Blown engine on '96 FJ80 advice? (1 Viewer)

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Apr 24, 2020
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Location
Washington, DC
First time posting a question to forum: I have owned a '96 fj80 for 5 years In DC area. Maintained it well, and invested in upgrades; regular maintenance at vintage Landcruiser specialist or dealer. Dealer replaced sparkplugs, new distributor, transmission fluid last week. Took it on the road and at around 280 miles of highway driving between 55 and 70 mph, the engine started to get progressively louder, with a butterfly sound on acceleration that grew to a rattle. Within 2-3 miles-- driving between 25-50 mph -- just as I was pulling over, it made a terrible rattling sound. Had it towed to a New Jersey dealer within 1/2 mile. Dealer called and said the engine is broken, maybe a "thrown rod". Should I sell as is? Or try to diagnose the problem? Dealer where I had it serviced said I could have it shipped to them but they are over 100 miles and I even though they said they warranty the work, I wonder if they'll own up to a mistake.
 
Maybe a thrown rod???? Ether it is or it isn't. Thrown rods in my experiences have been patently obvious. Usually a fist sized hole in the side of the block.
Seems like a spun bearing ether rod, or crank. Thats what mine did anyway.
I say LS swap!
 
Sounds like a failed rod bearing. Time for rebuild, sell, or swap. I'm in the exact same boat, my motor kicked the bucket about a week ago. I'm finding a quality rebuild with mostly OEM parts and a little bit of "while you're in there" is going to cost a lot. My tally is up to about $8k and I'm still working through the punch list.

Not related to the recent work you got done at the dealership, just bad luck, IMO. :(
 
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Do you live close to the dealer that did the work??
Did you have the oil and filter changed when there last?
Have you checked the oil level in the engine?

I'd have it towed back to the dealer that last touched it.
 
Do you live close to the dealer that did the work??
Did you have the oil and filter changed when there last?
Have you checked the oil level in the engine?

I'd have it towed back to the dealer that last touched it.
I live close to the dealer but th ecar isn't cose to me. Yes the oil was changed. All the fluid levels were fine and looked fine. And no warning lights at all.
 
Sounds like a failed rod bearing. Time for rebuild, sell, or swap. I'm in the exact same boat, my motor kicked the bucket about a week ago. I'm finding a quality rebuild with mostly OEM parts and a little bit of "while you're in there" is going to cost a lot. My tally is up to about $8k and I'm still working through the punch list.

Not related to the recent work you got done at the dealership, just bad luck, IMO. :(
Thanks.
 
First time posting a question to forum: I have owned a '96 fj80 for 5 years In DC area. Maintained it well, and invested in upgrades; regular maintenance at vintage Landcruiser specialist or dealer. Dealer replaced sparkplugs, new distributor, transmission fluid last week. Took it on the road and at around 280 miles of highway driving between 55 and 70 mph, the engine started to get progressively louder, with a butterfly sound on acceleration that grew to a rattle. Within 2-3 miles-- driving between 25-50 mph -- just as I was pulling over, it made a terrible rattling sound. Had it towed to a New Jersey dealer within 1/2 mile. Dealer called and said the engine is broken, maybe a "thrown rod". Should I sell as is? Or try to diagnose the problem? Dealer where I had it serviced said I could have it shipped to them but they are over 100 miles and I even though they said they warranty the work, I wonder if they'll own up to a mistake.
Not sure what you mean by own up to the mistake. Based the work that was done it’s pretty basic stuff that would not cause an engine to fail. That type is stuff is an easy money maker for them to. Also did they replace the entire distributor or just cap?

How many miles on rig?
 
I live close to the dealer but th ecar isn't cose to me. Yes the oil was changed. All the fluid levels were fine and looked fine. And no warning lights at all.
Depending on what filter the dealer installed, THEY may be able to get warranty money for the failure.

If it's a WIX oil filter (Or NAPA Gold) they are known failures on THIS engine.

Yes, you NEED to send it to the shop that did the work on it. It is worth the cost to have that done.
 
Also IMHO better that no one touch the engine (take things apart) before you take it back to the original shop. I wouldn't even mention that you had someone else look at it, then either shop might point fingers at the other. You don't want to add that to the equation.
 
Agree with sending it to the shop. As @MickeyB stated, the work listed had nothing to do with the failure unless... as @BILT4ME stated, the oil filter failed but again, that is not the shop. So, pending the review by the first shop, how much do you love the truck and how much do you want to spend?

@Heckraiser is right, the while you are in there stuff and engine rebuild will easily cost you 8K with you doing much of the work. I rebuilt mine about 7 years ago (post: Engine pull and rebuild, final thoughts… - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/engine-pull-and-rebuild-final-thoughts.886406/#post-9984807 ) and was into it for 5k then. I should have done more but time and money were not my friends. If it were to go down that road today, I think I would do the LS swap. Parts for these rigs are becoming scarce and the engine, while very reliable, is difficult to work on and finding people that know how to work on it is even more difficult. Every shade tree mechanic in the US knows how to work on the LS. Even with all of its flaws, there is a lot to be said for swapping it over.

Read through my thread and the links to the other threads I have listed in it, they should give you a good idea of what is in it for a rebuild. If you do it yourself, I will bet a swap will be somewhere in the same neighborhood as a good and detailed engine rebuild.
 
Another vote to take it back to the place that originally worked on it. You trusted them the first time, so trust them again.

Best case, your exhaust manifold has let loose, and the 2nd place is hoping to make a killing on it. I won't venture into worst case,...

Let us know what you find out. It's worth the tow expense.
 
8 years in AND NOT A SPANNER on the engine........
Go LS you'll never reret it.

LS.jpg
 
Sounds like a failed rod bearing. Time for rebuild, sell, or swap. I'm in the exact same boat, my motor kicked the bucket about a week ago. I'm finding a quality rebuild with mostly OEM parts and a little bit of "while you're in there" is going to cost a lot. My tally is up to about $8k and I'm still working through the punch list.

Not related to the recent work you got done at the dealership, just bad luck, IMO. :(
Why not buy a used engine? I’d think that’d be a lot cheaper
 
Still have not seen how many miles on the rig.

Did not see anything about an oil change and new filter. So not sure how that could be an issue.

Also what other preventive maintenance and work has been done. As noted above there is small chance they messed something up. However, if it’s anything serious and expensive good luck proving it and getting them to cover it.
 
Another vote to take it back to the place that originally worked on it. You trusted them the first time, so trust them again.

Best case, your exhaust manifold has let loose, and the 2nd place is hoping to make a killing on it. I won't venture into worst case,...

Let us know what you find out. It's worth the tow expense.
I would actually argue the second place is not actually wanting to work on it. Majority of these trucks are old and have high miles. Most places I have talked to did not want to do any major work on them because of the age and getting parts or they gave outrageous estimates to make me go away.
 
Not sure what you mean by own up to the mistake. Based the work that was done it’s pretty basic stuff that would not cause an engine to fail. That type is stuff is an easy money maker for them to. Also did they replace the entire distributor or just cap?

How many miles on rig?
same thing just happened to me at 106k miles…pissed
 

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