The Resurection of 'The Beast'

[n2666s]

another trick is to tap gently " brass/ plastic or wooden mallet"on the rockers directly above the valve stem on the ones that are not closed; Steve, you can tell them by them being the valves that are a little "down" when you compare with the others; if you watch your rocker arms when turning over you can tell if one is not coming all the way up..this will sometimes free a valve that is a bit tight in its guide and yes; you do have rust DON"T try whacking all your valves; only the ones that are a little down and gently; just to shake things a bit and get the oil to penetrate and free things up........might also use some spray Kroil oil aiming towards the valve stems HTH

Lou

 

[Southeast Overland]

Thanks Lou - I'll give it a shot hopefully this week. No, I didn't get to shoot any air down the cylinders - that is on my to-do list. I'm busy right now packing for a camping trip with the which means I can't just throw a bunch of junk in my truck and go camping...I need chairs, stoves, air mattresses....

The motor does turn over easily by hand. I've been doing the compression test with the starter connected to a battery. It turns over just fine.

I'll check out the valves and see what I can find.

 

[n2666s]

more shade tree /ghetto stuff; if you find sticky valves from corrosion/rust....NOT bent!; you can take off your rocker arms.....and on the ones you identify as "sticky"......stuff cord into the cyl and then remove the keepers and springs for that valve; chuck the valve in a drill and spin it.......squirt oil alongside the valve stem when you do thisand button back up.........gives you a chance also to clean up the rusty push rods with a wire wheel..........remember to keep everything in its original position and don't screw with the adjustments .....for now; anothertrick is the stuff cord in the cyl. with the stuck valve and turn the motor over,...... by hand.......when the cord comes up it will push against the valve and free it up....... HTH

Lou


Camping???............in this wet weather<LOL> maybe kayacking

 

[Trollhole]

Steve I know you don't want to hear this. But I'd spend all my time focusing on one goal. To get a good rebuilt motor back in the pig.

I'd go ahead and send out the 83 2f and have the machine work done. Give them 2 weeks to have it back to you. Set a completion date. Say end of Sept to have all parts ready to put the engine back together. Give yourself a month to get it back together and a couple weeks to have it all in and installed properly.

Your spinning your wheels trying to get a replacement in until you get a good one. You and I both know we have limited time to work on our vehicles. How much time do you think it will take to get this old motor running with all the stuff installed and in your vehicle running? Would you expect to be able to drive it to Cullowhee, Tellico?

Your still gonna have to spend another 200 at least to get this thing back in your vehicle. Oil, intake gasket, PS fluid, Radiator fluid, gear oil, plugs, etc... On top of all the time and effort. Only 3 months later to take it out and do it all over again?

Your like me. Anal about issues or potential issues. Do you really want to have to worry all the time about a noise or if there will be an issue? I doubt you do. We are not out of sight out of mind kind of people.

If I was in your shoes I'd spend maybe 1 weekend trying to get this motors compression numbers back up. If you cannot I wouldn't lay another hand on it until I knew I was either at a stopping point on the 83 or that it was in my cruiser and running well.

Get that 83 to the machine shop. Have them check the bores. Find out if your gonna need new pistons or just a hone. Find out if the crank and cam are up to specs or if they will need to be machined. Go ahead and have the head shaved and the block decked as well as have the valves done. Once you find all that needs to be done buy the parts and then go back to this motor and work while you wait.

Had you done this in the beginning with the 83 you would be putting it back together right now. Don't get bogged down working a short term plan and focus on what you want long term. If will be a heck of a lot easier.

 

[n2666s]

Amen...........don't spend a lot of money on this one..........but if you get it to fire just change the rear seal and drive it WHILE you get the other "83" done...........other alternative is to get a used runner from Cruiserparts or MAF............HTH

Lou

 

[Southeast Overland]

I'm not putting any $ into this motor...well, I'll have to buy oil and coolant. I already have a rear main but I'll probably pick up a cheap non-OEM and save my OEM rear main for the 83.

If I could get this one working then I could save my $$$ for rebuilding the 83 down the line. Problem is I'm really tight on time and $ right now so anything that will help well, it helps!

