Rocker Assembly Rusty and Filthy (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 7, 2013
Threads
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Location
Denver, CO
I recently pulled the motor out of my stock 73 FJ40 that had been sitting in the desert for years. I have 20 miles on it in 6 years of ownership. I did a compression test, numbers were good, so I decided on a light overhaul; replace the outer main seals, gaskets, water pump, put a 2f Valve Cover on top as Mark has suggested. I have the VC lined up for tomorrow and pulled the stock cover tonight to get things cleaned up. To my dismay, it's filthy and rusty underneath. Pictures attached. What should I do at this point? The engine is on a stand, I had the oil pan off and the bottom of the engine looks good. There was a little bit of rust on one of the pushrods when I replaced the side plate gasket.


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Looks like you had some water residing in the engine block. Find the source and fix it. Maybe a blown head gasket. The rockers will clean up with a wire brush- no problem. Make sure you open up the oiling holes in the rocker shaft in case they are clogged with rust. Was your radiator low on coolant when you checked it?
 
Looks like you had some water residing in the engine block. Find the source and fix it. Maybe a blown head gasket. The rockers will clean up with a wire brush- no problem. Make sure you open up the oiling holes in the rocker shaft in case they are clogged with rust. Was your radiator low on coolant when you checked it?

Thanks Doug. Good to hear it can be cleaned up with a wire brush. I'll pull everything apart today.

The engine has good compression and the coolant level wasn't noticeably low when I disassembled things. It did sit for a long time (several months to a couple years?) with the hose from the valve cover removed, could it be caused by condensation getting in there?
 
could it be caused by condensation getting in there?

I vote condensation. That is FAR from the grossest valvetrain ever seen on an FJ40! I would clean off the big hunks, trying not to drop too much junk into the engine, and run it. Change the oil after 50-100 miles. Adjust the valves after you have put some miles on it, or check them now (at least) in case any are way out of whack.
 
Remember, the rocker shaft will go in two ways.... only one of which is correct. If reinstalled with the oiling hole in the shaft not aligned with the oiling hole in the rocker stand, you will get ZERO top end oiling.
 
I would use a pocket knife to pick out the larger chunks before using a wire brush.
 
Just my opinion but the extra time spent removing and dis-assembling it would be made up by the speed and thoroughness of cleaning all of it dis-assembled. And if it did come off, popping in new valve seals might also be a consideration.
 
I would concur with @Steamer

If it were mine, I would plug all oil passages under the rocker assembly and then carefully remove it for a thorough cleaning. There are a couple threads specifically about that. Then I would replace valve stem seals and clean each valve spring assembly before full reassembly.
 

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