Where are you located. I have a running 2F for sale.
2F engine rebuild?
- Thread starter gregnash
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- #22
Located in Carson City, NV... Madera is a ways for me but I haven't even picked up a cruiser yet... Still working on that part.
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- #23
So finally got a chance to give the guy a call tonight about the cruiser.
He said that it doesn't necessarily need a rebuild, the engine/drivetrain runs just fine but it feels, to him, that it is getting a bit long in the tooth. Basically, how he described it was that it just doesn't quite have the oomph that his other cruiser with 130k does. There is nothing physically wrong with the engine it just is showing its age.
This is a good thing as he has been very honest with me about this stuff and really does seem to love the cruiser. He said it was his daily driver for a number of years until he got his '91 FJ80. Before that the originally owner did not take very good care of it as he was a naval officer and really just did the minimum maintenance wise. Since he got the 80 he has been using it as a backup vehicle and occasionally taking it out for grocery runs and the occasional trail run.
To me this sounds perfect as it does not need a whole lot of work and is already running well. Guess it would be a good cruiser for me to "cut my teeth" on with the engine being in good condition but just showing its age at 202K (which is funny because the others I have test driven has had over 250K and felt fine.
He did say that the last time he put it into 4HI he did notice that the transfer case kicks it out. So he believes that the transmember is going out and needs to be replaced. He had tried to diagnose it thinking that there was something wrong with the fluid levels or other such things but everything seemed fine. After talking to another cruiserhead they came to the conclusion that the transmember was the issue. He did say that it was a pretty cheap and relatively easy thing to replace.
So with that said I am going to try to get out there to take a look at the cruiser but that will not happen until sometime next month due to our weekends being packed.
This leads me to the questions...
- What does it take to replace that transmember item to keep the tcase from kicking it out of 4hi occasionally
- What can I do to bring some life back to the engine (remember I said what can I DO, me being a newb and all)...
He said that it doesn't necessarily need a rebuild, the engine/drivetrain runs just fine but it feels, to him, that it is getting a bit long in the tooth. Basically, how he described it was that it just doesn't quite have the oomph that his other cruiser with 130k does. There is nothing physically wrong with the engine it just is showing its age.
This is a good thing as he has been very honest with me about this stuff and really does seem to love the cruiser. He said it was his daily driver for a number of years until he got his '91 FJ80. Before that the originally owner did not take very good care of it as he was a naval officer and really just did the minimum maintenance wise. Since he got the 80 he has been using it as a backup vehicle and occasionally taking it out for grocery runs and the occasional trail run.
To me this sounds perfect as it does not need a whole lot of work and is already running well. Guess it would be a good cruiser for me to "cut my teeth" on with the engine being in good condition but just showing its age at 202K (which is funny because the others I have test driven has had over 250K and felt fine.
He did say that the last time he put it into 4HI he did notice that the transfer case kicks it out. So he believes that the transmember is going out and needs to be replaced. He had tried to diagnose it thinking that there was something wrong with the fluid levels or other such things but everything seemed fine. After talking to another cruiserhead they came to the conclusion that the transmember was the issue. He did say that it was a pretty cheap and relatively easy thing to replace.
So with that said I am going to try to get out there to take a look at the cruiser but that will not happen until sometime next month due to our weekends being packed.
This leads me to the questions...
- What does it take to replace that transmember item to keep the tcase from kicking it out of 4hi occasionally
- What can I do to bring some life back to the engine (remember I said what can I DO, me being a newb and all)...
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
So the motor runs. That's a major plus. It may only need a carb rebuild or a head re-fresh to be back to full power. Check the compression. That will tell you a lot.
The t-case coming out of gear likely means it needs to be rebuilt. That is not a hard job. The cross member itself will not go bad. It's just a piece of steel. The motor mounts can be worn or broken contributing to it popping out of gear.
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- #25
Ok that is good to know and yes it definitely does run he said. As long as it runs well, even without a lot of power, I will mostly be using it only occasionally during the summer which would give me the time to do the "refresh" on the engine.
