HJ60 in Winter: Help

[Kalen Thorien]

Hey Everyone!

I'm new to the forum and a fairly new Land Cruiser owner! Back in June I purchase my baby, Francis, who is a gorgeous (albeit a bit rusty) 1986 HJ60. 5-speed 2H 24-volt etc...

I'm going to be chasing winter full-time this season in my travel trailer and camping in below freezing conditions fairly consistently. I will have a good generator at my disposal.

What I'm looking for is any feedback on how this engine runs in the winter and any advice/tips/hints for keeping Francis happy in the cold temps.

Appreciate it guys and stoked to join the Cruiser family!

 

[Douglas S]

If you can swing it you will not regret purchasing a Webasto/Espar coolant heater, especially if you park or camp where there is no way to plug in an oil or coolant heater.

 

[CruisinWithDogs]

I use mine all winter from -10c to -40c and it starts every day, 21V glowplugs with a wilson switch is nice thing to have..and a block heater for smoother starts. Oh and good batteries!

 

[Freewheel]

Hey Kalen, you've got my truck's identical brother! I drive it all the time in the winter and have a few bits of advice.
The stock Superglow system works very well- when it is working. Mine's been super solid, but I know it's a complex system and people tend to freak out and rip it out of their trucks when any part of it goes bad. The Factory Service Manual has really comprehensive test procedures for keeping it all working right. I think it's worthwhile to maintain it as best as you can- and often, things that go wrong with it are just loose connections.
If it really fails and you can't find the parts to fix it, then think about putting in a Wilson switch- but I don't recommend it as a first step.
Any bad glow plugs NEED to be replaced immediately. The truck will not start happily at all in the winter if it it missing a glow plug.

Starting this truck in cold weather also means that the engine compression has to be good. If you lose even half your compression in any one cylinder, it will not be happy starting below freezing. (Very hard to start- cloud of white smoke) Once it warms up it will run fine- even with a half bad cylinder.

As for running in the cold- I'm assuming it's originally from Canada, so it will likely have a little roller curtain in front of the radiator- you can pull this down to get the engine up to heat faster - and also warm the inside of the cabin faster.

Emergency brake can freeze up- The drums sometimes freeze if you are driving in the rain then come up through the freezing level and then park it. The emergency cable can also get water in it (there's a little boot that prevents this but it's probably long gone) and the water freezes and sticks the cable that runs between the level and the back axle. The way to fix this in the field is to release the e-brake lever and crawl under the back end of the truck and give the brake cable (that runs along the back of the rear axle) a kick to pull the slack out of the cable between the lever and the back.

Make sure you have nice big batteries that are in good shape - get the biggest batteries that will fit. Also make sure that no -one has wired things to just one battery. If you have a 12 volt stereo and there is no 24 to 12 volt converter that it is running off, someone my have done a hack wiring job to install it. If you have a drain on one battery that in not matched on the other, the batteries will go out of balance and eventually cook each other (one will overcharge the other will undercharge) This is a serious problem that all the Canadian LC owners know about but it's often a rude shock to Americans who are used to 12 volt trucks... Also in the same vein, if a headlight burns out, replace it immediately, since each headlight runs on it's own battery. (a really wacky setup to allow Canadian Trucks to use 12volt headlights) If you want to read more about it, search in the diesel forum for "evil centre tap" and the wiring scheme is called on MUD)

Well thats enough to start with... Good luck and enjoy your awesome truck!!

 

[Mich]

1) If you think you will need to do really cold starts (i.e. worse than -25C, no block heater), you might want to consider refreshing the oil with full synthetic. Makes it a bit easier to crank. Diesels need the cranking speed more so than a gasser to start (compression ignition).
2) Drain the fuel separator. If it ices up, you are hosed. Draining the separator is easy. 10mm wrench. Just unscrew it a bit, not the whole way. It will drip down your arm. Free to do (compared to the full synthetic oil change).
3) Change the fuel filter. This will require you to exercise the priming pump (good to know how this works anyways). Also do it with a warm engine. The first start after the change may have to deal with an air bubble in the one of the lines. If you don't have a set of flare nut wrenches, now is a good time to invest.
3) Use diesel fuel conditioner with anti-gel additive in the winter. Cheap insurance against a fill of bad or summer diesel.
4) Clean all the connections on the glow plug bus bar. The bar is aluminum and can get badly oxidized in any area that uses salt on the roads.
It is soft as well.
5) When starting cold, wait for the click from the glow plug controller. I think the glow plug lamp shuts off first. The second click is easy to hear. Turn off the stereo and other electrics, when trying a cold start.
6) Consider getting a can of ether, just in case you are really in a jam, its cold, generator is hosed, and truck is not starting. Could be a life saver depending on the situation.
7) BTW, check for frame rot, rear of the rear axle, especially on the side with the muffler. Can be very sad.
8) BONUS: check and lube the windshield wiper linkages. Before the first snow. A little TLC here can save you from having to hack a fix since the plastic linkage bushings are not available (AFAIK).
9) If you haven't, check your antifreeze freezepoint. Especially if you don't know the history of the truck. Also, check the condition of the long metal coolant lines that run to the rear heater. They get really corroded down there.
10) Check the transmission and transfer oil levels. An overfilled transmission can be VERY hard to get into gear when its -20C. If you transfer case is low, then there is a good chance that your transmission is overfilled (unless you have an automatic).

