Builds Let's Baseline my new to me 1993 Land Cruiser

[PNWTreeOctopus]

@PNWTreeOctopus Inspiring thread. It's an excellent read.

I’m mearly standing on the shoulders of giants. This forum is full of like minded co-dependent enablers…whom I deeply appreciate. Thanks for the kind words. I’m gonna need them when I start pulling the truck apart and getting after it ina couple of weeks!

 

[FMC80]

G,
Your engine bay looks very nice! Good on ya...looks like you have some work cut out for you though....I'm seeing a lot of original rubber and clamps. Looks like fun!

Let me know if you need a hand with wrenching. I'll be there sometime next year

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

G,
Your engine bay looks very nice! Good on ya...looks like you have some work cut out for you though....I'm seeing a lot of original rubber and clamps. Looks like fun!

Let me know if you need a hand with wrenching. I'll be there sometime next year

Yup, all original rubber minus the coolent hoses and rad lines. I’m realizing that I still have a few more bits and pieces to get…Brake booster vacuum line is not flexible at all…and I forgot new hoses for the heater control valve which I am replacing.

You’re only one state away Pell….but it’s a long drive!

 

[Dirtygumboots]

Yup, all original rubber minus the coolent hoses and rad lines. I’m realizing that I still have a few more bits and pieces to get…Brake booster vacuum line is not flexible at all…and I forgot new hoses for the heater control valve which I am replacing.

You’re only one state away Pell….but it’s a long drive!

Yup, all original rubber minus the coolent hoses and rad lines. I’m realizing that I still have a few more bits and pieces to get…Brake booster vacuum line is not flexible at all…and I forgot new hoses for the heater control valve which I am replacing.

You’re only one state away Pell….but it’s a long drive!

If you need extra hands let me know. I'd be more than happy to help and get some inspiration to tear into my '93. I've been slacking on that part of ownership. I'm getting really good with the gas pump however.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Thanks Dirtygumboots. I’m glad to know you’ve got one of the cruisers I see around town. I’ll be the guy in the Subaru waving at all the land cruiser owners…then remembering I’m not in my land cruiser.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Degreasing is gross…

Well I’m waiting on these parts and after cleaning the topside of the engine bay on a warm sunny September afternoon my confidence was up to tackle the underside. It hasent gotten any better since the last time I really looked at things. Oil leaks, grease splatter, sand, dirt mud and tiny pieces of central Oregon gravel have created such a thick layer of crust it’s very difficult to remove. Plus there are places where a previous owner’s undercoating has adhered in splotchy patches nearly everywhere.

So here was today’s plan. Soak the lower engine with purple power via a spray bottle. Let it sit for 5-10, then agitate with a brush (I now have quite an assortment) then hose off. Literally rinse and repeat. I targeted the oil pan and front axle, knuckles, control arms, and the steering linkage and the stabilizer bar. Basically everything I bump into a d touch when I’m farting around under the truck. It’s pretty tough to get photos under there.

So I put on my full plastic rain gear and some safety glasses and had a first round. I have no after photos, since it’s so wet. It’s going to be a multi day effort to knock off most of that grease. This was sort of experimental to see how effective everything would be.

I can imagine many things to make this easier. No.1 Would be a lift. No. 2 a hot pressure washer. Unfortunately I just can’t really make enough room to really get after the engine bay with s hot pressure washer. I’m sure it would help, but I don’t think it’s a magic solution. With the level of mud/dirt/oil/grease layered and cooked on I don’t think I can really avoid scraping.

That being said I may hose down the under carriage with degreaser and drive the truck to the coin op car wash and give it a quick pressure wash…but there is a “no degreasing” sign at one. So looks my driveway is the place to be.

Another truth is that “Super Clean” in the purple bottle does soften things up, but it’s pretty nasty. I think my lungs are a little irritated from breathing some of the vapor after misting the engine. So respirator next time.

Nothing about this job is pleasant. It’s no wonder I’ve put it off for so long. I know it will make a difference for locating my oil leaks, so I’ll keep at it. I think it will take at least a couple more sessions, then maybe I can start using rags get into the crevices.

I’m sure I won’t get it all, but once that radiator comes off I’ll at least be able to get to the front of the engine a bit easier, plus the battery box and the PS Reservoir will be getting removed to get to all the various oil leak pm gasket replacement.

