Help! Distributor issues causing engine seizure? 1984 FJ60

[AlYamoni]

I purchased an electronic distributor from JT Outfitters (total nightmare experience from start to finish looking back) it took them over a month to send me what I know now to be the wrong dizzy.

I couldn't get it to turn over after I installed it so I took it to a local shop with the original failed points dizzy and they told me the engine is stuck because the electronic dizzy failed to engage the oil pump.

Is there anything I can do to try and coax it loose or have I s*** the bed here? I'm gutted right now.

 

[OSS]

Try tapping it out from underneath the truck with a length of wood and a hammer. That’s how I needed to coax my original distributor out.

If that fails - remove oil pan, remove oil pump.

 

[AlYamoni]

Try tapping it out from underneath the truck with a length of wood and a hammer. That’s how I needed to coax my original distributor out.

If that fails - remove oil pan, remove oil pump.

They said the engine is stuck because the oil pump wasn't engaged due to the distributor shaft not being long enough. I don't think the distributor is stuck.

 

[OSS]

I’d first verify if the distributor turns with the engine.

1. Remove all the spark plugs and the distributor cap.
2. Turn the alternator spindle nut with a wrench to rotate the engine. The distributor rotor should rotate as the engine does.

But this test won’t tell you if the distributor end tip is engaging the oil pump

If the distributor is fully seated and it was sold for the 2F engine, it’s hard to believe it’s incompatible and doesn’t fit.

 

[John Smith]

If the distributor was not fully seated and the engine was run for some time it is locked up due to lack of oil. You would not be the first person this has happened to. Reread your post. Please post pictures of both distributors.

 

[3_puppies]

from your write up in post 1, you never got the engine to actually run with the distributor?
points on a 60 series rig? is this an overseas rig?
not enough info

 

[AlYamoni]

from your write up in post 1, you never got the engine to actually run with the distributor?
points on a 60 series rig? is this an overseas rig?
not enough info

I never got the engine running with the new dizzy, correct. Points, yes I believe that's what it is called. Not an overseas rig, comes from inland California.

 

[AlYamoni]

If the distributor was not fully seated and the engine was run for some time it is locked up due to lack of oil. You would not be the first person this has happened to. Reread your post. Please post pictures of both distributors.

I'll grab pictures of both units today. The engine never ran with the new distributor.

 

[John Smith]

I'm confused. In your first post you state "I couldn't get it to turn over after I installed it so I took it to a local shop with the original failed points dizzy and they told me the engine is stuck because the electronic dizzy failed to engage the oil pump." In the above post you state "The engine never ran with the new distributor." Did anyone run the engine with any distributor not fully seated? Was the engine locked up when you received it? It sounds like someone ran the engine with a not fully seated distributor. Otherwise something else failed spectacularly to lock up the engine.

 

[AlYamoni]

I'm confused. In your first post you state "I couldn't get it to turn over after I installed it so I took it to a local shop with the original failed points dizzy and they told me the engine is stuck because the electronic dizzy failed to engage the oil pump." In the above post you state "The engine never ran with the new distributor." Did anyone run the engine with any distributor not fully seated? Was the engine locked up when you received it? It sounds like someone ran the engine with a not fully seated distributor. Otherwise something else failed spectacularly to lock up the engine.

Yes, I called the mechanic yesterday because he's had my cruiser a week now. He said the engine is locked up from the dizzy not engaging the oil pump. I did not run the engine at all except for trying to turn it over for a few seconds a couple times. A few seconds total.

 

[AlYamoni]

 

[AlYamoni]

 

[yotadude520]

If you only turned it over a few times after installing the distributor it wouldn't be seized. I think this one is on your mechanic, you gotta run it for a little while before the lack of oil pressure causes it to seize.

I'd see if the engine still turns over by hand before doing anything else.

 

[John Smith]

It sounds like your mechanic owes you a engine rebuild. If you could turn it over by hand before delivery to his shop, this is on him. My friend lost a 2F after a shop failed to fully seat his distributor. This was a Land Cruiser specialty shop that is no longer in business, they knew better, and still messed up. He got a few blocks from the shop before it seized.

 

[Berry]

Check out the FSM regarding how to engage the oil pump. I made this mistake recently, it is fairly easy to install the distributor incorrectly and engage the wrong teeth. I'd suggest revisiting this before anything else with the distributor itself. If you can find a 45mm socket, turn the motor over via the crank pully nut (with the plugs removed) to ensure nothing is seized.

 

[open country]

The stock distributor won't fully seat without keying in to the oil pump. You'd have to be really creative to get the engine running with correct enough ignition timing to stay going, while also not turning the oil pump. However on your aftermarket it looks like the hold down plate is a separate piece, so it's possible they installed it without fully seating to the oil pump.

If you never had the engine running with the new distributor, you didn't starve it of oil or hurt it just from a few cranks. The shop somehow ran the engine with no oil pressure and it's on them.

 

[Godwin]

View attachment 3647998

Will you pull the red distributor cap from your original distributor and take a photo of the points of the distributor? An US FJ60 should have an electronic distributor.

 

[Spike Strip]

We realize your lack of experience is hampering describing what has happened or could have happened.

You don't have a points distributor: It is an electronic Distributor.

When the Distributor is FULLY SEATED, meaning the flat part in the original distributor is fully against the engine block, the 'Flat' nib on the bottom of both distributor shafts, is supposed to slip into a slot in the top of the OIL PUMP gear shaft. The oil pump is what will pressurize and pump oil throughout the engine when it is running.

The GEAR you see on both distributors engages with the CAM SHAFT and when the motor is turned, either by hand or is started, the distributor turns.

So, IF the distributor is not FULLY SEATED, the engine may turn over and RUN, but NO OIL will be pumped through the engine, because the distributor shaft is not seated, and the bearings and other components will seize from no lubrication. This won't happen immediately, it can take several minutes or longer depending on type of oil in the motor and how it is pushed, but the whole time the ENGINE will be screaming, there is something wrong!

If the engine is now SEIZED, and you did not RUN the engine - you were unable to get it started - the shop did it.

FWIW, that aftermarket distributor is dangerous junk:

HEI Complete Distributor 65K Coil Straight 6 41-62 194, 216, 235, 68-87 Compatible with Early Chevrolet Land Cruiser FJ40 FJ60 2F 3F One Wire Installation Black Cap

A-Team's HEI Distributor has everything you need, all under one cap. With a high-quality aluminum housing and hardened steel dual bushing construction, it is built to last.

swperformanceparts.com

 

[2mbb]

More questions to clarify what happened. How did you get it to the shop? Did you drive it with the old distributor re-installed? Are you sure that was fully seated? Assuming the engine was not seized when you dropped it off and the mechanic installed the new distributor (maybe without seating it) and ran the engine until it seized…it seems like he has some blame here.

 

[AlYamoni]

Will you pull the red distributor cap from your original distributor and take a photo of the points of the distributor? An US FJ60 should have an electronic distributor.

Oh I believe you. I'm just retarded. Hehe. I thought that because it uses the ignitor and coil setup that's what it was called. My bad.