hoses should be replaced before you do anything else. You will find that changing the belts in the FJ62 is a major chore due to the difficult to reach tensioners.

When you change the fuel filter, you will get some gas on you, since the truck leaves the system pressurized. Not a huge deal though.

Regarding the running out of gas and FI thing...the fuel pumps live inside the fuel tank, and being submersed in fuel keeps them cool. SO running out of gas in the tank, theoretically means the fuel pump will run hotter. There is no harm in just depressurizing the system. You're going to do that when you crack open the system anyway to change the filter.

If you're baselining an FJ62, I'd do belts and hoses first, then ALL the fluids, then the front axle and brakes. The little stuff like the fuel filter can wait. And by the way, I think the thermostat should be part of your belts/hoses PM.

How about some details, like how many miles, condition of the Auto trans, how much reverse clunk you have, etc.

 

[Spiva]

Spiva-you and I have nearly identical FJ62s. Mine's an 89 and a 5 speed, but from the outside, very similar.

I'd leave the fuel filter alone unless it's on your PM schedule. They go a very long way before needing to be replaced. Spend your time on the front axle, tie rod ends, and other steering parts, unless you know the fuel filter is clogged.

Don't know your miles, but the belts and hoses should be replaced before you do anything else. You will find that changing the belts in the FJ62 is a major chore due to the difficult to reach tensioners.

When you change the fuel filter, you will get some gas on you, since the truck leaves the system pressurized. Not a huge deal though.

Regarding the running out of gas and FI thing...the fuel pumps live inside the fuel tank, and being submersed in fuel keeps them cool. SO running out of gas in the tank, theoretically means the fuel pump will run hotter. There is no harm in just depressurizing the system. You're going to do that when you crack open the system anyway to change the filter.

If you're baselining an FJ62, I'd do belts and hoses first, then ALL the fluids, then the front axle and brakes. The little stuff like the fuel filter can wait. And by the way, I think the thermostat should be part of your belts/hoses PM.

How about some details, like how many miles, condition of the Auto trans, how much reverse clunk you have, etc.

Drew,
Thanks for all the info. It has 179k, but the motor was rebuilt about 4 years ago (only 3500 miles since), brakes, tranny, and transfer case was rebuilt, about 15k ago.
All the belts look pretty good, no fraying or cracking. The hoses also look decent, no obvious cracks on the outside.
There's a bit of a clunk going into reverse, but it's about the same as shifting through the other gears while stopped. A lot more than I'm used (coming from an '03 bmw 325), but it seems to shift smoothly.
There are some leaks around the engine block. I can't tell where they're coming from yet. I plan on degreasing and hunting this week.
Forgive my ignorance, but what needs to be done with the front axle?
I see you're also in Sac... Maybe we could meet up somewhere, and you could see it up close?
Thanks again for the advice/info.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Since you are going over hoses, don't overlook those for the rear heater, some are readily visible under the hood, passenger-side of engine. The forgettable ones run under the truck. Check both the hard lines and the rubber hoses.
As far as the front axle, there's a strong likelihood that there are seals that aren't sealing, tie rods that need greasing, adjustment or replacement, etc.
When you do the fuel filter, a rag held over the union you've juuust cracked open (think of opening a soda bottle) will suffice.
Click the link in my sig line for a pdf of the factory service manual.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Front axle service is a rite of passage with a "new to you" Cruiser. Almost invariably, the PO has neglected the steering knuckle bearings and axle seals, so it's a good time to go through things and bring it up to date. One weekend of work, $150 in parts and you will understand way more about your Land Cruiser than you do now.

Part of changing the fluids is a complete fluid change in the transmission. Read up on this, I think it was called a Rodney flush at one point. ANd one other thing. Most people recommend you add an external cooler to this transmission because it tends to run hot.

Hoses may look good on the outside and be rotted inside-they are easy to fix in the drive way and a mess away from home. It's smart to just go through them and replace. Wile E makes a good point that the rear heater hoses are often bad-mine were at 120k. Again an easy 5 minute repair in the driveway and a disaster on a trip.

