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HDJ is taking up a lot of his time I bet.
J
J
Builds "Lefty" Moves to San Diego
- Thread starter perrobravo
- Start date
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Can you spray bed liner over the "quiet crap"?With most of the urgent mechanical and baseline stuff feeling pretty good, I decided to put some time into creature comforts: Carpet and sound deadening.
Pulled the very faded and nasty carpet, then spent the better part of the day cleaning and vacuuming.
Started in the back and made quick progress putting QuietCrap (80mil) down
So far so good. At this point, I could almost imagine hearing the sound coming from my speakers...
Fast forward a few hours and new carpet (and padding) is in. Thanks to @reevesci for the quick turn around on the carpet kit. Awesome stuff!
Still have most of the 2nd roll of QuietCrap left for the doors and tailgate and a few loose ends to tie up, but so far so good. With just the floors done, the truck is noticeably quieter and the new carpet is really nice. Only drawback is the truck smells slightly less like an old taxi.
Agreed, I have it all. Some day I'll need an engine swap, V8 or BT 4-6.
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #44
I too love this truck, @sd60 , and that love has been put to the test! I've been battling an off-idle stumble and related issues likely tied to low vacuum and a leak I am yet to find. Did a bunch of diagnostic work (apparently I'm not so good at it) and replaced few things adding up, so far, to simply throwing money at the problem. I'm committed to winning the battle against 2F vacuum, carb, smog stuff, etc., but haven't won yet!
Here's a Quick video of the stumble which may seem small at idle, but is a mess under load, like say when trying to actually drive. Yes, vacuum is way low for sea level.
Some random stuff I've been up to with Lefty, not in order necessarily:
1. Compression check (all good, around 145-150 IIRC)
2. Reset timing
3. Replaced PCV valve and a few other VSVs
4. Had the carb rebuilt by Mark's Off Road (before pic below)
5. Verified intake manifold is NOT cracked (thankfully!)
6. Replaced carb insulator plate for good measure
7. Read and reread the manual...even printed it so my computer wouldn't get so greasy
8. Got distracted from Lefty and replaced the head gasket on my BJ74, Righty...which took up quite a bit of garage time. Thanks again to @beno for his help on this one!
9. Dropped and had gas tank professionally cleaned (was previously replaced under recall...25 years ago). All clean now.
10. Replaced all rubber fuel lines, vapor lines, filter, and gas
11. Tested EGR, FCS, HAC, and every other three letter abbreviation I could test within the limits of my patience (and skill)
12. Bought an HDJ81, Ochenta which as @reevesci suggested, has been a significant and welcome distraction
So, the battle to get Lefty cruising again continues. Any local 2F gurus want to help fight a vacuum issue?
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #45
While I'm not quite ready to declare complete success, Lefty is finally legally back on the road and running pretty well!
After the carburetor rebuild and all the other work listed above, the truck still wasn't running well. I threw in the towel and sought help from The Truck Shop here in San Diego only to find more rust in the carb. I'd already had the tank cleaned and replaced all the fuel lines which were likely culprits, so we looked elsewhere. It turned out rust/junk was being pulled in from somewhere in the spaghetti of vacuum lines. We cleaned each of those out, again cleaned up the carb, yet the truck wasn't running even close to 100%.
With my California registration due, and an irrational level of optimism, I got a smog check. Failed miserably.
Given the truck was running OK, but not passing smog, I decided to go another direction with regard to registration so I could put some miles in and see how things go. (PM me if you want more details, but there's a bit of an Easter egg in the pic below).
Strangely one day the truck started running really poorly...not idling, lots of hesitation, then all of a sudden after a few miles, smoothed out and started idling high, but super-smooth; 2F-like sewing machine smooth. I keep my 60 series roadside carb tuning kit (vacuum gauge, timing light, big screwdriver) handy and found the vacuum had jumped to around 16-17 at idle, timing was still good, and so lowered the idle speed to around 800. Like magic, it ran like it hasn't in a long time. I'll take a lucky break like this any day!
