BJ60 Coolant Change – Finally Something Nasty and Difficult

BJ60 Coolant Change Cascade

For no reason at all I’ve decided its a good time to change the coolant. Well, no symptoms but given the condition of the rest of the fluids I’ve no doubt its been longer than the recommended 2 year change interval.

First I studied the factory manual. Not much verbage in there to explain the process. The radiator plug is a white plastic thing, when leaning over the grill its easily reachable on the lower left of the radiator. The engine block drain plug is a mystery though. From the FSM I know where it should be but there are several components surrounding that part of the block. I’d need to disassemble stuff to reach it.

I search the internet to find the trick to removing the block coolant drain but didn’t find one. Can someone comment on how this can be done? Why would Toyota do such a terrible job of providing access here?

I figure I can drain the radiator, flush a few times and that will be sufficient. I am a little concerned about maintaining the correct coolant mix though.

I put down my “huge” oil pan and open the radiator a crack. Turns out the huge pan is pretty small for this application. I open the radiator drain part-way so coolant slowly dribbles out through the frame and into the pan. More like a cascade. There is no clear way for the coolant to reach the ground so it dribbles all over everything. Not a clean process here. Again why would they do this? Why not provide a clean way to drain the coolant? Or maybe its up to me to add a fitting that can do this well? There is a drain pipe, next time I will put a hose over it, see if I can direct the coolant into a bucket or something.

I drain the radiator of whatever it holds. Liquid is apparently sweet smelling and toxic, very dangerous to critters including my lovely dog. For replacement coolant I’ve sourced Prestone Low-Tox, its Propylene Glycol instead of Ethylene glycol. Still not safe to drink but takes a lot more to kill. I also sourced 10 gallons of distilled water from grocery store.

BJ60 First batch of coolant is thick and darkish green. No rust or particulate though.

After draining the radiator I carefully measure how much came out. Just about 2.4 gallons. I replace the drain plug and fill with distilled water, start the motor, let it heat up for 5 minutes, then let it cool for 40 minutes. Drain again.

BJ60 Coolant drains in a wide area.

Fluid is very similar to the first drain, yucky stuff. I am supposed to repeat this process until water comes out clear? That would take weeks! Really need a way to hook up a hose and flush the entire system.

I leave the drain valve off, put the hose to the top and run it until water comes out clear. This takes about 8 gallons which I collect in several buckets to take to recycle.

Finally the water runs clear through the radiator.

Water starting to run clear but many more gallons to go.

I refill with distilled water, start engine again, heat up, cool down and drain and then flush again. Now this has taken most of my afternoon.

Finally I install drain plug, add 1.5 gallons of antifreeze, fill remainder with distilled water. Start motor and check for leaks, drive to recycle station where attendant tells me I can just pour coolant down the toilet. Sigh.

Now that I’ve done this I really don’t want to do it again. What a mess. Huge amount of toxic crap. Wonder how much a shop would charge to do it right?

I drove the truck a few more days checking coolant each time before I started. I don’t seem to have burped any air, the reservoir has remained right at the high fill mark.

Still, I sure would like to run a bunch of water through the system, really clear it out. Maybe get that rear heater working for winter.

Finally – An Oil Change Done Well

Over the years I’ve accumulated 5-6 bottles of brake fluid. This is nasty stuff that needs to be recycled. I’m up for a trip to the dump!

Since the truck has gone 6k (km) since last oil change, I can kill two stones with one bird and change the oil before going to the dump.

I’ve several new tools to my the oil change easier.

1) My new “open top container”

New excellent open top oil container. No spills! This thing is huge. For scale this photo shows the tank with 6 quarts of oil in there.

2) Larger flexible tip funnel.

Large flexy tip is great for refilling without any spillage.

3) Pad of Pig Mats to wipe up any mess

Have these ready to wipe up, also good for resting tools and the sump plug.

4) 2 gallon bottles of rotella t6 (5w40 synthetic)

Factory maintainance is to change oil every 6000 km, change filter every 12000 km, so no need for filter this time.

Steps:

1) Drive son to friends house to heat engine oil.

2) Emplace container beneath engine sump (this time using my new Open Tank Technology(tm))

3) Undo sump plug with 19mm socket.

4) Watch oil cascade gracefully into large open tank. I actually stacked the new tank on top of the old one so oil didn’t have so far to fall. No spills, no mess. Awesome!

5) Wait a few minutes for all oil to drip out.

6) Put in sump plug.

7) Remove oil cap.

8) Add 6 quarts of oil to engine (its 7 if you also change the filter), using the awesome new flex funnel.