The clunk is the achilles heel of this otherwise superb truck. The transmission output shaft wears, there's more play and slop between the shaft and t-case input gear. Eventually it fails. Until it fails, it's annoying. The best fix of intermediate expense is a McNamara gear. Best expensive fix is a 5 speed transmission and new input gear for the transfer. Lots of posts on this. I'd put that off for now, but keep it in mind.

Leaks around the engine are pretty normal. The side cover typically seeps oil, The valve cover gasket gets old and hard, the oil pan gasket should be part of your baselining as it's almost always leaking too.

That's very low miles for a rebuild on one of these. What was wrong with it? Has the oil galley plug been done? Was it a full rebuild or just a "head job"?

I'd be happy to meet up sometime. I live near Watt and 50 on the north side of the river.

 

[Spiva]

Front axle service is a rite of passage with a "new to you" Cruiser. Almost invariably, the PO has neglected the steering knuckle bearings and axle seals, so it's a good time to go through things and bring it up to date. One weekend of work, $150 in parts and you will understand way more about your Land Cruiser than you do now.

Part of changing the fluids is a complete fluid change in the transmission. Read up on this, I think it was called a Rodney flush at one point. ANd one other thing. Most people recommend you add an external cooler to this transmission because it tends to run hot.

Hoses may look good on the outside and be rotted inside-they are easy to fix in the drive way and a mess away from home. It's smart to just go through them and replace. Wile E makes a good point that the rear heater hoses are often bad-mine were at 120k. Again an easy 5 minute repair in the driveway and a disaster on a trip.

The clunk is the achilles heel of this otherwise superb truck. The transmission output shaft wears, there's more play and slop between the shaft and t-case input gear. Eventually it fails. Until it fails, it's annoying. The best fix of intermediate expense is a McNamara gear. Best expensive fix is a 5 speed transmission and new input gear for the transfer. Lots of posts on this. I'd put that off for now, but keep it in mind.

Leaks around the engine are pretty normal. The side cover typically seeps oil, The valve cover gasket gets old and hard, the oil pan gasket should be part of your baselining as it's almost always leaking too.

That's very low miles for a rebuild on one of these. What was wrong with it? Has the oil galley plug been done? Was it a full rebuild or just a "head job"?

I'd be happy to meet up sometime. I live near Watt and 50 on the north side of the river.

Again thanks for all the awesome info. Is the front axle service in the FSM? If not, any ideas where I would find out what parts I need before starting? Where do you buy parts? Napa, autozone, O'Reilys?

As far as what's wrong... The paint sucks. Almost all the clear coat is gone, and there's barely any paint left on the roof and hood.
The AC doesn't work. I don't know if it just needs a recharge or what.
It's been parked outside, and barely driven over the last 3-4 years. So who knows what I'm going to find? I think the PO just didn't want to watch it rot anymore (so he says). I paid $6500 for it, so I think I did alright.
I live at Sunrise and 50, so we're practically neighbors.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Front axle kits are available lots of places. The closest to here is Georg at Valley Hybrids in Stockton. Or order online from Kurt at Cruiseroutfitters. The kit they sell has the good Koyo knuckle bearings and a seal kit of decent quality. You pretty much need to forget the AutoZone type places for parts. Napa can come through with decent brake parts though. If you want to use genuine Toyota parts, then Cruiserdan in New Mexico and Onur(Beno) in Georgia are both good sources of knowledge, help and a 30% parts discount-they both have ads up here ih8mud.

Let's meet up sometime, I'll take a quick look at your Cruiser and see if there's anything that needs to be done immediately. You can drive mine with the 5 speed if you like. My paint is getting marginal too, normal for this era of Japanese cars. Now that I think about it, I'm going to be working on my FJ40 and FJ60 with another friend next Sunday in preparation for Rubithon. If you'd like to come by, that would be a very good day for it.

 

[Spiva]

Front axle service is a rite of passage with a "new to you" Cruiser. Almost invariably, the PO has neglected the steering knuckle bearings and axle seals, so it's a good time to go through things and bring it up to date. One weekend of work, $150 in parts and you will understand way more about your Land Cruiser than you do now.

