No Start Help 1982 FJ45 (1 Viewer)

[bdsmitty88]

My guess is carburetor has become fouled and needs a rebuild. You might want to see if you can locate an inexpensive working carb. It’s always nice to have a backup when you trouble shoot or keep the truck running during a carburetor rebuild.

Good luck — you been really fighting this one!

Have you rebuilt an OEM carb before? How difficult is it? I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I'm not super concerned about rebuilding the carb, itself, it's more all the linkages and things and making sure everything gets back on and adjusted / set properly.

 

[bdsmitty88]

I doubt it's bad gas. I think I would tackle the carburetor ... so what Brooklyn said . Keep at it. I'm an amateur at this stuff and rebuilt my own carb with some help from PinHead's videos on YouTube (It's not hard, but requires time and patience). If you have neither of those things, but you do have money, there are 2 people on this forum who are quite famous for carb overhauls. That would be FJ40Jim and 65swb45. There are probably others (I'm sorry if I missed someone in the rebuild business).

Anyhow, I brought up timing just as a simple thing to rule out. If your plugs aren't firing in the right order, or if you somehow rotated your distributor while messing around in there ... it'll make starting harder. Your timing would need to be off by quite a lot though. If you're sure the wires are correct, and the dizzy doesn't turn by hand .... carburetor, I guess? If can turn you dizzy by hand, do think about timing.

I feel like I'm likely to go down the road of rebuilding the carb. I'm mostly worried about getting it back on with all the linkages in things in the right setup, but if it needs to be done, I'll just have to suck it up. Luckily, if I fail miserably, there is a shop near me that specializes in land cruisers.

When you say turn the distributor, do you mean physically turning the rotor by hand? I'm certain the cap is on correctly. If you turn the rotor, does it come out of sequence in any way with the engine? It sounds like you are implying that you shouldn't be able to turn it? What does it mean if you can turn it? Worn gear?

thx

 

[ToyotaMatt]

I feel like I'm likely to go down the road of rebuilding the carb. I'm mostly worried about getting it back on with all the linkages in things in the right setup, but if it needs to be done, I'll just have to suck it up. Luckily, if I fail miserably, there is a shop near me that specializes in land cruisers.

When you say turn the distributor, do you mean physically turning the rotor by hand? I'm certain the cap is on correctly. If you turn the rotor, does it come out of sequence in any way with the engine? It sounds like you are implying that you shouldn't be able to turn it? What does it mean if you can turn it? Worn gear?

thx

who is this shop near you that specializes in Land Cruisers ?

 

[bdsmitty88]

who is this shop near you that specializes in Land Cruisers ?

It's a small shop in Charleston, SC called Japanese Import Pros. I discovered them by happenstance when I was driving the truck and the calipers literally fell off the caliper carriers on a 55mph road (was lucky that nobody was injured). I had it towed to the closest, well reviewed shop and when I pulled up they had 3 FJ40s on lifts. It's a small family operation...literally built on their home's property.

Oh, and I guess this is a good time to give a huge F**K YOU shout out to Kian Motors in Plano, TX...truly the most shocking, abhorrent experience I have ever had purchasing a vehicle. You wouldn't believe the amount of sketchy, overlooked and dangerous things I've had to repair on the truck. It goes so far beyond just being a "south american FJ". This vehicle has been in the US for over 10 years. It is wilfull neglect on the part of the dealership.

I'll spare the details, here, but if you want to read my review...check it out. Unfortunately, reviews are character limited and I didn't have time to address all the sketchy stuff they did/hid. If you're in the Plano, TX area be sure to give them a nice middle finger when you drive by.

 

[sterling]

Turning the distributor means just that, not the rotor itself, its used to time the truck.
Loosen the screws holding the distributor down, then turn the whole distributor (wires and cap on)left or right to adjust the timing up or down.

Once the desired timing is set,tighten distributor screws back down.
Point being the distributor should not be loose or able to move freely.
The manual has a fun diagram that helps

Did I miss pictures of this truck?

 

[bdsmitty88]

Turning the distributor means just that, not the rotor itself, its used to time the truck.
Loosen the screws holding the distributor down, then turn the whole distributor (wires and cap on)left or right to adjust the timing up or down.

Once the desired timing is set,tighten distributor screws back down.
Point being the distributor should not be loose or able to move freely.
The manual has a fun diagram that helps

Did I miss pictures of this truck?

Gotcha. I didn't explicitly check, but in taking the cap on and off, I didn't notice the distributor moving or spinning. I'll do a double check.

Pic of my beautiful, non running toy

 

[sterling]

45's will always be .Wouldnt hurt to stop by the shop you mentioned and describe your issues to see what they say, if you trust them.

These trucks are stupidly simple dumb beasts
Money vs. frustration vs. your time

Could be something simple they could fix and be well worth the $ in the end.my .02

Edit:
Post up on Low country cruisers clubhouse page for help.Im sure someone wouldnt mind helping in exchange for some cold beer.

