Trigger Pulled

[spectre6000]

I've been testing the crap out of this thing to see if I could trace the problem. The primary informative tests so far have been:

If I hardwire the pump directly to the battery, I have full function. Pump is good.

When I plug my multimeter in as shown, there is zero voltage. When I throw the switch, there's battery voltage. Switch opens ground, power comes from the other lead. The switch and the ground side of the harness are good.

The wipers and radio both work, so the harness is good from power to there. Additionally, I tested conductivity from the fuse block to the plug in the engine compartment so we're good there too.

Also, I verified the plug has power by putting the multimeter between the positive plug terminal and negative on the battery.

Stumped.

 

[spectre6000]

A bit ago I tried cleaning and reshaping the plug itself (it's about the only thing I can't really test). It didn't do a damn thing.

I just went out to retest something I'm fairly certain has tested correctly a dozen times just to make absolutely sure (plug positive to plug ground). It tested exactly as it should. Then I plugged it back in, and magically it started working again...

My best guess is that it's way too cold for the electronics cleaner and it needed some time and/or the multiple pluggings and unpluggings finally deformed the plug in such a way that it made sufficient contact again... I don't know if it will work tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. I'm cautiously optimistic. Even if it doesn't work, I think the plug itself is all that would need to be replaced.

 

[spectre6000]

Finally had a chance to fuel up and test the fuel economy gains.

ODO@ last fill up: 25,193.8 mi
ODO@ most recent fill up: 25,299.7 mi
miles driven: 105.9 mi
Tire correction factor: 6.7%
Actual miles driven: 113.0 mi
Gallons filled: 7.880 gal
Gas mileage: 14.34 mpg

Notes: Two of the three days driven experienced extreme winds on 93 and 72 leading up to the canyon (wheel a good 45º into the wind to go straight when driving across the wind even with steering being well adjusted and in spec, going into the wind was a challenge that required the pedal and the floor becoming well acquainted and STILL unable to maintain the speed limit). A good portion of the miles driven were city stop/go. Secondaries used only during steep hills at high speeds. When we checked my timing @ Randy's it was at 7º BTDC despite having been set at approximately 12º BTDC; it may have been the heavy winds (most likely), but it felt a little sluggish... I'll check the timing at my next opportunity (Monday?) to see if I need a new distributor clamp.

On the whole not as good as I would have liked, but still a 30% gain for a day's worth of tweaking. I think the average will prove to be a bit closer to the desired 15 mpg in the long run since those super windy days are not the norm.

 

[spectre6000]

Having some fun with the photos my wife took today. This is my current fav and new desktop photo.

These are pretty good too.

 

[SteveH]

Very nice photos - thanks for posting!

 

[spectre6000]

The rubber bumper on my tire carrier died the other day causing the tire carrier to make a nasty racket and further the dent in my tail gate. SOR has a bumper for something on the order of $15, CCOT has a less expensive one ($8), but with a $20 minimum it sort of becomes moot. I couldn't get a hold of CDan, so I figured I'd give McGuckins a go. Sure enough, a "cane tip" made for a perfect replacement at a wallet breaking $2.50. It's the rubber pad used at the bottom of crutches, canes, and (based on their location in sporting goods) walking sticks. A 3/4" tip was a perfect size for the wide flat headed screw that was the core of the original bumper. Given its intended use, I have high hopes for longevity. It will likely need a bit of trimming as it's the full length of the screw as adjusted, but no biggy. Photos when I have daylight.

Additionally, I had a thermal event on my way down. The temp gauge got about halfway between the hot side of normal tick and the hot end of the gauge. I'm not exactly sure what was the cause, but maybe someone with a bit more water cooled experience can clue me in. I noticed at the time the temp gauge started creeping up (I caught it early in its ascent) that the heater wasn't blowing very warm air (more on this later), so I figured maybe the coolant was a little low. I wasn't very far from a FLAPS, so I took a detour and got a gallon. I let the engine cool for a few minutes, then opened the cap a bit. Plenty of steam (expected) and a few cups of boil over. I let it cool a bit more, and was able to add nearly a gallon. I cranked it back up, opened the heater valve, and let it run for a minute or two (hoping to get rid of any bubbles I might have created). I was able to get a bit more out of the gallon into the system. I finished the drive to the hardware store (everything looking good), did my thing, then added a bit more out of the gallon. I anticipate adding a bit more tomorrow to finish up the gallon.

