Slow crank, engine hard to turn by hand (1 Viewer)

[junoroot]

Posting a distilled version of my current impasse on the heels of my long winded intro post. There are details that I have failed to find clues about in many hours of obsessive googling so please forgive the redundancy.

1988 FJ62 - had been sitting mostly undriven for 3 years. Needed a fuel pump and main relay. Started it after pump install and each time, it would stall within seconds. Figuring it needed to just burn off cobwebs I persisted and after six tries, instead of a crank there was just a "thunk." It hardly cranked at all. Eliminated all the electrical suspects. Found that it was down to two quarts of oil. Topped it up and put in a much needed new battery. Cranks much better now but still slower than it should and doesn't want to start.

Removed plugs and belts and cranked the engine by hand. The thing is, this requires a lot more force than it should. I'm guessing about 80 ft lb. Dropped oil in the cylinders. Going to follow that with Marvel Mystery Oil today but hoping for any insight or you all may have.

 

[Godwin]

The thunk was just the starter engaging with the flywheel but the battery was then too low to turn the engine.

 

[junoroot]

I would sure love for that to be the case but still can't account for the fact that it has never started again since the "thunk" despite new battery, new b+ and grounds, and new starter.

 

[Godwin]

The 3FE is actually a simple engine but the associated EFI and other sensor systems, when failed, can be frustrating to diagnose. This forum has more 3FE knowledge than any other site out there.

Something to check and may have nothing to do with the clunk but will help in diagnosing your no start condition. Pull the valve cover to check that the valves are moving as you turn the crank. The cam gear in the 3FE is a composite that has been known to fail.

 

[Godwin]

Check in with these guys for some local assistance TX- Lone Star Land Cruisers - Austin Chapter - https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/tx-lone-star-land-cruisers-austin-chapter.127/

 

[junoroot]

Thanks for the replies @Godwin. I confirmed yesterday that all the valves are moving as they should and then adjusted them. Found them to have less than than recommended clearance. (between .002 and .004 less) Plugs are black and fouled. And just realized that what I thought was haphazard orange paint marks on the timing gear are not paint on the timing marks at all but just rust. I jumped to conclusions when I saw the orange with the distributor rotor at position 1. Now I'm looking at some photos I took at the same time. Looks like a timing adjustment is next.