fuel pump/pressure issues (1 Viewer)

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Dec 19, 2012
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Hi guys,
first time posting in the tech forums and I'm looking for some advice but here is a little back story on the vehicle before I get to the problem. This is my first cruiser and also my first time working on a vehicle, so please pardon my ignorance or clumsy explanations.

I bought a 1985 fj60 in Chicago about a month ago with the intent of using it for my 10 min drive to work each day. Had it checked out by a mechanic before purchase and got two thumbs way up, he told me other that routine maintenance, should have no issues. Its got 134K on her and visually looks great. I live in upstate NY and the plan was to take the train out and drive it home. I got it about halfway home, broke down, and had to rent a uhaul to tow it the rest of the way home. :dead:

A mechanic that i know took a look at it and said it was definitely the fuel pump, so we replaced that and the new pump seemed to fix the issues.

Last weekend, I was driving to a buddies and the rig sputtered out again. Felt like what happened before when the fuel pump went bad, except for this time I could get it to start back up but as soon as I tried to accelerate, it would sputter out again.

The first thing I did was replace the fuel filter. Same issues still, new filter wouldn't fill up with gas.
Tried pouring a little gas in to carburetor and again it would start right up and even idol a bit but after the fuel was burned off, it would die again. Couldn't get any fuel to draw from the tank.

Next, thinking maybe the main fuel line was clogged, we blew that out with an air compressor. One guy stood at the gas cap and we got air coming out back there and could hear bubbles in the tank so that wasn't the issue ,but again still won't start.

So this is where I'm at and not sure what to try next. I'm hoping some of you experienced cruiser guys may be familiar with issues like this.
Any tips would be much appreciate!

Thanks!!!:cheers:
 
Maybe it's a bad fuel pump. Remove the fill line going up to the hard line near the tstat housing and put it into a jug and try firing her up. If no fuel then it's a bad pump. Did you change it out for a kyosan? Just saying, I tried using an aftermarket and it blew its actuating arm on my cam lobe. I've since swapped it for the cruiser outfitters kyosan. $87+ or so.
 
And when you replaced you definetly kept the thick black spacer against the block and added a gasket against it then the pump?
 
Is the trouble RPM dependent, i.e. Does it seem to be fine above 1800-2100 RPM?
If that's the case, likely some component of your decel fuel cut system could be acting up.
 
And when you replaced you definetly kept the thick black spacer against the block and added a gasket against it then the pump?

Well, turns out the issue was exactly what you said sir, the lever arm on the fuel pump was broken. So I am going to order one from cruiser outfitter today and hopefully get my money back on the cream one. I'm going to buy one of those black spacers while I'm at it because there was not one on there previously.

My question for you is, how did you safely remove the fragments of the fuel pump arm from the engine?

Thanks for the advice!
 
If they aren't all right there, you're dropping the pan. Not too terrible but get a one piece gasket and some longer studs as well as some Toyota google. Your first pump died prolly the same way without the spacer...
 
ducking autocorrect...toyota fipg. smartphone, my arse.
 
it's toyotas version of rtv- form in place gasket...FIPG...it really is amazing at what it does...
 
Haha, I had a feeling that was the case.
Where would you recommend getting those studs? Cruiser outfitters?
Thanks lambcrusher!
 
just some 4 longish studs that thread into the oil pan bolt holes and some nuts to hold the gasketed pan in place while you line everything else up before trying to stick the pan to the block- any decent auto parts with metric fasteners...IIRC, there was one version of the one piece gasket that came with some installation studs made of plastic with tapered flaring ends so they studs could be screwed to the block at 4 corners and the pan fed over the tapered flare. once the pan cleared the flares, they expanded so the pan would be supported hands free while, as I said, you get everything else lined up and ready to set.
 
I've been told I f you have a strong magnet you can pull the fragments out and up the block thru the hole but seeing as they probably felli nto the first baffle then they can stay there indefinitely. Mine is still there but I'm planning on swapping my pan at some point in the next few months.
And yeah Toyota Fit in Place Gasket is great stuff. I have a tube and that's what I used front and back of the gasket I put against the spacer.
Glad you discovered the problem. It was too reminiscent of my own fuel failure.
Felicity :)
 
Toyota google?
Fyi, I have two one piece cork gaskets. Granted I should maybe keep two incase the first reinstall goes bad but if you have trouble getting one lmk. Also get your hands on the funky plastic gasket holders too from Summit; neither of my gaskets from Toyota came w/ anything so helpful. I hear they make reinstall 1000xs easier.
 
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This is what the inside of the oil pan looks like. The pump arm fragment could be sitting quietly on the floor of the front raised section. Or it could have migrated rearward and dropped into the front baffled chamber. From there it couldn't go any farther back. The oil pump is screened and raised up off the bottom so it's impossible to suck the fragment into the oil pump. The crankshaft spins above the level of the oil, so it's far away from the bottom of the pan.

The likelihood that that pump arm fragment could cause engine damage in the future by getting caught up in the crank I would place the probability at .0000001% possible.

But even still, it's not a pleasant thing to know its sitting in the bottom of the pan.
I can't see it being possible to extract it out of the drain hole with an articulated magnetetic finger due to the baffles being in the way.



image.jpeg
 
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This is what the inside of the oil pan looks like. The pump arm fragment could be sitting quietly on the floor of the front raised section. Or it could have migrated rearward and dropped into the front baffled chamber. From there it couldn't go any farther back. The oil pump is screened and raised up off the bottom so it's impossible to suck the fragment into the oil pump. The crankshaft spins above the level of the oil, so it's far away from the bottom of the pan.

The likelihood that that pump arm fragment could cause engine damage in the future by getting caught up in the crank I would place the probability at .0000001% possible.

But even still, it's not a pleasant thing to know its sitting in the bottom of the pan.
I can't see it being possible to extract it out of the drain hole with an articulated magnetetic finger due to the baffles being in the way.



View attachment 1445279
I meant the hole on the block that the fuel pump hooks into. Def not the drain hole.
 
Hi all,
sorry i have been slow to respond, I dont get on my computer too often.
i followed the advice that you all gave and replaced the fuel pump and oil pan gasket, and found the fragment from the old fuel pump arm on the oil pan. everything went very smoothly and my rig is once again up and running.
Thanks so much for the tips! They made this issues so much easier to troubleshoot and address.

Next issue on the list is to get my e-brake working!
When I pull the ebrake lever, there is no tension at all.
Thoughts!
Thanks again!
Ben
 
I've been told I f you have a strong magnet you can pull the fragments out and up the block thru the hole but seeing as they probably felli nto the first baffle then they can stay there indefinitely. Mine is still there but I'm planning on swapping my pan at some point in the next few months.
And yeah Toyota Fit in Place Gasket is great stuff. I have a tube and that's what I used front and back of the gasket I put against the spacer.
Glad you discovered the problem. It was too reminiscent of my own fuel failure.
Felicity :)

Oops, well im embarrassed.
I'm sorry I foolishly assumed that you were a guy Felicity.
It seems l have a case of the old foot-in-mouth disease! lol
Well, thanks again for pointing me in the right direction! You were spot on!
Thanks,
Ben
 

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