Why did I use that tiny funnel for so many years? This this is the bomb!

9) Apply oil cap.

10) Check dipstick (yes, the oil level is nice and high (and oil is clean?!))

11) Start engine and listen to the purr. Nice!

12) Transfer oil from open tank to my closed funnel tank (for trip to hazard site), wipe out tank with Pig Mat.

About to transfer oil from open tank to closed tank (for spill free transport for disposal).

13) That took me 12 minutes. Nice! This change was after 6000km, but most of that was on freeway. You can’t tell from the photo above but I think the oil is starting to look less black. I could sort of see its color as it flowed out of the engine where previously the old stuff was very solidly opaque.

Wow an oil change sure goes faster when you don’t spill any oil. No hours spent scrubbing the driveway.

Conclusion: If you’re changing your own oil then you can afford to spend 20 bucks on the right gear. Easiest oil change ever!

For reference: here is the 3b oil change page from the maintenance manual:

Toyota 3B Oil Change Instructions

Toyota 3B Normal Maintenance Schedule

Toyota 3B Severe Service Maintenance Schedule.

Clutch Hydraulics

Parts arrived and I got to work taking everything apart.

Factory service manual is terrific, everything is very clear. These are big metal parts that bolt onto other metal parts, simple and cave man style.

Once off its clear that I did indeed need a new master cylinder, the old one is heavily corroded:

Corrosion inside BJ60 Clutch Master Cylinder

1984 BJ60 Clutch Master Cylinder

1984 BJ60 Clutch Master Cylinder

1984 BJ60 Clutch Master Cylinder

So, that’s the good news I guess. The corrosion occurs because brake fluid absorbs water and the water corrodes the lines. This is what happens if you don’t bleed your hydraulics for 10-30 years.

For reference here are some snaps of the aftermarket unit I sourced from Steve at EBI

Reservoir has different shape.

Nice clean new cluch master cylinder.

Clutch Booster:

I also took off the Clutch Booster and was able to pour about 3 ounces of brake fluid out of it. Brake fluid was leaking from the clutch master cylinder and forced its way into the Clutch Booster. No doubt it looks bad inside but it looks to be beyond me to get that thing apart. The factory manual shows a special tool that compresses each side of the booster air tank, then twists them apart. So, brake fluid is neutralized with water, I put water into the booster through the narrow intake tube, shake it all around, the pour the water out. I let the booster dry in the sun a few days, then inside on the kitchen counter. Finally I zapped a little fluid film in there figuring something is better than nothing. Considering the difficulty in sourcing a new master cylinder, if the booster ever fails I’ll have a heck of time finding a new one.

Here’s a pic of the old booster and hose:

Note about clutch booster, you’ll need some long socket extensions to reach the bottom bolt. And look carefully before removing the bolt, there is an easier to reach one immediately below the one that mounts the booster. Don’t undo the wrong one!

Slave Cylinder:

I also took off the slave, came right off but hose end was quite corroded. Taking off the slave was surprisingly difficult. First the hose was really corroded where it met the slave, I couldn’t remove it. Disconnecting the hydraulic line was pretty difficult, I used a 17mm crows foot socket on an extension, and also a short 12mm wrench on the hard line. Very difficult to thread my hands in there from the bottom. Might be the best way to do this is from the top with the booster removed.

For the hydraulic line: I found a local source but it took some doing. I thought brake lines would be pretty common but made 3 stops before reaching Napa. Something is off here. Who is incentivized to have so many different parts? Why aren’t car engineers standardizing? I sense some game theory at play where part makers offer stupid low prices to car makers, in return they have exclusive rights on the parts supply.

Anyway: NAPA to the rescue! Debbie at Bellevue store spent 10 minutes entering codes from the brake hose book into the computer, she eventually found a compatible hose for connecting the clutch slave to the hard line that leads from the master cylinder, it was at the main warehouse 20 minutes away. Luckily she wrote the part number down because the people at the warehouse were not inclined to find it for me.

$13.76: the napa part is:

“380992 UP”

The “UP” is important as it indicates the part line, without it you’ll find a thingy for an automatic transmission.

New clutch slave and my new Napa sourced hydraulic line. Whew!

 

Anyway, pushed that rubber ring pictured above up onto the female side of the hose, then threaded the hose down through the bracket on the body. Unfortunately the flange on the new hose is too large to fit through teh bracket, I had to file it down on two sides so it’d fit. Ok, not perfect but good enough. Threading the hose onto the hard line was actually pretty easy from the top of engine bay and let me use the torque wrench to get it correctly tight.

