1997 Lx 450 Head Gasket Issue

[tim_teasly]

I am new the the ownership of an lx450, I had two LC sold out from underneath me. I previously owned a 1994 4runner that had head gasket issues. The whole aluminum head and steel block issue has pissed me off wth Toyota. I do not think that the head gasket issue is aviodable. Now I have the lx450 and am hearing about the HG issues I am little concerned. Has any one determined what the preventive maintenance is to avoiding this with the inline 6 (If Any)? I have 84,000 on the LX and I know what to look for and detect with the driveablity,and everything seems to fine now. I am not so concerned if it happens because this vehicle is heads above the 4runner, and I would fix it and drive it till it wont go any more. I am just trying to stay ahead of the game. I hate to say it but I use to drive a Chevy Z71 with 5.7 Liter and never had trouble with the engine(steel heads with Steel Block). I think Toyota needs to address this. I know there have been several post on this but things are learned every day, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RavenTai]

Has any one determined what the preventive maintenance is to avoiding this with the inline 6 (If Any)? .................... I know there have been several post on this but things are learned every day, any help would be greatly appreciated.

As you are aware this has been beat to death, several current active threads going right now, there is nothing new.

So far the only proven effective preventative maintenance is a preemptive headgasket replacement using the redesigned Toyota gasket.

I would recommend you either do the coolant temperate mod (in the FAQ) to let you know of any overheating, “as issued” the gauge is not responsive the changes in temperature until you are overheating. Overheating can lead to an early HG failure but does not appear to be a requirement for HG failure, in other word a severely or repeatedly overheated head will lead to HG failure but it can also fail without overheating.

 

[Beowulf]

I think Toyota needs to address this.

Toyota addressed this by redesigning the HG (we think...) but, unfortunately for those of us that own FZJ80s, none were originally built with the improved HG.

-B-

 

[Boston Mangler]

How much does the "Dealer" charge to install a HG as PM and not because of failure. Anyone have this done at a dealer? Costs? Ballpark?

 

[tim_teasly]

This is a great site, good to know you have people who are passionate. I will take the Head Gasket journey and see what happens.

Hey Boston Mangler, if I am reading this correctly you are in San Diego? Do you know of a good authorized Toyota Dealer in the area?

Thanks to all, I look forward to the experience on this site.

 

[RavenTai]

The work is the same weather it is blown or not, only possible difference is the head and/or block are less likely to need machine work in a preemptive. Your dealer will be quite confused when you go in asking for a preemptive. Paying someone to do the preemptive changes the "math", makes it possibly less worth it to you depending on your funds and needs.

Why not do it yourself? The tools required are cheaper than the labor to have someone else do it.

I think I would take a drive to Robbie if I was going to pay someone to work on my truck. AFAIK he has done many more 1FZ heads than anyone else by a wide margin..

 

[MoJ]

How much does the "Dealer" charge to install a HG as PM and not because of failure. Anyone have this done at a dealer? Costs? Ballpark?

iirc, C-Dan suggested ballpark $2k in another thread.

 

[Boston Mangler]

This is a great site, good to know you have people who are passionate. I will take the Head Gasket journey and see what happens.

Hey Boston Mangler, if I am reading this correctly you are in San Diego? Do you know of a good authorized Toyota Dealer in the area?

Thanks to all, I look forward to the experience on this site.

Hey Tim

Welcome, the few times i had to bring the rig to the dealer, i have had Great luck with Mossy Toyota in pacific beach. Very impressive for a dealership and the work was done well!

 

[DTAYLOR]

FWIW,

The work is the same unless it overheats, (which many do if it blows). I'm in the middle of a HG ordeal on my 80 right now. Don't know the cost in SoCal, but a guy in Houston told me $1,400 is what he spent with head work. I've heard amounts up to $2,000. I'm sure it depends on what all parts you replace and if the head needs work.

Here's my HG story: "he stands and addresses the group" "hello, my name is Dan and I am a cruiser addict" group respnds "hello Dan".