Have learned to keep these in the truck at all times
Still concerned the smog results were at least in part related to running way too rich (and likely having a bad catalytic converter), I decided to add an AFR gauge to help with the diagnostics.
Ed Hanson's welded a bung for an oxygen sensor
Quickly mounted the AFR/Lambda gauge after spending way too much time on the wiring (added a Blue Sea fuse block and circuit breaker and wired the gauge through a relay using accessory power from one of the unused terminals behind the dash)
Haven't put a ton of miles on with the AFR gauge installed, but it doesn't seem to be running crazy rich as I was expecting from the smog test results, so I'll leave the carb alone for now. Perhaps whatever happened that day when it randomly started running better also leaned it out. Fingers crossed.
So, on to the terrible gas mileage (5-6 MPG) and painfully slow acceleration (despite the secondaries now actually working). My current suspicion: Clogged 35 year old catalytic converter.
For now though, I'm just glad this thing is back on the road and am looking forward to getting it dirty again.
After the carburetor rebuild and all the other work listed above, the truck still wasn't running well. I threw in the towel and sought help from The Truck Shop here in San Diego only to find more rust in the carb. I'd already had the tank cleaned and replaced all the fuel lines which were likely culprits, so we looked elsewhere. It turned out rust/junk was being pulled in from somewhere in the spaghetti of vacuum lines. We cleaned each of those out, again cleaned up the carb, yet the truck wasn't running even close to 100%.
With my California registration due, and an irrational level of optimism, I got a smog check. Failed miserably.
Given the truck was running OK, but not passing smog, I decided to go another direction with regard to registration so I could put some miles in and see how things go. (PM me if you want more details, but there's a bit of an Easter egg in the pic below).
Strangely one day the truck started running really poorly...not idling, lots of hesitation, then all of a sudden after a few miles, smoothed out and started idling high, but super-smooth; 2F-like sewing machine smooth. I keep my 60 series roadside carb tuning kit (vacuum gauge, timing light, big screwdriver) handy and found the vacuum had jumped to around 16-17 at idle, timing was still good, and so lowered the idle speed to around 800. Like magic, it ran like it hasn't in a long time. I'll take a lucky break like this any day!
Have learned to keep these in the truck at all times
Still concerned the smog results were at least in part related to running way too rich (and likely having a bad catalytic converter), I decided to add an AFR gauge to help with the diagnostics.
Ed Hanson's welded a bung for an oxygen sensor
Quickly mounted the AFR/Lambda gauge after spending way too much time on the wiring (added a Blue Sea fuse block and circuit breaker and wired the gauge through a relay using accessory power from one of the unused terminals behind the dash)
Haven't put a ton of miles on with the AFR gauge installed, but it doesn't seem to be running crazy rich as I was expecting from the smog test results, so I'll leave the carb alone for now. Perhaps whatever happened that day when it randomly started running better also leaned it out. Fingers crossed.
So, on to the terrible gas mileage (5-6 MPG) and painfully slow acceleration (despite the secondaries now actually working). My current suspicion: Clogged 35 year old catalytic converter.
For now though, I'm just glad this thing is back on the road and am looking forward to getting it dirty again.
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #46
Making progress!
Unfortunately, the poor idling condition that magically vanished, magically returned on the way back from a shake down run.
After poking around in the engine bay and reading and rereading carb and smog threads here, I decided to take a hammer to the EGR valve. I'd tested whether it opens by applying vacuum and could hear it move, but wasn't getting a good sense of it closing. Symptoms seemed to match a stuck open condition, so out came the hammer. After a couple smacks, the EGR valve closed, idle smoothed out, and I was able to bypass temporarily by cutting off vacuum to the EGR valve.
