Builds Gen. Waverly (1 Viewer)

[majdomo]

I’ve got some real zingers I can loan you as far as curse words for this project.

Get yourself the best sawzall blades you can buy and go straight at them with those. Don’t bother with other methods.

That's the plan - it's a toss-up between Diablo carbide tipped blades (and a new Sawzall!) or a (more new tools!) 7.5" grinder and a thin cutting disc. I like the blade idea better since there are no sparks, one of the reasons I'm not psyched about this project is because of the close proximity of the passenger rear to the gas tank, would really rather not blow up my house.

 

[majdomo]

Field Day 2024

 

[majdomo]

Teardown started for the valve stem seal replacement. I'm burning a meaningful amount of oil between changes, and have been meaning to get to this for a while now. Plug inspection revealed some white ash buildup on #4 and #5, all others were a good looking tan color. Last compression test showed everything more or less normal, it could be rings but decided to have at this project because it's cheap and relatively straightforward. I have the Eastwood valve spring compressor, and it will not fit with the intake installed, will need to just unbolt and have it move about an inch to the driver's side to clear the intake and associated sensors. Will look for a different option before committing to moving the intake. EDIT - found a different spring compressor from Napa that might work without moving the intake, will pick up and report back.

This only took about an hour, half of which was spent trying to get the rocker arm off the head as it was fairly well stuck on there with all that buildup. However this looks way better than it did when I first got the rig, have been running 15w40 Rotella T6 with a 2k OCI. I still hate these tiny D3 filters that Toyota has us running, will be looking for a better option next time I do an oil change. However, at the last change about 200 miles ago, I opened up the filter, and it was totally fine except for some fine bits of carbon, exactly what I expect from this engine.

Valve cover and rocker arms removed. Oil passage is fine in spite of the crud, valve cover looks ok, a little cooked but nothing crazy like when I removed it a year ago.

And the goods. Valve stem seals from Impex Japan, rope and Happy Party balloon valve stem rubbers (lol) from the dollar store. Seals were about $0.50 each, maybe less, dealer wants like $12. EACH. I did have to wait almost 3 weeks, however. Ok, have fun with the Engrish below, I know most folks on Mud is about 13 at heart... myself included...

Managed to break a plug wire when removing, and the PCV looks very original, so will be replacing those before firing this back up. Having this week to do it is a big plus.

 

[majdomo]

Minor update. Both suspension spring-type compressors were a fail - the Eastwood one doesn't get low enough to get the keepers out and needed some modification to make sure it didn't slip, while the Napa one was just garbage that slipped and didn't even come close to letting me get at the keepers. Rope trick works, though.

In case you were wondering, doesn't fit under the intake, needed modification just to get it to compress and not slip, junk:

Also junk, can't get at the springs from the correct direction, springs are way too tightly coiled to get the jaws to fit:

I have one of those lever-type tools on the way, hoping that works better, will also be trying to think of ways to fab up my own tool.

 

[majdomo]

Valve stem seal win today, courtesy of the compression type tool from the 'Zone. This one works, needs some finagling to get it into position with the intake still in place but I was able to get through the tough cylinders with few hiccups.

For future searches, it's possible to change the valve stem seals on a 3FE with the head installed by using this tool from OEM Parts, looks like this:

Here's the part number and box:

Intake is shorter than the exhaust springs, but you want to have 5 coils under the compressor before cranking down all the way on the tool. This is harder on the intake springs, but what I did was to slot the tool into the coils as low as I could get them by hand, in line with the engine. Then, to get even lower, I rotated the tool 180* clockwise while making sure the grips didn't slip out of the coils, and then cranked down. It's not hard after doing it a couple times, but there was a lot of trial and error to come up with that procedure. If you don't get the tool low enough, it won't compress the spring down far enough to let you get at the keepers.

A view of what i found under my #3 exhaust spring, they were all coked up like this:

After cleaning it up. Used a slit McDonald's straw instead of the balloons as a guard. Oiled a bit as well before putting this on:

New seal under a 15mm socket, used the HF deadblow hammer to install.

Found some light pitting on this stem when removing. Used a little red scotchbrite to clean it up and just going to send it. This is the only issue I've found so far aside from all of the seals being hard as rocks.

That's about it for now. I've finished 4 of 6 with this method, and the last two will be easier since they are mostly unobstructed. It is hot af in the garage, hope to finish it out tomorrow.

 

[majdomo]

Finished. The last valve on #6 put up one hell of a fight, with the keepers being basically fused to the retainer, but eventually was able to get it off with some PB and a solid tap (or 20) on the retainer with a socket. That tool will fit just under the firewall, but it's tough, hits the firewall if it's not angled exactly right, etc. I don't know how else you'd get to it, though. Maybe the lever-style tools would have been better.

I cleaned out a bunch more of the carbon off the head with a pick and a shop vac to pick up the crud. Reinstalled the rocker arms, set the valve clearances, replaced spark plugs and wires, fired it right up with zero smoking (wow!). Ran it until warm, got home and then redid the valve clearances again with the engine hot. Lots of little burns from the top of the rad tank, but it runs great and smooth, and hoping that I'm mostly done with burning oil.

Next projects - front wheel bearings and spring hanger pins. Oh joy.

 

[majdomo]

2 spring pins down. 2 hours per pin in 95* heat. Holy crap.

