Build SpaceG The FJ60

[GojiraFJ60]

Staying true to my word on the last thread I opened up about my wrenching experiences with my 60, I want to make this thread as a “home base” for mine specifically to keep things in order.

Sparing everybody of the unnecessary chatter…

So far, I’ve completed (or acquired help to complete):

1. New water pump, radiator/hoses, thermostat, fan clutch and associated belts.

2. Alternator rebuilt - outsourced.

3. Fusible link rebuilt - kit from Cruiser Cult

4. OEM fuel filter

In progress/upcoming: New vacuum hoses, carb rebuild, and intake manifold gasket.

Many more projects to come.

(Thanks to @cruisermatt as he is my primary source for parts, @CruiserTrash and @HemiAlex for letting me nag with questions, and thank you to everybody in general here. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first showed up here, but everybody that’s chimed in threads I’ve made/replied to, has been helpful and I plan to stick around)

 

[GojiraFJ60]

One thing I do want to jump right on into is tracking down this vacuum leak.

First off, I want to get an understanding of some of the terminology that’s used in the Emissions Manual, like “apply vacuum”. What does that mean?

Next, I want to bring attention to the distributor’s main diaphragm…I noticed a hose missing there. I figure it goes to the VTV located in that area of the engine bay. And speaking to the VTV for a sec, in the manual, there’s an instance where it’s labeled “Brown”, and another where it’s labeled “Blue”. Mine is blue; I assume the “brown” was a typo? Or the VTV came in brown too?

 

[GojiraFJ60]

I was talking to an old mechanic that used to work on my parents’ cars on Friday, and I posed the idea to him that my 60 could be idling kinda high due to the idle mixture being adjusted on the carb, and that I’d likely see about it once I get a tach that I can readily read while under the hood.

My eye caught a sticker on the inside of the driver side door that further drives my speculation that the carb may very well have had an adjustment done: It’s a sticker dated for 1995 when an oil change was done, in Colorado.

I don’t know (or think) the previous owner tuned the carb when he had this 60 (not something I even knew about at the time either), but I thought this was a great find for one thing…and gives me another piece of the puzzle to the history of this thing.

 

[CruiserTrash]

One thing I do want to jump right on into is tracking down this vacuum leak.

Don't adjust anything else until you have zero vacuum leaks. Somewhere close to 20inHig, or even above that, is going to be good given your location.

First off, I want to get an understanding of some of the terminology that’s used in the Emissions Manual, like “apply vacuum”. What does that mean?

Suck. Literally suck on the end of the hose, this applies a vacuum to the target - whatever it is you happen to be testing. They make vacuum pumps too.

Next, I want to bring attention to the distributor’s main diaphragm…I noticed a hose missing there. I figure it goes to the VTV located in that area of the engine bay. And speaking to the VTV for a sec, in the manual, there’s an instance where it’s labeled “Brown”, and another where it’s labeled “Blue”. Mine is blue; I assume the “brown” was a typo? Or the VTV came in brown too?

Blue

View attachment 4135250

View attachment 4135251

View attachment 4135252

It's going to run a lot better with this hose

View attachment 4135253

View attachment 4135254

 

[GojiraFJ60]

Don't adjust anything else until you have zero vacuum leaks. Somewhere close to 20inHig, or even above that, is going to be good given your location.

Suck. Literally suck on the end of the hose, this applies a vacuum to the target - whatever it is you happen to be testing. They make vacuum pumps too.

Blue

It's going to run a lot better with this hose

Fair enough. The last time I checked the vacuum, I was trying to get a more accurate reading with my gauge by making the tester hose a bit “smaller” with an adapter (I didn’t have new hoses at the time so I might try a different method with the new ones now) and what I got is pictured below.

Some stuff sounds so self-explanatory…vacuum = suck… makes me feel like an idiot LOL. With that in mind, I’m gonna test the diaphragm to make sure nothing is wrong with it and HOPE that the hose was just disconnected/lost at some point. I’ve heard that part is hard to come by?

I won’t worry about that Brown vs Blue debate. Blue it is.

 

[bhsdriller]

way too low have some leaks there

 

[GojiraFJ60]

way too low have some leaks there

We’ll see if it gets any better after I finish putting the new hoses on. If I can find it without having to really go in too deep, that’d be nice

 

[onemanarmy]

Do you need to worry about emissions inspection where you are?

If so, proceed

If not, desmog it and tune/mod your carb for desmog

 

[GojiraFJ60]

Do you need to worry about emissions inspection where you are?

If so, proceed

If not, desmog it and tune/mod your carb for desmog

No smog requirements for vehicles Georgia that are over 25 years old.
And a desmog is definitely on the table.

 

[onemanarmy]

cool. well, I'd stop 'wasting' time on VSV colors and 90% of those vac lines
desmog time!
unless you just want to leave it factory for the next owner

 

[GojiraFJ60]

cool. well, I'd stop 'wasting' time on VSV colors and 90% of those vac lines
desmog time!
unless you just want to leave it factory for the next owner

I suppose that’s fair.

 

[onemanarmy]

getting her back on the road asap is the goal! they are fun to drive

 

[GojiraFJ60]

getting her back on the road asap is the goal! they are fun to drive

Absolutely, I don’t disagree.
Desmogging seems to be a “hot topic” with these things. I’ve got a couple of threads open in the background covering it, but does anybody supply a kit for it? Seems the guys I’ve seen that have done it, did it without one and had to “seal off this hole”, “weld that”.

 

[onemanarmy]

There is no welding involved for a desmog.