After all of this on the way home the temp gauge was, if anything, reading low. This includes a fairly long uphill stretch at relatively low RPM (seems like a recipe for generally higher engine temperatures to me). The rear heater was putting out a reasonable amount of heat during this, but the front heater seemed to only be circulating cab air... It may have been nothing more than a lucky hunch earlier, but I may also have a bubble waiting to pounce. Thoughts?

I'll have to find it, but I have an infrared thermometer somewhere if anyone can clue me in as to what temps ore to be expected where. My radiator is pretty new (was replaced by the PO with near as makes no difference to zero miles at time of purchase), and may not be the best match to the engine, but this luftkühler doesn't know how to figure that out... I think it's fine, but I'd rather know if it can be known. I forgot to flush the coolant when I did all the fluids a month or so back (aircooled brainfart there...), so that might be something worth looking into as well.

 

[loudbay]

Spectre, nice truck, great photos! We have a twin 'new to us' 40 thing going on.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[kurtnkegger]

Its pretty common for the front heater core to get gummed up with hair, leaves, and other debris that really restricts the airflow. I would suspect something like that if your rear heater was putting out being both units share the same temperature valve. Rebuild kits can be had by a vendor on Mud.

 

[SteveH]

You can learn a lot with an IR thermometer. At full hot (after driving for some time), you should see 180-190F along the head, and upper radiator hose. Not surprisingly, the thermostat housing temp should be close to the set-point of your thermostat. The lower radiator hose might only be 120F or less. Turn on the heater (Fan on high, valve open) and you should see a significant difference between the inlet and outlet hoses to your heater. If not, then your heater core (internally) may be plugged, since it isn't dissipating heat into the truck cab.

Check out some other FJ40s if you can (or any 2F 'cruiser) and see what readings they have.

 

[spectre6000]

I used some liquid/graphite lock lube this morning to make the cable pulls in the dash nice and smooth this morning, and checked the radiator... I finished off the gallon and it is still wanting for more. Allie is going to pick some up from me on her way howe from work this afternoon, and we'll see how much is still lacking. I'll probably be doing this for a while as the bubbles work their way to the radiator. I think when the PO replaced the radiator and such, he didn't strike me as the most fastidious sort and probably didn't put enough coolant in. 4 gallons seems like a lot to me, and it probably would have to him as well. I'm going to keep an eye on things and see if I'm running hot (not according to the temp gauge, but it's worth watching) and blowing it out the down tube, or maybe slowly burning it through the head gasket (no signs of that either). Otherwise, it was kind of warm yesterday, and maybe it just hasn't been run in warmer weather... I really don't know the behavior of water cooled cars when it comes to this sort of thing... Please chime in if anything sticks out as remotely noteworthy. Assume I'm a complete naif.

Meanwhile, as stated previously: the bumper on my tire carrier gave up the ghost this past weekend. The rubber got brittle, and the part that holds onto the specialized screw let go and it was just hanging on there like a really loose washer.

I took it off and was left with just the screw and a lot of noise as it beat up the tailgate over every bump in the road.

SOR has a replacement for $15 (plus another $5 or so for shipping and another $15 because they can somehow get away with that in 2013). CCOT has a slightly different one for $9, but there's a $20 minimum and I don't have an immediate need or desire for anything in that price range right now, plus shipping of course. So I went to McGuckins and found this (and proceeded to take a nice shot of the ground with it out of focus in the foreground):

It's a rubber tip for a cane, or crutches, or (given it's location in the sporting goods department) walking/hiking sticks. I'm thinking the wear from use shouldn't be a longevity issue given its intended purpose, and it can't be much worse than the factory rubber in terms of what little UV exposure it might get where it lives. Also, $2.50. The key is that it has a 3/4" hole, which is close enough to the factory hardware for a snug fit and can still be fitted by conventional means. It was a little longer than necessary and required cutting it a bit shorter, but in the end:

A nice fit, good and soft, the carrier closes easily and doesn't rattle! Win!