I'd been delinquent on adjusting the valves and with the truck idling and running reasonably well, through the time was right. I pulled the plugs and distributor cap, rotated the engine using the alternator bolt until the stars aligned on the flywheel, and dug in. The valves (both intake and exhaust) on 1, 2 and 5, 6 were tight and the rest oddly loose.
Fired up the engine and found idle vacuum went up and the engine had smoothed out, both in small, but appreciated amounts. On the road, the truck feels a bit smoother and seems to pull better. Nice improvement for the cost of a gasket and a couple hours of work.
Picture because people like pictures
Next up: Adjust idle mixture a bit (AFR reading 14.4) and dial in the ignition timing.
Thanks to @NeverGiveUpYota for her many posts on working through similar issues!
Unfortunately, the poor idling condition that magically vanished, magically returned on the way back from a shake down run.
After poking around in the engine bay and reading and rereading carb and smog threads here, I decided to take a hammer to the EGR valve. I'd tested whether it opens by applying vacuum and could hear it move, but wasn't getting a good sense of it closing. Symptoms seemed to match a stuck open condition, so out came the hammer. After a couple smacks, the EGR valve closed, idle smoothed out, and I was able to bypass temporarily by cutting off vacuum to the EGR valve.
I'd been delinquent on adjusting the valves and with the truck idling and running reasonably well, through the time was right. I pulled the plugs and distributor cap, rotated the engine using the alternator bolt until the stars aligned on the flywheel, and dug in. The valves (both intake and exhaust) on 1, 2 and 5, 6 were tight and the rest oddly loose.
Fired up the engine and found idle vacuum went up and the engine had smoothed out, both in small, but appreciated amounts. On the road, the truck feels a bit smoother and seems to pull better. Nice improvement for the cost of a gasket and a couple hours of work.
Picture because people like pictures
Next up: Adjust idle mixture a bit (AFR reading 14.4) and dial in the ignition timing.
Thanks to @NeverGiveUpYota for her many posts on working through similar issues!
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
Wow man, thanks for the kudos! Glad I was able to help from all the way across the USA!Making progress!
Unfortunately, the poor idling condition that magically vanished, magically returned on the way back from a shake down run.
After poking around in the engine bay and reading and rereading carb and smog threads here, I decided to take a hammer to the EGR valve. I'd tested whether it opens by applying vacuum and could hear it move, but wasn't getting a good sense of it closing. Symptoms seemed to match a stuck open condition, so out came the hammer. After a couple smacks, the EGR valve closed, idle smoothed out, and I was able to bypass temporarily by cutting off vacuum to the EGR valve.
I'd been delinquent on adjusting the valves and with the truck idling and running reasonably well, through the time was right. I pulled the plugs and distributor cap, rotated the engine using the alternator bolt until the stars aligned on the flywheel, and dug in. The valves (both intake and exhaust) on 1, 2 and 5, 6 were tight and the rest oddly loose.
Fired up the engine and found idle vacuum went up and the engine had smoothed out, both in small, but appreciated amounts. On the road, the truck feels a bit smoother and seems to pull better. Nice improvement for the cost of a gasket and a couple hours of work.
Picture because people like pictures
Next up: Adjust idle mixture a bit (AFR reading 14.4) and dial in the ignition timing.
Thanks to @NeverGiveUpYota for her many posts on working through similar issues!
Cheers!
Felicity
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #48
A few updates for those who may be following along...
Recurring rough idle continues to be gone. Looks like stuck EGR was the issue. Nice. Other than the still terrible gas mileage, the truck has been running very well.
Unfortunately, that didn't last too long before I discovered the clutch master had started leaking (into the cabin).
Thankfully Aisin replacement master and release cylinders are readily available and reasonably priced, so on they went along with a new Toyota soft line going to the release cylinder. After some fiddling with the pedal free play and release cylinder adjustments, no more leaks and the clutch pedal feel is about as good as I could expect on a 30 year old truck.
So that's where my fluid is going...
