For the undercarriage I use the Pro-Strength degreaser from Walmart. Your still going to have to get underneath with a brush and use some elbow grease. Not just a spray and rinse.
just bought a 96 80....
- Thread starter Midgainc
- Start date
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Look for a local company that does steam cleaning. Basically just a pressure washer with a kerosene heater attached.
Or you can do what I did and scrape everything with various plastic instruments, then spend hours with a little Harbor Freight steam cleaner with some Purple Power added to the water. You probably don't want to breathe that, by the way.
Did you waterproof or tape off electrical components before steam cleaning?
No, but I used a small steam cleaner. Mostly the small bristle brush attachment, so you're maybe scrubbing one square inch at a time. Even with a professional steam cleaner, I think you'd be fine unless you went out of your way to really blast the distributor or sensors.
I suppose I wouldn't want caustic chemicals in the many electrical connectors, but I would bet that built-up filth and long-term corrosion is a far bigger issue. Plan on cleaning connectors with DeOxit and packing them with silicone dielectric grease when you're done anyway.
Edit: by the way, I would start by putting down newspapers or a plastic drop cloth and scraping heavy grime with a plastic scraper of some kind. That will probably save you a ton of time later, and reduce the chances of your driveway becoming a Superfund site.
- Thread starter
- #85
does the oil cooler only have 1 gasket for mating all of the surfaces back together? I was expecting some O rings along with the large gasket. I am thinking about checking that off of my list today.
There are the two smaller gaskets behind the cooler. The small rings for the oil pressure bypass and whatnot (the vertical stuff) all appear to be copper crush washers.
- Thread starter
- #87
yesterday, removed power steering pump, ready to swap gear to the new one. OEM pump didn't come with new O ring....imagine that.
removed exhaust manifolds breaking two studs on flange side, removed oil cooler, cleaned and installed with new gasket, anyone know torque spec? right now , I have them tight... oil and coolant chambers were surprisingly clean.
I cleaned off more of the underside with fingers, wrists, forearms and elbows... waiting on hold down tool to get here to replace oil pump seal and front main. after that, I guess I will be ready for the head.....
removed exhaust manifolds breaking two studs on flange side, removed oil cooler, cleaned and installed with new gasket, anyone know torque spec? right now , I have them tight... oil and coolant chambers were surprisingly clean.
I cleaned off more of the underside with fingers, wrists, forearms and elbows... waiting on hold down tool to get here to replace oil pump seal and front main. after that, I guess I will be ready for the head.....
- Thread starter
- #89
time to take care of the lower front.....now that temps are in the 90's and humidity is in the 80' s and 90's. I am sweating just thinking about it.
- Thread starter
- #90
there is no baseline maintenance on this thing. everything is old and worn out. oil pump seal was brittle like a toothpick. front main seal was leaking, rear brake rotor has grooves. I haven't checked pads yet. I apparently am out of brake grease, so I didn't even tackle the calipers yet. I will pick up some grease soon so ,I can reassemble.
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- #91
new front main seal installed
oil seal on axle appeared to not be leaking, but I replaced it anyway. inner grease seal had been leaking. abs sensor was covered in filth, collector was pretty dirty also.
and the finished product.....
oil seal on axle appeared to not be leaking, but I replaced it anyway. inner grease seal had been leaking. abs sensor was covered in filth, collector was pretty dirty also.
FMC80
SILVER Star
Your cruiser is going to love all this pampering you’re giving her. She’s gonna run so well and it’s going to feel so good when you finally finish (So to speak).
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- #93
I have run a lot of old stuff over the years, and the only way to do it without constant breakdowns and repairing, is to go through every serviceable item that can leave you stranded when it breaks BEFORE YOU PUT IT ON THE ROAD. so, I am hoping for years of trouble free use after all of this is finished.
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Yeah! Amen brother.
Do it right, or, why bother?
To some it seems like the stuff to do will never end, but it does - sorta...
Fj80oregon
GOLD Star
Great work! Keep it up, the list will get shorter and you will add more! That’s the fun of the cruiser also it’s a great selling point when it gets to that point in life. A well maintained rig with documentation is marketable, a non maintained rig is only marketable to dummies on mud!
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- #96
Right! I could always point to this story and have photos and dates when things were done.
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- #97
I have a question about fuel pumps on the LC. What is the service life of one? I mostly bring Chevy trucks back from the dead, and always replace the in take fuel pump on them. Should I be worried about the one in the tank of a 26 year old LC with unknown maintenance history?
No, JMHO
I'm on the original pump in mine at 329K. The pumps are rarely an issue in these. Usually they are only junk because the truck sat with no fuel or a little E10 and lots of moisture corroded the bracketry and stuff inside the tank.
It is worth LOOKING at? Yes. Easy to get to, easy to check.
May as well replace the in-tank filter sock while you're there and you'll need to two copper washers for the main hose.
I was going to say to replace it with a Denso from RockAuto, but they don't list it any more. Then, when I went to look it up, I found that they appear to be out of stock everywhere!
I've been running the Denso since probably 2018. I keep the original (after thoroughly airing it out) in the vehicle since it's one of the few things that can leave you completely stranded.