You'll want to remove the air rail and plug those holes in the head.
Remove the air pump and all that, and either find a new belt or run a dummy pulley
Then, only 2 vac lines are needed....1 to distributor and one to (I forget, but its all documented here)
The only other parts are some gasketed metal plates to cover all the holes you opened up when removing the air pump system.

Biggest thing to do, for max performance, is to recurve the distributor and tune your carb (or get a 'chinese carb') that was built for a non-emissions setup.

I get it, there are tons of write ups and opinions, but the end goal is to remove the air injection system and get it down to 2 small vac lines off the carb base.

Kits from TLC performance and Manafre are available

 

[GojiraFJ60]

There is no welding involved for a desmog.

You'll want to remove the air rail and plug those holes in the head.
Remove the air pump and all that, and either find a new belt or run a dummy pulley
Then, only 2 vac lines are needed....1 to distributor and one to (I forget, but its all documented here)
The only other parts are some gasketed metal plates to cover all the holes you opened up when removing the air pump system.

Biggest thing to do, for max performance, is to recurve the distributor and tune your carb (or get a 'chinese carb') that was built for a non-emissions setup.

I get it, there are tons of write ups and opinions, but the end goal is to remove the air injection system and get it down to 2 small vac lines off the carb base.

Kits from TLC performance and Manafre are available

I did some looking around and found a “How to” PDF from @Spike Strip

I’m open to the idea of a desmog, especially since I don’t even need that stuff, my whole thing at the moment is more so going down a list of stuff I may need to “refresh” that will at least help til I get to that point? That may sound silly (I guess). I have a few new parts that I haven’t put on yet as well, so there’s that too.

 

[CruiserTrash]

cool. well, I'd stop 'wasting' time on VSV colors and 90% of those vac lines
desmog time!
unless you just want to leave it factory for the next owner

The blue VTV in question is a slight time delay for the distributor vacuum advance and has nothing to do with “smog” or emissions stuff. According to the preachings of Jim C somewhere here on Mud long ago, the US market distributor’s advance already kicks in very early to compensate for EGR. I bet removing that VTV makes it even faster which would be moving in the wrong direction for a stock truck or desmog. Before ripping anything out one has to go through the Emissions FSM and become familiar with all of the different systems, target removal accordingly, and compensate appropriately where needed. Willy nilly ripping out lines in the name of “desmog” is why there’s a trail of threads with the title “help after desmog?” stretching back as long as this forum has been around.

@GojiraFJ60 you definitely have vacuum leaks. Could be a hose, could be the manifold gasket, could be one of the vacuum widgets , just gotta hunt them down. That vac reading is about the same as mine - I’m at 5000’ elevation (vac drops with altitude) and a rowdy cam with a lot of overlap (also lessens vacuum). Best of luck.

 

[onemanarmy]

Yep, knew that more opinions were coming. Of couse vac leaks need to be fixed, desmog or not. That's true for any gas powered engine. That's not what I'm talking about.
The issue is that most 'half arse' a desmog and don't tweak the carb, don't tweak the dizzy, and/or don't take the time to upgrade the ignition or entire distributor to a more modern setup, as they are trying and do it for 'free'...and it doesn't run 'right'

hence the trouble after desmog questions.
good luck!

 

[GojiraFJ60]

Yep, knew that more opinions were coming. Of couse vac leaks need to be fixed, desmog or not. That's true for any gas powered engine. That's not what I'm talking about.
The issue is that most 'half arse' a desmog and don't tweak the carb, don't tweak the dizzy, and/or don't take the time to upgrade the ignition or entire distributor to a more modern setup, as they are trying and do it for 'free'...and it doesn't run 'right'

hence the trouble after desmog questions.
good luck!

Absolutely, no disputing that with regards to vac leaks needing to be addressed.
I haven’t tried to “cheat” with anything that I have done with this truck so far, and I don’t plan to either. And it’s okay if different opinions come up, I don’t mind anybody’s input; I think it all helps in one way or another.

The blue VTV in question is a slight time delay for the distributor vacuum advance and has nothing to do with “smog” or emissions stuff. According to the preachings of Jim C somewhere here on Mud long ago, the US market distributor’s advance already kicks in very early to compensate for EGR. I bet removing that VTV makes it even faster which would be moving in the wrong direction for a stock truck or desmog. Before ripping anything out one has to go through the Emissions FSM and become familiar with all of the different systems, target removal accordingly, and compensate appropriately where needed. Willy nilly ripping out lines in the name of “desmog” is why there’s a trail of threads with the title “help after desmog?” stretching back as long as this forum has been around.

@GojiraFJ60 you definitely have vacuum leaks. Could be a hose, could be the manifold gasket, could be one of the vacuum widgets , just gotta hunt them down. That vac reading is about the same as mine - I’m at 5000’ elevation (vac drops with altitude) and a rowdy cam with a lot of overlap (also lessens vacuum). Best of luck.

I printed out the Emissions manual over this past weekend and I spent a few hours looking through it while looking under the hood yesterday before I posted this thread so I become more familiar with all of the working parts and how to troubleshoot them; harkening back to my earlier question about “applying vacuum”. That was in regard to the distributor and the diaphragm(s).

I think what I’ll do is refresh the “easier” things I do have on-hand; new fuel pump, ignition coil, etc. and see how it responds then. I think that’s fair.

 

[GojiraFJ60]

Thought I had an update, but let me hold my horses…

 

[GojiraFJ60]

There’s a bigger story to this predicament, but to spare myself any embarrassment, I went to get some fuel…on my way back home, this hose burst. So that’s fun