Builds My '78 FJ40 "44"

[DSB345]

I'm glad you found another friend for Chester and yourself. Looks like a good one!
As far as the antenna goes, I don't think it looks that bad at all. Happy wife, happy life

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I'm glad you found another friend for Chester and yourself. Looks like a good one!
As far as the antenna goes, I don't think it looks that bad at all. Happy wife, happy life

Thanks Dave! We're anxious to bring that high pitched bundle of fur, with very sharp teeth, home to Chester!!

 

[TractorDoc]

Congratulations on the new addition Danny!

has found a litter of GoldenDoodles

I see several goldendoodles at my office on occasion. . . usually they are the cross between a standard poodle/golden retriever and I am always impressed with how big they grow. Not sure if 35lbs. will be accurate (he/she may give Chester a run for his money), but they are known to shed less. I bet Chester will be happy with however things turn out!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Congratulations on the new addition Danny!



I see several goldendoodles at my office on occasion. . . usually they are the cross between a standard poodle/golden retriever and I am always impressed with how big they grow. Not sure if 35lbs. will be accurate (he/she may give Chester a run for his money), but they are known to shed less. I bet Chester will be happy with however things turn out!

Thanks!!

No guarantees... But, breeders are very good at estimating target weight... We'll see...

I don't care if he does become Clifford-like... Our Mr Parker was a slim 109 lb Golden Retriever and Sgt Gunner was a svelte 78-82 lbs.

Sir Windsor Chesterfield is right at 78 lbs.

All great dogs!!

Prior to Parker (2002), we had two female Golden Retrievers (Bloemer and Cadeautje) and they were about 65-75 lbs...

Our first Golden was Flower... She was a mix and weighed 35 lbs... She went to Holland with us and died about 6 months after we returned to Texas... We lived a Dutch life, with many Dutch friends, but Flower was completely immersed... She spent her days walking with our landheer (landlord) and burrman (neighbor) and knew practically everyone within a 10-mile radius...

Whenever a coal mine tower or building was brought down, Flower was in the front row of spectators... Every time we walked her, we were constantly stopped by, 'Kijken! Dat is Flower!' (Look! That's Flower!)

We met a lot of great people through Flower!!

But, I've digressed... Chester and I are taking 44 out for a few days tomorrow... I'm interested to see how that cell signal booster responds to some of our more frequent haunts.

Cheers!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Honey, we're home...

Chester and I drove up above Cold Creek this morning, with the
Intent to spend a few days driving new (to us) areas.

44 drove performed flawlessly (20" of vacuum) easily maintained 70 mph, with both tanks full... until we reached 6k' and a steep incline... then, 44 bogged down significantly.

I wasn't real concerned because I knew we would be at the end of the road before long anyway and would start back downhill.

Question: what's the best approach to take to make 44 perform equally as well at 7500' and 2400'? Is that possible? Or, will I need to adjust the timing every few feet of ascent/descent?

Anyway, we climbed to the Bonanza Trailhead at 7500' and snapped a few pics and headed back down... again, 44 performed flawlessly... of course, downhill is easy.

Then we entered the Refuge, with the intent of driving the 47 miles to US93, to head up to Sunnyside. But, 10 miles into the Refuge, the fuel gauge quit reporting the aux tank... I haven't looked into this yet... either the sender has failed or the float is stuck or has fallen off the sender.

Losing the fuel gauge (aux only) wasn't killer, but shortly thereafter, 44 started running rough.

I swapped to the main tank (full) and it just kept running rougher and rougher.

We turned around and started back and it was even rough downhill... it got really rough, so I pulled the air cleaner and did an Okie Rebuild, at 3000 RPM... that cleared the crap out...

But, since the aux filter has black grit in it (and I had similar aux tank trouble last trip, I suspect the aux tank has crap breaking lose and clogging the carb.

So, we came home... I'm going the drop the aux tank and clean it thoroughly and fix the sender.