You all know the drill, one step at a time.

 

[FMC80]

G,
Aside from missing some key “sts” opportunities in your post, it’s good to see you’re getting after it! Clean engine bays are so much better for follow-on inspections and maintenance. You won’t regret the time spent cleaning the years of build-up off your cruiser.

I have a sloped driveway so I used two ramps to lift my front end and that allowed me to spray a bunch of autozone degreaser (which I think works rather well) and use the pressure washer to knock off the crud. My wand is long (sts) so I needed the extra lift to leverage my wand into tight spaces (sts).

Looking forward to some after pics. We will judge you on your attention to detail

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Yup, I’m heading out for round two after a cup of tea. Lungs no longer feel like I live in Lake Tahoe…

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

We will judge you on your attention to detail

Challenge accepted!!

I mean you know it’s bad when you want a 200 LC off the showroom floor simply because it has a clean…everything!

Maybe I will scrounge up a pressure washer afterall. You did set a very high bar on your rig though. I have a HF steam cleaner…I’ll try that again and see if I can make it work for me.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

No photos, it’s raining too hard, but I made good progress getting a first pass on the transmission pan, and a second pass on the oil pan. I think this will be a several day process…but it’s nice to see bare metal in places! I’ll keep at it and grab some photos this week.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Mental health day…

Sometimes I need a minute to my self out on the land. The little town I grew up in has become a noisy busy little city. So I took my dog and my canoe up to a lake and tried to find a path through to where the creek drain the lake.

Oh and I stopped at the Zone on the way home and picked up @FMC80’s recommended degreaser…cause we all saw the photos of his engine bay. After all imitation is the greatest form of flattery!

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Quick update: my cleaning project is taking on the style of my baselining—becoming endless. Trying many different products, and methods. Got the wheels back on and am idling in the thrift store parking lot to dry out the bay. I just finished at the self serve car wash bay. It was so underwhelming. The degreaser “engine cleaner” is a super dilute somtikg that couldn’t remove a greasy hand print on my waxed paint…after soaking for 10 minutes. Before leaving to go self serve I tried using dawn, which gets some interweb hype. I agaitated with my nylon dish brushes and brass “toothbrushes” but no luck, really not my favorite.

Simple green with agitation is so far my favorite. Purple power/ super clean is next then Autozone degreaser. All three work well, but the zone product is pretty oily and smells terrible. My work space is very close to my neighbor, who is a good ally and a poor enemy. So super stinky (for hours) is not so awesome for my situation. But I still have 2.5 cans of it and I’ll probably use them all befor this saga is over.

Oh and it’s rainy here. So wet today. Wet like “local-grew-up-covered-in-moss-kids-like-me” think: …shoot better get a rain coat on.

 

[FMC80]

Dude, that 'zone cleaner is horrible...I will never buy it again..jk It worked pretty decently for me but probably because I used a badass Simpson pressure washer with something like 3,400 psi. I can't remember the specs exactly but it'll tear your skin and strip bumper paint (ask me how I know).

I like the smell of that zone degreaser.

Keep at it!

 

[Dirtygumboots]

Quick update: my cleaning project is taking on the style of my baselining—becoming endless. Trying many different products, and methods. Got the wheels back on and am idling in the thrift store parking lot to dry out the bay. I just finished at the self serve car wash bay. It was so underwhelming. The degreaser “engine cleaner” is a super dilute somtikg that couldn’t remove a greasy hand print on my waxed paint…after soaking for 10 minutes. Before leaving to go self serve I tried using dawn, which gets some interweb hype. I agaitated with my nylon dish brushes and brass “toothbrushes” but no luck, really not my favorite.

Simple green with agitation is so far my favorite. Purple power/ super clean is next then Autozone degreaser. All three work well, but the zone product is pretty oily and smells terrible. My work space is very close to my neighbor, who is a good ally and a poor enemy. So super stinky (for hours) is not so awesome for my situation. But I still have 2.5 cans of it and I’ll probably use them all befor this saga is over.View attachment 2800219

Oh and it’s rainy here. So wet today. Wet like “local-grew-up-covered-in-moss-kids-like-me” think: …shoot better get a rain coat on.

View attachment 2800220

You seem to be getting really good at this. Can I swing my 80 by? Your neighbors garden my not be organic any longer.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

You seem to be getting really good at this. Can I swing my 80 by? Your neighbors garden my not be organic any longer.