Diablo blade works well, just slow af. Old pins are fused to the rubber as one would expect, lots of chiseling to clean out the bores on the springs.

 

[majdomo]

One bite at a time, captain's side wheel bearing done after work tonight. Drinker's side on Thursday, then the front spring hangers over the weekend. Plan to start very early to beat the heat, apologies to the neighbors.

Camping trip out to the San Jacintos coming up next weekend!

 

[majdomo]

Quick update on this thread - got the driver's spring pin done, but found that the eye is very broken and has been for a long time. It was fused to the bushing, which was in turn fused to the pin, so no idea how long it's been like that. That spring is shot, though. In the process of getting one from Rob @landcrusher909 on Saturday to finish that out. I don't want to replace the springs with new just yet, may have a few decisions to make about this truck and want to keep the commitment low.

Camping trip to the San Jacintos was a bust - 104 degree heat, 98 in camp. Set up the tent and the sleeping pads, went out on a hike to a swimming hole (rad) and got back to a huge family settling in the site next door with stacks of alcohol and plenty of loud music. Most of the campground was the same, so we packed it in and headed home. There's a few yellow post sites right adjacent to this campground, which was where we were originally going to go, but when I found a site at the campground decided to go for that instead leaving our facilities and other necessities for dispersed camping at home.

Other than that, it's been slow going on the 62 as I've shifted focus to work and the FJ40.

 

[landcrusher909]

WOW what a build thread. Looking forward to meeting you Saturday

 

[majdomo]

Week off for vacation - spent some time in the mountains with the family, returned yesterday and got down to business with that front spring. This was fairly easy given that I'd done all the hard work a few weeks back, when I was replacing the hanger pin. This is what I found, and what it looks like off the rig:

And it had been this way for a while, the rust on the broken part of the eye proves that out. Replacement spring from @landcrusher909 fit perfect and was exact same dimensions as the one I removed. A quick drive on the freeway, and all is well.

EDIT - just reinsured with Hagerty. Hanging on for now...

 

[majdomo]

1980s September Saturday. Hitting up the arcade later.

 

[Hammer45]

Stupid question but is this normal?

View attachment 3560141

EDIT - just gonna sleeve this and move on. Woot!

so many phrases that i am not familiar with. "dimple the pan" "sleeve this" i'm obviously not one of the cool kids but could you clue me in?

 

[majdomo]

Sure!

Dimple the pan - means to smack the lip of the oil pan or timing cover back to flat when replacing the cork gasket. The PO has almost invariably over-torqued the bolts and bent the surrounding lip as a result, which will contribute to leaks. Dimpling is just using a ball-peen hammer to "dimple" it back to flat around the edge of the holes, so it sits flush on the gasket and doesn't leak.

"Sleeve" refers to using a Speedi-Sleeve, which is a thin metal cylinder that you put around a damaged rotating surface, like my harmonic balancer which was sporting a deep groove that was gouged in by a bad crank seal. The Speedi-sleeve provides a smooth surface to seal against when you can't just replace the rotating part. In my case, it leaked anyway, ended up spending $$$ on a new harmonic balancer and having to redo half the reseal job, but eventually it was all fine.

 

[Hammer45]

Sure!

Dimple the pan - means to smack the lip of the oil pan or timing cover back to flat when replacing the cork gasket. The PO has almost invariably over-torqued the bolts and bent the surrounding lip as a result, which will contribute to leaks. Dimpling is just using a ball-peen hammer to "dimple" it back to flat around the edge of the holes, so it sits flush on the gasket and doesn't leak.

"Sleeve" refers to using a Speedi-Sleeve, which is a thin metal cylinder that you put around a damaged rotating surface, like my harmonic balancer which was sporting a deep groove that was gouged in by a bad crank seal. The Speedi-sleeve provides a smooth surface to seal against when you can't just replace the rotating part. In my case, it leaked anyway, ended up spending $$$ on a new harmonic balancer and having to redo half the reseal job, but eventually it was all fine.

thanks for the feedback! i did look up the speedi-sleeve and saw one case that it seemed to help. will continue to follow your progress. be sure to follow mine which is sure to be a mess. d

 

[majdomo]

New custom built rear driveshaft ordered from Full Torque Driveshaft. Chasing this vibration thing again. We'll see.

 

[majdomo]

Package arrived today.

It certainly looks the part. Install tomorrow.

Damn that workbench is a mess.

 

[majdomo]

Fixed. Ran it up to 70 on the 210 and smooth as a 62 on butter. Finally.

I highly recommend these guys, they did the d/s on my 1970 2002 and my old E30. Used to be based in Monrovia, moved to Hayden, ID, during Covid. Very reasonable for the quality as this was just over $500 shipped. Spicer forged yokes, Neapco u-joints. I should have requested greaseable u-joints but that's on me.

Full Torque Driveshafts

Almost ran out of gas at a stoplight even though fuel gauge said I was like halfway between the 1/4 and empty lines. I live dangerously.

 

[Spike Strip]

Non-greasable U Joints are stronger, not by a whopping amount, but stronger.

 

[majdomo]

Non-greasable U Joints are stronger, not by a whopping amount, but stronger.

I figure they can be replaced with something else if / when they fail decades from now... if we're still allowed to drive these things then.