Hello friends! This may be a really rookie question.... I have an 62 that we had the engine rebuilt, head was cracked but it was welded and tested. Turned out that weld didn't hold as it should... long story short about $20k into engine work, tires, lifts, etc. and bull s*** mechanics (Wits End) taking deposits and not delivering.... I am super close to just cutting my losses and selling it with the seized engine. My last hail mary is there a crate or other engine besides a 3FE that I can put in the thing? I cant afford a diesel conversion. What are my options?
62 crate or other options engine?
- Thread starter fj62brokeagain
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yikes. get it away from that mechanic, welding a cracked head is silly when you could pretty easily source a head that wasn't cracked. Just put it on a tow truck and bring it to your house and re-configure what you're doing.
So, do you want help spending another 30 grand? Get an e-rod LS3 for 30k with ECU and cats, and find someone to drop that in (there are posts on here describing it) and you'll have a hell of a rig. 430HP and it's CA legal, reliable, etc.
But, my honest advice on what I would do:
20k is a crap ton of money. To me, someone vulnerable to sunk cost fallacy... I would drop a used 3FE that I know runs into it. There are land cruisers with 3FEs all over the place rolling around with 200-300k on the motors and they are just fine. Buying a motor with 200-300k on it, a running one, is not going to cost you that much money, and frankly you could drop one of these into your truck yourself for about $500 in engine, $150 in engine hoist, and $60 worth of tools. This is one of the easiest things I've ever worked on, you've got infinite space to work, they leak oil so none of the bolts are seized, and nothing is that complicated, plus you've got this resource here to explain anything you could imagine and get real time tech support from.
Keep your current motor (seized? like won't spin? what happened) and all the accessories as spares.
So, do you want help spending another 30 grand? Get an e-rod LS3 for 30k with ECU and cats, and find someone to drop that in (there are posts on here describing it) and you'll have a hell of a rig. 430HP and it's CA legal, reliable, etc.
But, my honest advice on what I would do:
20k is a crap ton of money. To me, someone vulnerable to sunk cost fallacy... I would drop a used 3FE that I know runs into it. There are land cruisers with 3FEs all over the place rolling around with 200-300k on the motors and they are just fine. Buying a motor with 200-300k on it, a running one, is not going to cost you that much money, and frankly you could drop one of these into your truck yourself for about $500 in engine, $150 in engine hoist, and $60 worth of tools. This is one of the easiest things I've ever worked on, you've got infinite space to work, they leak oil so none of the bolts are seized, and nothing is that complicated, plus you've got this resource here to explain anything you could imagine and get real time tech support from.
Keep your current motor (seized? like won't spin? what happened) and all the accessories as spares.
As Mark said, getting another, used 3FE is your best bet. Other option, the one I went with, is to get a rebuilt engine from Classic Cruisers in CO. It took some time but my engine is top notch. Maybe give them a call to see if they have any cores in good shape? They are relatively close to you and you could do a weekend round trip maybe?
Cheers, James
Welding (stitching) a cracked cylinder head does work usually. I had one done for a friend and it held up forever and there’s a few members here that have had a crack repaired by stitch welding and the repair is still holding up.
Maybe your crackef cylinder head was beyond repair or the guy who did it didnt do a great job.
Maybe your crackef cylinder head was beyond repair or the guy who did it didnt do a great job.
Is this the same Wits End in Oregon that closed down or another outfit with the same name but with issues (talk about running a name into the ground).
Godwin is on the money - I wouldn’t hesitate to get parts from cruisermatt and it should remedy your issue and be the most cost effective, if that’s what you want…
One of the more accessible reman routes is Manafre: Rebuilt Early Model 3FE Long Block Engine for 1987-1992 Toyota Land Cruisers - Landcruiser Parts - https://manafrelv.com/product/rebuilt-3fe-engine/
Around me, the machine shops that'll touch a 3FE are dwindling.
Around me, the machine shops that'll touch a 3FE are dwindling.
Where in Oregon are you? If you never plan on living in California, you could just put a used GM LS Based v8 in there and call it a day. The only reason to go crate would to be to pass CA CARB, but if you have to do DEQ in the portland area, having cats on an LS is sufficient to pass. Youd actually probably be emitting less than the 3fe haha
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Same Wits End. Joey Romero. Just sad and dirty how he takes advantage of the community.
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- #11
But let me be fair… he did not do the original rebuild w/weld.
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I am in southern Oregon but would never… ever… ever… voluntarily move to CA! Not sure how any of you CA’s do it! Sooooo expensive!