Another question: is there a safe way to weld a gas tank? I'll definitely drain it and flush it with denatured alcohol and then fresh water... but, I'm thinking about cutting a hole to check the inside and would need to weld it back closed.

Anyway, 44 is back in the stable and in the meantime, Chester and I will make a truck trip, to fly fish from our pontoon.

A few pics... with some wild horses

 

[waiting for time]

Nice pictures Danny, it looks like a fun trip, except for the 44 trouble.
You can concider making a permanent peek hole.
Create a ring with welded nuts and screw it at the bottom of the opening with 2 sunken screws.
Then you can tighten a cover over it with a gasket in between.
It can be prepared before you open it up and offers the possibility to fix future issues.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Nice pictures Danny, it looks like a fun trip, except for the 44 trouble.
You can concider making a permanent peek hole.
Create a ring with welded nuts and screw it at the bottom of the opening with 2 sunken screws.
Then you can tighten a cover over it with a gasket in between.
It can be prepared before you open it up and offers the possibility to fix future issues.

This is intriguing, Michael... but, every time I think I understand it, I lose my mind...

1. How big is this ring, to only require 2 screws?

2. What sort of sealer between the ring and the tank? Or, do I use a gasket, as shown below?

 

[4Cruisers]

Don't know if you noticed them, but there are some really, really big mountain mahoganys at the start of the Bonanza Trail. We've hiked up the trail to the top of the ridge a number of times, the views are pretty fantastic, both north and south. Looking towards the north you even get a pretty good view of Area 51 . Most of what you see below you to the south is the sprawling expanse of the wonderful (not) metropolis of Pahrump, one of southern Nevada's garden spots.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

2 gaskets?

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Don't know if you noticed them, but there are some really, really big mountain mahoganys at the start of the Bonanza Trail. We've hiked up the trail to the top of the ridge a number of times, the views are pretty fantastic, both north and south. Looking towards the north you even get a pretty good view of Area 51 . Most of what you see below you to the south is the sprawling expanse of the wonderful (not) metropolis of Pahrump, one of southern Nevada's garden spots.

I didn't realize they were mahoganys... how far to the ridge?

I'd like to hike it when it's cooler... today wasn't bad, but I like to know snakes aren't active, so Chester can be off leash.

Everyone should have the opportunity to experience Pahrump

 

[ginmtb]

How about something like this:

Cleanout Cover

 

[1911]

Question: what's the best approach to take to make 44 perform equally as well at 7500' and 2400'? Is that possible? Or, will I need to adjust the timing every few feet of ascent/descent?

Danny, I'm guessing that 44 does not have the High Altitude Compensation (HAC) System installed? I'm not sure what year they started putting these in U.S. spec trucks, but my (11/79 build) 1980 has it. The HAC valve senses barometric pressure in the carb and manifold, and opens a secondary advance diaphragm on the distributor to automatically give an additional 6 degrees of timing advance when you drive above 4,000' elevation. Mine has worked great over the high passes in western Colorado and in the San Juan mountains, up to 13,000'. My home elevation is only 1,000'; it's really nice to make a long trip to the mountain west and back, and never touch the timing.

But the air is thinner (less oxygen) the higher you go, and hence you will lose power - but it shouldn't bog down, as long as you keep shifting down to keep appropriate rpm. Mine is no rocket at high elevation, but it always runs well.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Seems perfect... And very similar to Michael's suggestion (I think)... Thanks Mike (@ginmtb) and Michael (@waiting for time)!!


Now, back to my 'welding' question... I have to cut a hole to install this anyway, so I need to purge the tank of fumes before cutting on it...

Presuming a need... Is it safe to weld on this tank once I've drained it, flushed it with denatured alcohol and clean water (a couple of times) and allowed it to sit and "air out" for a "while"?

What's a "while"?

If there are concerns, who welds and reconditions gas tanks? Radiator shop or ??

