Oyaji's FJ60 (1 Viewer)

[OyajiJon]

Hey Elbert, that is the reluctor ring for the 40 pulse VSS required to indicate that the vehicle is still in motion to the ECU. Before it was installed, the engine would die when the clutch was pushed in during deceleration. I can't really explain it beyond that it was behaving that way. With the reluctor ring installed, smooth running.

Today while I was driving at 60 mph, the engine died. Once stopped, it would try to start but fail. Since I've had the truck back, there has been a slight "popping" coming from the exhaust, so I'm going to change the plugs and wires. It seems as if I have an erratic ignition problem...if the plugs and wires don't do it, I'll need to check the coil. 100k on this engine means some stuff is bound to need changing.

It looks like I'm getting ~13mpg over the last two tanks (mixed town/highway). Up from 10, and I'll see what happens when the ignition is functioning properly.

 

[RAMZ]

congratulations

and may you have many happy mile yet to come.
you have got alot done in a short amount of time GOOD WORK.

 

[Kurtis]

I'd try the coil. I capped the tach wire when i first installed my motor and it came un capped and shorted out the coil causing very similar symptoms. Mine was quick though. Rough running then died. I actually did this twice before I caught the error.

 

[OyajiJon]

Thanks, Randy, it's great to hear from you. That 3rd member is still in the bucket in the garage. I'm thinking Georg will be getting the 4.88s. With how much long distance driving I do, I think they'd do me in. The locker, on the other hand, is mine, all mine.

Thanks, Kurtis. From the way it was acting, I suspected the coil or coil wire. After changing the plugs and wires, just now, the engine is running SMOOTH with no popping at idle. But, when I was taking it for a test drive, I had the same problem as when I was cruising down the highway. It was running well under great power, and suddenly, just died. I'll be calling my GM parts guy tomorrow to get a new coil.

 

[OyajiJon]

Yesterday, the engine died and wouldn't start again on the way to school. I changed out the coil, with a new GM unit, and it died again. This time, it wasn't an instantaneous death. It started firing out of order, and I though the thing was going to blow up. The check engine light finally came on, and I was able to pull the code for the crank sensor. I changed it out, and it's gtg. Man, I LOVE having a diagnostic computer on this thing. Chasing electrical symptoms is SOOO much fun...

The truck runs great and I got my 33" X-Terrains put on. The steel wheels I got for it were hitting on the front of the caliper so I couldn't use them, but I'm still loving it now!

 

[OyajiJon]

It's been a saga to figure out my intermittent problem. I changed the plugs, wires, coil and cam postition sensor with no apparent solution. I wasn't trying to just throw parts at the thing, but that's what I ended up doing. Although, everything I replaced is good insurance for when I get out on the trail. That said, the problem ended up being an brand new inferior fuel pump. Summit will be getting it back next week. The new Airtex 8248 seems to have solved the problem I was having, but I still don't trust the thing.

The latest thing is the sluggish pull I get when under load, and I'm still getting really sh!tty gas mileage. The lack of power is most pronounced when going uphill. I'm taking live data readings with my scanner and am learning how to interpret them. I'll start by cleaning the MAF and testing the O2 sensors as they both probably have over 100k on them.

On another note, I found out about a TSB on the 5.7 Vortec fuel injectors. Once I confirmed with Georg that they would be a worthwhile swap, I called my favorite GM parts guy and confirmed he had everything I needed for the upgrade on the shelf. I picked up the parts yesterday and finished the swap today. After swapping the injectors, I was crawling around under the rig and realized that there is a rattling sound coming from inside the cat for the port cylinder bank. I may need to have these old cats cut out and replaced. We'll see...

For those of you who have never seen a side by side of the new and old Vortec injectors, here you go. The work was relatively easy. You need a torque wrench that can handle the range of 44 - 89 in/lb to do the job right. Georg says the reliability is worth the effort/$$$...

 

[Kurtis]

I've been really pleased with the walbro I put on mine. I'm running a tbi so I use the walbro 395 but I've put on over 15k with no issues.

I might lean towards the 02 sensors since your saying horrible fuel mileage. My younger brother just changed a bad one on his f150 and he went from 9- 10 to 14mpg.

 

[OyajiJon]

I have 4 of them. It's my understanding that the pre-cat ones control fuel trim and may be responsible for the 9 mpg I've been getting since the swap was finished. The Airtex pump is 120 psi and 70+ gph. I think it'll be fine. Thanks for the comments!

