Hi all,
I'll start by saying I've never owned an 80. I currently daily a 97 4R, and have been into Jeeps primarily before now. I was driving home and spotted a green 94 fjz for sale on the side of the road, so of course I went to have a look. It's listed for $1000 with a "blown engine", and after some detective work I was able to track the owner down to have a chat. It seems that it MAY just be the head gasket that has failed because it seems that the only issue is oil in the coolant. Full disclosure, he's an over the road trucker so I haven't gotten to listen to the truck run yet, but before I do I'd be interested in some input from those that know more than me.
Truck stats:
1994
260,000 miles (ish)
Triple locked
The rust situation is extremely good for it being a salt country truck...rockers, frame rails, doors all great. There's a blister under the rear window, but that seems to be somewhat common.
Interior condition is decent, but absolutely shows wear
Suspension and tires seem to be okay, but that's nitpicky even if it ran well.
My questions to you guys are :
How laborous is a head gasket replacement on a 1fzfe?
How laborious is an engine swap, and how easy is it to find a suitable replacement - this would be if the pistons were melted or there was a severe knock or something
Is there anything besides engine failure that can cause oil to get in the coolant....this is both a general and FJ80 specific question. I know there are some instances in jeeps, but it's almost always a bad headgasket and/or a warped head.
Is there anything else that I should look for during an inspection that I may not have thought of? My primary concerns are always rust, engine health, and transmission health but those are applicable to damn near every vehicle.
Any additional input for a newbie would be rad.
The attached pic is the truck in question.
Thanks in advance
I'll start by saying I've never owned an 80. I currently daily a 97 4R, and have been into Jeeps primarily before now. I was driving home and spotted a green 94 fjz for sale on the side of the road, so of course I went to have a look. It's listed for $1000 with a "blown engine", and after some detective work I was able to track the owner down to have a chat. It seems that it MAY just be the head gasket that has failed because it seems that the only issue is oil in the coolant. Full disclosure, he's an over the road trucker so I haven't gotten to listen to the truck run yet, but before I do I'd be interested in some input from those that know more than me.
Truck stats:
1994
260,000 miles (ish)
Triple locked
The rust situation is extremely good for it being a salt country truck...rockers, frame rails, doors all great. There's a blister under the rear window, but that seems to be somewhat common.
Interior condition is decent, but absolutely shows wear
Suspension and tires seem to be okay, but that's nitpicky even if it ran well.
My questions to you guys are :
How laborous is a head gasket replacement on a 1fzfe?
How laborious is an engine swap, and how easy is it to find a suitable replacement - this would be if the pistons were melted or there was a severe knock or something
Is there anything besides engine failure that can cause oil to get in the coolant....this is both a general and FJ80 specific question. I know there are some instances in jeeps, but it's almost always a bad headgasket and/or a warped head.
Is there anything else that I should look for during an inspection that I may not have thought of? My primary concerns are always rust, engine health, and transmission health but those are applicable to damn near every vehicle.
Any additional input for a newbie would be rad.
The attached pic is the truck in question.
Thanks in advance