Attached hose to slave finger tight, then bolted slave onto frame. Then correctly torque hose to slave. Finally put my tubing onto the bleed nipple and into a jar and fill the reservoir. Crack the nipple and pump the clutch pedal with my hand, watch the reservoir drain. After about 4 slow pumps fluid started to exit the tubing. Didn’t take much fluid at all. Enlisted wife to pump, I got down and close the nipple. She holds pedal I open nipple, let out fluid then close. Repeat a few times and done. Finally attach spring onto slave. No air bubbles, no issues, took me about 1.5 hours altogether to install it all, that is including time waiting for my assistant.

Finally the big moment arrives. Start engine with trans in neutral and clutch pedal pressed. I should feel the clutch boost apply after a few seconds. Sure enough the pressure builds. I notice the clutch is now very light. Probably that corroded master was why the clutch was heavier before.

Short drive, wildly pump clutch, return and check for leaks. There’s none, done!

Something Amiss – Clutch Master Cylinder

Week long family trip to the San Juans and Squamish area of B.C. Mountain bikes on the back, dog, the full deal.

BJ60 just a mile or so north of the US border. Almost Back into the States from mighty British Columbia! Everything great after a week of driving.

Got to drive it on genuine B.C. logging roads, comfortable cruising the whole way there and back. Stop to see Steve at EBI, he has a used rear hatch I can use instead of the rusted one I’m using today. I also picked up a set of glow plugs since they’re difficult to source here in the states.

Anyway, the thing did great for the whole trip. Then coming off the freeway near our house the wife says: “hey, it won’t shift into first?” She pumps the clutch and it shifts ok…

Next day I notice the clutch engagement is near the floor, and the day after I can’t shift. Dang, a genuine problem with my truck.

In the case of my 1984 BJ60 the clutch pedal connects to a master cylinder which converts pedal motion into brake fluid pressure and movement through hydraulic lines. The lines terminate at a slave master cylinder that converts the hydraulic pressure back into mechanical motion which actually moves the clutch arm. Turns out mine is a little strange, it has a clutch brake booster that provides vacuum assist to the clutch master cylinder to reduce pressure needed to engage the clutch. That means an additional line into the clutch master cylinder, and makes my particular model fairly rare and expensive.

FWIW, the leak is between the clutch master and the booster. According to Steve at EBI this is a common place for them to start leaking.

Adding Brake Fluid to the Clutch Master Cyliner

I get out the FSM and follow the bleeding instructions. Draining out airbubbles and brake fluid with pedal presses from my trusty partner. First I notice how nasty, pure black the brake fluid is:

Blackest brake fluid I’ve ever seen. Supposed to be the color of honey. No doubt the rubber seals are toast.

Here is the clutch master cylinder, its attached to the clutch booster. I’ve managed to source a replacement from Steve at EBI.

Clutch Master Cylinder for BJ60 with Clutch Booster.

Wider view of engine showing clutch master cylinder from the other side of the motor.

Clutch master cylinder and booster for 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ60. The master cylinder is the thing with the plastic reservoir sticking up, it bolts to the booster (the metal tank looking thing). The booster bolts to the rear of the engine bay and the piston that goes to the clutch pedal goes into the back of the booster.

Steve from EBI has mailed me a set of replacements, both the clutch master and slave. Once they arrive I’ll source hoses that fit the new units. Also I’ll need to clean out the booster and repaint the metal under the leak.

Plethora of Land Cruisers at EBI

Stopped by EBI on way back from Canadia to buy a less rusty rear hatch. Quite the variety of land cruisers in the lot. Enjoy.

This guy was really rusty. Love the bumper.

Sweet winch, eh?

 

Diesel Nissan Safari

Sweet HJ61V

Late HJ60V (turbo, high roof) – that’s the stock front bumper.

HJ61V, stock decals

 

And what is this? A sweet turbo BJ60 with what looks to be a less rusty replacement rear hatch!

 

I mentioned to Steve that the front sway bar had made a world of difference. He said that was unusual, that usually they made no difference at all. Perhaps my shocks are shot?

 

 

FJ60 Island Car – Rear Sway Bar Mounts

San Juans’ salt air is notorious for dissolving vehicles. This one is an island car parked at the ferry.

I took photos of its rear sway bar mounts, something I don’t have on my frame. Now I’m not sure they’re necessary, love the new handling, but still figured its interesting.

Look at that rust! This thing will be a goner soon… I left a note in case he wants to sell me his seats but no reply. 😦

FJ60 Rear Sway Bar Mount.

 

FJ60 Rear Sway Bar