I am think that I would probably want to:
- redo all vacuum lines
- redo pulley setup that is in place of the smog pump
- rebuild the carburator
- do timing
- replace head gasket
- replace exhaust manifold gasket
From there it would really depend on if I experience the slipping that he is talking about. I do remember reading about another mudder having the same issue and it was due to something getting in the way that was not allowing the tcase to fully shift into the 4hi position. Could this be the case here as well? If not, what all would be entailed in rebuilding the tranny/tcase (I know that if I split them that they will both have to be rebuilt).
For the compression test, can I rent a compression tester from somewhere like Autozone or O'Reiley's? Right now he has the water pump and radiator pulled from the engine so not something that we could do right now (water pump went to the other 60 while his stepson was using it as a backup).
Again, I am trying to figure out what I am getting myself into beforehand so that I am fully prepared as I am pretty sure that I am going to pick up his cruiser.
I am think that I would probably want to:
- redo all vacuum lines
- redo pulley setup that is in place of the smog pump
- rebuild the carburator
- do timing
- replace head gasket
- replace exhaust manifold gasket
From there it would really depend on if I experience the slipping that he is talking about. I do remember reading about another mudder having the same issue and it was due to something getting in the way that was not allowing the tcase to fully shift into the 4hi position. Could this be the case here as well? If not, what all would be entailed in rebuilding the tranny/tcase (I know that if I split them that they will both have to be rebuilt).
For the compression test, can I rent a compression tester from somewhere like Autozone or O'Reiley's? Right now he has the water pump and radiator pulled from the engine so not something that we could do right now (water pump went to the other 60 while his stepson was using it as a backup).
Again, I am trying to figure out what I am getting myself into beforehand so that I am fully prepared as I am pretty sure that I am going to pick up his cruiser.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
I would not do anything to it, or anticipate what you will do to it, until you know what the problems are.
No radiator and water pump? It's not a drivable truck. It's a parts truck. With all the unknowns, consider looking for another truck, unless this one is really really cheap.
Based on this info, I would go into it assuming it needs a new motor and a transfer case rebuild and make an offer with that in mind. Not worth $1000 to me.
Remember, this is a non-operable truck. You can't drive it. Offer what the good parts in it are worth. There are lots of running/driving trucks out there, you don't need to buy this one.
No radiator and water pump? It's not a drivable truck. It's a parts truck. With all the unknowns, consider looking for another truck, unless this one is really really cheap.
Based on this info, I would go into it assuming it needs a new motor and a transfer case rebuild and make an offer with that in mind. Not worth $1000 to me.
Remember, this is a non-operable truck. You can't drive it. Offer what the good parts in it are worth. There are lots of running/driving trucks out there, you don't need to buy this one.
Well, before planning to do a HG, carb rebuild, etc... see how it runs. It may need very little! Maybe just a valve adjustment, some vac lines and plugs/wires. Hopefully, a decent waterpump is going in it and some nice fresh belts since he just pulled them out.
My 4Low has been popping out occasionally for some time now and I just noticed one of my motor mounts is looking pretty rough.. maybe thats why? hmmmm
My 4Low has been popping out occasionally for some time now and I just noticed one of my motor mounts is looking pretty rough.. maybe thats why? hmmmm
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- #29
He has multiple trucks and the since this was a "backup" vehicle he did not plan to be using it anytime in the near future. Since he had one 60 sitting there that he was not using he pulled the waterpump when the other needed a new one. The radiator was pulled because, as I said earlier, he has a 3FE that he was going to drop in this one instead of working on the "tired" 2F. Since he had other projects that he was working on at the same time he just has not gotten around to it in the last few months. He did say that if I wanted to come out and drive it to let him know a week or so ahead of time and he would have a water pump and the radiator put back into it so that it is a running truck. He knows what I am looking for and assured me that it is a "running" truck, or at least would be with a little work on his end.
- Thread starter
- #30
Ok so how hard is it to rebuild the tranny should that be the case with the tcase kicking out 4HI? I know that I will have to rebuild both the tranny and tcase if I rebuild one but wondering if this is something I can do or should I just take to a shop to take care of.
Perspective... I bought a running fj60 in las vegas 3 years ago and brought it back to the midwest where I drove it three weeks and tore it down to the frame. I have done most of the work myself but the motor rebuild I hired a local rebuild machine guy with 40 years experience. My total bill for the motor was 4k. That was for a complete rebuild. I put the motor back in myself and slowly will have the TBI done and it's a done deal. If you get as deep as I did think about worst case and you will reach it. I'm almost 20k deep with the new 5 speed rebuilding every last thing I can myself and well making some fin improvements. Good Luck
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- #32
Yeah I am well aware that I am going to end up putting just as much money into this as I would purchasing a new car. But like my mtn bike, this will be MY CRUISER and will be built for ME...
