My New 60

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Doc

Doc

Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Threads
234
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5,820
Location
Utah
I picked up my new beater/project truck this past weekend. It had a few more issues than I expected it to have, but it makes me laugh every time I drive it- it's a kick!

e3_3.JPG


P5010009.jpg


Boy, there's a long list of questions I have about it, most fairly newb oriented- so don't read any further if you get frustrated easily!

Ok, this beast has a choke. I've never driven/owned a car with one. Related to the carb? Anyway- when starting it up is it necessary to pump the gas, or just pull the choke all the way and turn it over? Seems like that has been the easiest way to get it started so far.

Also, the OE voltmeter seems to always read in the red unless I'm at speed on the highway- sign of a bad alternator? But it never has trouble starting. Also, with the lights on the voltmeter is pegged at the bottom. With the lights off the voltmeter raises a bit, but still in the 'red'.

Fuel gauge doesn't work. I thought it was empty- went to fill it up and it only took 3 gallons of gas. So- is there an easy way to determine if it's the gauge or sender unit?

Thermostat- The truck was blowing hot air through the heater vents when I got to work (had the temp all the way up), but the thermostat only indicated 1/3 warm on the engine. My little Honda doesn't blow hot air until the engine is fully warm- so is this normal, or is the temp gauge going out too?

The truck has the headlight washers, is there a special button to operate these, or do they turn on when you turn the windsheild sprayers on too?

I'll take some more pictures tonight- there are some electrical connections in the engine bay that aren't connected. One is by the right headlight, it's a factory harness, but a short tail.

Also, some hard lines down buy the left front bottom of the radiator that aren't connected to anything-

The previous owner was a DIY'er and I pulled about 25 lbs of wire and non-functioning add-on crap out of the engine bay last night. Yes, I traced every wire out first. Yes it started and ran just like it did before I pulled all the wires.

Oh, and the horn doesn't blow. I can see the diaphragm moving, but all I get is a very quiet "bpppp". I need a new one. Cheap?

I'm sure I'll think of more questions!
 
[quote author=Doc link=board=1;threadid=15716;start=msg149519#msg149519 date=1083591247]
I picked up my new beater/project truck this past weekend. It had a few more issues than I expected it to have, but it makes me laugh every time I drive it- it's a kick!

e3_3.JPG


P5010009.jpg


Boy, there's a long list of questions I have about it, most fairly newb oriented- so don't read any further if you get frustrated easily!

Ok, this beast has a choke. I've never driven/owned a car with one. Related to the carb? Anyway- when starting it up is it necessary to pump the gas, or just pull the choke all the way and turn it over? Seems like that has been the easiest way to get it started so far.

if cold I pump the pedal a few times, then pull the choke out and start it, take off and push chock in.......but it all kinda depends on the state of tune and the outside temp

Also, the OE voltmeter seems to always read in the red unless I'm at speed on the highway- sign of a bad alternator? But it never has trouble starting. Also, with the lights on the voltmeter is pegged at the bottom. With the lights off the voltmeter raises a bit, but still in the 'red'.

might be a bad alt or a bad battery cable or connection, I would clean stuff up and check the belt tension 1st.

Fuel gauge doesn't work. I thought it was empty- went to fill it up and it only took 3 gallons of gas. So- is there an easy way to determine if it's the gauge or sender unit?

yeah the FSM have some tests. Sometimes the fuel and temp guages will spike(together) they coth share the same ground in the fuel gauge, if thats the case you can clean up the gound or replace the fuel guage. But it might also be the sender, you can get to that from an access hole in the rear bed.

Thermostat- The truck was blowing hot air through the heater vents when I got to work (had the temp all the way up), but the thermostat only indicated 1/3 warm on the engine. My little Honda doesn't blow hot air until the engine is fully warm- so is this normal, or is the temp gauge going out too?

sounds normal and OK

The truck has the headlight washers, is there a special button to operate these, or do they turn on when you turn the windsheild sprayers on too?

headlights must be one, then when you hit the widow washer the headlight washers squirt at the same time.........but only if the headlights are on

I'll take some more pictures tonight- there are some electrical connections in the engien bay that aren't connected. One is by the right headlight, it's a factory harness, but a short tail.

you will find a few OEM connectors that are not hooked up......its for neat stuff we in the US didnt get.

Also, some hard lines down buy the left front bottom of the radiator that aren't connected to anything-

sounds like the power steering cooler/high pressure lines.........hmmmm I wonder how/why he did that?

The previous owner was a DIY'er and pulled about 25 lbs of wire and non-functioning add-on crap out of the engine bay last night. Yes, I traced every wire out first. Yes it started and ran just like it did before I pulled all the wires.

the original owner of mu fj60 had a ham radio and bunch of other crap in it, he dated and labeled every wire..........and I pulled em all out.

Oh, and the horn doesn't blow. I can see the diaphragm moving, but all I get is a very quiet "bpppp". I need a new one. Cheap?

horn is prolly fine, ground, relay or horn contacts(in wheel) are prolly messed up

I'm sure I'll think of more questions!
[/quote]

congrats :)
 
On the basics, like choke operation, you should read up on the owners manual - it will give you the basics. 60s don't have fuel injection so you have to pump the pedal to feed the 2F gas. The choke is more of a cold weather/cold start item and really depends on the truck as to how much you need it (and yes, it's carb related) - it closes the choke plate over brl 1 on the carb to enrich the fuel mixture.

You'll need to get your alt tested. Sounds like it's bad, but that's not always the case. Check the fusable links - sometimes if one is burned out, it'll look like a bad alt. You'll learn to hate the fusable links...

My truck only shows 1/3 up on the temp guage when it's fully warmed up too. I wouldn't worry about it. The guages in the 60 are notoriously inaccurate anyway - just go by how it runs, really. You're blowing warm air, so there's your answer.

