Two cylinders not firing after washing engine compartment (1 Viewer)

[sproggy]

Hack Job is my middle name. Ok, I'm going to have another look. Sometimes a new day brings new ideas/solutions. That's been my experience.

 

[Dizzy]

It isn't so much that there is such thing as a, 'hackjob,' rather, restoration is an approximation of theory applied in a physical sense.

 

[sproggy]

Well good news, I have solved the problem. It turns out to be the connection of the high tension wire between the coil and dizzy on the outside of the dizzy and on the inside where the points and condenser connect. See the pic with the yellow circle. This was actually the reason I had no spark from the coil when I first tried to start the car a couple days ago. As mentioned, I have a Delco dizzy in this so not sure if the original is the same. But this connection has been giving me problems for a long time. It has been near impossible to get a tight connection. A couple days ago, I finally realized that the bolt that goes through the two plastic spacers is threaded and it had become unscrewed a bit so was the bolt was not seated tight into the spacers. Thus tightening the nut on the outside of the dizzy was not making the connection tight. It wasn't easy to screw the bolt tight in the spacers, however, as it has no head on it to turn. I did my best a couple days ago and it seemed pretty tight and indeed the truck started and was running well. I assume now that it wasn't the water that caused the lost cylinders but that the connection worked loose while the car was idling well AFTER I washed it. So it ran well but after turning off the engine and a few hours later trying it again, the connection was no longer functional. Very interesting that it knocked out just those two leads., 2 and 6, the two leads that plug in to the dizzy cap directly above that connection.

Is this the same as in the stock dizzy? If so, how can I get this bolt tight through those spaces?

Dizzy, I did clean up my neg battery terminal and tighten it and I seemed to get a lot faster spin when starting the engine. Does that makes sense?

Thanks to all contributors. This is such a great resource. I'm sure I'll be back very soon with my next mess-up!

Cheers, Sproggy

 

[Dizzy]

I call myself 'Dizzy' on Mud because I messed up a F motor by not respecting the distributor's role with turning the oil pump. It is really easy to mess up if the end of the distributor shaft is just about 6mm too high on the block. I'm really sketched out about a GM distributor. Lots of folks get them to work, but I don't want to mess around with GM stuff at the heart of a F or 2F.

Yes, your starter was lacking amperage needed, probably, but, it could have been that the battery just needed a charge.

Glad the problem cleared up.

 

[Dizzy]

Can I get a photo of the blue wire on the external side of your Delco-Remy.

Btw. I proudly boast that my Cruiser once made a very Merry Christmas for a few mouse families, they had it all to themselves, minus an occasional snake and some permanent resident mud-daubers.

 

[4Cruisers]

Here's what the stock terminal screw looks like inside the distributor housing. It has a square head, and is kept from rotating by the nylon piece.

 

[4Cruisers]

BTW, if you want to go with a Toyota distributor, I've been selling refurbished Land Cruiser vacuum advance distributors to suit most applications.

 

[jbee]

Glad you figured it out! It’s tough to overstate how much a correct distributor and carburetor make on the FJ40. I have had four or five of them, I was always able to make them run with whatever came on them, be it Delco Remy, Rochester, Mallory, etc. BUT, these days a factoryToyota distributor is so cheap that you can sell some stuff in your garage on craigslist for enough scratch to pay for it.
Also it’s scary to pull a distributor off of a running engine, but when you have the factory distributor than all of a sudden all of the instructions on ‘mud and the factory service manuals makes sense. //Lecture over.

 

[40mania]

Just got back to the truck after a two year hiatus. I got it running after a loose distributer wire and actually it was running pretty smooth. I drove it up and down the lane a couple time to get things cooking and then parked it in the drive and proceeded to hose down the entire inside and outside of the truck with water. It had been sitting in a mouse infested "tent" all this time and was filthy with mouse scat and dust and who knows what. Yes, I even hosed the interior of the truck as it's very bare inside and plenty of rust that a little water doesn't hurt. So I think at least. I also hosed down the engine compartment. Afterward, I turned on the engine and let it heat up to help dry. I did not notice any hesitation in starting or any rough idle. I think I then turned the car off after 10 minutes or so. A few hours later I wanted to move it and suddenly some of the cylinders weren't firing. I figured I got something wet and needed to dry it. Nothing seemed wet though I wiped down the plug wires and dist. cap inside and out. Still no luck. Ok, let it sit overnight. Today, same deal. I've narrowed it down to the cylinder nearest firewall and cylinder second in from radiator. There is no spark arriving to the plug as tested by grounding plug end to engine block. On the dist. cap, these plug leads sit side by side toward the passenger side of the car. I've checked other leads in these spaces and still no spark so not the leads. I've changed to a new dist. cap but no change. I'm getting a little fearful of the unknown. By the way, it's a Delco dist. from Mallory from way back when (no snark please). Any guesses, folks?