 

[OyajiJon]

This dang thing pulled its garbage again today on the way to Gilroy. I felt the shutter once and the thing dieseled around for a bit. Started right back up, though, and made it to the Cruiser shop. Once there, I changed the crank sensor (last piece that isn't new in the ignition system). On the way home it shuttered once (crank sensor wasn't the problem) and progressively lost power until I couldn't keep 55. Acceleration was horrible. I picked up 2 Bosch O2 sensors for the pre-cat side and will install them once the thing cools down enough. I'm pretty sure I have a wasted cat at this point, though, so I don't know how much good it will do.

 

[Kurtis]

Are all your wires ok? Are you sure none of them ar arcing against the exhaust or block?

 

[OyajiJon]

You know, I'm starting to wonder. I found one wire that had gotten hot from sitting by the EGR pipe, but it was a gauge wire. I removed it from the heat source and it's ok. I haven't seen anything else as of yet, but after my very aggravating test drive just now (I was almost stranded again), I need to start checking out the harness. I'm going to call Howell on Monday and talk this over with them, as well.

In short, I can never be sure that electrical crap isn't happening. Thanks for the idea, and I'll spend some time looking.

 

[OyajiJon]

Today, I went out and pretty much checked the entire engine harness hand over hand. I see where some looming has gotten hot, but all wires were in tact, as far as I saw. I pulled the MAF sensor today to find that there were a bunch of metallic flakes in the intake tube. They must have come off of the MAF when I test drove it yesterday after spraying it with a whole can of CRC MAF cleaner. The flakes were just the right size to be from the surfaces of the "honeycomb."

I'll talk to the GM tech I know and see what he recommends, but I'm pretty sure that I'll need to replace the MAF and cats at the least. This is growing tiresome...

 

[Kurtis]

How are the plug wires? That's defiantly no good with flakes in the intake tube. I've had a few friends who had pretty bad luck cleaning maf sensors as well. I think they all ended up replacing in the end. The only consolation to all this work is you know everything is new when your done now. I'd hold off on the cat until after the maf sensor it could be ok. That is one thing I do like about tbi is only having 2 injectors and no maf. The vortec power is nice though I wish I would have installed those heads when I did my swap.

 

[OyajiJon]

The plug wires are brand new MSD 8.5mm, the plugs are brand new AC Delco platinums.

The only two components in the ignition system that haven't been replaced are the Ignition Control Module and the distributor. There are no misfire codes, so I really have no reason to suspect that they are bad. Yesterday, when I almost got stranded, the engine was "dieseling" and threw a cam/crank position correlation fault. The problem is that it doesn't always do that when it dies, and it doesn't always throw that code when it diesels. I guess this could be a reason to think the distributor teeth are worn. I can get the thing to #1 TDC and pull the dizzy easily enough.

Tomorrow, I'll see if my GM guy can get me a MAF. The tech warned me that cleaning may not go well, and I guess it didn't. Aggravating does not describe this experience, but I'm driven by the promise of driving this truck in all its glory. At this point, I think I can say I've earned it...

Thanks for the reply.

 

[OyajiJon]

It's been a while since I updated this thread, so I figure it's time.

I finally got the bugs worked out of my engine swap, and it's running great! I ended up making a stupid rookie mistake and inadvertently put a bad crank position sensor back in the system after I had replaced it with a new one. Why in the hell I did that, I can't explain, but it caused me mucho griefo by the time I figured it out. Anyway, I can't stop smiling when I drive this thing now.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a second hand H55F and turned it over to Georg@Valley Hybrids to work his magic on it. I drove out to Stockton on a Friday with a 4 speed, and drove back home at the end of the day with the 5 speed. I immediately put 1500 miles on the setup that weekend on a trip to San Diego and found that I LOVE the 5.7 Vortec/H55F combo.

The same weekend I did the 5 speed swap, I installed a new solenoid box on my Warn 8274 and found that I picked up a good winch for a GREAT price because the PO thought the motor was bad. I'm working on putting in a fill plug and hope to have it installed soon.

After the trip to San Diego, I made a deal with Georg to put 4.10 third members in the rig and rebuild the front knuckles. We did that toward the end of December, and the rig is quite a bit different. I hope to get 35" tires when the 33's wear out, so this gear set should be perfect.

