97 3x Locked - Restoration & Build

[NKP Garage]

Solid videos Bak. What are you recording with?

Thanks bud! Just my phone. Up until 5 months ago it was a Google Pixel 5, and then switched to a Google Pixel 6. I'm not a pro at this stuff by any means, just working with what I have.

 

[FMC80]

Thanks bud! Just my phone. Up until 5 months ago it was a Google Pixel 5, and then switched to a Google Pixel 6. I'm not a pro at this stuff by any means, just working with what I have.

Well, it looks clear from my end which is appreciated. You decide to do the HG for SnGs?

 

[NKP Garage]

Well, it looks clear from my end which is appreciated. You decide to do the HG for SnGs?

Yesterday I was 90% sure I was going to leave the headgasket alone. Tonight I found a little bit of gunk in one of the holes on the top side of the head. Doesn't look terrible in person, look worse in the photo. But that is making me want to pull the head and just get things more cleaned up. All the tests so far show that the HG is fine. Leakdown test was good, compression numbers were all good. No oil in the coolant. No coolant in the oil. No exhaust gasses in the coolant. And the timing chain guides do not look original, so they have been changed at some point in the trucks life.

Here's the gunk in that hole. I wonder what this hole is for. The one at the front of the head is totally clear. The one at the back of the head has some gunk in it.

 

[FMC80]

Yesterday I was 90% sure I was going to leave the headgasket alone. Tonight I found a little bit of gunk in one of the holes on the top side of the head. Doesn't look terrible in person, look worse in the photo. But that is making me want to pull the head and just get things more cleaned up. All the tests so far show that the HG is fine. Leakdown test was good, compression numbers were all good. No oil in the coolant. No coolant in the oil. No exhaust gasses in the coolant. And the timing chain guides do not look original, so they have been changed at some point in the trucks life.

Here's the gunk in that hole. I wonder what this hole is for. The one at the front of the head is totally clear. The one at the back of the head has some gunk in it.


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My holes had gunk in them too (so to speak). It looked exactly like yours and I didn't think anything else of it. I too have ZERO indication of HG failure. Maybe someone else can chime in, but I think what we're seeing here is normal operation.

 

[Deen HK]

Super neat videos, I plan to restore mine this summer and will definitely be referencing back to your work.

 

[NKP Garage]

My holes had gunk in them too (so to speak). It looked exactly like yours and I didn't think anything else of it. I too have ZERO indication of HG failure. Maybe someone else can chime in, but I think what we're seeing here is normal operation.

I've heard that from others the last couple days, too. Cleaned it out today and it's totally fine. That was a relief !

 

[NKP Garage]

Super neat videos, I plan to restore mine this summer and will definitely be referencing back to your work.

Thanks! It's been a fun adventure...

 

[NKP Garage]

Did a thorough leak down test on all 6 cylinders. Here's the full video, it's a good reference to watch if you want to learn how to do a leakdown test on your Land Cruiser. Looks like the exhaust valves on cylinder 2 and 4 need some attention. Tested 2 and 4 twice and each time the leakdown number was different slightly. My guess is carbon buildup or some gunk on the valve seat. I am hoping that the valve seat is still firmly in place. I will be scoping it next and will try to get all the scope footage on video to share with you guys.

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[SaturnAscends]

Did a thorough leak down test on all 6 cylinders. Here's the full video. Looks like the exhaust valves on cylinder 2 and 4 need some attention.

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Huh, I didn’t think the 1fz had the issue of burning out valves like the old F engines, guess it can still happen though; hopefully yours aren’t burnt

 

[NKP Garage]

Huh, I didn’t think the 1fz had the issue of burning out valves like the old F engines, guess it can still happen though; hopefully yours aren’t burnt

I will be checking them with a scope tomorrow to see what the valves look like. My guess is that a combination of a clogged PXV system, wide open EGR, and running rich has probably got the exhaust valves gibked up. I'll try and capture all the scoping video on video to share.

 

[NKP Garage]

So I went ahead and used my scope to take a look inside each of the cylinders, check the condition of the piston tops, and then also check the back of each of the exhaust valves.

If you guys have a few minutes to look at the scope footage, I would love to hear opinions and thoughts of the group on whether to pull this thing apart or to keep moving forward. My initial reaction so far is to clean up the back of the exhaust valves and exhaust ports manually and run the leakdown test again. But I would love to hear feedback from folks with more experience in servicing high milage 1FZFE motors.

Here is the video
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[NKP Garage]

Okay, so I cleaned up a bit of the carbon on the backs of the exhaust valves in the two cylinders that were not sealing perfectly on the exhaust valves. They seal up great now and all leakdown numbers for all 6 cylinders are around 5-9% which is great !!

BUT..... now that I'm in here this far, I kind of want to just pull the head and create more unnecessary work for myself. So I guess the little devil on my shoulder is telling me I need to pull the head and do more cleaning. UGH.... I just ordered up a bunch more parts and I guess I'll be pulling the head in the next day or two.

 

[NKP Garage]

And here is the update video for those that are following along:

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[NKP Garage]

Updated my spreadsheet of parts purchased with more items:

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[FMC80]

I fully support you going deeper into the engine…and I think you already knew that you were going to take the head off well before many of these videos, you just needed the excuse to do it hahahahah.

Great vids Bak and great seeing your kid involved too.

 

[NKP Garage]

I fully support you going deeper into the engine…and I think you already knew that you were going to take the head off well before many of these videos, you just needed the excuse to do it hahahahah.

Great vids Bak and great seeing your kid involved too.

I think you're probably right. I was really trying to avoid pulling the head. But all that gunk really has me wanting to get things cleaner even though the HG is fine. I can't stand to see that all there and just bolt things back on.

My 9yr old always wants to tinker along with whatever I am doing. Hanging out with the kids is the best part of any of these projects.

 

[SNLC]

You're not the only guy.

I think they look appropriate for the vintage of truck. I am not a fan of a new school looking bumper on an old truck.

That said, I am running SLEE on mine.

Cheers

 

[SoCal80series]

I think they look appropriate for the vintage of truck. I am not a fan of a new school looking bumper on an old truck.

That said, I am running SLEE on mine.

Cheers

While they are not my flavor I do like that there are different options. It helps so all are 80s don't look cookie cutter. If I lived somewhere where I could run into deer or elk I would be more inclined to use something like the ARB. I don't so I, too, use the Slee Shortbus.

 

[NKP Garage]

Parts keep showing up every few days. New leather OEM shift boot for the H/N/L tcase shifter just showed up today. Been a couple weeks since I ordered that one.

I will do a video in a few days to review all the parts I have ordered and what has shown up so far.

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[NKP Garage]

Making slow progress as I get time. Should have the head off later today. Trying to keep all the parts as organized as possible.

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