Back in 2017, I spent the winter and spring getting my 60 running great and through California smog, (along with a bunch of other projects), in anticipation of taking it on a trip to Colorado that August. That trip was awesome and I got to meet a ton of other cruiserheads at the first "Solid Axle Summit", along with an extended trip through Wyoming and Utah on the way back home. My 60 did have some minor issues throughout the trip, but nothing I couldn't adjust or bypass along the way. ...That is, until I started to notice a knock coming from the engine...
Long story short, the keyway on the nose of the crankshaft was starting to slowly fail. I started to notice it while leaving the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado, on my way towards Denver. At the time, I didn't think much of it and figured that I'd keep an eye on things and see if anything would change. By the time I met up with @CaptClose in Casper, Wy to check out the solar eclipse, the knocking was starting to get a bit concerning. But, with a failing keyway being pretty much unrepairable on the road, I decided that I would just press on and cross my fingers that I would make it back to California before it totally failed.
After leaving Casper, I headed to Lander for a night, followed by Jackson the next night; eventually making my way to Salt Lake City to check out the Landcruiser Heritage Museum. (which is awesome!) While getting some dinner at a brewery near the museum I found out that @cruiseroutfit was having their annual customer appreciation car show just a few miles away; so obviously I had to get down there to check it out! While there, somebody commented that I could camp out at the Bonneville Salt Flats, so that was my next stop.
The next day was a grind through a very hot Nevada with AC that was slowly failing and an engine that was starting to run hot from the long highway miles. As I was leaving Fernly headed up the hill towards Sparks, the truck seemed to loose power steering. When I pulled over to check it out, I quickly found that the keyway had completely failed and the crank pulley could now be turned by hand. The rest of the day was spent waiting for AAA to find out that towtruck drivers don't cross state lines. Eventually I got a tow to Carson City where a REALLY good friend agreed to meet me with a trailer and haul my cruiser over Carson Pass at 2am to his place near Jackson, Ca.
With the 2F needing a ton of work, (essentially a new crankshaft), my previously distant goal to someday do an engine swap was no longer so distant. I eventually settled on converting to a diesel, and specifically a 1HZ. There were a lot of factors as to why I ultimately went with the 1HZ, but the major ones were that it is still in production, (parts are easy to get), and they are a very simple swap into a 60. (@orangefj45 also had one I could buy not far from where I was living)
Long story short, the keyway on the nose of the crankshaft was starting to slowly fail. I started to notice it while leaving the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado, on my way towards Denver. At the time, I didn't think much of it and figured that I'd keep an eye on things and see if anything would change. By the time I met up with @CaptClose in Casper, Wy to check out the solar eclipse, the knocking was starting to get a bit concerning. But, with a failing keyway being pretty much unrepairable on the road, I decided that I would just press on and cross my fingers that I would make it back to California before it totally failed.
After leaving Casper, I headed to Lander for a night, followed by Jackson the next night; eventually making my way to Salt Lake City to check out the Landcruiser Heritage Museum. (which is awesome!) While getting some dinner at a brewery near the museum I found out that @cruiseroutfit was having their annual customer appreciation car show just a few miles away; so obviously I had to get down there to check it out! While there, somebody commented that I could camp out at the Bonneville Salt Flats, so that was my next stop.
The next day was a grind through a very hot Nevada with AC that was slowly failing and an engine that was starting to run hot from the long highway miles. As I was leaving Fernly headed up the hill towards Sparks, the truck seemed to loose power steering. When I pulled over to check it out, I quickly found that the keyway had completely failed and the crank pulley could now be turned by hand. The rest of the day was spent waiting for AAA to find out that towtruck drivers don't cross state lines. Eventually I got a tow to Carson City where a REALLY good friend agreed to meet me with a trailer and haul my cruiser over Carson Pass at 2am to his place near Jackson, Ca.
With the 2F needing a ton of work, (essentially a new crankshaft), my previously distant goal to someday do an engine swap was no longer so distant. I eventually settled on converting to a diesel, and specifically a 1HZ. There were a lot of factors as to why I ultimately went with the 1HZ, but the major ones were that it is still in production, (parts are easy to get), and they are a very simple swap into a 60. (@orangefj45 also had one I could buy not far from where I was living)