 

[jembourbe]

...

As for the distributor, all I know is that the plug wires are correct and the cap is on correct. I didn't touch the rotor. Is it possible that something, with regards to the distributor firing sequence, got out of "order"?

When I acquired the truck a year ago, it ran fine. Now it doesn't with, presumably, nothing disrupted physically on the distributor. I'm posting a follow up with a more detailed pattern of behavior, to give a good summary of where the truck stands now. THX!

Like middlecalf and sterling I was thinking about this, too. I think that if your distributor has been slightly loose, it could have slowly rotated such that your timing is so far retarded that the car will neither run well nor start. It almost certainly would have happened gradually like you described.

 

[jembourbe]

Like middlecalf and sterling I was thinking about this, too. I think that if your distributor has been slightly loose, it could have slowly rotated such that your timing is so far retarded that the car will neither run well nor start. It almost certainly would have happened gradually like you described.

In this picture, the #2 bolt fixes the collar onto the engine block. The #1 bolt loosens the collar so that you can rotate the distributor body.

When the engine is running, the rotor turns clockwise inside the distributor. But note that when you are adjusting the distributor body, the rotor stays in the same place. That means that if you want to advance your timing, you should rotate the distributor body counterclockwise.

 

[bdsmitty88]

Little update....

I checked the distributor and it seems pretty snug. I tried rotating it at its base and it wouldn't budge. Is it worth trying to loosen and rotate to change timing? This seems like a super inexact science. I tried rotating the rotor. There was about 10 degrees of slop and then another 15 or so degrees of what I would call springback. I could rotate it about 15 degrees clockwise and felt something like spring tension. I would let go and it would spring back into place. There was about 5-10 degrees of general slop as well. I assume this is the gear mating slop. Is this all normal?

Could someone point me in the direction of the appropriate carburetor rebuild kit? The only place I could find with specific part numbers listed was Cruiser Corps, but they are out of their more extensive rebuild kits and the Keystar ones don't have an exact matching part number. My FJ has an Aisan 2 barrell carb, date code 2 H 30 and bolt tagged with part number 61012. I thiiiiiink this superceded 61010 which is the closest keystar kit.

Also...now it seems like my battery isn't holding charge. Classic. I have a "smart" battery charger which is supposed to detect dead cells. It seems to charge to correct voltage but now I get about 2 cranks of the starter before it quits and battery voltage reads 10.8V.

 

[jembourbe]

Don't do anything to your distributor until you determine whether your engine is properly timed. There's a little window with a pointer in it on the bell housing near the starter. You can look thru the window and see the flywheel. There will be a line on the flywheel that marks top dead center for cylinder 1. A little way back is something that looks like a BB. This is 7 degrees before top dead center.

Window:

Flywheel markings:

You can check whether your timing is close by rotating the engine/flywheel to top dead center (when the pointer in the window points to the thin line) and then checking to make sure the rotor inside the distributor cap would be touching the terminal (if the cap were on the distributor and in its proper place) for the spark wire going to cylinder 1. When the pointer is pointing to the BB, the rotor should just barely be starting to contact the cyl 1 terminal. If that checks out, your timing is probably close enough to not be the cause of your problems.

Note that top dead center for Cyl 1 happens twice per one revolution of the rotor. So if you rotate the flywheel to top dead center and the rotor inside the distributor is pointing 180 degrees away from the terminal for Cyl 1, that just means you are not on the compression cycle. Send the flywheel around again and re-check.

The spring return for the rotor is your centrifugal advance springs pulling the weights back. Normal.

 

[bdsmitty88]

Don't do anything to your distributor until you determine whether your engine is properly timed. There's a little window with a pointer in it on the bell housing near the starter. You can look thru the window and see the flywheel. There will be a line on the flywheel that marks top dead center for cylinder 1. A little way back is something that looks like a BB. This is 7 degrees before top dead center.

Window:

Flywheel markings:

You can check whether your timing is close by rotating the engine/flywheel to top dead center (when the pointer in the window points to the thin line) and then checking to make sure the rotor inside the distributor cap would be touching the terminal (if the cap were on the distributor and in its proper place) for the spark wire going to cylinder 1. When the pointer is pointing to the BB, the rotor should just barely be starting to contact the cyl 1 terminal. If that checks out, your timing is probably close enough to not be the cause of your problems.

Note that top dead center for Cyl 1 happens twice per one revolution of the rotor. So if you rotate the flywheel to top dead center and the rotor inside the distributor is pointing 180 degrees away from the terminal for Cyl 1, that just means you are not on the compression cycle. Send the flywheel around again and re-check.

The spring return for the rotor is your centrifugal advance springs pulling the weights back. Normal.

