Remember my Land Cruiser question? Rough engle idle?
 

Finally had some time to fuss with it tonight. Getting the plugs out was a real b**ch. Who the fuch design all the crap on top of the motor? Geezus. What ever happened to pulling out the boot and install a new set of wires like they had back when I was a kid? I was on my belly right on top of the motor for the last of the three plugs. I found lots of oil on the threads of the #4 plug. A little green water (Oh siht) on the tip of the #5 plug. A little oil on the thread of the #6 plug. I know you guys here know a whole heck of a lot about engines. I am ready for my head gasket to blow, anytime now. Am I right? It has over 200k miles and it has serviced me well and had taken me all over N America many times. I am wondering if its worth putting in a new head gasket with that kind of mileage? My toyota wrench told me once if I get the top end rebuild, it will go 350k without issues. The bottom end is that tough? A mid 2000 Chevy Tahoe or GM 4wheel drive might be in the works. What do you guys think?

Jeff

Anyone have a guess what something like that might cost?

DIY shouldn't be too bad....unless the head warped.

I have done that twice in my youth. I just don't have the time with wife and kids. Not that I even want to anymore. Believe me Mike, it cross my mind many time since I walked into the house.

A manz gotta do what hez gotta do...within reason. My guess...Valve job, gaskets, fluids, miscellaneous crap.....1500-2000.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1328081575.jpg

I don't recall your thread, but I'll guess from your description you have a 93-97 FZJ80. The 1FZ motor (93-97) is known for HG failure. There's plenty of help here, 80-Series Tech

Between cyls 5&6 seems to be the common point of HG failure. The rest of the motor is relatively bullet proof. One of my brothers got over 300K before he got rid of it, another in the family is rolling right along with more mile than that. Neither HG had (has) been changed. If you are tearing it down, it might be wise to change the chain tensioner pads/guides. Some do, some don't.

+1 on IH8mud. All you need to know am much more.

Larry

I might be able to help, I'll send you a PM.

The head gasket is supposed to keep coolant and oil out of the combustion chamber. Your head gasket ALREADY blew.... it just hasn't manifested into an overheating symptom, yet.

Someone will fix it. If you go into a dealership, Mike's guess will prove very, very low. An independent may initially bid it around there. It really depends on how deep you want to get with the "along as we're in there...." stuff.

It's not rocket science, and I think you should have it fixed by a good independent that won't lie to you. If you plan to keep it, have it done right. Contacting Denis is a good start.

IMHO, the bottom ends are bulletproof unless the HG issues go unchecked and start washing down cylinders/bearings, or overheating things. Half million miles is nothing if you catch the HG issue early, which it sounds like you did.

TLC/Icon is in Van Nuys (on Oxnard, close to Sepulveda). They're the Landcruiser experts.

The home of the $80k LC. That's probably not his smartest option. :cool:

The way I see it if my car has done more than 100k miles, it owes me nothing. And I likely would sell it. Of course if you are attached to it , then u might want to put time and $$$ into it . I am not that sentimental and have no beaters around our yard. Each one to their own:)

Yes, if you have a 1969 Porsche 911S with 103K miles and the head studs fail, you should just call the local scrap yard to come pick it up

That is not a fair comparison!

Still, ANY decision like that is simply economic. If you can get X for the car as-is, or Y for the car fixed, then don't spend more than Y-X to fix the car unless you plan to keep it a long time or have emotional investment. True for any 911. True for any Camry. True for any car (Landcruisers too).

Jeff I really want to know what u end up doing. I have total admiration for those who spend hours and $$$ on fixing their cars. I dont have that kind of patience and talent to work on cars(any kind!!). I am interested in your rationale. Good luck with your endeavours. There is certainly lots of talent to draw on in this forum:)

Try these guys in Canoga Park... K&H Imports Land Cruiser Specialists

Do some reading on ih8mud, I think you're talking maybe $500 in parts and one weekend of work for the average DIY mechanic. This is EXTENSIVELY documented in the FAQ and via search on ih8mud, as it is about the only common failure of the FJZ80. A decent condition FZJ80 even with 200k miles is easily worth $5k, so don't consider this to be the end of your truck. Fix it, do some PM while it's apart, then drive it another 200k. Cruiser Dan at American Toyota is a great resource, all you need to tell him is year of LC and your issue and he can recommend every part that you'll need to replace it.

Coming from a Land Cruiser, you won't be happy with a mid-2000s Tahoe. Unless you really don't care about quality.

Oh yeah, I know about those guys.

I have some dealing with C Dan before. Good guy.

Is it really that much difference in quality?