Thoughts on potential HG jobs for non-expert mechanics like me! (1 Viewer)

First, I’d like to thank all those mudders who loaned their time and thoughts on my problems relating to the HG repair. I take full ownership for the issues resulting from not following the offered advice, and am humbled by the patience of the forum members in lieu of that.

This is for those non-expert mechanics who are considering doing an HG job, whether for PM or from failure, or know their 1FZ-FE hasn’t had it done yet.

As TurboCruiser stated, I do believe he is right in that ALL of these HGs are actively failing, and it is just a matter of time.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=82261&highlight=actively+failing

I spent quite a bit of time and effort, as did those members helping, trying to find route causes to issues which were simply a result of the HG failure. I believe this is an area known for failure, and knowing that, I should have been more open to the tests recommended by members (compression, bubble, leak-down, oil analysis, etc.). In hind sight, here are my recommendations:

For those who don’t have one, GET A MUD MEMBERSHIP! I had let mine expire, and tried to justify it to myself that I was spending enough time and money trying to fix all the little whats-its, that I didn’t renew. Of course, that didn’t keep me from using the vast amount of knowledge, resources, and kindness of the forum. I finally realized that without this forum, I’d be lost in the water, and its upkeep isn’t free. Thank you IH8MUD!

Get the Factory Service Manual! 100 bones may seem expensive, and for some it is, but relying on everyone else to foot that bill to give you their knowledge and advice is taking advantage. I am guilty of that once again, figuring I could put that 100 bucks toward another part. Fact is, you get to learn your own truck inside and out, and the long-term savings on your time, and everyone else’s time, pays for itself.

Get an oil analysis kit from Blackstone. They’re free, come in just under two weeks, and you can have it on-hand for when you suspect a problem. Just take the sample, and send it in. Only then do you have to pay for it, and it’s only about $23.

www.blackstone-labs.com/tests_price_list.html

If your HG is original, it is going to go out. If you’re not going to unload the truck, get Doug’s DVD now, and have it ready, even if you plan on someone else doing it. I was in a time pinch, and as luck would have it, Doug was on vacation. I tried to find my own shortcuts, against the advice of others, and it cost me more time doing it over again than I saved.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=69055

If I could start over again, I would do things different. I would not do the shortcuts I did. Beno (Onur) suggested taking the top half of the intake off, and I thought I’d save time by just leaving it there. The removal was fairly easy, but putting the head back like that (with the top half intake manifold still on) was a PITA. I ended up breaking three sensors trying to do it my way, and if I hadn’t gotten them fixed with soldering and JB weld, they would have cost me over $200, with a discount! Next time, the manifold is coming apart!

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=108497&highlight=knock+sensor
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=125106&highlight=knock+sensor

DO NOT come up with extra little steps not outlined in FSM or the DVD that you think are better than those who have done this before, like adding oil to the head before you’ve put the head bolts in! I believe this was the main cause of my problem, and many people spent time helping me solve my mistake. Thank you all.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=167701

Doing this twice in a week taught me so much about this truck. You don’t have to be an expert mechanic to do this, you just have to have the right tools, instructions, patience, and either good analytical skills, a photographic memory, or a good camera!

I will do it again if I need to, even though I don’t think I will have to anytime soon. One good thing is that now I’m not afraid to tear big things down to make a small cramped job easier. Saves more time and skin that way!

Thanks again to all who helped and showed concern and support. Hopefully I can be of help to someone else in return.

-Eddie

Well done and good advice. I'll keep this handy when I take the plunge!

Good job writing this. Humble pie is the hardest to swallow, and you did it well.

I will keep this in mind when I do my HG this winter.

mason said:

If I could start over again, I would do things different. I would not do the shortcuts I did. Beno (Onur) suggested taking the top half of the intake off, and I thought I’d save time by just leaving it there. The removal was fairly easy, but putting it back like that was a PITA. I ended up breaking three sensors trying to do it my way, and if I hadn’t gotten them fixed with soldering and JB weld, they would have cost me over $200, with a discount!

-Eddie

Click to expand...

I hope I didn't mislead you by suggesting this.

The way the wiring harness comes up through the center of the bottom portion of the manifold is knarly. I really couldn't think of a better way to deal with that issue and still get a good clean of the carbon build up inside of the manifold.