 

[IanB]

Lots of good info here already.

X2 on a good synthetic oil, I'm using 5w40 Rotella T6 and the engine cranks over noticeably easier when it gets real cold than when I ran 15w40 Rotella (non-synthetic).

X2 on checking the strength of your coolant, I had a situation last winter where the truck sat outside for a few days when it was -32C and I found coolant on the ground under the rad, it had gelled and pushed out, not a good scene.

X2 on a Webasto/Espar coolant heater being the ultimate solution for cold weather starts where you can't always count on a plug-in being available. If yours is anything like my 1HD-T, you could let it run for an hour and it would never move the temp gauge from full cold when it gets below -20C. 20 min with a Webasto running and it's a warm start and instant heat!

 

[Mich]

May sound minor ... but on an aggravation level something to consider. If the rear tailgate upper gas lift supports are weak in the summer, they will be pretty much useless when it gets cold. Either you get used to having it come down on your head, use a stick to support it, or get some aftermarket units. While you are messing around back there, check your spare tire winch.

Unless you have access to a garage, it is worth it to clear the backlog of maintenance stuff before the snow flies.
Tools if cold suck the heat out of your hands real fast. Get some mechanics gloves.
And a set of insulated coveralls (army surplus are great) make any wrenching outdoors in the winter much more bearable.

You have a 28 year old truck. And a sketchy parts supply chain. If you wait until something breaks things can get
expensive with lengthy downtimes. But generally, they have an awesome reliability record. I've had mine for 18 years. Never let me down.
Exact same vintage as yours. Same Midnight Blue colour.

I think you will find many owners of these trucks have squirrelled away a small cache of bits and pieces, often centred around 24V electrics and the 2H engine. For example I keep an injection pump diaphragm, spare glow plugs, 12V H4 headlight lamp, 24V signal bulbs in the glove box.
And if you ever come across a 24V alternator with the vacuum pump, consider getting it as a spare. Ditto for the starter. You can get just a starter contactor kit and throw that into your in truck spares. Most everything else is common to the FJ60/62. And the supply of those parts is 10X easier.

Oh, I almost forgot. Check the passenger footwell for moisture. Some of your super glow system timers and relays are down there. These are painful to replace, fix, and diagnose.

 

[keving]

Great choice of vehicle!!! Great choice of lifestyle!!! I agree with all the advise of the others. Spend a day or two while the weather is good to catch up on stuff, then just enjoy

 

[Freewheel]

Mich added some great stuff and reminded me of something with his advice on using synthetic motor oil. I changed the Transmission gear oil to synthetic and it was one of the best cold weather modifications ever. The transmission is very stiff when cold and takes a while to warm up. Synthetic gear oil makes it work like it's warmed up even when dead cold.

 

[keving]

Great point!! Synthetic gear oil in the trans makes a substantial difference. I run 75w-140

 

[John Galt]

Great point!! Synthetic gear oil in the trans makes a substantial difference. I run 75w-140

Also add Molyslip G – Manual Transmission Supplement to trans and xfer case

Molyslip G MTS « Molyslip Canada Inc. :: Molybdenum Lubricants, Performance Lubricants, Copaslip Anti-Seize, EP2 Grease, Wear Reducing Lubricants, Oil Additive

 

[TLC Norway]

Looks like you've found the right rig!!
I've had the 2H engine for years here in Norway, and it has never left me stranded ;p
Like the others have said, keep batteries fresh, keep a close eye on the glow system, charging system, main power leads and ground cables.
Measure the batteries individually, that will show if there's a charge difference to them.
If the lower (left/driver side) battery is on a lower voltage, things should be addressed.
Swap them side to side every now and then.
The crossover cable between the batteries should be looked after, changed if corroded or old.

