Whats up guys!...just bought my first cruiser & it needs a starter

[TRAILTOYZ]

Hey there forum people. My name is Erik Paul. I'll be hanging out here quite a bit now that I became the proud owner of an 86 FJ60 yesterday. These are sweet trucks! I've got some questions about it though. On the way home, the starter went out and I had to have a buddy come tow me. I think it was the starter because the battery was full of juice, yet when we would crank it it wouldn't even try to start....just turn maybe once and then seize. Is this comon starter failure on these things? Easy/hard to replace? Also, the drivers side squeals a little bit on it. It sat for about a year before I got it so It needs some maintenance. Can you grease the birfields? Thanks for the help and have a good morning

 

[Doc]

The best thing you'll ever buy as a Fj60 owner- a AAA membership.

I can't give you any help on the starter, but I'll give you my thoughts on your birfs.

First, get in touch with the board member named C-dan, he mostly browses the 80's forum, but is a parts department guru and will get you OEM toyota parts C-H-E-A-P. Buy the factory service manual for your truck, and a front axle re-build kit from Dan. He'll supply you with every concieveable part you might need for the rebuild.

Yes, your birf's can be greased, but should be completely torn down to do so properly. It's really not that hard, just takes some time.

 

[jesterb]

Great to have you. Check all of your electrical connections first. You can also give the starteer a wack with a mallet. That should free it up for one last start. I would only do that if your stranded. As far as the birfs go,, I would only take them apart if there is excessive play. I've had good luck with just forcing in new grease until all old is out. Buy a knuckle rebuild kit and all four wheel bearings and races. Keep us posted.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

Cool thanks for the info guys. I'm hoping it's just the starter. The thing is in great shape, but the guy took the stereo out before I picked it up so I'm hoping that there aren't a nest of wires under the dash shorting somethin out. We'll see...

 

[burger]

Good thin to do for your birfs is to take the plug for the grease fill and have a zerk fitting tapped into it so you can just take the grease gun and pump it full of grease at regular intervals

 

[wildman4wheeler]

check the connections on the battery the same thing happened to me yesterday. good luck on the new toy!

 

[fsusteve]

Since yer in Anchorage, you should go see Mark Whatley at Just Cruisers or Cruisers only, something like that. He's like a guru on the LCML site.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

yeah I need to find out how to get ahold of Mark. As for the starter...went and picked one up today....$120 @ NAPA...but right before I was gonna toss it in I tried to start it and it fired right up! drove it around the block with no probs. I'm thinking that if I drive it for any kind of distance then the same thing will happen and I won't be able to start it. Think the starter is just about to give out or something? Should I swap it out anyways or is there a different problem? Jeez. Thanks for all the tips. BTW, found some neat stuff while cleaning it up today...pair of shoes, a key rack with 2 wooden chickens on it, a training bra, and a bunch of divorce paperwork from '98. The things people save... haha


Erik

 

[Doc]

Maybe the bra and divorce paperwork were related in some way......

 

[VTCruiser]

i'd go ahead and replace it, heck ya bought it anyway. There could be a dead spot on the old starter, a bad brush or something, which could cause intermittent starts.

fuj

 

[60wag]

A common problem with older starters is the contacts in the relay/solenoid. Its pretty easy to take it apart and clean the contacts. Sometimes they are just worn beyond a cleaning fix.. Toyota actually sells repacement contacts. The replacement starter should have new contacts in it and will last a long while.

 

[swank60]

If it's an OEM starter, i'd keep it and try to refurb it, as mentioned above. NAPA is pretty good, but my experience with refurb parts hasn't been very good. You'll have to eat the core charge, but that's what, $20? Call SOR or American Toyota (and talk to Dan) and he can probably get you the rebuild brushes/contacts. Never hurts to have a spare.

edit: and while you're under there, check and make sure you're oil pan fasteners are all nice and tight to spec - might save you an oil leak!

 

[bernefj60]

The best thing you'll ever buy as a Fj60 owner- a AAA membership. QUOTE]

damn - harsh. I've only used AAA once, and it was for that darn little hose hiding behind the water pump. 280K, still ticking. Oh, though there was that one time with the whole axle and wheel coming off, but that wasn't the 60's fault.

blumel

 

[Benji]

NAPA starters are good, but I'd take it back and get a new or referb OEM, and referb yours while your at it.


Congradulations on the truck.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

I'm gonna toss the starter in today after work. Last night I lubed the birfield, that sucker was bone dry on both sides. took like 2 tubes of grease. Also flushed the milky oil out of the diffs, lubed all the zerks, and checked out the rest of the truck> The catalytic converter is totally rusted through and sounds like it's full of rust inside as well when you shake it...so I'm gonna weld in a piece of pipe and call it a day. Is there an O2 sensor somewhere in that thing that you need to have? I think I'm also gonna yank out the nasty, dirty, soggy carpet and Herculiner the interior of the tub, shampoo the seats, and wash the cool sheepskin seat covers. The more I mess with this thing the more I like it. I especially thought the stock canvas TOYOTA tool bag and the little built in magnet in the Diff drain plugs was a thoughtful addition to the truck.

 

[Overlord]

Is there an O2 sensor somewhere in that thing that you need to have?

There's a temperature sensor on the cat for the emissions junk.