schuy2147
SILVER Star
Johns Island
Yep! That was it. Holy City off Spruill. I guess I thought that was called the farmers market. Well, keep me posted.
No Start Help 1982 FJ45
- Thread starter bdsmitty88
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Yep! That was it. Holy City off Spruill. I guess I thought that was called the farmers market. Well, keep me posted.
- Thread starter
- #62
Hell yeah. I guess the truck is kind of hard to miss, lol. I do a bit of leatherworking too, so I'm hoping to get a booth at the picker's market sometime soon.
I'll keep you posted!
fyton2v
SILVER Star
Getting your motor to top dead center, with the plugs in, can be pretty easy if you’re on level ground. Put the truck in 3rd or 4th gear and push/bump it while watching the flywheel turn. It’s satisfying to do that and not need a new garage door afterwards.
- Thread starter
- #64
lol, how far of a push are we talking to, say, rotate the flywheel 360 degrees? My driveway is dirt and full of tree roots, so it won't be super easy. I also can't imagine pushing a car in 3rd/4th would be easy. I feel like you'd need a ton of people.
If this is an easier alternative, I'm hella down. Unfortunately there is no 'easy' way to turn the crank on these things and it's impossible to do that and watch the window at the same time. The only way I was able to turn the crank was under the vehicle, reaching up with a wide adjustable wrench.
...side note. If anyone is looking for a really nice adjustable wrench that is actually usable for situations that require a bit of strength...this thing is pretty awesome. It's very well designed - great clamping force and far less likely to strip a bolt.
Knipex Adjustable Wrench
middlecalf
SILVER Star
Just push on the top of the front passenger wheel with the rig in gear. It's small bounce-like rotations, you'll see the flywheel spin through the little window you use for timing light (bright light pointing down there helps). IIRC maybe 2-3 ft for a complete 360-deg rotation.
fyton2v
SILVER Star
If you had it running sorta OK for several minutes, then it's probably not timing. Understanding how to manage timing, however, is fundamental to keeping the truck running well. I'd also wager that the backfiring was related to all the trying and not starting. So if it's running for a bit and then just dying you're probably looking at a fuel delivery problem. If you have gas in the sight glass of your carb when it's been running for a bit ... then probably gunk in there somewhere.
- Thread starter
- #67
Sooo, I started the truck today. It fired up quicker than before but it did eventually die, idling with mid choke, each time I got it started. However, I noticed that the truck now sounded like a V8. I went to inspect the exhaust and found a ruptured muffler. This explains why my earlier backfire sounded like a bomb going off. This is making my head spin a bit. Could there just be so much unburned fuel and carbon built up in the pre muffler exhaust and headers? Could it be that it was just building up over time, got so bad that the truck wouldn't run, then pressure / fuel mixture just build up so much that it combusted and blew the exhaust? After having enough blast pressure to blow the muffler open (it ripped at a seam, btw...It had no prior holes in it or anything), is it possible there is still enough carbon and unburned fuel built up in the headers to cause rough start / stall?
mattressking
10 digits to freedom
A backfire like that is timing almost every single time. I haven’t read the thread at all, but if it hasn’t been said, spin to cyl 1 compression, check where the rotor is pointed in dizzy. It must be pointed to cylinder 1 on the dizzy cap. Spin another rotation and verify rotor then points to cyl 6. While doing this, pop the valve cover off and when at cyl 1 compression, make sure cyl 1 rockers are ‘loose’. That way you know you’re at at cylinder 1 compression stroke. Repeat for cylinder 6.
Last edited:
fyton2v
SILVER Star
Wow! So, ah ... hey, explosions are above my pay grade. Don't listen to any of my advice. 
But in addition to timing, another thing you need to get a handle on is vacuum. Thinking about this a bit ... I think a bad vacuum leak can cause the the idle issue you're having, especially if you need the choke involved to keep it running after it's warmed up. If you haven't already, check all your vacuum tubing and ensure it's all connected to something. The intake manifold sucks, and that suction powers your brakes and keeps the emissions systems working (if you have that stuff). Those hoses can get disconnected or crack. your intake can crack, or the gaskets around the intake and carb can leak. If the leak is small, you may notice that your truck isn't running all that well. If it's a big leak... then it's worse.
You can spray/mist water or carb cleaner around the intake and carb (but away from the carb's barrel) and listen for brief changes in RPM. If you hear the RPMs go up or down when you spray... you have a leak.
But in addition to timing, another thing you need to get a handle on is vacuum. Thinking about this a bit ... I think a bad vacuum leak can cause the the idle issue you're having, especially if you need the choke involved to keep it running after it's warmed up. If you haven't already, check all your vacuum tubing and ensure it's all connected to something. The intake manifold sucks, and that suction powers your brakes and keeps the emissions systems working (if you have that stuff). Those hoses can get disconnected or crack. your intake can crack, or the gaskets around the intake and carb can leak. If the leak is small, you may notice that your truck isn't running all that well. If it's a big leak... then it's worse.
