Intro and a couple questions- thanks! (1 Viewer)

[soulminingpdx]

Hello all,

I just purchased an 87 FJ60 and looking forward to cracking a few beers with the PDX crew at the next meet-up! I’m currently in the process of doing all the research and taking care of the baseline items (186K on the odo) on the car. Hopefully, I didn’t bite off more that I can chew with this car!


Couple immediate questions I was looking to get some insight on:

Alignment – my steering wheel is turned to about 1 o’clock while the car is tracking straight so I was going to look into getting an alignment. Any specific shops you’d all recommend to get this done or can I just take it anywhere? Les Schwab, etc? I’m on the westside by Beaverton so any shop recommendations out there would be great.
Also- if I’m planning to get new tires within the next 4-5 months, should I wait until get the new tires before I get this alignment done?


Oil Galley Plug fix

It definitely put the fear in me reading about how the failure of this plug can be a disaster!
What is the collective thoughts of the PDX crew on this issue? Have you all addressed it?

If so, did you have it done at a local shop that you can recommend? There’s some great info out on the forum to take care of it yourself but I have a white belt in wrenching so probably don’t want to tackle this one myself. My plug currently looks like it’s in great shape…at least that’s one area my cruiser is not leaking oil!

Any input appreciated – thanks!
Mike

 

[lechnito]

Welcome aboard, @soulminingpdx!

I’ve had good experience with Ron’s Frontend in SE Portland but these trucks aren’t too hard to align since the only things you can really change are toe-in (relay rod) and steering center (drag link). You'll probably be fine just taking it into any of the well reviewed shops on Yelp.

If you have the extra money, you won't regret buying some new tie rod ends and taking them into the shop when they do the alignment. Be sure to tell them that you want 1 degree of toe-in as your rig will wander at high speeds if the wheels get aligned to plumb. Also, new tires shouldn't make a difference to your alignment so don't worry about it.

Coincidentally, I just finished doing the oil galley fix on my 3FE on my rig a few weeks ago. I've never tapped threads before and was definitely nervous about performing that kind of operation on the engine head. Tapping threads ended up being the easy part compared to getting the old galley plug out. I had to crawl up inside the engine bay in a very uncomfortable position in order to get the required leverage with my 90 degree drill attachment.

My plug never showed signs of leaking or movement. I feel better having done it, but I'm not convinced my plug would have inevitably jettisoned itself considering how removing it was literally a pain in the ass. However, there are tons of horror stories on this forum from guys whose engines blew-up when their plugs unexpectedly failed.

Final thoughts: the odds of plug failure happening are often low enough where fixing it now or fixing it later are both sufficiently reasonable decisions.

 

[Rustic76]

Welcome....let’s see some pics of your rig.

Steering wheel issue- likely no alignment needed if it’s track straight and no odd tire wear. Just park nice and straight and remove steering wheel and Clock it straight. It’s a half a banana job at best.

Galley plug...At 186k miles, it would be a shame to blow the engine. You got at least another 100k miles before you want to be thinking about an engine rebuild. Get it done just for the piece of mind.

 

[soulminingpdx]

@lechnito - good call on the TRE's, thanks! I have Josh at WBSC scheduled to do a front-end / brake service in late september so i'll plan on getting the TRE rebuild kit to have it all done at the same time. This car is currently not a DD so I don't think a couple months is an issue.
Thanks for the shop rec and input on the alignment and galley plug - much appreciated! I talked to Josh about the Galley Plug fix and may have him do it while it's in there for service in September. Plug is totally dry so fingers crossed for the next two months...i'll keep an eye on it.

@Rustic76 - Thanks for your input as well. I'm hoping I have another 100K before a rebuild and agreed on the plug fix- definitely at the top of my to-do list!

Here's my girl....I love driving this thing. It's like being in time machine!

 

[Rustic76]

Great looking cruiser. Love the silver.