Part of changing the fluids is a complete fluid change in the transmission. Read up on this, I think it was called a Rodney flush at one point. ANd one other thing. Most people recommend you add an external cooler to this transmission because it tends to run hot.

Hoses may look good on the outside and be rotted inside-they are easy to fix in the drive way and a mess away from home. It's smart to just go through them and replace. Wile E makes a good point that the rear heater hoses are often bad-mine were at 120k. Again an easy 5 minute repair in the driveway and a disaster on a trip.

The clunk is the achilles heel of this otherwise superb truck. The transmission output shaft wears, there's more play and slop between the shaft and t-case input gear. Eventually it fails. Until it fails, it's annoying. The best fix of intermediate expense is a McNamara gear. Best expensive fix is a 5 speed transmission and new input gear for the transfer. Lots of posts on this. I'd put that off for now, but keep it in mind.

Leaks around the engine are pretty normal. The side cover typically seeps oil, The valve cover gasket gets old and hard, the oil pan gasket should be part of your baselining as it's almost always leaking too.

That's very low miles for a rebuild on one of these. What was wrong with it? Has the oil galley plug been done? Was it a full rebuild or just a "head job"?

I'd be happy to meet up sometime. I live near Watt and 50 on the north side of the river.

Cruiserdrew,

After a closer look at the hoses, they are definitely in need of replacement. So... Here's the dumb newbie question... how do I go about buying all the hoses, especially since I don't know the names of all of them? Do I just walk into Napa and ask for "all the hoses?" I'm just not sure where to start... It looks like there's hoses everywhere.
Any help is VERY appreciated. Thanks again.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The large hoses are available from Toyota and possibly at NAPA. The Toyota ones are not crazy money and it's reasonable to use those. There are only 3 of the large hoses.

The smaller formed hoses are more difficult and you'll need to get creative. Many can be replaced with generic hose-Gates "green stripe" is the best. American 5/8 size works for almost every hose other than the large radiator hoses. For the ones where you need the pre-shaped elbows, you just need to check with Toyota and see what is still available. The best way to buy hoses at napa is to take in the old one, and find another pre-formed one that's close enough to work. Use Toyota if available. You'll need to call a Toyota specialist like Cruiserdan or Onur(Beno) to get the right thing.

As part of the service, don't forget to replace the thermostat. Doing hoses, belts and thermostat in one big project makes sense to me. You could even service the silicone oil in the fan clutch while things are apart.

This engine has coolant hoses, vacuum hoses, fuel hoses. transmission hoses and air hoses all over the place so keep them straight. The air pump hoses are a weird size and configuration-don't break them! I'm not sure if Toyota still carries them and there basically is no stock replacement.

If you come by, we can look at things.

 

[Spiva]

The large hoses are available from Toyota and possibly at NAPA. The Toyota ones are not crazy money and it's reasonable to use those. There are only 3 of the large hoses.

The smaller formed hoses are more difficult and you'll need to get creative. Many can be replaced with generic hose-Gates "green stripe" is the best. American 5/8 size works for almost every hose other than the large radiator hoses. For the ones where you need the pre-shaped elbows, you just need to check with Toyota and see what is still available. The best way to buy hoses at napa is to take in the old one, and find another pre-formed one that's close enough to work. Use Toyota if available. You'll need to call a Toyota specialist like Cruiserdan or Onur(Beno) to get the right thing.

As part of the service, don't forget to replace the thermostat. Doing hoses, belts and thermostat in one big project makes sense to me. You could even service the silicone oil in the fan clutch while things are apart.

This engine has coolant hoses, vacuum hoses, fuel hoses. transmission hoses and air hoses all over the place so keep them straight. The air pump hoses are a weird size and configuration-don't break them! I'm not sure if Toyota still carries them and there basically is no stock replacement.

If you come by, we can look at things.

Thanks again for the info and help.. I will definitely be coming by on Sunday, unless something changes for you and it doesn't work.