You can spray/mist water or carb cleaner around the intake and carb (but away from the carb's barrel) and listen for brief changes in RPM. If you hear the RPMs go up or down when you spray... you have a leak.
Last edited:
Do one thing at a time. Regarding your recent constipated exhaust question, cut-off the muffler (it's toast anyway, obvs) and see if the engine runs well, like it used to.* When it doesn't, you know it's not that so move on to the next thing. (which should be the very easy task of determining whether your engine is properly timed)
*And if it does, then start the process of figuring out why "running well" means "running so terribly that it clogs its own exhaust and asphyxiates all the people driving in your wake"
*And if it does, then start the process of figuring out why "running well" means "running so terribly that it clogs its own exhaust and asphyxiates all the people driving in your wake"
schuy2147
SILVER Star
I just realized this shop is like 2 min from my house. I think the day after I read this comment I drove past and saw the 4runner with their signage. I'll have to swing by there sometime.
- Thread starter
- #72
Definitely do. I have my Fj45 towed there in an emergency...they just happened to be the closest spot to where I broke down. They're amazing. The garage is literally on their home property. Super cool, honest people. I didn't even know they worked on FJs a lot when I had mine towed there. I showed up and saw 3 of them there. Gave me a big boost of confidence.
- Thread starter
- #73
The muffler is so blown open that it might as well be off, lol. Low key...didn't hate the way it sounded. If there is excessive carbon buildup, it's got to be before the exhaust cuz the vehicle still stalls. I'm guessing that there was just a lot of fuel or carbon in the muffler that the backfire was just enough to ignite it and blow the thing...or it was just a normal backfire and someone doesn't know how to weld. SA truck, so anything fair game.Do one thing at a time. Regarding your recent constipated exhaust question, cut-off the muffler (it's toast anyway, obvs) and see if the engine runs well, like it used to.* When it doesn't, you know it's not that so move on to the next thing. (which should be the very easy task of determining whether your engine is properly timed)
*And if it does, then start the process of figuring out why "running well" means "running so terribly that it clogs its own exhaust and asphyxiates all the people driving in your wake"
I will say that I'm certain the truck wasn't running overly rich when it was running. I can definitely recognize a rich running vehicle and it just didn't faily any smell or visual tests, in that regard.
I'm going to check timing this weekend. Gotta wait till I can get an extra set of hands or two. Carb rebuild kit should be here soon, too. My plan is to check timing alignment, check spark again but this time with a bulb tester and check compression. If nothing stands out with these tests, off to the shop it goes. While I don't love working on vehicles, I do find it rewarding and fulfilling. This thing is just getting to the point of eating too much into my free time and putting a big dent in my driving around town, big swag energy.
- Thread starter
- #74
I checked the distributor / flywheel marking alignment today and nothing seems majorly out of alignment. With the needle dead centered between the scratch marking and the BB (pictured), the rotor is pointing in the direction of distributor cap point 1 and the corresponding plug wire. How are you supposed to check a more exact accuracy of where it is contacting the rotor, in correspondence with the flywheel markings? Going by @jembourke description on page 3 we are talking about 7 degrees of flywheel difference, which would correspond to 3.5 degrees of rotor rotation.
My gut is saying it's a weak spark scenario. First thing I'd do is make sure you have really good ground connections from the battery neg terminal to the engine block, frame, and body. Make sure you have good clean solid metal connections. You still have a points distributor. Have you cleaned and adjusted the points, or replaced them? Cheap insurance. You may want to consider moving to a pertronix kit.
Second thing I'd probably do is unhook the fuel line at the carb and verify that it's pumping plenty of fuel when the engine is cranking. You can use a temporary boat gas tank with fresh fuel in it connected to the fuel pump to isolate any potential issue with the fuel tank and lines.
Third, take it to your friends with the Toyota shop and pay them to fix it.
SA rigs can have some real surprises lurking within that defy logic and are hard to diagnose virtually. Trust me, I own one too.
Great looking rig, BTW.
I couldn't get my '83 to start (had sat for about 12 years before I bought it) and did this, attached a small tank directly to the fuel pump. This got it running.
I am still in the planning stages of a full resto, so new fuel lines will be somewhere in my future...
A: to get more accurate than that, you have to use a timing light. It clips onto the plug wire for cyl 1 and flashes a bright light when the plug fires. Point it at the inspection window. It shows where the flywheel is when the plug fires. That's how you tune your timing...but the engine has to be running.
That pic suggests the engine should at least run well enough to get it properly timed using a light. On to the next thing I guess
middlecalf
SILVER Star
However, it still needs to be determined that cylinder #1 is on its compression stroke, not cylinder #6, both of which will align the timing mark on the flywheel with the pointer on the bellhousing. If in the pic cylinder #6 was on its compression stroke with the distributor rotor pointing to #1 that would indicate timing is 180-deg off.
Hey @bdsmitty88 did you get it fixed? & if so what was the problem?
schuy2147
SILVER Star
Been wondering the same!!