 

[65swb45]

Danny (and all)

I would like to recommend for future reference (perhaps even as an FAQ stickie) a method I consider a wiser course of action than the okie rebuild (which IMO is nothing more than a corollary of the 'get a bigger hammer' mentality.)

1.Point the truck downhill, with the left tire being lower than the right.
2. Open the secondary main jet access plug (the one closest to the left fender)
3. Pour gas thru the brass bowl vent tube (under the choke plate) to flush the bowl, then replace the access plug. If there is dirt in the bowl, this should take care of it.

If the contaminant was stuck in the needle and seat, the bowl Would have been overfilling , running rough in a partially flooded condition. The okie rebuild GUARANTEES that you will pull the contaminant further into the carb. There are no orifices inside the carb larger than the one between the needle and seat. It is only wishful thinking that it will pass all the way thru the carb.

The pre-75 carbs have the advantage here, as they have an access plug directly above the needle and seat, which really helps make sure you can get the contaminant off the needle and into the bowl to flush it out.

I gave a demonstration of this method on my own rig on Porcupine Ridge at Cruise Moab in 2005. No one is immune.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

@1911

Thanks Lee!!

No HAC... Jim C says "HAC is 79-newer", in post 5 of this --> 1978 Carb vs 1979 Carb differences

To be clear, by "bog down", I mean "losses power"... I can downshift and recover rpms, but cannot get back up to the speed I was running before 6k'... Truth be told, I'm sure I was losing power before 6k'... Just not as noticeable... It runs fine, just loses power.

I was never a mechanical guy... I've learned a lot about 44, just to be safe and to be able to explore and bail myself out of potential situations... But, there are still a couple of things I don't know

I can certainly live with this decrease in power... and let those "in a hurry" drivers go on by... I usually catch up to them eventually...

I just want to be sure I'm not damaging 44 by running, at altitude, without re-timing.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

@65swb45

Thanks Mark!!

Hopefully, there won't be a "next time"... But, I'm a realist...

So, I've snapped a picture of your procedure... I know, it's only 3 steps, but... Uh, what was I saying?

Step 2 says "open", step 3 says "replace"...

So, I think "open" means "remove the plug"...

Do I need to be concerned about the jet (or something else) falling out?

 

[65swb45]

@65swb45

Thanks Mark!!

Hopefully, there won't be a "next time"... But, I'm a realist...

So, I've snapped a picture of your procedure... I know, it's only 3 steps, but... Uh, what was I saying?

Step 2 says "open", step 3 says "replace"...

So, I think "open" means "remove the plug"...

Do I need to be concerned about the jet (or something else) falling out?

Two concerns. One: don't let gas run on to a hot manifold. I don't know what temp qualifies for spontaneous combustion...and I don't want to know.

Two: don't lose the washer that seals the plug to the carb.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Two concerns. One: don't let gas run on to a hot manifold. I don't know what temp qualifies for spontaneous combustion...and I don't want to know.

Two: don't lose the washer that seals the plug to the carb.

Got it... thanks Mark!!

 

[1911]

I just want to be sure I'm not damaging 44 by running, at altitude, without re-timing.

I doubt it, though it may run a little hotter with the timing not advanced far enough.

When I used to run Toyota mini trucks, I would just manually advance the timing 6-10 degrees (until it ran the best without pinging under load) by turning the distributor and clamping it down, whenever I went back to Colorado. Then just turn it back to where it was as I was leaving.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I doubt it, though it may run a little hotter with the timing not advanced far enough.

When I used to run Toyota mini trucks, I would just manually advance the timing 6-10 degrees (until it ran the best without pinging under load) by turning the distributor and clamping it down, whenever I went back to Colorado. Then just turn it back to where it was as I was leaving.

Thanks Lee!!

I'll just mark the current timing, on the side cover, advance it (for altitude), mark it dialed in and be good to go!!