That's super helpful. Thank you. I remember seeing something about that marking in the engine manual.

Stupid question...how do you rotate the engine / flywheel manually? The flywheel would be in the bell housing. Where do you rotate it?

THX

 

[jembourbe]

You can use a screwdriver on the flywheel teeth thru an inspection cover down there. But that's slow going so I'd use the crank pulley. You might even be able to stick the jack handle thru the front bib and turn the crank shaft with it.

 

[Pirate323i]

You can use a screwdriver on the flywheel teeth thru an inspection cover down there. But that's slow going so I'd use the crank pulley. You might even be able to stick the jack handle thru the front bib and turn the crank shaft with it.

This will be easier if you remove the sparkplugs - to overcome the compression.

 

[bdsmitty88]

This will be easier if you remove the sparkplugs - to overcome the compression.

Perf. Was gonna do this anyway to check compression.

 

[bdsmitty88]

UPDATE...need advice.

At this point I think I probably need to tow the truck to a shop. I replaced the battery yesterday and eventually got it started after a lot of struggling. It ran alright at half choke for about 7-10 minutes before sputtering and stalling.

This morning I went out and removed the dist cap to check for a part number, re-installed it, then tried to start the vehicle. As soon as I cranked the starter I heard a loud "BOOM". It was super loud and aggressive. It shook the truck. I looked back and swap a good bit of smoke coming from the tailpipe. It was so loud that my neighbor across the street came out and thought it was a car getting into a wreck.

Is this a backfire or probably something more serious. Honestly, I'm nervous to try starting it again. That noise scared the s*** out of me. I've heard cars and things backfire before but this was SOOOO loud. If is dangerous to try and start again?

 

[jembourbe]

Sounds to me like a spark was delivered to a cylinder with an open exhaust valve, and a lot of unburned fuel vapor (in the open cylinder and in the exhaust system from prior no-ignition events) went boom.*

That can occur due to quite a number of issues like sticking valves (for any number of reasons), weak/inconsistent spark, and ignition timing (like we've been discussing).

Sorry it's gone pear-shaped on you. I'd look to see if the timing is close enough (in the manner described above) before calling the tow truck. Otherwise, make sure to close the loop in this thread when the shop gives you a solid diagnosis.



* Technically I think a "backfire" comes out the intake manifold, not the exhaust

 

[schuy2147]

I'd love to swing by and put eyes-on one of these days. I'm not an expert by any means, especially your engine, but an engine is an engine. Sometimes a new set of eyes and ears can see or hear something you haven't. I'd also recommend McIntosh Imports in Mt. P. I stopped in a couple weeks ago to ask about pricing on some maint. items for my GX and look for leads on a FJ60. They were very helpful and the lot was full of old cruisers with plenty more on the lifts. Not sure if you had this truck last year but I snapped a pic of an identical 45 at the North Charleston Farmers Market and sent it to all my buddies.

 

[bdsmitty88]

I'd love to swing by and put eyes-on one of these days. I'm not an expert by any means, especially your engine, but an engine is an engine. Sometimes a new set of eyes and ears can see or hear something you haven't. I'd also recommend McIntosh Imports in Mt. P. I stopped in a couple weeks ago to ask about pricing on some maint. items for my GX and look for leads on a FJ60. They were very helpful and the lot was full of old cruisers with plenty more on the lifts. Not sure if you had this truck last year but I snapped a pic of an identical 45 at the North Charleston Farmers Market and sent it to all my buddies.

Sure thing. I could always use some extra eyes. What part of Charleston are you in? I'm waiting on a carb kit to come in, and will probably tackle that first, but once I get that in I am going to start diving into things again if it isn't solved.

Hmm, i'd be surprised if there was another yellow FJ45 in Charleston. I don't make it to North Charleston very much. The only thing I can think of is maybe the Picker's Hullaballoo at Holy City Brewing.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

UPDATE...need advice.

At this point I think I probably need to tow the truck to a shop. I replaced the battery yesterday and eventually got it started after a lot of struggling. It ran alright at half choke for about 7-10 minutes before sputtering and stalling.

This morning I went out and removed the dist cap to check for a part number, re-installed it, then tried to start the vehicle. As soon as I cranked the starter I heard a loud "BOOM". It was super loud and aggressive. It shook the truck. I looked back and swap a good bit of smoke coming from the tailpipe. It was so loud that my neighbor across the street came out and thought it was a car getting into a wreck.

Is this a backfire or probably something more serious. Honestly, I'm nervous to try starting it again. That noise scared the s*** out of me. I've heard cars and things backfire before but this was SOOOO loud. If is dangerous to try and start again?

can you post a general over view photos of say ...


all 4 sides of that carburetor you have installed there , this may yield some clues to the several trained eyes that have posted here in this thread thus far ....


and a good over head photo ,

ALL with the top air cleaner box section removed for a full visual here


thanks...