First off, I'm so sorry. This was all bottled up inside and I think you guys are the only ones that will understand ...
I own a 1988 FJ62 for about 15 years. I love the thing so much. Moved to Colorado from Florida and began to question the truck. It's unstoppable, but a DOG in the hills. It's borderline dangerous, but no matter what, I can never bring myself to part with it.
It failed emissions here and sat in the garage a few months with limited driving until I found someone that would even look at it (issues were the general emissions fail and a major crankshaft seal leak - about 10 import and Toyo garages turned me away) I brought it to the current shop because it was recommended by the emissions tech. They have an old Toyota mechanic there with 40 years of experience and he has an affinity for the Land Cruisers. What they found first was cylinder 5 was working at 30lbs. The rest were between 100 and 120lbs. They felt strongly that this is what was making it run rich (that was the emissions problem). Head gasket and valves were fine as they had rather recent work. I have to check and see if they looked at the exhaust valves. If you hold a cloth over the piston it looks like it is in a hurricane. They said a full rebuild (sleeving the cylinder or other spot fixes were things they didn't agree with - "throwing good money after bad") . Now this ...
This would be the whole deal (engine kit, gasket kit, .20 pistons, oil pump, fuel pump, surface head, surface block, bore/hone). Their estimate came in at nearly 11k! I understand the value of a mechanic that has an appreciation for the vehicle and a long track record, but $6500 of it was labor and another $1700 was for subletting, which I imagine is the machinist. Reputable cruiser restoration places in the area said it looked fair and they would charge more. Speed shops say it looks suspect, but never get back to me with quotes of their own. I was sort of stunned as I take great care of it and it only has 156k, but I guess 32 years is a long time for something to be in service.
Other than that I have a full gamut of leaks that all sort of sprung at the same time. Fixed a handful, but what remained were the crankshaft seal, speedometer gear o-ring, transfer case gaskets (in and out), transmission pan gasket, and rear main. The crankshaft was the only one that required oil replacement all the others were minor enough that I could just keep an eye on the levels.
Rear main and crankshaft would be part of the rebuild, but the others bring the cost to around 13k for a leak free rig with a rebuilt motor.
So I have a few questions for seasoned owners and mechanics (shade tree or pro):
Is a full rebuild really in order now? Am I taking it in the rear if I go with them considering I would never take this on myself at this point in my life?
For people that have paid for rebuilds (the people that DIY just s*** too many egg rolls to think straight for a moment) was it worth it to find someone that really knew what they were doing? Did you find mechanics at a speed shop that don't understand these trucks and ended up having more problems for the lower price tag? Is this engine just so simple that someone that simply tinkers on small engines and whatnot could actually do a lot of the work?
Is there anyone in the greater Denver area that knows of another shop that could even look at this?
Did someone else get the same work done at a better price and are satisfied with the outcome?
Are my guys going straight for the throat and hoping I bite or does this work make sense at this point?
If you're someone that put your head through the wall when you saw that estimate, would you find someone cheaper or is there a more acute approach to fixing my problem?
Would a rebuilt engine help make it a more acceptable vehicle on steep inclines at highway speeds?
Does anyone know the longevity of the engine following a rebuild? I should keep this thing, right?
The plan was to make it a daily driver again (was my dd about half of the years I owned it) since I can't bear to part with it, don't want to be a 3-car household, and can work from home 3 days a week. I would fix the leaks, do the interior, and possibly look at the H55 upgrade to see if it made trips into the mountains at least manageable, but now this rebuild came out of nowhere and put a damper on other plans
I own a 1988 FJ62 for about 15 years. I love the thing so much. Moved to Colorado from Florida and began to question the truck. It's unstoppable, but a DOG in the hills. It's borderline dangerous, but no matter what, I can never bring myself to part with it.
It failed emissions here and sat in the garage a few months with limited driving until I found someone that would even look at it (issues were the general emissions fail and a major crankshaft seal leak - about 10 import and Toyo garages turned me away) I brought it to the current shop because it was recommended by the emissions tech. They have an old Toyota mechanic there with 40 years of experience and he has an affinity for the Land Cruisers. What they found first was cylinder 5 was working at 30lbs. The rest were between 100 and 120lbs. They felt strongly that this is what was making it run rich (that was the emissions problem). Head gasket and valves were fine as they had rather recent work. I have to check and see if they looked at the exhaust valves. If you hold a cloth over the piston it looks like it is in a hurricane. They said a full rebuild (sleeving the cylinder or other spot fixes were things they didn't agree with - "throwing good money after bad") . Now this ...
This would be the whole deal (engine kit, gasket kit, .20 pistons, oil pump, fuel pump, surface head, surface block, bore/hone). Their estimate came in at nearly 11k! I understand the value of a mechanic that has an appreciation for the vehicle and a long track record, but $6500 of it was labor and another $1700 was for subletting, which I imagine is the machinist. Reputable cruiser restoration places in the area said it looked fair and they would charge more. Speed shops say it looks suspect, but never get back to me with quotes of their own. I was sort of stunned as I take great care of it and it only has 156k, but I guess 32 years is a long time for something to be in service.
Other than that I have a full gamut of leaks that all sort of sprung at the same time. Fixed a handful, but what remained were the crankshaft seal, speedometer gear o-ring, transfer case gaskets (in and out), transmission pan gasket, and rear main. The crankshaft was the only one that required oil replacement all the others were minor enough that I could just keep an eye on the levels.
Rear main and crankshaft would be part of the rebuild, but the others bring the cost to around 13k for a leak free rig with a rebuilt motor.
So I have a few questions for seasoned owners and mechanics (shade tree or pro):
Is a full rebuild really in order now? Am I taking it in the rear if I go with them considering I would never take this on myself at this point in my life?
For people that have paid for rebuilds (the people that DIY just s*** too many egg rolls to think straight for a moment) was it worth it to find someone that really knew what they were doing? Did you find mechanics at a speed shop that don't understand these trucks and ended up having more problems for the lower price tag? Is this engine just so simple that someone that simply tinkers on small engines and whatnot could actually do a lot of the work?
Is there anyone in the greater Denver area that knows of another shop that could even look at this?
Did someone else get the same work done at a better price and are satisfied with the outcome?
Are my guys going straight for the throat and hoping I bite or does this work make sense at this point?
If you're someone that put your head through the wall when you saw that estimate, would you find someone cheaper or is there a more acute approach to fixing my problem?
Would a rebuilt engine help make it a more acceptable vehicle on steep inclines at highway speeds?
Does anyone know the longevity of the engine following a rebuild? I should keep this thing, right?
The plan was to make it a daily driver again (was my dd about half of the years I owned it) since I can't bear to part with it, don't want to be a 3-car household, and can work from home 3 days a week. I would fix the leaks, do the interior, and possibly look at the H55 upgrade to see if it made trips into the mountains at least manageable, but now this rebuild came out of nowhere and put a damper on other plans
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