Should have just changed fluids in the 83 and run it but hindsight is 20/20.

 

[n2666s]

Steve, sounds like a good plan to me

Lou

 

[Southeast Overland]

So after running in circles for a few months the decision has been made for me - I have to rebuild the 83. I have what I think are stuck valves on the donor 76. I started to run another compression test this weekend from 6 to 1 after SeaFoam had sat on the cylinders for a few weeks and oil had been poured over the head and pumped through the block several times. #6 was decent again at 115 but #5 was still low at 50 so I called it quits. I don't really have any other options. I want to get 2 out of 3 of my defunct 2Fs out of my garage so I have an open parking space again. Also, the plan for GSMTR 09 if for me to drive my Pig and the will drive the FJC and wheel the FJC!

I was able to get into my garage yesterday and clean up a bit. My garage was a wreck to the point where I couldn't get around very well. Now I have some room to work. I swear a critter kept looking at me from behind one of my stack of shelves...literally...it spooked me out.

I also took an brief inventory of what I have in the order of parts for the rebuild - here it is with my plans. I also have a list of questions at the bottom that I would appreciate y'all looking through and giving me your thoughts. Remember my two objectives - 1) make a reliable, rebuilt 2F and 2) save $ where possible but don't skimp.

83 2F
Check crank - machine if necessary - have original 76 as spare
Check cam - machine if necessary - no spare - original 76 is toast
Head - shave 0.40 and replace valve seals with OEM
Block - decked but leave as is if possible
Lifters - surface - replace if necessary w/ CCOT
New oil pan gasket - already have
New valve cover gasket - already have
New rear main - already have
New rings
Check pistons - replace if necessary - have original 76 as spare
Cylinders - inspect and hone - I don't want to bore b/c = extra $.
Air filter housing is already repainted - new air filter - already have
New oil filter - already have
Use same PCV valve - is less than a year old
All new hoses
Radiator - reuse original 76 - a while back I dorked and knocked this radiator over which dented the filler neck edge a bit - I hammered it back into place and it looks pretty good - I hope it seals.
Distributor - reuse from 83
Spark plugs - reuse from 76 - these are pretty dang new
Plug wires - reuse from 76 - these are pretty dang new too
Valve cover - clean and reuse from 83
Water pump - reuse from 83 if it will work with the fan - might have to buy a 77-78 water pump.
Water pump gasket - already have a new one - was ordered for 76 - I hope it works.
Oil pump - clean and reuse from 83
Oil cooler - clean and reuse from 83
Dipstick - use original 76
Timing gear - clean and reuse from 83
Timing gear cover - clean and reuse from 83
Timing gear gasket - have new
Carb - use original 76
Tranny - use original 76
T-case - use original 76
Manifold - use original 76
Bearings - new cam, main - have machine shop measure all and install cam bearings
Clutch - have 76 surfaced if price isn't too bad
Clutch bearing - replace

- Is it necessary to have the block decked?
- Do you think the 76 radiator will work where I beat the filler neck edge back into place? It looks good to the eye and the cap appears to seal well but it hasn't been tested.
- Am I right in that my pretty new water pump on my 76 will not fit on my 83?
- Will a water pump gasket I ordered for my 76 work on my 83?
- How much balancing should I do - should I do any?
- What is the name of the clutch bearing that I should replace while I'm in there - is it the cluth output bearing? Its the one people talk about pushing out with bread...


Well fellas, that is where I sit now. Hopefully tonight I'll get back out in the garage and I'll start cleaning some bits and pieces up to take to the machine shop.

Wish me luck!

 

[Kaderabek]

In terms of mileage, the clutch is fairly new. I replaced it when we did the springover.

Not sure this matters but thought I'd mention it.

TJK

 

[Southeast Overland]

In terms of mileage, the clutch is fairly new. I replaced it when we did the springover.

Not sure this matters but thought I'd mention it.

TJK

I have never had any problems with the clutch but it has a ton o hot spots and small cracks. Trollhole suggested I have it resurfaced. I'll look at what it costs and if its a bunch I won't do it. I edited my post to say I would use the 76 instead of the 83 since I know the history of the 76 - thanks for bringing that up.

