Parked my FJ40 in 2005, want to revive (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Feb 25, 2002
Threads
19
Messages
160
Location
Maryland
So in late 2005, I parked my 1978 FJ40. It had a couple of issues that I needed to deal with. Right side rear wheel cylinders for the stock rear drums were leaking, causing the rear brakes to lock up. This was more than a little dangerous. The bigger issue was I needed to do a head gasket change on the stock 2F.

I didn't intend to leave it. A few months later, after procrastinating through the winter, I drained the oil and the radiator fluid, and started on the engine. Pulled the carb and a bunch of the vacuum hoses, loosened the stock intake/exhaust manifold combo. And then stopped. For some reason.

The truck has sat in that state for 8 years. I did push it out the garage maybe 2 years ago and sprayed off all the dust and sawdust etc. But now I need to get my ass in gear and get it back up and running.

So what do I need to worry about? Dry gaskets in the motor? Can I pull the head, replace the head gasket, and go ahead and put her back together and fire it up? I don't want to disassemble, put back together, and then have to pull it apart again cause I took a short cut. I guess replace the thermostat housing and valve cover and intake/exhaust cover gaskets as well? I stupidly did not drain the gas tank in 2005, so the 1/2 tank in there is probably off. Hopefully the tank has not rusted. Chances that my fuel line would get blocked a little in the last decade? The carb has been off the manifold so it should be fine.

Because I have been basically divorced from the Cruiser World for a decade, I am out of the loop. Who is the goto guy or company for stuff like this? OEM is still my first choice, I am hoping nothing too much has changed or been discontinued. Guess I need to find a friendly parts dept at a dealer in Maryland, or an internet dealer that does Cruiser stuff. I am like a noob to the Cruiser World again.

I also have a garage full of parts that I am going to have to deal with and probably sell. My parents are moving, and I have stored stuff at their place for 20 years. Don't have room at my house. From full hardtop, to complete OEM factory soft top collection (bows, top, softop doors, softtop door straps, dropdown tailgate). 70 series turn signals. An SM420 with a 1F bell housing, slim adaptor plate and 3spd transfer case. Full set of stock springs I was keeping for a SOA. Brand new FJ40 side bars that were sold in TT a decade ago. Etc Etc. I guess that will be in a different thread in the classifieds.

So in summary, I am back. In case anyone remembers me.

Cheers

Ross Lake
 
Last edited:
Welcome back ross...im in pa and i bn a 40head since '92...i can tell you its rough for us in this region..not many 40's..not too much has changed..had a 76..now a 69 we got last feb and kneedeep in a frameoff..back when i started there was manafre and sor for parts sourcing..aside from a dealership of course.nowadays with the web brings plenty of info and aftrmrket parts suppliers etc..ive found and traded parts here in classifieds also..they like pics on here so put some up of your 40..im sure i could use some more parts being one state away as i have rblt brake cyls lying around...but if u gotta question it will get answered here..some good and knowledgable folks in the forum..good luck bro..get that 40 cruisin..
 
my biggest concern would be mice in the engine and rust on the cylinders since the carb was loose ,if not then its straight forward repair and there are many threads on here that cover that good luck
 
Pics? I have a fair few from the old days. This is what my FJ40 looked like when I bought it in 1995. I found her on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Overpaid, especially as I was a starving college student at the time who needed every bit of cash for beer. But that was 20 years ago. Pics are small, as they were taken by reg camera, and scanned in maybe in 1996 or so.

attachment 3.php.jpg
attachment 4.php.jpg
 
I don't know where you are in Maryland, but the Capital Land Cruiser Club (check out the clubhouse section) has members from all over the DMV area and we are a good local resource and know several shops/members that can probably help you out. We can also help you out with your parts dilemma ;). In particular, I'd be interested in the 70 series signals.

Anyway, welcome back and hit me up if you want to know more about the club or need a hand.
 
This is about what she looks like when parked in 2005. You can see my old time Cruiserheadness status. TLCA sticker, Land Cruiser Mailing List sticker, Broken Birfield Bar sticker, and the other two are from the Capital Land Cruiser Club, and James Asti's Land Cruiser Connection shop in Sterling VA.

DSC00069.JPG
 
Welcome back and nice rig! Still oem parts available on many items. You might was to have the head lightly decked once it is off.
Looking forward to updates !
 
I'm in the same boat, but add about five years sitting and nothing loosened. Fortunately I had a lot of Marvel Mystery Oil and Seafoam in the gas the last time it ran, which may have helped with the cylinder rust. 73 FJ-40 bought new for offroad work (and a little play). I want to get it running for short road commutes at first, just to get everything turning again and appropriately hot. Then start the many other fixes (why in the name of all that is holy did Toyota ever position hood-vent louvers directly above ventilated brake and clutch master cylinders?). An old thread here showed me that the poor idle last time (ran only under heavy choke even when warm) may result from a solenoid problem, so I don't know yet whether I have to rebuild or replace the carb right away as originally thought. (If I do I'll check out Trollhole, which I just heard about and is only ~100 miles away.) I also remember a problem with backfiring as I backed off the gas to shift after revving it up a bit (thunderous backfires!). I think I once read speculation long ago that a worn-bushing problem in the stock distributor could do that. Does that make sense? I must admit I don't see how.
 