I'll be going back to see Georg next weekend to pick up my 4+ Plus rear bumper and, hopefully, put in a rear ARB locker. I sold some parts and have a pending sale on my M416 to fund the ARB. I'll also be working with Don to see about trimming the rear quarters and adding rear quarter protection to the rear bumper.

The last project I have going right now is a rear sleeping platform with hinges on the front so I can tilt it for access to the rear quarter storage. I'll post up some pictures of the platform once I get it done.

I can't believe that I picked up this rig with all of its issues in May. A lot of work has been done, but I finally view it as a trust worthy truck that I can take my family in without fear of being stranded. Thanks to those of you who have helped me along the way, and I offer a HUGE thanks to Georg for taking all of my off the wall calls at all hours. You are a true friend and HUGE asset to those who call upon you.

 

[OyajiJon]

Here is a comprehensive list of upgrades I've done to this rig, since May 2010, with A LOT of help from a few good people. Let me make the disclaimer that while I haven't had the balls, or the time, to do some of this work alone, for lack of knowledge, I have had my hands in ALL of it and have learned a HELLUVA lot along the way. Proper credit is given to those who held my hand, or flat out did the work, through the "hard stuff."

5.7 Vortec (Custom Cruisers FJ40 had lead)
H55F (Georg@Valley Hybrids)
Rebuilt Trasfer Case (Georg@Valley Hybrids)
Twin Stick T-case (Made by Georg/ Installed by Custom Cruisers)
FJ62 Diffs (Georg@Valley Hybrids had lead)
Rebuilt Front Axle (Georg@Valley Hybrids)
Custom Rocker Protection (Toby Lavender)
Wagon Gear Tailgate Storage
Wired Wagon Ultimate Headlight Harness and Aux Relay Panel
Hella H4 Headlight Upgrade
Custom Seats and Brackets
OME Heavy/Heavy Lift
ARB Front Bumper
33" X-Terrains
Yaesu FTM-350R
CB Radio
Alpine/Polk Audio System
Hella 700FF

Pending Upgrades
ARB Rear Locker (Georg@Valley Hybrids)
Rear quarter trim/protection (Don@FC Fab)
Warn 8274 Refresh/Install
VIAIR OBA
Custom Sleeping/Storage System
4+ Plus Rear Bumper
New Seat Pan (Don@FC Fab)

That pretty much sums it up, for now.

 

[OyajiJon]

Some recent pictures

 

[vipergrhd]

WOWSER

Jon,

I stumbled on your post and i'm surprised the amount of work you put into it in such a short time.i even have the same color rig with the aussie mirrors.i would love to see your rig in person that is truly an awesome rig nice job man i'm not even going to ask how many Benjamins did you put into the rig,all i can say is WOW! Is that the new ARB bumper mounted?

John

 

[OyajiJon]

Jon,

I stumbled on your post and i'm surprised the amount of work you put into it in such a short time.i even have the same color rig with the aussie mirrors.i would love to see your rig in person that is truly an awesome rig nice job man i'm not even going to ask how many Benjamins did you put into the rig,all i can say is WOW! Is that the new ARB bumper mounted?

John

Hi John,

Thanks for the comments. Let me start by saying that I'm glad you're not asking about the price of building this truck, because I truly don't want to think about it. LOL

The truck is really almost ready for a trip I want to take to MOAB in the spring. We'll see how it goes. The paint, while it looks nice in the photos, is $hit, but the truck runs great. The front bumper is, in fact, the new ARB. I mated the top and bottom halves of my 8274 this weekend and confirmed that the drum turns. I picked up a take off cable and roller fairlead from Toby Lavender and should have the winch installed this week sometime. I finalized the sale of my M416, so Georg will order my rear locker today, and I'll spend some time with him in Stockton for the install on Friday.

I agree that we should meet up sometime. I've been trying to get with the Santa Cruz Cruiser guys, too. There are two of them on this board, I know one who works at Winchester Auto, there is one in Watsonville, and there's a bada$$ed cruiser always parked at a house just off of Soquel. We should try to do a meet and greet in San Jose, or something.

 

[srogers]

Hey, just read through all of the posts - congrats on the work, looks fantastic.

Cheesy saying but you "took lemons and made lemonade" - nice work...