Yesterday it started fine but ran a tad rough. I have a 3.3 mile ride to the office, and it was no worse when I got there. An immediate look under the hood revealed two tale tell HG signs. 1. girgling of water in the overflow bottle. 2. A slight milky film on the inside of the oil filler cap. I was in denial at first, but a quip etrip into group therapy made the truth too real to ignore. Thanks to you who make me feel understood, loved, thank you so much.

With this being a sudden onset issue, I would highly recommend doing the HG as a preventive measure, rather than chancing a blow out and overheat. A damaged head is easy enough to shave, but impossible if it gets too hot, not to mention the cost.

When I began my research yesterday I was looking for some one else to do it, now I have gotten over being so bummed out about it and have decided to do it myself, having done various head gasket jobs on Honda racers and engine swaps on same.

I have 225K, so I'm planning on replacing many things while I have it all apart. Hoses, thermostadt, water pump, all the stuff that is difficult to get to that has 225,000 miles on it. I expect to spend around $500-$750, depending on the cost of machine work on the head. Mine never got hot in the 7 miles I drove it with a bad HG, but at this milage a bath, shave and grind will make this rig run a lot better. I was getting 15mpg before, may improve a tad with this work.

Depending on post HG job oil consumption, I may even invest in a blower.
(fun city) I'll let you know about the final parts list and dificulty level overall after I get it back together and am sarisfied I did it right.



I'll have a complete list this afternoon of parts I'm replacing at the same tiem I have the head off.

 

[rgsiii]

How much does the "Dealer" charge to install a HG as PM and not because of failure. Anyone have this done at a dealer? Costs? Ballpark?

Mine was about $1,300 including the parts I got from CDan.

 

[78crzr]

How much does the "Dealer" charge to install a HG as PM and not because of failure. Anyone have this done at a dealer? Costs? Ballpark?

FWIW, Fred Haas Toyota in Houston quoted me $1475.00 to replace it.

 

[Rich]

At 225K miles, wouldn't you want to rebuild the engine? Especially so considering you want to invest money in a supercharger.

 

[MoJ]

At 225K miles, wouldn't you want to rebuild the engine? Especially so considering you want to invest money in a supercharger.

I was thinking the same thing - If the rumored design life is truely 300k. I guess though at 15k miles a year it would take you 5 years to hit 300k --- that could be an arguement for not spending another $X thousand to rebuild.


EDIT: Just another data point - Stopped by the local dealer today. Quoted $1210 LABOR for HG replacement (no parts).

 

[ecbranson]

Dealer Cost for HG

I havn't had the HG done on my 96 with 92,000 but it shows some seepage and scalar deposits on the left side of the cylinder head. I don't have time to do this so I called Mark Miller toyota in SLC and they wanted about $1K. Sounds like a bargain to me.

 

[MoJ]

I havn't had the HG done on my 96 with 92,000 but it shows some seepage and scalar deposits on the left side of the cylinder head. .

Area above the oil filter?

 

[elmariachi]

Insert smart-a$$ comment in horse-beaten-to-death thread here:

Did I miss an Orson Wells broadcast (the Headgaskets are blowing right now in 30 cities all across the US.) Maybe we should change the name of this forum to IH8HGS.COM.

And don't get me started on comparing my Land Cruiser to a POS Chevy Z71.

 

[Elijah]

Insert smart-a$$ comment in horse-beaten-to-death thread here:

Did I miss an Orson Wells broadcast (the Headgaskets are blowing right now in 30 cities all across the US.) Maybe we should change the name of this forum to IH8HGS.COM.

And don't get me started on comparing my Land Cruiser to a POS Chevy Z71.

LOL

 

[roncruiser]

Got the HG replaced on my 94 last year in August. Around $2000 at Mossy Toyota.
If you would like, I can dig out the receipt and list parts and labor.

 

[Romer]

I wouldn't run out and get the headgasket done with that many miles. I did mine as PM because I wanted to do some other stuff and I had an "opportunity" to use the best mechanic while he was available. Good timing because he is now driving across the country as part of the Toyota FJ Cruiser Team.