Well for one the gas is going to be bad, so drain that from the tank. The radiator could probably need to go to a radiator shop if you didn't use distilled water and then you should probably pull the coolant block drain too and flush everything real good. Likely you will have misc seals start leaking after you drive it a bit such as rear main seal, front crank seal, tranny input and output, tcase input and output. You can either replace those now while you tearing stuff apart, or just put a head gasket on and see what happens. Mine was in storage for 10 years and soon after driving it all the mentioned seals leaked in just a few months. Also check your belts and hoses. If you take the head off think of doing a port n polish and a cam. Should get you a few more ponies.
 
I guess at this stage, until I get the head off I am in a holding zone. I need to pull it and see what the cylinder walls look like.

Any of the DMV guys have a machine shop recommendation? I am in Laurel Maryland. The truck is up north of Baltimore in Hunt Valley. I work in Bethesda, and my brother lives in Reston so pretty much anywhere in greater Baltimore/DC/Nova are would be do-able.
 
What the motor looks like. Pretty much 100% fully stock smogged 2F. I did add minitruck power steering to it and you can see the remote reservoir and pump on the right. I did dissemble the vacuum hose spaghetti a decade ago, but took a ton of pictures, and labeled them with tape, so hopefully can reassemble.

DSC00075.JPG
 
Good looking truck. I used Clinton Machine in Clinton MD and they did a great job on my head.They are a ways from Laurel and I'm certain there are good machine shops in your area. Check the CLCC club house's local resource sticky and the 60 forum's local mechanic thread for possibilities in your area.
 
10 years inside? honestly, other than drain the gas for fresh gas - I'd pull the head, have it surfaced, and reassemble the motor. When the head is off, you can inspect the cylinder walls - it's unlikely that they're rusted since you've stored it inside, but you'll know for sure when you've pulled the head.

As for other stuff, check the hoses as you reattach them, if they're cracked - replace them. For the most part, those hoses are probably OE, so they'll need replacing (presuming you still need to smog the motor).

The only place where seals could have issue is in the carb - but I just sold a motor that had been sitting for 10 years and I encouraged the guy to simply put gas in it and try it.... works great... though with that said, I'd heaped abuse on that motor for 20 years and it seemed to like it (500 ci Cadillac) - so maybe it was a paradigm.

If one brake is bad, at minimum, check them all.

As for the radiator, you should get it boiled out - but if it was cooling fine before, it's likely to be fine again... however, that's the rub - why did you blow the head gasket? cracked exhaust manifold? ran low on water because the radiator was plugged?
 
You have been to the catamount cruiser challenges? Way back when?


Truck looks familiar and with the broken birfield sticker ... You wheeled with friends for sure

Welcome back to cruisering

The rear drums issue ... Was it a new problem that just appeared? Or did you replace brake pads or front brakes when the issue started?

Could be pedal adjustment causing the drums to lockup ... Both drums?

I had the same thing on a loner cruiser that started leaking a rear brake cyl after heating up the drums really well :(

Again welcome back
 
If you really only want to do it once, I'd take the time and spend the money to replace all the rubber. It's about $1k through mud-members who work at Toyota, beno in particular is easy to work with via PM.

Then get the carb rebuilt. Another $400 or so well-spent. JimC...
 
You have been to the catamount cruiser challenges? Way back when?


Truck looks familiar and with the broken birfield sticker ... You wheeled with friends for sure

Welcome back to cruisering

The rear drums issue ... Was it a new problem that just appeared? Or did you replace brake pads or front brakes when the issue started?

Could be pedal adjustment causing the drums to lockup ... Both drums?

I had the same thing on a loner cruiser that started leaking a rear brake cyl after heating up the drums really well :(

Again welcome back
Johnny,
Henry C and I were college roomates. First Catamount I went to was in 95, riding shotgun in Henry's 60. That is when it was still in Ma in the Berkshire Mountains. We did a couple of Fall Gatherings too, in my truck at least once. I wheeled with you and Tyke and the boys. One time I think we actually wheeled just at Tyke's house (I seem to remember he had a small trail in his back yard).

Re: the brakes. Just appeared. I remember seeing fluid leaking out onto the right rear wheel when parked on an incline. I think the one wheel cylinder just died. I will replace all of them this fall. No reason to go to the trouble of changing one, and then having the others die, seeing as they are all of the same age.
 
If you really only want to do it once, I'd take the time and spend the money to replace all the rubber. It's about $1k through mud-members who work at Toyota, beno in particular is easy to work with via PM.

Then get the carb rebuilt. Another $400 or so well-spent. JimC...
Yeah, deep down I kind of know this. My lazy ass is just already protesting pulling the tranny and trans to do the rear main. I did it about 5K ago (but that was 15 years ago) when I put a new clutch in, and the bastard was heavy as hell.
 
Whassup Ross! Get a few OEM items from beno on the forum here and slap it back together. It'll go! The rubber doesn't dry out like it does out here
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom