Should I remove valve cover and oil heads after bike sitting 15 years?

[86FJNJ]

86 FJ1200 sat for 15+ years. I'm going through it now, aside from putting some oil in the cylinders should I remove the valve cover and pour some assembly lube or oil onto the heads?

How can I check that the oil pump is working properly, should I remove the supply line for the oil cooler and see if it shoots out oil?

What other things should I do or check before trying to turn the engine over? (I just got the bike so was told "it should run" but I want to proceed with caution.

[Pat Conlon]

You very well might have frozen piston rings (rings stuck to the cylinder wall) Under NO circumstances use the starter, you will break things. Remove the plugs. Squirt some penetrating oil in the cylinders. Let sit overnight. Squirt some more. Remove left side ignition cover and with a 14mm socket wrench, slowly and carefully rotate the crank counterclockwise. Carefully is the key word here. If you get resistance, back up and rotate clockwise, just a bit. Go back and forth, slowly and carefully.
Cams....yes your cam lobes are dry. You will need a new valve cover gasket and valve bolt grommets so open up the top end and oil the cams, or grease them with break in lube if you have it.
Lower end: Drop the oil pan. Clean the oil screen on the oil pump.
Carbs...drain any old fuel, box them up and send them to Robert at RPM in Oakdale, Calif. You will be happy you did....
Cheers
Pat

[86FJNJ]

You very well might have frozen piston rings (rings stuck to the cylinder wall) Under NO circumstances use the starter, you will break things. Remove the plugs. Squirt some penetrating oil in the cylinders. Let sit overnight. Squirt some more. Remove left side ignition cover and with a 14mm socket wrench, slowly and carefully rotate the crank counterclockwise. Carefully is the key word here. If you get resistance, back up and rotate clockwise, just a bit. Go back and forth, slowly and carefully.
Cams....yes your cam lobes are dry. You will need a new valve cover gasket and valve bolt grommets so open up the top end and oil the cams, or grease them with break in lube if you have it.
Lower end: Drop the oil pan. Clean the oil screen on the oil pump.
Carbs...drain any old fuel, box them up and send them to Robert at RPM in Oakdale, Calif. You will be happy you did....
Cheers
Pat

Unfortunately that ship sailed before I bought it the guy who had it put it in 5th and pushed it to confirm engine was not seized. But your advice is good I will remove valve cover and oil top end thank you. I'm mechanically minded and have worked on bikes before but not on this level so I ordered the maintenance manual and will take my time.

[Pat Conlon]

Ok, plan on new valve cover gasket with grommets for the valve cover bolts and an oil pan gasket. You can drop the pan with the engine in the frame.
All available from RPM

[86FJNJ]

Will do thanks!

[Millietant]

Don't worry about the oil pump, I've never heard of a failure in 38 years of riding and owning FJ's.

Blocked carb passageways and jets will your biggest issue and possible rust inside the petrol tank, but also check each carb slide diaphragm for pin-holes. Personally, I'd do what Pat says, fit a new oil filter, check that the air filter is clean and put new plugs in. Then I'd go through the hydraulics - brakes and clutch - clean everything (remove corrosion) and off necessary put new seals and pistons in, with fresh fluid. Also put in fresh pads and maybe fit braided stainless hoses.
Then of course, you'll need fresh tyres and all of the other normal recommissioning tasks will need to completed, before you take it for a shakedown ride.

[86FJNJ]

Thank you, I pulled the valve cover last night and put assembly lube on the cams and chain, they were all bone dry. I've had oil in the cylinders for a few days (with plugs out) and hooked battery up and she turned over and shot oil out of the cylinders so I think we're one step closer to getting her running. The top end looked really clean (to me) and the oil that is in the bike looks nearly brand new so I think the person that had it likely serviced it before storing it. But I will drain the oil and pull oil pan as suggested. Haven't taken carbs off yet although I'm temped to put some gas in them and just see if she fires up. The tank is completely rusted inside I put vinegar in it and a lot of it came out but I still have more work to do to clean out the tank before I can reseal it. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to plug the holes for the gas cap, fuel sensor and petcock for when I reseal it?

[Pat Conlon]

Yea, you gotta get the petcock and float assembly out for rust removal and sealing. I cut a cardboard template then transferred it to some 1/8" sheet aluminum, used my dremel and zip zip.....added some sheet gasket material for the seal, used the oem screws to fasten the plate/gasket sandwich to the bottom. I left the cap open for the electrolysis rust removal (many good utube videos) then used duct tape for sealing process.
 Por 15 system (cleaner/neutralizer/sealant) been my past favorite (Do not use Kreem) although today there are many very good systems now on the market.

Here's a tip I learned from David Raforth (carb guru)
 When you seal the tank and slosh around the sealer getting into all the nooks and crannies, you are going to have excess sealer left over you can't get out of the tank due to the splash tube at the gas cap opening.... You don't want this excess sealant pooling at the bottom of the tank possibly interfering with the petcock and float sender...so after everything is coated, turn the tank upside down and tilt the tank nose down so the excess sealant dries at the forward corner on the top inner surface of the tank.

Cheers

[86FJNJ]

great advice thank you!