I also have an extra off of the 83 donor and the 76 donor.

 

[Trollhole]

76 water pump won't work because your using the oil cooler. That being said I don't think the 83 pump will line up as far as fan location. You just need to compare the two. Your probably gonna half to buy a new pump. SOmething for a 77-78

 

[Southeast Overland]

Got a little work in this weekend. I have a huge hole in my driver rear door sill at the slider. I have it about half way patched up now with 16 ga sheet. I also looked at my 83 pistons and they look OK to me from what I can tell. I was debating as to when to get the machine shop started on their work and the said to go ahead - she said she wouldn't want to be around me at GSMTR 09 if I wasn't in my Pig - so I'm going to call the machine shop today and set up a time to drop off a pile of parts for them to get working on.

 

[Southeast Overland]

well, the Dow just fell 675 points on the day as of 2 pm - my plans might get put off once again...

 

[OregonCruzer]

well, the Dow just fell 675 points on the day as of 2 pm - my plans might get put off once again...

stoopid DOW!

Hope it bounces back and you can get back on the track

 

[Southeast Overland]

Finished patching up my rear driver's side door sill. There was a about a 6 inch by 4 inch hole - right in the corner where it was PITA to patch with all the curves. It is patched and painted. Also fabbed up a new bracket to tie down my battery from some scrap metal - turned out pretty nice. It is painted and waiting to dry so I can install. I'm still trying to get all my 2F pieces together to take to the machine shop!

 

[Southeast Overland]

Got a little more time in last night and tied up some loose ends. Mounted the battery. Cleaned up some wiring, clear coated some raddle can paint on a door sill and under the gas cap where I repainted due to an off-camber situation that spilled gas - which - gets me to where I am now.

I had a problem with fumes in the cab and gas spilling out of the gas cap when I parked in the sun even if it was cool outside. If gas was spilling out the gas cap it would stop as soon as I opened the cap. Before I pulled my 2F it ran STRONG but I hated the smell of gas. ClemsonCruiser was nice enough to help me out one afternoon and we found that my timing was WAY advanced, and I mean so far advanced we couldn't see the dang BB thing. We retarded the timing a bit and the gas smell went away but my 2F was now not nearly as strong. I have since found out that sometimes one will advance timing way forward for a desmogged engine.

Yesterday I printed out the attached diagram and traced my fuel system to try and see if something was out of whack. Surprisingly enough it seemed that everything was in pretty good shape. Some of the hard lines were a bit rusty but all the hose was in good shape. A PO must have replaced these at some point. Everything looked good until I got up into the engine bay and found that I should have a charcoal canister somewhere, part # 77740 in the diagram below. I have a hard line that comes up from under the truck into the engine bay, connects to a piece of soft hose, then back to a hard line and dumps out into the driver body mount under the A-pillar.

Now here are my questions.

1) I had always thought that my gas smell (which drove me nuts and kept me from driving my truck to work much) was coming from the rear but could it have partially been due to the lack of a charcoal canister?

2) I have a charcoal canister from a FJ60 - could I use this in place of a canister for a FJ55?

3) If I can use the FJ60 charcoal canister how do I know if it is working before I hook it up?

Here is the diagram I used.

 

[Kaderabek]

Had that fumes in the cab problem when I first bought it. I put a vented gas cap on it and never smelled it again.

TJK

 

[Southeast Overland]

Had that fumes in the cab problem when I first bought it. I put a vented gas cap on it and never smelled it again.

TJK

The gas cap it has now is a locking cap. I don't think it is vented b/c you can hear suction when you remove the cap, especially when it is warm outside.

I'll also add (and edit my original post above) that the gas tank will overflow through the gas cap when parked in the sun - even on a cool day and even if the tank is not full to the top.

 

[Kaderabek]

Sounds like it needs a vent. I don't know that it's your entire problem but a vented gas cap would be a cheap place to start.

TJK

 

[Southeast Overland]

Sounds like it needs a vent. I don't know that it's your entire problem but a vented gas cap would be a cheap place to start.

TJK

10-4

Does anyone know if the FJ60 charcoal canister would work and how I would go about seeing if it was still good?