 

[corsair23]

I really don't know the behavior of water cooled cars when it comes to this sort of thing... Please chime in if anything sticks out as remotely noteworthy. Assume I'm a complete naif.

Nice job with the tire carrier "bumper"

As for coolant...Just to make sure (assuming that you are not using premixed coolant) that you should be mixing it 50/50 with distilled water, give or take?

Too little coolant and the water will freeze in the block etc. Too much coolant vs. water will actually cause the truck to run hotter. I can't remember but the bottle will tell you what split protects down to what temp, or should. If you want to be really anal about it like me you can buy one of those Prestone testers that sucks up a bit of the coolant mix from the radiator and tells you what your mix/temp ratio is. When I last flushed my radiator in the LX I ended up with a 60/40 split despite my effort to measure things out. The truck ran about 5-10F hotter than what I was used to before the flush so I checked the ratio and sure enough it was high. After getting it closer to 50/50 the temps came back down to what I was expecting. I know this was not the reason your 40 was running hotter given the lack of fluid in the radiator, just a note to not just dump straight coolant in the radiator to top it off.

 

[spectre6000]

Thanks! Great assumption/non-assumption (pretend I've never held a wrench!). I'm using premixed (the NAPA didn't have any distilled water and I didn't know how much I was going to need). I know the freezing point differences between water, ethylene glycol, and the 50/50 mix, so I didn't make that mistake.

After adding the coolant, the temp gauge never made it to the cool mark in the operating range of the gauge where it would normally ride right at the cool mark. Also, the front heater seems to be just recirculating the cabin air while the rear heater is blowing fairly warm air. I know the gauges are about as numb as a gauge can be, and the heater core could be dirty or something... I also know this is restated, I'm just trying to make sure I'm not unknowingly making some noob mistake.

I KNOW the PO replaced the radiator.

I KNOW the PO was not necessarily the most fastidious sort.

I THINK when the PO replaced the radiator, he drained the system.

I KNOW he did not run it much at all after the radiator was replaced.

I THINK, given the above, it's not at all out of the question that the heater section of the plumbing would have drained during this operation.

I THINK if a cooling system is drained, it's not uncommon to have to top it off periodically for a time afterward to take care of any bubbles that work their way to the top of the radiator (the high point in the system).

I THINK that the heater not putting out heat could easily mean there is a bubble in that part of the system.

I THINK that since the rear heater is below the front heater, it's feasible that it could get coolant while the front is not getting any.

I KNOW the front heater was blowing warm air in my experience with the truck and the temp gauge never showed it was getting hot prior to yesterday (save if I turned the engine off and let it sit fairly briefly before turning it back on).

THEREFORE, my current theory is that enough air finally aggregated in just the right places (the front heater core and the top of the radiator, aka higher slow flow areas) to cause coolant flow issues resulting in an uncontrolled thermal condition. My resulting strategy is to top it off until it stops coming up short to a max of 4 gallons. If, at that point (actually a little before) it keeps wanting coolant, the coolant is obviously getting out somewhere and I have a bigger problem. If it keeps running hot, I have a bigger problem. If it stops wanting coolant before then, it's no longer running hot, and the heater is still not very warm, I'll pull the heater apart and clean out the core. If it stops wanting coolant before then, it's no longer running hot, and the heater consistently blows hot again, I'm good.

 

[SteveH]

I doubt you have a bubble (air lock) in the front heater core or lines - 2Fs seem very forgiving in this respect. But, anything is possible. Do the IR test, or grab the lines and see how hot they feel. You can also remove a heater core hose and manually 'prime' the heater core to check its fullness.