If your glow system is for some reason not working, out in the field, you can hold a wire onto the glow trail/plug top and hood the other end onto the 12v pole for a few seconds, start with 3 seconds and you can probably fire up.
(24v pole if you have 21v glow plugs)
Post a picture of your engine bay, and your glow system, if you want details or other tips)

Another practical thing, whenever I start my cruisers in freezing temps, I put the transfer in neutral and the gear in 4th, and let it idle at 7-900 rpm's for a few minutes. It makes the tranny behave much better in the morning.

Get a copy of the FSM, factory service manual, keep the pdf's on your devices, or way better: print it in sections at a print shop.
I keep them in A5 booklets.
Links:
Body and chassis manual
2H and 12HT in 9 sections
Transmission
Other interesting pdf's

Enjoy the best rig in the world, and AS you can see, the mud community will respond fast to aid! ;p

 

[TLC Norway]

What areas well you travel in, and what temperatures will you meet @Kalen Thorien ?
Maybe add a 12/24v charger to your inventory, since you have a good generator.
You can even add a water heater to have comfy starts every day!
It might get a bit too luxurious...

 

[niffa]

Just had a look at your instagram, u been some beautiful places. Im in awe and jealous of u. Well done

 

[keving]

And it is also a good idea to re-located the water separator/sedimenter from under the rig, inside the frame rail where they like t collect salt and corrode; to a place under the hood where its more easily accessible. One of the only ways a H or B series cruiser ever left me frustrated was that damn factory water separator.
Another thing to glance at is the coolant lines that feed the rear heater. They are thick metal lines but I have seen them rust quite bad. I did a little work to mine, cant remember what tho

 

[Kalen Thorien]

Hey Kalen, you've got my truck's identical brother! I drive it all the time in the winter and have a few bits of advice.
The stock Superglow system works very well- when it is working. Mine's been super solid, but I know it's a complex system and people tend to freak out and rip it out of their trucks when any part of it goes bad. The Factory Service Manual has really comprehensive test procedures for keeping it all working right. I think it's worthwhile to maintain it as best as you can- and often, things that go wrong with it are just loose connections.
If it really fails and you can't find the parts to fix it, then think about putting in a Wilson switch- but I don't recommend it as a first step.
Any bad glow plugs NEED to be replaced immediately. The truck will not start happily at all in the winter if it it missing a glow plug.

Starting this truck in cold weather also means that the engine compression has to be good. If you lose even half your compression in any one cylinder, it will not be happy starting below freezing. (Very hard to start- cloud of white smoke) Once it warms up it will run fine- even with a half bad cylinder.

As for running in the cold- I'm assuming it's originally from Canada, so it will likely have a little roller curtain in front of the radiator- you can pull this down to get the engine up to heat faster - and also warm the inside of the cabin faster.

Emergency brake can freeze up- The drums sometimes freeze if you are driving in the rain then come up through the freezing level and then park it. The emergency cable can also get water in it (there's a little boot that prevents this but it's probably long gone) and the water freezes and sticks the cable that runs between the level and the back axle. The way to fix this in the field is to release the e-brake lever and crawl under the back end of the truck and give the brake cable (that runs along the back of the rear axle) a kick to pull the slack out of the cable between the lever and the back.

Make sure you have nice big batteries that are in good shape - get the biggest batteries that will fit. Also make sure that no -one has wired things to just one battery. If you have a 12 volt stereo and there is no 24 to 12 volt converter that it is running off, someone my have done a hack wiring job to install it. If you have a drain on one battery that in not matched on the other, the batteries will go out of balance and eventually cook each other (one will overcharge the other will undercharge) This is a serious problem that all the Canadian LC owners know about but it's often a rude shock to Americans who are used to 12 volt trucks... Also in the same vein, if a headlight burns out, replace it immediately, since each headlight runs on it's own battery. (a really wacky setup to allow Canadian Trucks to use 12volt headlights) If you want to read more about it, search in the diesel forum for "evil centre tap" and the wiring scheme is called on MUD)

Well thats enough to start with... Good luck and enjoy your awesome truck!!

Thanks so much for your great advice! It's really comforting reading this forum and people haven't had too rough of a time with this model in the winter.