I think the Toyota hose might have been the most expensive part of this repair
New and old. Note the sludge in the bottom of the reservoir. I flushed the fluid when I first got the truck, but obviously didn't do a great job cleaning out the reservoir.
Headed for the landfill
Ready for another 30 years
Recurring rough idle continues to be gone. Looks like stuck EGR was the issue. Nice. Other than the still terrible gas mileage, the truck has been running very well.
Unfortunately, that didn't last too long before I discovered the clutch master had started leaking (into the cabin).
Thankfully Aisin replacement master and release cylinders are readily available and reasonably priced, so on they went along with a new Toyota soft line going to the release cylinder. After some fiddling with the pedal free play and release cylinder adjustments, no more leaks and the clutch pedal feel is about as good as I could expect on a 30 year old truck.
So that's where my fluid is going...
I think the Toyota hose might have been the most expensive part of this repair
New and old. Note the sludge in the bottom of the reservoir. I flushed the fluid when I first got the truck, but obviously didn't do a great job cleaning out the reservoir.
Headed for the landfill
Ready for another 30 years
"Easter Egg" 
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #50
So as it turns out, it rains here in San Diego and while it probably won't continue to do so, I finally mustered the energy to figure out why my wiper blades flap all over the place. Not surprisingly, the linkage was sloppy and the bushing connecting left to right wipers was out of place.
Before doing anything other than pulling the whole 35 year old mess out of the truck
After poorly cutting a piece of rubber I found laying around and wedging it in between the bits to hold the bushing in place...hopefully. Not the most elegant solution, but the price was right.
Success at least in my driveway testing!
Before doing anything other than pulling the whole 35 year old mess out of the truck
After poorly cutting a piece of rubber I found laying around and wedging it in between the bits to hold the bushing in place...hopefully. Not the most elegant solution, but the price was right.
Success at least in my driveway testing!
Last edited:
leucadiacruiser
SILVER Star
Nice fix. Is that the same as the wiper motor grommet? If so Wits End has a replacement he’s made - runs $20 but sounds like it’ll be good for another 30 years if yours doesn’t last 
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #52
With some additional garage time available, I decided to finally track down the loud clunk/ratcheting sound that seemed to be getting increasingly worse on Lefty. Quite a rabbit hole...
The sound happened in slow turns only, in high or low range with front hubs locked or not, on pavement for sure, but also on dirt. For a while I assumed the sounds was due to the Lock Right locker in the rear which is known for making a ratcheting sound, but supposedly also causes driveline noises when paired with a manual transmission.
Short answer: Cheap leaf spring u-bolts.
Some things I did to try to diagnose and address the clunk:
-Greased every fitting I could find...u-joints, leaf spring shackles - No impact
-Removed the rear drive shaft, locked front hubs, drove in 4H and 4L - No impact (ruling out the Lock Right as the culprit)
-Cranked down on the leaf spring u-bolts - No impact
-Checked for 12-6 and 9-3 play in front wheels and steering which seemed fine - No impact
-Blamed bad birfs so swapped in some Trail-Gear Longfields from @cruiseroutfit - No impact
-Enjoyed a few hazy IPAs by way of curbside pickup - No impact
-Changed the differential oil looking for, but not finding (thankfully) any metal shavings - No impact
-Read some comments on aftermarket leaf spring noise by @OSS - Got me thinking...
-Had a local spring shop make up custom u-bolts - Solved
Some pictures and some distractions along the way:
Bypassed the dust shield with a locally made custom brake line...my future knuckle rebuilding self will thank me.
Those little clips that hold the axle shaft to the birf are no fun. By far, getting them in place was the most time-consuming part of the job. @saltycoconuts , if your truck has these, I'd like to rescind my offer to help with your knuckle rebuild! (kidding...mostly)
Strange color, but no metal chunks
Got distracted while waiting for a set of those c-clips from @cruiseroutfit so decided to wire some cheap lights, triggered by the high beam switch. Yes, there are jack stands holding up the truck, not just the floor jack seen in this picture. And yes, those same jacks have since been recalled.