Many thanks!

View attachment 2865957

View attachment 2865958

I always had to pop the distributor cap and take the blow dryer to it. The sweat condensation inside the cap scatters the fire. Good luck.

 

[sproggy]

Can I get a photo of the blue wire on the external side of your Delco-Remy.

Btw. I proudly boast that my Cruiser once made a very Merry Christmas for a few mouse families, they had it all to themselves, minus an occasional snake and some permanent resident mud-daubers.

Sure, I'll send a pic soon. I've had the truck since 1985. It was the first car I ever bought. I was 16. One of the LC vendors called Mallory was pushing Delco dist. and Delco starters modified to fit in cruisers. They were sold as upgrades to the original and I was all keen on horsepower and a tough truck at the time. I probably didn't even need it. Anyway, that's why I have a Delco dist. in there.

I'll be back with the pic.

 

[sproggy]

Here's what the stock terminal screw looks like inside the distributor housing. It has a square head, and is kept from rotating by the nylon piece.

View attachment 2866906

Thanks for that! I'm wondering if perhaps there used to be a plastic peg or stopper on the inside of mine that fit into the notch in the screw head. I don't remember ever having this problem in the past until at a certain point I DID have the issue., that the screw kept spinning in place. Probably to get it really tight I would need to pull out the dist. to get better access to that screw. I was a bit scared to do it. I will consider changing the dist, thanks for the mention. It seems like a very straight-forward mechanism just some spinning mechanical gears. I'm not sure why it gives so much trouble...apart from the points/cap/rotor/condenser. But the dizzy body itself seems it should be rather foolproof once it's been designed.

 

[sproggy]

Does anyone have an idea why plugs 2 and 6 would be the ones effected by that loose wire? Does the placement have something to do with it? I will say that I also sprayed WD-40 in the cap and cleaned the battery terminal first but the car still wouldn't start. Only after I tightened that wire.

 

[sproggy]

Here you go Dizzy.

 

[4Cruisers]

It seems like a very straight-forward mechanism just some spinning mechanical gears. I'm not sure why it gives so much trouble...apart from the points/cap/rotor/condenser. But the dizzy body itself seems it should be rather foolproof once it's been designed.

The shaft bushings in the housing can get worn, which causes lateral play at the top of the distributor shaft/cam. That leads to varying dwell and inconsistent firing. And the mechanical advance weight pivots also get worn.

 

[sproggy]

The shaft bushings in the housing can get worn, which causes lateral play at the top of the distributor shaft/cam. That leads to varying dwell and inconsistent firing. And the mechanical advance weight pivots also get worn.

Ok....most of that is mechanical wear on metal parts over time. Not something that is finicky, in my humble opinion. Not that it isn't paramount to have it correct just that hosing down the engine bay is going to effect it in any way. I'm not sure how the advance weight pivots work or where/what they are.

 

[4Cruisers]

I'm not sure how the advance weight pivots work or where/what they are.

They're under the breaker plate.

 

[Dizzy]

A stream crossing, or car wash, could allow water to get in the breather hole in the bottom of my stock distributor. I understand the need, with the mice and all, but, just know that there are vulnerable spots on the engine.

 

[sproggy]

A stream crossing, or car wash, could allow water to get in the breather hole in the bottom of my stock distributor. I understand the need, with the mice and all, but, just know that there are vulnerable spots on the engine.

That's a deep stream. I suppose if someone runs in deep water a lot they have to account for that breather hole and run an air passageway to higher ground, no?

 

[Dizzy]

The best venting for the distributor is a vacuum one connected to the engine's intake. Toyota did it on the later 40s. Yes, try to keep water out of the crankcase, but our distributors rust because of ozone that is created by the high, and maybe low voltage arcing within, that and some humidity, etc. You could just make it passively breathe to atmosphere, but, you could also actively purge the distributor of the garbage it produces...

The Hayne's manual usually says to replace fluids if you get in nasty environments, iirc. But, if you look hard enough, someone out there will have modified the vents on the axles to be placed above water level. My big concern is the quenching of your exhaust system as it hits the water, that would be one of the worst things for that metal in a long-term sense.

 

[Steamer]

But, if you look hard enough, someone out there will have modified the vents on the axles to be placed above water level.

I do this since my axles often spend a lot of time submerged where I wheel.

My big concern is the quenching of your exhaust system as it hits the water, that would be one of the worst things for that metal in a long-term sense.

I hate that sound (and smell) and I hear it so often. I’m sure it’s rough on the system but surprisingly, I don’t seem to notice any accelerated deterioration.