its squeaking...

[Nemesis Gnat]

title pretty much says it, but here goes... 1985 fj60 2f

just drove to california for the holidays from colorado, nice drive no problems there, but 2 things started happening once i got here. the first is that it seems like it really doesnt wanna idle until it gets warm. i have to constantly be minding it so that it doesnt just sputter out. this car used to live here, so i know that its not normal for it...

the other and, i think, more serious issue is a new squeaking noise. it sounds sorta like a slipping belt, but i checked and all the belts are all good... no signs of slipping. it seems to be coming from the distributor, oil filter, side cover area. im also noticing lower oil pressure readings (on the factory guage) especially at idle where it drops significantly, but is still just above the 1/3 line on the guage. i may also be noticing a lil more valve noise, but that may be by power of suggestion given the other symptoms.

oil level is right on and its new oil and filter (napa gold) a few days before the trip

what do i start checking? is there anything to be gained by pulling the side cover and having a look?

 

[Marc311]

Alternator bearing starting to go? That would acount for the location. That wouldn't effect oil pressure, but the bearings will frequently make noise in the alt/water pump/smog pump before they fail.

 

[D'Animal]

Since you took it on a pretty long road trip, I would think that you maybe knocked some sludge loose in the engine and maybe the oil filter is a little plugged with goo. I would replace the oil filter. I would also double check the connection of the wire going to the sending unit. Maybe some road spray/debis is not allowing for a good contact.

The running problem may have something to do with the california fuel. It has some weird additives in it and it may have cleaned your tank and fuel lines and partially plugged your fuel filter. I would replace it and see how it runs.


If all of this does not work, I have an alternate "Doom and Gloom" post that would make you want to fly home.

 

[fowldarr]

I'm kind of interested in hearing hte doom and gloom post just for fun.

 

[lehiguy]

Is this a stock rig or desmoged? Which carb? If it is stock, your running without the intervention of the HAC valve for the first time in a long time. I don't have much faith in all that smog junk on a good day, even less when you brought it from 5000 feet to sea level. Go to Harbor Freight and get a mechanic's stethescope. You will be amazed at how easily you can isolate a problem by listening to individual componets with one of these.

 

[Nemesis Gnat]

i already have doom and gloom running around in my head...

but i figured id go back through and rechange the oil and filter... the fuel filter should be newish, but its cheap enough that ill do one of those too... its do for a coolant change and is mostly desmogged so i figured id finish that up too... needs new plugs about now... frankly the alternator is a cheap one and hasnt been puttin out great voltage, so it was the first thing i checked for the squeak... didnt seem like it was the squeaker

i guess ill give it a good runnin through with all the easy things... toyota alternator is on the christmas list

 

[Nemesis Gnat]

good(ish) news!

did some tinkerin this afternoon to figure out what the deal is. wiggled some stuff, tried listening really closely... when i push and pull on the distributor cap, the squeaking changes. investigated further...

one of the 3 lil cap bolts was missing, and its nut is all mangled... the rotor seems to be really rough on the trailing edge (assuming it turns clockwise, im likely wrong)... maybe from arcing or something? other than that i cant seem to find anything wrong... not slop in the rotor. i assume theres a bearing in the distributor that can go bad?

what do more intelligent people think now?

 

[D'Animal]

When you desmogged, did you get your Dist recurved by JimC or did you set it to the factory specs?

 

[Nemesis Gnat]

its at factory specs and set up according to his desmog vacuum diagram... been that way for a year or so now

by the way, just read that roadtrip report that you referred someone to in another post. epic. i love cruisin the open road...

 

[chitown40]

good(ish) news!

did some tinkerin this afternoon to figure out what the deal is. wiggled some stuff, tried listening really closely... when i push and pull on the distributor cap, the squeaking changes. investigated further...

one of the 3 lil cap bolts was missing, and its nut is all mangled... the rotor seems to be really rough on the trailing edge (assuming it turns clockwise, im likely wrong)... maybe from arcing or something? other than that i cant seem to find anything wrong... not slop in the rotor. i assume theres a bearing in the distributor that can go bad?

what do more intelligent people think now?

When I first got my FJ60, my distributor seized on the coldest day of the year nice and far from home. So basically, it is a possibility. My truck started to sputter and cough a little at idle before it went as well, but I also had a leaky intake manifold and my manifold vac was pretty low and the truck didn't idle particularly well beforehand. Anyway, there was no real warning before it seized, so take your warning sign for what it is. Don't drive the truck, pull the dizzy, and see if its binding.

 

[D'Animal]

I had the same "streaking" under the distributor cap that you spoke of. The timing was off. I set the timing but forgot to correctly tighten down the Dist. It worked loose and turned.

its at factory specs and set up according to his desmog vacuum diagram... been that way for a year or so now

by the way, just read that roadtrip report that you referred someone to in another post. epic. i love cruisin the open road...

I try and do at least one crazy road trip a year.

 

[Nemesis Gnat]

i guess ill try drilling through the mangled nut part of the distributor and using a longer bolt and nut to fix that, then a new cap and rotor and retime it and report back here

regarding crazy trips... i get to make atleast a few long distance trips thoughout the summers because of bike racing. a lot of my best and worst memories are at strange times of the day and night in stranger places with good friends. its good times

 

[D'Animal]

I don't know where you are visiting in California.

I have an extra Distributor with good threads. I also have a Heli-Coil set so we coul fix yours correctly.

I live 45 minutes south and east of fresno, off of hwy 198 near the Sequoia National Forest.

PM me if you can come by and get it fixed.