Whatever cruiser I end up getting I plan to do the following (eventually):
- 2.5" lift
- new wheels/tires
- replace front seats
- lockers
- sliders
- front/rear bumpers
- roof rack
- refresh interior
- 5spd swap
- diesel swap
In the end that will all probably end up being more than what we paid for the Highlander but then again I dont plan on ever getting ride of the vehicle.
Whatever cruiser I end up getting I plan to do the following (eventually):
- 2.5" lift
- new wheels/tires
- replace front seats
- lockers
- sliders
- front/rear bumpers
- roof rack
- refresh interior
- 5spd swap
- diesel swap
In the end that will all probably end up being more than what we paid for the Highlander but then again I dont plan on ever getting ride of the vehicle.
Sound exactly like what I did, 5spd and all, with about the same amount of $ into it...
Even thought I have experience with rebuilding engines, I decided to have a pro do it since the end cost was only about $500 more than had I done it myself, and that was easily worth it for someone's experience and expertise. Btw, I had the guy who builds MAFs HiPo motors build mine to custom specs, so I could still run regular gas.
You should do the diesel and 5 speed swap first if you're gonna put money into an engine and powertrain. That way you're putting money and time into an engine/powertrain you want. Maybe do a 6bt/nv4500/np205 combo. Rather than put 5k plus into building an engine/drivetrain you don't really want and are just gonna ditch later.
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- #35
Yeah I would rather put the money into a Toyota Diesel with the 5spd but at ~$2500 for the tranny then another $8k for the diesel that aint going to be happening soon. If anything I would swap the tranny first then do the diesel down the road as I would already have the tranny in and broken in.
Again, the extent of work that needs to be done to the engine/drivetrain is not completely known yet and with the crap we have going on I am not going to be able to make it out for a month to see the cruiser. At that point I will have a better idea. But the research/analyst that I am I am trying to plan accordingly for the possibilities of what may come should I pick this one up.
Again, the extent of work that needs to be done to the engine/drivetrain is not completely known yet and with the crap we have going on I am not going to be able to make it out for a month to see the cruiser. At that point I will have a better idea. But the research/analyst that I am I am trying to plan accordingly for the possibilities of what may come should I pick this one up.
I can definitely respect keeping everything Toyota. But my budget really only allows junk yard picking and I really don't want to try and find parts in the middle of nowhere for a 20 plus y/o Canadian diesel.
But if you're gonna go that route wouldn't it be a lot easier and possibly cheaper to find or import a bj60 or hj60 and just restore that?
But if your just looking for a beater/hunting/camping/fishing/hauling the dogs around truck a stock 60 with a 2f in running shape is plenty.
Unless the 60 your looking at is %200 totally rust free and everything else besides the engine/drivetrain is in pristine shape I would walk away @ that price.
But if you're gonna go that route wouldn't it be a lot easier and possibly cheaper to find or import a bj60 or hj60 and just restore that?
But if your just looking for a beater/hunting/camping/fishing/hauling the dogs around truck a stock 60 with a 2f in running shape is plenty.
Unless the 60 your looking at is %200 totally rust free and everything else besides the engine/drivetrain is in pristine shape I would walk away @ that price.
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Your cruiser story sounds similar to mine and I also have other hobbies that owning a cruiser makes easier.
If u buy a beater do the stuff you were talking about in your previous posts except the head gasket and cut the a/c belt and that's basically what I did to mind and I'm pretty happy with a beater fj60 that has a 2f with 224k miles.
If u buy a beater do the stuff you were talking about in your previous posts except the head gasket and cut the a/c belt and that's basically what I did to mind and I'm pretty happy with a beater fj60 that has a 2f with 224k miles.
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- #38
Not necessarily looking for a beater but something that I can slowly restore as a fun vehicle/dog hauler and all the good stuff.
Would I be able to take a 2F motor out without pulling out the transmission? 1984 FJ60 Land Cruiser
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Yes, no problem to do that on any 81-newer Cruiser.