It is a PITA getting it back together (considering it's a PITA finding all the bolts to get the top half off), I agree.

Good suggestions for a first timer. Good work and I am happy that things came together for you....

Cheers.
-onur

beno said:

I hope I didn't mislead you by suggesting this.

Click to expand...

Hey Beno.

The way I read it was that he did not take off the top half of the intake as you recommended, and regrets not doing so because it was much harder to get the intake back onto the head as a unit and he broke a couple of sensors as a result. Is that right Mason??


Rookie2

beno said:

I hope I didn't mislead you by suggesting this.

The way the wiring harness comes up through the center of the bottom portion of the manifold is knarly. I really couldn't think of a better way to deal with that issue and still get a good clean of the carbon build up inside of the manifold.

It is a PITA getting it back together (considering it's a PITA finding all the bolts to get the top half off), I agree.

Good suggestions for a first timer. Good work and I am happy that things came together for you....

Cheers.
-onur

Click to expand...

I made a clarification. I wish I had followed your suggestion. Instead of taking it apart and cleaning it afterwards, I just left it there. My hands are shredded from trying to get the bolts back in. Being stubborn, I just kept at it. Would have saved me skin and time just taking that top half off, and my sensors wouldn't have gotten busted in the process.

Thanks for the extra help early on, also. It was extremely useful. My FSM didn't come until I was done with the first round!

-Eddie

Great write up Mason! I'm getting everything ready for my HG replacement this fall and I'll take your advice to heart. Did your Cruiser exhibit classic symptoms of HG failure or was it a P/M job? Also would you have considered yourself a mechanic or better? I would consider myself a mech. and I hope it's enough to complete the HG job. Hope all stays well with you and your Cruiser.

TK

mason said:

I made a clarification. I wish I had followed your suggestion. Instead of taking it apart and cleaning it afterwards, I just left it there. My hands are shredded from trying to get the bolts back in. Being stubborn, I just kept at it. Would have saved me skin and time just taking that top half off, and my sensors wouldn't have gotten busted in the process.

Thanks for the extra help early on, also. It was extremely useful. My FSM didn't come until I was done with the first round!

-Eddie

Click to expand...

No worries Eddie. I was just worried that something I told you to do ended up causing you more harm and grief than you already had bean dealing with.

Great thoughts. I have added this to the linked thread in the FAQ.

Great follow up thread. This place has saved me countless hours, and thousands of dollars over the years. Something up with your driveshaft - search Mud and spent 15 minutes reading until you find exactly what someone else did. It's truly an amazing use of the internet. Atop that you get to meet some great people here.

Anyhow, nice attitude throughout, good detective work and congrats. I haven't found the thread where you got it back together but I'll take a look - sounds like things are OK??

Regards,

DougM

Dan, Mars,
Thanks!

Rookie2,
You beat me to it!

TK,
This wasn't a PM job, and even though there's many threads of doing this as PM, I think I would plan on doing it now if I were going to keep any 1FZ-FE. Given the perfect time, place and resources, this isn't a bad job.

I didn't have any external leaks, and I constantly looked for them. But I've also read that's the smaller percentage of the failures. I didn't have any exhaust smoke either. I had been loosing coolant, and my radiator kept building an air pocket in it. Using only the stock unmodified temp gauge, it never showed hot. Did a bubble test, and I was convinced I had to go in.

As far as mechanic goes, I've done some really minor stuff on personal cars and motorcycles. Never had the tools to go in deeper. I'm the guy who as a kid put models together without reading the directions, and who couldn't wait until the gule dried before moving on!

Onur,
Next time I'm heading up to Albuquerque, I'll buy you a brew!

Romer,
Thanks for that consideration. It's an honor.

Doug,
She's buttoned up! No bubbles! But, I had an oil level light come on, and traced it to having broken the wires coming into the plug, which I did when changing out the knock sensor I broke when trying to follow my own method of doing the intake removal!

-Eddie

Good job Mason,

I'll guess this is a several week endeavor assuming just have a couple hours at night and weekends?

Mine is starting to show signs. I ordered a scangauge for the CEL and a blackstone kit for the oil, luckily it is not my daily driver and I can fix at my convenience.

I think this would be a great learning experience. But I will watch the DVD before attempting.