The culprit on the left, replacement on the right. The guy at the local spring shop did not have good things to say about the OME u-bolts and used some colorful language about how he'd never run them on anything he worked on or drove.
Finally I can actually hear the ratcheting from the Lock Right which is a nice change from the loud and startling clunks. It is hard to imagine that much noise from u-bolts, but at least I have refreshed knuckles, repacked bearings, clean diff oil, flushed brake fluid, new lights, etc. as a result of my poor ability to diagnose what turned out to be a pretty simple fix.
The sound happened in slow turns only, in high or low range with front hubs locked or not, on pavement for sure, but also on dirt. For a while I assumed the sounds was due to the Lock Right locker in the rear which is known for making a ratcheting sound, but supposedly also causes driveline noises when paired with a manual transmission.
Short answer: Cheap leaf spring u-bolts.
Some things I did to try to diagnose and address the clunk:
-Greased every fitting I could find...u-joints, leaf spring shackles - No impact
-Removed the rear drive shaft, locked front hubs, drove in 4H and 4L - No impact (ruling out the Lock Right as the culprit)
-Cranked down on the leaf spring u-bolts - No impact
-Checked for 12-6 and 9-3 play in front wheels and steering which seemed fine - No impact
-Blamed bad birfs so swapped in some Trail-Gear Longfields from @cruiseroutfit - No impact
-Enjoyed a few hazy IPAs by way of curbside pickup - No impact
-Changed the differential oil looking for, but not finding (thankfully) any metal shavings - No impact
-Read some comments on aftermarket leaf spring noise by @OSS - Got me thinking...
-Had a local spring shop make up custom u-bolts - Solved
Some pictures and some distractions along the way:
Bypassed the dust shield with a locally made custom brake line...my future knuckle rebuilding self will thank me.
Those little clips that hold the axle shaft to the birf are no fun. By far, getting them in place was the most time-consuming part of the job. @saltycoconuts , if your truck has these, I'd like to rescind my offer to help with your knuckle rebuild! (kidding...mostly)
Strange color, but no metal chunks
Got distracted while waiting for a set of those c-clips from @cruiseroutfit so decided to wire some cheap lights, triggered by the high beam switch. Yes, there are jack stands holding up the truck, not just the floor jack seen in this picture. And yes, those same jacks have since been recalled.
The culprit on the left, replacement on the right. The guy at the local spring shop did not have good things to say about the OME u-bolts and used some colorful language about how he'd never run them on anything he worked on or drove.
Finally I can actually hear the ratcheting from the Lock Right which is a nice change from the loud and startling clunks. It is hard to imagine that much noise from u-bolts, but at least I have refreshed knuckles, repacked bearings, clean diff oil, flushed brake fluid, new lights, etc. as a result of my poor ability to diagnose what turned out to be a pretty simple fix.
New one to me. How were the u-bolts causing the noise? Was the spring physically shifting against the axle? What were the u-bolts torqued to?
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #54
Found some OEM front door seals I bought a few years ago and for some reason didn't install...so installed those.
Part numbers for those looking
Installed
Inspired, I tried to find OEM rear door seals and found (like I must have a few years ago) they are NLA, so ordered replacements from City Racer (@Racer65 ). A couple days later they arrived and installed in maybe 15 minutes.
Such a simple upgrade, I shouldn't have waited. The doors now shut solidly and there's less wind noise on the road (other than that coming from the rust holes in the roof). Maybe there'll even be a bit less water inside the truck next time it rains!
While searching around for OEM door seals online, I randomly stumbled across the hood insulator part number and thought after nearly 40 years, mine might be due for replacement. It was. I ordered from a local dealer to avoid crazy shipping costs and next morning by 7:00am it was ready for pickup.
Before
Discovered an ancient mouse civilization had at one point inhabited the old hood insulator
All new and insulated
To save anyone searching, here are the parts numbers...
