Builds Project Pikachu: 1977 FJ40

[cbmontgo]

10% variance between highest and lowest is the ‘wear limit’. You’re good unless you have cooling issues.

Good to hear. No cooling issues at all. Runs beautifully, but I've always had to add oil now and then and I want to know where it's going. Rear main seal has always leaked, and I'm thinking that's the culprit.

Do a wet one with Marvel's Mystery Oil while you are at it.

So squirt some of that into each cylinder when cold and then recheck compressions?

 

[charliemeyer007]

Pull the plugs, squirt in 5 or 10 cc of MMO in each jug, hit the starter briefly to distribute the oil. Let it sit for a few hours to work on the rings. Then test. I use a bug syringe with some plastic tubing on the end.

 

[wngrog]

Those are solid numbers

 

[pb4ugo]

Warm the engine up, do a dry test, then do a wet test. Then proceed to the next cyldrr. I usually use motor oil. A squirt or two is fine. You want it hit 4 or 5 times or more. What ever # you decide on, do the same on all of them. Throttle open.

 

[Grayscale]

Too hard to tell. Spark plug readings speak volumes. What do the plugs look like for cylinders 2,4, and 6? The numbers are at 10% (129 is ten-percent less than 144), but, the engine was cold. Use SAE 30-grade engine oil for a wet test (viscosity is specified).
From the kit with the Bosch compression tester:

 

[cbmontgo]

Thanks, @Grayscale. I'll give the motor oil a try per those instructions.

Spark plugs look decent for having 10,000 miles on them.

 

[middlecalf]

Drive it.

I (and at least one other mudder) had in-spec compression dry numbers with broken piston rings (the other person had a hole in the top of a piston). If there are other major symptoms, compression testing can help with remediation planning, but it itself is not a standalone failure test. Good to work through the process with your son, though you might need to hide the keys .

 

[Grayscale]

Mine has much lower compression numbers, and blow-by has clouded-up on the pcv valve in cold weather (6,800-feet alt.). It is almost as if the cold pcv valve is making a water-oil emulsion as it gets mechanically-worked by the valve's mechanism? Rust was present under the side-cover, on the pcv-valve baffle. This was a few years ago, and the pcv valve is likely due for inspection / cleaning. At some point, I learned to weld with SMAW-tech at home, and fixed the factory sheet-metal dust shield near the starter, reinstalled it (more insulation, or reduced air flow, possibly). I only mention it because a different thought crossed my mind, that this straight-6, is kinda exposed to the cold, on its side-cover, and any blow-by is potentially going to condense there to droplets (or at least it did on mine), instead of being diverted to the air intake as water-vapor. Maybe we (cold weather, or older motors) should be wrapping our PCV systems with exhaust pipe-type thermal insulation (typically used with headers) to minimize condensed blow-by so that it doesn't turn as much of the oil to sludge? Today's low temp is 14F, and even on new cars, there is water dripping out of the exhaust.

 

[OlYellr]

Drive it.

I (and at least one other mudder) had in-spec compression dry numbers with broken piston rings (the other person had a hole in the top of a piston). If there are other major symptoms, compression testing can help with remediation planning, but it itself is not a standalone failure test. Good to work through the process with your son, though you might need to hide the keys .

I had good compression but horrible leak-down numbers. So yeah, not the end-all be-all test for engine health.

 

[pb4ugo]

Decided to do some car stuff with my son this afternoon and figured we would learn about engine compression testing together. I've never checked it before on this rig.

What do you guys think of these cold test results (adjusted for 9,000 elevation, engine block temperature at 35 degrees)?

Cylinder 1: 141
Cylinder 2: 133
Cylinder 3: 144
Cylinder 4: 130
Cylinder 5: 137
Cylinder 6: 129

Gonna do a hot test later this week.

View attachment 3810694

Your numbers are solid. I posted how to do a wet/dry compression test, because you asked. Personally, I'd be curious what the dry warm #'s are, but there's really no reason to do so. You could just drive it and fix the leaks.

 

[cbmontgo]

I really appreciate everyone's help and input on this. It's been great to learn a thing or two about the process.

I've decided not to overthink it and am satisfied enough that this old tractor engine has a lot of life left in it.

