Bought an FJ62...

[John E]

in my driveway. Got the new EGR valve gasket from the new O'Reilly's parts store that just opened up nearby, considering I ordered it on a Sunday I'd say that's pretty good service.

Got the valve assembly off, lots of fun detaching the metal accordion type tube that runs into the base of it, PB Blaster, some other Liquid Wrench type stuff, and some tapping with a small hammer and a 12" Crescent wrench forced it to yield.

The valve assembly was filthy, the part that actually goes into the manifold was pretty much completely clogged with carbon. I blew air thru it, wiped it down, scraped and scratched as much out as I could. While I had it all apart I cleaned up the various bolts and brackets on the wire wheel attachment, am I the only person who bothers doing that sort of stuff? I cleaned off the bolt heads and got the rust off the bracket that holds the tube in place, it may not work but by god it looks a helluva lot better!

New gasket, a little bit of high temp sealant, some anti-seize on all the threads and it all went back together like clockwork. Started it up, the idle seems a lot smoother but the hesitation upon acceleration is still there. Hopefully I got it clean enough to pass the smog test. I'm thinking a can of Seafoam run thru the manifold, some premium gas and some octane booster or a can of that "guaranteed to pass" stuff, at this point I don't have a lot to lose.

So it goes...

[cruiseroutfit]

Sounds like your on the right track with the emissions, bummer its been such a PITA.

As for the loose front end. You really need to get the tires off the ground and see what you find. Start by grabbing the wheel at 6 and 12 o'clock, shake vigorously and check for play. Any play is too much, wheel bearings and or knuckle bearings need to be serviced. Next shake the wheel back and forth, watch the tie rod ends and see if they have any movement, again any play is too much and your tie rod ends need to be replaced. All straightforward work and parts are as easy as a phone call to a good Cruiser parts supplier

[RMP&O]

While I had it all apart I cleaned up the various bolts and brackets on the wire wheel attachment, am I the only person who bothers doing that sort of stuff?

No sir, you are not!

Most people do not do this stuff though, usually because of time or not caring. A lot of people pay to have everything done on their truck too. Hobbiest and enthusiest, now that is a different story.

I see a super nice truck for sale and it is all dirty and ratty and I ask myself WTH, why!? Or I see a truck kind of like mine where somebody tossed a lot of money at it in the past and put really nice stuff on the truck. Then they half arsed a lot of things and you find dodgy work. It is like why would you spend a pile of money on a truck only to not deal with the most simple of things, correctly.

I hope you are not getting discouraged with the new Cruiser. I know how it feels to think you bought something only to find out you really bought something else! It sucks, it is not a good feeling. But you bought an old truck. For a lot of people with Cruisers or any old truck a big part of owning the old truck is so you can work on it. You do not need much for fancy computers or expensive tools to work on this truck. Also for myself, I like making something better, improving it or upgrading it and then enjoying it! I am afraid of no mods and will consider anything in terms of mods if it fits my uses and my truck. On top of all this you end up knowing the truck inside and out, top and bottom. That is really nice because when something goes wrong and you are say 50 miles out in the middle of nowhere. Well, you quickly know what the problem may be and also can usually come up with solutions to solve the problem. If you pay somebody to do everything on your truck when this happens you may be standing there awhile scratching your head. Also a lot of owning an old car is about working on it, enjoying doing the work and also enjoying making it better, that is what makes an enthusiest! Many new vehciles come with "limp" mode so when it breaks in the middle of nowhere you can get out. Old cars it was about not breaking down and if it did happen being able to service it in the field.

Any ways, charge ahead man, get er' done! Fix it right the first time and you won't be messing with it for many years to come.

[redthies]

parts are as easy as a phone call to a good Cruiser parts supplier

You wouldn't happen to know one would you Kurt??

[cruiseroutfit]

You wouldn't happen to know one would you Kurt??

I could drum up a name or two

[John E]

The FJ is now at a local shop where better mechanics than I will try to figure out the annoying hesitation or skip in acceleration and more importantly, get it to pass the smog test. Hopefully they're also gonna find me a used RH front spring too, seems that the original one has at least 2 broken leaves. Shop is K&H Imports out in Canoga Park, CA. Came very highly recommended by several people on IH8MUD.com.

I will be in touch Kurt, I've already been perusing your website, did so before I ever bought the FJ in fact. The OME Dakar set up is calling me, I'm holding off until I figure out how much lift I really want. Do you have a layaway program...? ;^)

Getting back to the topic of cleaning up fasteners and such, while taking the front valance off I managed to break off 6 of the bolts holding it in place. there were 3 missing or already broken off too. With a drill, lots of PB blaster, and some metric taps and broken bolt removers I was able to get all but one of the bolts removed and I ran a tap thru the holes to clean up the threads. Had to bump one of them up in thread size as it was not only rusted, it was stripped. There's one left to do but I fear it will need a 90 degree drill to get at it so it'll have to wait until I get it back from the shop.

Now after I paint the valance with bedliner and put it back on I'll very likely never take it off again, so why did I go and buy all new stainless steel machine bolts, washers and lock washers? Because once I know that I screwed something up it gnaws at me until I make it right. I can't help myself. On the plus side, if I ever do need to take that thing off again, it'll come off like a hot knife thru butter.

On a related note, I decided to dechrome the FJ, took the strips off the rain gutters, pulled the grille and turn signal surrounds and painted them flat black, with some new stainless hardware and some plastic polish on the lenses, they look pretty damned good for being 23 years old. I also took the "snake blinders" off and will be patching the leftover mounting holes prior to the bedliner paint job.

Gonna ride the DR to the Horizons Unlimited get together in Cambria so I decided to bring the FJ to Hollister next month if it's road worthy.

[burnoil]

Check check check your 800 miles of vacuum tubing and, really, you should just replace it all with silicone tubing. It is cheap to do so. Any vacuum leaks can and will mess with the EGR system. Also, get the FSM and follow the tests for checking the EGR system which should also include the smog/air pump. Be methodical and do one "fix" at a time. Lots of help for this over on ih8mud, too. If K&H has it then they will get you in shape.

[John E]

the rolling spaghetti monster issue has been addressed. 30 feet of 3mm silicone tubing and another 10 feet of 6mm from McMaster-Carr arrived on Monday, been putting it on one piece at a time since then. Forgot to add that to my list o'repairs.

I think I've got most of it done, probably missed a few feet but I'll get that done when I get it back.

IH8MUD and it's readers have been a great source of information already, I just posted a want ad there for some OEM springs to tide me over until I get something better from Kurt.

Thanks.

[Caoboy]

Have you changed your plugs? Sounds like misfiring would be the cause for hesitation. Perhaps the timing is a bit off, or the bad O2 sensors fouled the plugs.

[Patman]

OEM springs to tide me over until I get something better from Kurt.

Thanks.

Glad to hear its getting worked out.

I've got a set of stockers off my 60 in the side yard, if you can figure out how to get them to you, they're yours.