But I’m using volatile organic compounds….

 

[baldilocks]

Citrol is expensive but it works very well. Also available in a spray can.
Amazon product ASIN B00JF2LLHA

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I appreciate this suggestion, I’ll look for it at Hardware Sales, my local spot.

I also picked up an electric pressure washer today for 10 bucks at the used building supply store, it’s unfortunately not making any pressure, and I need a nozzle, but this may be the direction I end up heading in the end…

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Still Degreasing….

You can tell I’m just about to start another round of degreasing from the following observations:
1. My hands are clean
2. I appear hopeful that this will be the last session of degreasing (my affirming hand gesture)
3. I’m not rinsing degreaser out of my eye
4. I’m not rinsing greasy water out of my eye
4. I’m not cleaning my cleaning things…
5. My foulies are still mostly yellow.

I resurrected the Task Force 1600psi from the dumpster and used it to great effect today all it took were o-rings and a set of nozzles. It’s super anemic-I would lose my mind using for a deck, but for knocking off grease it’s better than the hose.

I worked on cleaning the transfer case, it’s been leaking near where the electrical connector goes in on the driver side (I can’t recap what sensor this is) and it’s super slushy. I also cleaned the driver’s control and frame rail.

The wand on the power washer is really long. Im going to try and remove it and put a brass nozzle attachment—thingy on there. I think that’s the cheapest solution.

I have more faith that the majority of my oil leaking is from the oil pump cover gasket. It has an awesome PO fix in place. I’ve shown it before in the thread but here it is today:

I’m no expert, but that black permatex gasket stuff isn’t really working. I’m so looking forward to eliminating this source of oil loss. It seems to be a major culprit. The power steering pump is more challenging to clean, but I might remove the battery and tray for the next round.

I think I have 1-2 more seasons before I can think about stopping, but I’m a lot closer than I was before. Parts get here on Monday, but there are some projects emerging around the house that may delay the fun.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

Degreasing Continues…

Ok I’ve learned a lot about degreasing engines over the past week or so. There are many truths, but this one stands above all else. You cannot simply hope to spray on degreaser let it sit and hose it off. You will need to scrape off all the dirt. Even spraying with degreaser and agitating with a stiff brush won’t get the thicker stuff off. Then and only then can you hope to spray on degreaser, agitate, then hose off.

So this was today’s approach. I found a plastic putty knife, and a soft bondo filler spreader, which I cut in half. With these two tools I scraped the frame rails, engine mounts, bump stops, and anything flat enough to accumulate greasy dirt. Even after two rounds of spraying engine degreaser and even pressure washing it, the grease was dry underneath when I was scraping.

So just to really dive into some philosophy here there are no short cuts. You will have to cram your arms into the under carriage, do some akward yoga on your garage creeper and scrape the dirt off.

Once I scraped off the thickest stuff i sprayed citrus degreaser (2:1 citrasolve) on one area and used my quiver of brushes to agitate and listen the last layers of grease. If the dirt started to absorb the degreaser I’d spray a small amount on.

Then after I hit several areas with the citrasolve and brush treatment I broke out the extra weak electric pressure washer and hoses off the muck. I modified the PW to make it shorter by removing the wand and putting on a 22mm to 1/4” quick disconnect fitting. This lost 20” of length and made things a lot easier for close quarters.

I’ll eventually post some before and after pics, but since I’m still working on getting what must be pounds of crap off the engine and chassis you’ll have to be patient. So you will have to suffice with a photo of all the essential gear you will need to do this job.

Starting at upper left and working clockwise:

• Garage creeper
• PPE including plastic rain gear, eye protection (highest quality goggles are recommended) and a respirator
• Degreasers and high quality spray bottles: find your flavor, I like simple green, super clean and citrasolve…
• Brushes and scrapers, you will need a variety’s. Bottle brushes, toilet brushes, “tooth brushes” brass detailing brushes, and grout cleaning brushes are all useful.
• Pressure washer with shortest possible wand with narrow nozzles (the one pictured is ok, but even shorter would be better)
• Pistol style hose nozzle
• Good lighting that is also waterproof.

More later…

 

[FMC80]

This epic degreasing operation now rivals your baselining filibuster