Did a vacuum test today and pulling just under 18" at 9,100' elevation.

Also went for a snowy drive today on the back roads. It's been a chilly January with night temps in the single digits and below zero throughout the month. Gives me time to study maps and think of where to go and explore when the glorious summer gets here.

Chloe is also enjoying her Sunday.

 

[cbmontgo]

Cold and overcast tech in Divide, Colorado today:

So my former '73 FJ40 and former '83 HJ47 both had hand throttles, and I'm one of the few who ever used them it seems. Decided to see if I could find one and have this option in Pikachu, so I put an ad in the classifieds and was able to score a setup from @cruisermatt's FJ45.

The accelerator pedal has to be swapped due to the factory added part on top which "grabs" the cable, but FJ40 firewalls already have the threaded receptor holes for the throttle cable mounting bracket, so it's literally a 15-minute job.

Anyway, nice little option if you use it.

 

[clrussell]

Cold and overcast tech in Divide, Colorado today:

So my former '73 FJ40 and former '83 HJ47 both had hand throttles, and I'm one of the few who ever used them it seems. Decided to see if I could find one and have this option in Pikachu, so I put an ad in the classifieds and was able to score a setup from @cruisermatt's FJ45.

The accelerator pedal has to be swapped due to the factory added part on top which "grabs" the cable, but FJ40 firewalls already have the threaded receptor holes for the throttle cable mounting bracket, so it's literally a 15-minute job.

Anyway, nice little option if you use it.
View attachment 3824112

This is a much better solution than the shackle I lay on my throttle for fast idle in the mornings.

 

[OlYellr]

Cold and overcast tech in Divide, Colorado today:

So my former '73 FJ40 and former '83 HJ47 both had hand throttles, and I'm one of the few who ever used them it seems. Decided to see if I could find one and have this option in Pikachu, so I put an ad in the classifieds and was able to score a setup from @cruisermatt's FJ45.

The accelerator pedal has to be swapped due to the factory added part on top which "grabs" the cable, but FJ40 firewalls already have the threaded receptor holes for the throttle cable mounting bracket, so it's literally a 15-minute job.

Anyway, nice little option if you use it.
View attachment 3824112

I have most of the setup - wrong bracket - you found one before I could. Anyway - would you be willing to do a close-up of it connecting to the accelerator? That grommet is NOLA that hold the cable to the pedal - I have the right pedal you speak of

 

[cbmontgo]

I have most of the setup - wrong bracket - you found one before I could. Anyway - would you be willing to do a close-up of it connecting to the accelerator? That grommet is NOLA that hold the cable to the pedal - I have the right pedal you speak of

There’s actually one for sale on eBay as we speak. Item number 146269445378. They don’t seem to come up too often.

I’ll grab a pic today though.

 

[cbmontgo]

Here you go, @OlYellr.

 

[OlYellr]

There’s actually one for sale on eBay as we speak. Item number 146269445378. They don’t seem to come up too often.

I’ll grab a pic today though.

Thanks - I have that - its the bracket to firewall for LHD I don't have. Thx!

 

[Andrew S]

The hand throttle is a such a cool feature! FWIW, there's supposed to be a little plastic guide snapped into the square hole in the pedal arm. I *think* it's 78449-90300. If you can't find one, let me know and I'll make a copy of mine and print you one out.

Photo from LostMarbles RHD BJ40, because I didn't want to crawl under the dash tonight...

 

[shellb]

There’s actually one for sale on eBay as we speak. Item number 146269445378. They don’t seem to come up too often.

I’ll grab a pic today though.

I went ahead and bought this! I don’t have a 40 but better to have it stateside for us to use!!

 

[cbmontgo]

The hand throttle is a such a cool feature! FWIW, there's supposed to be a little plastic guide snapped into the square hole in the pedal arm. I *think* it's 78449-90300. If you can't find one, let me know and I'll make a copy of mine and print you one out.

Photo from LostMarbles RHD BJ40, because I didn't want to crawl under the dash tonight...

Awesome, thanks! If I can’t find that part, I’ll definitely hit you up.

If you look carefully at my first pic above, you’ll see some nylon spacers that I bought from Home Depot which sorta secured the cable on the back side. Makes sense that there’s a guide missing.

What did people do before the Internet?