Hood insulator: 53341-90A00
Clips (you'll need 17): 90467-09014
Part numbers for those looking
Installed
Inspired, I tried to find OEM rear door seals and found (like I must have a few years ago) they are NLA, so ordered replacements from City Racer (@Racer65 ). A couple days later they arrived and installed in maybe 15 minutes.
Such a simple upgrade, I shouldn't have waited. The doors now shut solidly and there's less wind noise on the road (other than that coming from the rust holes in the roof). Maybe there'll even be a bit less water inside the truck next time it rains!
While searching around for OEM door seals online, I randomly stumbled across the hood insulator part number and thought after nearly 40 years, mine might be due for replacement. It was. I ordered from a local dealer to avoid crazy shipping costs and next morning by 7:00am it was ready for pickup.
Before
Discovered an ancient mouse civilization had at one point inhabited the old hood insulator
All new and insulated
To save anyone searching, here are the parts numbers...
Hood insulator: 53341-90A00
Clips (you'll need 17): 90467-09014
mattressking
10 digits to freedom
How's it running these days? If you need a hand I'm in the area for another month.
perrobravo
SILVER Star
- Thread starter
- #56
While waiting in line for overpriced gas recently, coolant temps started to creep up to an uncomfortably high level (had previously ALWAYS run cold on the factory gauge). I thought I'd changed the fan clutch and thought I fully went through the cooling when I got Righty, but couldn't find my notes on the fan clutch, so dug in...and fell down a bit of a rabbit hole of while you're in there fun.
Too warm compared to normal readings (pic taken after getting $100 of gas)
Having no record of changing the thermostat, I decided to do so and found this. Likely the cause of my gauge always reading low temps.
New thermostat, new water pump, new fan clutch (Aisin FCT049), and radiator went off to be refreshed.
Maybe the problem is that useless rear heater...one thinks without too much logic or really any testing...
Bought this OEM goodie as part of a rear heat delete, mostly for the name
Installed the "joint" after a lot of PB Blaster and some swearing with a 22mm wrench
Happily removed a bunch of connections and failure points (I told myself as justification for all this work)
If your read enough here about odd temperature readings on the factory gauge, especially after coolant flushes you'll want a secondary gauge (or an advanced degree offered by @OSS in threads like this one to calibrate your factory gauge) and/or you'll add a secondary temp gauge and if you're cool, you'll use the method I did, copied from @MrOverQualified in this thread to get the temp probe into place.
Drilled and tapped this bit rendered useless by a desmog
Threaded the whole thing in
Mounted up the gauge pod which includes AFR, voltmeter, and coolant temperature gauges. @ChaserFJ60 , look at those switch blanks...ready one of your USB plugs!
Too warm compared to normal readings (pic taken after getting $100 of gas)
Having no record of changing the thermostat, I decided to do so and found this. Likely the cause of my gauge always reading low temps.
New thermostat, new water pump, new fan clutch (Aisin FCT049), and radiator went off to be refreshed.
Maybe the problem is that useless rear heater...one thinks without too much logic or really any testing...
Bought this OEM goodie as part of a rear heat delete, mostly for the name
Installed the "joint" after a lot of PB Blaster and some swearing with a 22mm wrench
Happily removed a bunch of connections and failure points (I told myself as justification for all this work)
If your read enough here about odd temperature readings on the factory gauge, especially after coolant flushes you'll want a secondary gauge (or an advanced degree offered by @OSS in threads like this one to calibrate your factory gauge) and/or you'll add a secondary temp gauge and if you're cool, you'll use the method I did, copied from @MrOverQualified in this thread to get the temp probe into place.
Drilled and tapped this bit rendered useless by a desmog
Threaded the whole thing in
Mounted up the gauge pod which includes AFR, voltmeter, and coolant temperature gauges. @ChaserFJ60 , look at those switch blanks...ready one of your USB plugs!
