1991 FJ80 Overheated, no start (1 Viewer)

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FJ80 overheated on the highway. Temp gauge shot up, white smoke everywhere out of the engine compartment, check engine light came on all in the span of a few seconds.

Pulled over, coolant everywhere. Let it all cool off, kept the fan going to dump heat. Went to top off the radiator after everything cooled off, and it just whistled and dumped the coolant on the ground. Whatever happened to it, the radiator seems to have failed big, and fast.

The cruiser wouldn't start though (I had to try). I'd say if I'm lucky it's gonna be a new headgasket, fan clutch, water pump, radiator at least. There could be head and cylinder damage of course but...

How screwed is this rig? Is there a path back from this kind of overheating?
 
FJ80 overheated on the highway. Temp gauge shot up, white smoke everywhere out of the engine compartment, check engine light came on all in the span of a few seconds.

Pulled over, coolant everywhere. Let it all cool off, kept the fan going to dump heat. Went to top off the radiator after everything cooled off, and it just whistled and dumped the coolant on the ground. Whatever happened to it, the radiator seems to have failed big, and fast.

The cruiser wouldn't start though (I had to try). I'd say if I'm lucky it's gonna be a new headgasket, fan clutch, water pump, radiator at least. There could be head and cylinder damage of course but...

How screwed is this rig? Is there a path back from this kind of overheating?
The fact that thee was white smoke everywhere, it's a minimum of a HG. Could be a cracked head.

@Marco Lau any thoughts on your 3F-E experience?
 
Do a compression test and go from there. What was the culprit of overheating? Cracked radiator?
 
If the cooling system (pump, hoses, radiator) overheated and BLEW UP, it can certainly cause a lot of steam/smoke. BTDT! Clean it up. Do a compression test. If OK, then replace the damaged goods. Fan and fan clutch should be OKK unless physically damaged.
 
FJ80 overheated on the highway. Temp gauge shot up, white smoke everywhere out of the engine compartment, check engine light came on all in the span of a few seconds.

Pulled over, coolant everywhere. Let it all cool off, kept the fan going to dump heat. Went to top off the radiator after everything cooled off, and it just whistled and dumped the coolant on the ground. Whatever happened to it, the radiator seems to have failed big, and fast.

The cruiser wouldn't start though (I had to try). I'd say if I'm lucky it's gonna be a new headgasket, fan clutch, water pump, radiator at least. There could be head and cylinder damage of course but...

How screwed is this rig? Is there a path back from this kind of overheating?

The path back for that 91 if it's rust free and the rest of the truck is in good working order is an ls swap.
 
If you need a replacement engine and dont want to spend the coin, just buy a used 3F-E for a few hundred bucks and be done with.....unless you wanna go V8, like Leonard_nemoy mentioned about, LS swap, but prepare to spend $$$$
 
Sweet, thanks for the guide! I'd love to do an LS swap, but I'm not sure I have the garage for that.
But buying another 3FE donor...that solution could work for me
 
If the cooling system (pump, hoses, radiator) overheated and BLEW UP, it can certainly cause a lot of steam/smoke. BTDT! Clean it up. Do a compression test. If OK, then replace the damaged goods. Fan and fan clutch should be OKK unless physically damaged.
What if the compression test is bad? I'm going to be doing it in a few days. Does that just mean full engine rebuild?
 
What if the compression test is bad? I'm going to be doing it in a few days. Does that just mean full engine rebuild?
It really depends on how bad the warpage of the head/block is. Luckily it's cast iron so unless it got really hot you might get away with just a headgasket. If it's warped to hell and gone you could probably pick up a decent long block for cheap. It's a tractor motor, don't overthink it.
 
What if the compression test is bad? I'm going to be doing it in a few days. Does that just mean full engine rebuild?
I would lay odds that there's no head gasket issue. White smoke is steam from the coolant as it escapes rapidly from the 29 year old radiator under pressure and heat.
Certainly do a compression test first, but be prepared to replace the damaged/old radiator/hoses/belts/whatever and drive on for the next 20 years.
BTDT...
 

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