On the horn, like Pimp said, check your ground on your horn button. you'll have to pull the steering wheel and the addition of a few washers will raise it up enough for proper contact. Once you get in there, you'll see what's what. There's a thread you could search out on here that goes into it too.

Congrats on the new rig! You'll love it!
 
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Congrats on joining the brotherhood of the '60....great trucks and good fun to wrench on. Sounds like you're mechanically inclined, so do yourself a favor and pick up the factory repair manuals, a Haynes manual, and maybe a factory owner's manual. Specter has all of the factory and owner manuals if your local Toyota parts department can't get them anymore. You'll find the manuals invaluable as you start to dive into your new "project" and they will often times walk you through many of the problems you've outlined above.

enjoy,
-dogboy- '87 FJ60
 
Oh yeah, that's another thing! I didn't get any manuals with the truck. So I need to buy some.

Specter? tried www.specter.com and got some security company or something...

I didn't say so in the orignal post, but once I get it started- the beast runs strong. Must be a pretty nice motor, and not driven that much either. 125k original miles, and the 93 I bought at the same time has 150K!
 
[quote author=Doc link=board=1;threadid=15716;start=msg149519#msg149519 date=1083591247]

The truck has the headlight washers, is there a special button to operate these, or do they turn on when you turn the windsheild sprayers on too?

[/quote]

The headlight washers work when your headlights are on only. Just hit your windshield sprayers and the headlight sprayers will spray as well....


--ZERO
 
Welcome to the club. We're tight...and we're familier with the "issues" you've noticed. A few things to add:
1. Get a multi-meter, and measure your true alt output, and battery voltage.
2. Most of the chain auto parts stores will test battery's/alternators for free. Maybe Sears does also.
3. Triple A membership is cheap - one tow and you've paid for it.
4. Lots of info on this board. Use the search facility to do "research."

Have fun.
 
Here is a pic of the hard lines that aren't hooked up to anything- sorry it's blurry. You're looking down in the left front corner of the engine bay, the plastic on the left of the picture is the rad overflow catch.

P5030008.jpg


On the way to work this morning the volt meter said zero again. So- afterwork the truck doesn't start. Take the battery to Oreily's and they say it's fine. Charge up the battery, put it back in, take the truck in. Alternator is putting out nothing. Buy new alternator. Take it home to install, notice plug is unplugged from back of alternator. Damn. Take truck back to Oreily's and get it tested with alternator plugged in. Low output says the diagnostic tool. Go home and install new alternator. Take truck and new alternator back to Oreily's to get tested again. 12.25 volts, the hand held diagnostic tool they are using says low output,again.

Now, is 12.25 normal for our trucks? Because it ran with no issues before the plug fell out of the alternator.

Pic of aftermarket ignition the PO put in the truck

P5030012.jpg


I know absolutely nothing about electronics. Well, not nothing- but not enough to trust myself with a multi-meter and diagnosing a voltage leak.

Suggestions?

More pics

P5030013.jpg


P5030014.jpg


P5030015.jpg
 
OK,

12.25v at idle? or with rpm's up over 1500? At idle, with all accessories off, you should see 12.5 or a bit more, probably not much over 13 tops. Over 1500 rpm's (again with everything shut off) you should get 13.5 - 14.0v. If your new alt isn't putting out that much, they should exchange it for a different one.

A multi-meter is a pretty safe tool by the way...
 
12.25 V at idle. It does go up to the 13 range during driving.

Honestly I don't know how to use a multi-meter. Where to put what lead and so forth... Mechanically I'm pretty good, but electronically just about all I'm good for is chasing wires and checking fuses.
 
Hey Doc,

Are you reporting voltage from the stock dash guage? They are "ballpark" accurate only.

Get a multi-meter from Radio Shack, for $20. Set the main switch to voltage. Put the red lead on the positive terminal of the battery. PUt the black lead on the negative terminal of the battery. (Red is standard for positive. Black is standard for negative.) Read the voltage at idle, and at 1500 rpm. Compare to what your dash guage says, and to what the store guys say. Knowledge is power.

If the ONLY thing you ever use this for is checking the voltage of your two cruisers, then it's a worthwhile investment.

HTH
 
I don't have the headlight washers on mine, but I'm guessing those harlines in your photos that are unhooked go to them...look for loose hoses.

I've had low output from my alt when the fusable link blows - there are three aux wires that come off of the pos batt term - you can yank all of those and put in 30amp inline fuses - and when one blows, you'll know where you're getting a short, more or less, or if that's it at all. I've got a grimlin in mine and have kept the inline fuses instead of fusable links - let's me know in a hurry when something is wrong. (there's something that shorts out when I've got the door open, the heater fan running and the headlights on - or if I start it with the parking lights on and the door open - anyway, it blows the fuse, I run around until I notice the guage reading low, check the fuse, and low and behold, problem solved for less than a quarter.

Other weird stuff will happen too - my radar detector would restart when I'd put on a blinker for a while...it was the fusable link. Took me forever to figure that one out.

I'll try to post a few photos of where they are, etc if you are interested.
 
[quote author=swank60 link=board=1;threadid=15716;start=msg150127#msg150127 date=1083647417]
I don't have the headlight washers on mine, but I'm guessing those harlines in your photos that are unhooked go to them...look for loose hoses.

I've had low output from my alt when the fusable link blows - there are three aux wires that come off of the pos batt term

I'll try to post a few photos of where they are, etc if you are interested.
[/quote]

I'll check the plumbing of those lines tonight.

You can kind of see the pos terminal in the first engine bay shot, there aren't three links coming off of the terminal, only one big one. The two smaller wires are to the ignition module the PO installed.

I'd like to see some pics, yes.
 
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