I have owned several Toyotas where the rear heater got hot faster than the front - my '95 Land Cruiser and '98 4Runner, for example. I'm not sure that the rear heater getting hot faster is an indication of a problem.

 

[spectre6000]

I have the stock 1.5 F, though I doubt it's much different in that regard.

It's not an issue of time, over the course of a 30 minute drive (almost entirely up hill) both cores should be sufficiently (and similarly) hot. This morning the coolant was low enough to be invisible from the top of the radiator after filling it to the brim yesterday, so I'm clearly a bit low and still burping.

I'll be going into town tomorrow, so I'll see about digging the IR thermometer out tonight and check it out when I get down there and the engine has had some time to warm up.

 

[subzali]

I think you're on the right track. However, an F engine takes 35 pints of coolant. A 2F takes 38. I'm not sue which coolant system the 1.5F has, but I'm thinking 35 pints is your target.

Also, the top of the thermostat is supposed to have an o-ring (actually it's cross section is rectangular), which if left out could result in coolant bypassing the thermostat and causing a cool running condition. This part is commonly forgotten when servicing cooling systems. Your thermostat could also be stuck open. HTH

 

[spectre6000]

According to the manual, the coolant capacity is 16 quarts/4 gallons. If I get anywhere close to that though, I've got some pretty significant consumption issues. So far I was able to add about 1 1/4 gallons all in (about a quart today). That sound close to what you might find in the heater section and an air bubble or two. I'll check the level in the radiator again before I head back up here tomorrow afternoon/evening and top it off if necessary (bottle is behind the seat).

 

[MDH33]

Does your cooling set-up have an overflow/fill bottle? you keep mentioning you're checking the radiator. Also, if there's any mystery with your coolant, the radiator and the previous owners maintenance, I would just drain and flush it and then add the right amount to baseline and see what happens.

 

[spectre6000]

I don't know when the overflow bottle started, but it was post-'74. I have a down tube.

The thing about the PO is that he did a lot of rebuilding, but he never had it running so never checked things to make sure they worked like they should (or burped the cooling system). He was a professional mechanic (small industrial diesel engines), so his work is pretty good on the whole (and I'm thankful for that) but he wasn't one to check specs (i.e. coolant capacity). Also, he sucked at body work... The fluids were all zero miles when I get a hold of it. The comments about forgetting to flush it are because a changed all of the other fluids just 'cause for baseline purposes and forgot about the coolant (this is the first car I've gotten super familiar with that had such a device).

 

[spectre6000]

Updates:
Coolant situation is officially handled. Heater has resumed function. It's been fine for a few weeks now, just didn't seem to warrant a post.

I've managed to get a few tanks of gas burned, so I figured I'd update on the jetting results.

As previously stated, the first (partial) tank after the jetting resulted in 18.01 mpg. Due to various circumstances surrounding that tank, I don't think it's a very good number.

The next (more or less full) tank of gas netted 14.34 mpg. There were multiple days (2 of the 3 days I did any driving) of severe head winds (the sort of thing that has you turning left to go straight, and if it's in your face you are struggling to maintain speed).

That weather was followed by lots and lots of snow, so the hubs were locked and the resulting figures reflect this (more than I thought they would). 13.35 mpg and 12.68 mpg (this tank had several miles of 4LO driving during the worst of the weather up here).

This morning I filled up again. This tank is about 2/3-3/4 with locked hubs and netted 14.81 mpg.

I'm optimistic that normal driving without such adverse conditions will net me my desired 15 mpg average. Regardless, compared to the 11 mpg I was averaging prior to jetting, the worst tank is still a viable improvement, and if I never do better than the 14 mpg range, I'm still almost 30% ahead! If you assume the average tank of gas runs about $40, that's an average savings of $12/tank. I'm filling up about once a week, so that's $624/year to spend on lifts and winches and such. Win.

 

[RicardoJM]

Nice. It will be interesting to follow the MPG over time.