As for batteries, have two really nice Optimas in there that have been great, so that should cover that base. I just recently had a sound system installed and they cooked the first radio they tried to install (oops) but once they installed the converter, all was well. What's interesting though and has been a huge head scratcher, is that after they installed the radio - my glow plug system has failed. We've concluded that most likely it's the relay system that went bad, but basically what happens is the glow plug light comes on for half a second (if that) and then goes off. Testing it, the glow plugs are only receiving about a third of the normal power that they should which obviously isn't heating up the engine. We're assuming it's the relay that went bad and most likely from the radio installation, but there's a) no way to prove that it was the radio and b) multiple mechanics have looked at the wiring, as well as the radio mechanic, and their wiring is totally clean - nothing interferes with the plug system. The guy who installed the radio insists he never touched anything related to the glow plug system, but it's too much of a coincidence that the plugs would go out after the sound system was installed?? So that's a pickle that I'm in right now. We ordered a relay for the hell of it to see if it would fix the problem, but curious if you've heard of anything like this happening or any thoughts.

I'll get the compression tested before winter for sure, that was great advice.

Do you use anything to warm up the engine before you start it in the winter? Or are you just running it as is?

 

[Kalen Thorien]

Just had a look at your instagram, u been some beautiful places. Im in awe and jealous of u. Well done

thanks so much! it's been a fun ride so far!!

 

[Kalen Thorien]

What areas well you travel in, and what temperatures will you meet @Kalen Thorien ?
Maybe add a 12/24v charger to your inventory, since you have a good generator.
You can even add a water heater to have comfy starts every day!
It might get a bit too luxurious...

Most likely I'll be in the 0-20 degree fahrenheit temps for a few months. Are you talking about a battery charger?

 

[Kalen Thorien]

Looks like you've found the right rig!!
I've had the 2H engine for years here in Norway, and it has never left me stranded ;p
Like the others have said, keep batteries fresh, keep a close eye on the glow system, charging system, main power leads and ground cables.
Measure the batteries individually, that will show if there's a charge difference to them.
If the lower (left/driver side) battery is on a lower voltage, things should be addressed.
Swap them side to side every now and then.
The crossover cable between the batteries should be looked after, changed if corroded or old.

If your glow system is for some reason not working, out in the field, you can hold a wire onto the glow trail/plug top and hood the other end onto the 12v pole for a few seconds, start with 3 seconds and you can probably fire up.
(24v pole if you have 21v glow plugs)
Post a picture of your engine bay, and your glow system, if you want details or other tips)

Another practical thing, whenever I start my cruisers in freezing temps, I put the transfer in neutral and the gear in 4th, and let it idle at 7-900 rpm's for a few minutes. It makes the tranny behave much better in the morning.

Get a copy of the FSM, factory service manual, keep the pdf's on your devices, or way better: print it in sections at a print shop.
I keep them in A5 booklets.
Links:
Body and chassis manual
2H and 12HT in 9 sections
Transmission
Other interesting pdf's

Enjoy the best rig in the world, and AS you can see, the mud community will respond fast to aid! ;p

Great advice! And thank you for the manuals! Do you use any sort of heating device before you start? Block heater, coolant, etc?

 

[Kalen Thorien]

May sound minor ... but on an aggravation level something to consider. If the rear tailgate upper gas lift supports are weak in the summer, they will be pretty much useless when it gets cold. Either you get used to having it come down on your head, use a stick to support it, or get some aftermarket units. While you are messing around back there, check your spare tire winch.

Unless you have access to a garage, it is worth it to clear the backlog of maintenance stuff before the snow flies.
Tools if cold suck the heat out of your hands real fast. Get some mechanics gloves.
And a set of insulated coveralls (army surplus are great) make any wrenching outdoors in the winter much more bearable.

You have a 28 year old truck. And a sketchy parts supply chain. If you wait until something breaks things can get
expensive with lengthy downtimes. But generally, they have an awesome reliability record. I've had mine for 18 years. Never let me down.
Exact same vintage as yours. Same Midnight Blue colour.

I think you will find many owners of these trucks have squirrelled away a small cache of bits and pieces, often centred around 24V electrics and the 2H engine. For example I keep an injection pump diaphragm, spare glow plugs, 12V H4 headlight lamp, 24V signal bulbs in the glove box.
And if you ever come across a 24V alternator with the vacuum pump, consider getting it as a spare. Ditto for the starter. You can get just a starter contactor kit and throw that into your in truck spares. Most everything else is common to the FJ60/62. And the supply of those parts is 10X easier.

Oh, I almost forgot. Check the passenger footwell for moisture. Some of your super glow system timers and relays are down there. These are painful to replace, fix, and diagnose.

Thanks so much! Definitely need to hoard a bunch of spare parts just in case. Already waiting 3 weeks for a relay to come in from Japan. Luckily it can still drive it, but imagine if it was something that left me without the car! I would be in the middle of nowhere for 3 weeks! No thanks...

Do you use any sort of heating device for the winter? Block heater, coolant, etc?