BJ71 resurrection

[Kgraham]

hey everyone

Today I got a couple hours to pick away at the cruiser. It’s been parked for years after the transmission bearings went on it and I just never got time to get it sorted out.

Drained the diesel out of it today and vacuumed out all the disgusting stuff the mice had left behind over the years. It’s in pretty rough shape, but I can’t wait to hear this thing fire up again!

1156A834-0F75-4AB1-A587-53343F1C4FA3

• Kgraham
• Dec 23, 2018

CAB2E249-18C7-4D11-B919-76CB5296A840

• Kgraham
• Dec 23, 2018

4FCB7124-7568-449D-96F8-A0145291B1BC

• Kgraham
• Dec 23, 2018

F7B38517-7F70-4659-A3DF-E2F5A9E700AE

• Kgraham
• Dec 23, 2018

 

[Kgraham]

Does anyone have any advice on starting up an old diesel that’s been sitting a long time? I’ve drained the old fuel from the tank, purged the fuel lines and replaced the fuel filter, then pumped fresh diesel in with the priming pump. Haven’t tried starting yet, as I’ll have to pull a couple batteries from other vehicles to kick it over. Anything else I should do before giving it a try?

 

[Higgy]

Does anyone have any advice on starting up an old diesel that’s been sitting a long time? I’ve drained the old fuel from the tank, purged the fuel lines and replaced the fuel filter, then pumped fresh diesel in with the priming pump. Haven’t tried starting yet, as I’ll have to pull a couple batteries from other vehicles to kick it over. Anything else I should do before giving it a try?

Just make sure the engine oil is ok and topped up.. And make sure it does spin over freely before starting .. Just get a socket and cracker bar on the crank pulley Nut/ Bolt.. and make sure she turns over ok.. Id give it a couple of tries on the key ..(short bursts just to get the oil moving) ... Then stick 'Ya' fingers in 'ya' Ears, stand back. And give it a whirl. Also do the obvious clear the Rats and Mice out..

 

[Ben Stratford]

I would change the oil filter and oil first even though it will be cold and probably viscous.
Is there a cam belt to check out if its cracked or perished first? Clean out the air filter.
Best of luck

 

[Jake the Peg]

I'm with @Higgy and @Ben, would probably check all the intake pipes back to the manifold if you've had mice in the car, and make a few turns of the engine to get some oil around the cylinder head and camshaft before trying to proper start

 

[Kgraham]

All good points! Thanks gents! Hadn’t occurred to me to check the intake manifold for mice, so thank you for that. As for the timing belt, I have the 13BT engine, so I believe it runs on a timing gear. Does that sound right to you guys, or am I missing something?

 

[Kgraham]

It lives!


Fired up the BJ71 for the first time in over 4 years on Christmas Eve. So stoked!