Builds '97 FZJ-80 Build - Mouse (2 Viewers)

[Fourt7]

Here's the latest. I've sourced an used engine with a good history. No accidents, dealer maintained, etc. so this head gasket exchange just became and engine exchange.

I'm planning to put all the parts I bought from cruiser Dan on this new engine. I'll do the HG on it and front and rear main oil deals while it's out. Once I get all the new parts on it I'll install it.

In the mean time I've stripped everything off the block in preparation for removal. Only thing left is the crossmember support and the suspension bracket.

I'll wait to actually pull it until I've got the new one ready for install. Hope to do the exchange in a day.

 

[Fourt7]

Drive shafts and front axle suspension support removed. Just the cross member transmission support before engine removal. So anxious to start putting things back together.

 

[1973Guppie]

that's a great plan, make sure you do as many of the seals etc as possible on the transplant engine before you put it in.....

 

[Fourt7]

my opinion is that these trucks have great engines and are built to last, I am not a fan of the v8 conversions, if done right they are great but many times you are opening up a can of worms that could take a LONG time to finalize. Figure out if that bottom end is bad or not, if it is good, just put it together with a good used machined head and drive the **** out of it.

There are also a ton of things you can do while you have the head out. Take a look at my 80 build thread for all the seals, etc you should replace.

I've sourced a rebuilt head for a good price. I think I'm going to take your advice and put it back together after I inspect the bottom end.

 

[Fourt7]

Never mind, to good to be true. The company has it listed on their site but when I called they said "they haven't had one of those heads in years". Back to the plan...replace the engine.

 

[Fourt7]

A small amount of progress today. Murf hooked me up with a guy who does injectors. I called him as I was in Phoenix today for spring training baseball. The dude came to the game and picked them up for me and had them done by the time the game was over. Talk about service!! He even let me in the shop and showed me my injectors on his machine and explained all that he had done and what all of it meant. The injectors look great and had a great report. Finally some good news.

 

[Fourt7]

Okay lots of progress today. I know I said I had the engine basically ready to pull but that wasn't the case. I had to get all the wiring pulled, the rear drive shaft pulled, pull the shifters, lower the trans, remove the exhaust, and pull the mounting bolts. Short of one stripped bolt on the trans cross member it's now officially ready to pull. All of that done today.

Additionally I decided to pull the oil pans to inspect things before I really commit to an engine exchange. The oil remaining in the bottom was really chocolaty and thick. There were lots of metal shavings and a lot of broken pieces of what looked like old oil seals.

When I pulled the number 1 oil pan I had a heck of a time getting it off the engine and out. Now the question is what am I inspecting?

 

[Fourt7]

Here's the valves from the head.
1

2

3

4

5

6

 

[Fourt7]

have you looked closely at the head, any major problems with the valves on #3?

I finally posted the pictures of the valves.

 

[Fourt7]

before you do the above though, pull the oil pan and rotate the engine with the starter and / or by hand to ensure everything smoothly rolls over.

I'm at this point. What am I looking for? I know it had a very slight knock before I started all of this. How can I identify the source?

Also is it possible to replace can shaft bearings while it's still in? What about the bearings on the Pistons?

Pretty cool seeing the Pistons from above and below.

 

[Fourt7]

so I looked at your #'s on page 1 and it looks like you did do a dry and wet test, looks like the #'s were low on #3 and #5. If it were me and I could identify problems with the valves on #3 and #5 I would assume and take an educated guess that the issues are arising from these valves not the bottom of the engine. If it were me and I could identify valve issues with 3 and 5 cylinders I would take the risk to clean up the bottom engine and have a a good used head rebuild and slap it in with a new headgasket.

That's my take on it, hope that helps. I may be way off and hopefully others that are smarter than me will chime in with their opinions. Post some pics of the valves, would be interested to see.

good luck, Noah

As far as I can tell there are no issues with the valves. The majority of the warp on my head is at number 3 then back to number 5. I'm guessing that's really why I had so little compression.

 

[inkpot]

I would chain/lash down the frame to the front axle. This keeps the body from raising up when you pull the driveline out. Much easier to reach everything and get the whole thing out. Just did an engine swap on an 80 and we really wished we had chained it down. Would of saved us a bunch of grief!!

 

[dogfishlake]

If the machine shop said you had burned valves on #3 and #5, that is likely the low compression cause. The exhaust valves will burn away on the edge from excessive heat and cause compression to leak past giving you the low test number.

 

[Fourt7]

Well the engine is out! It actually went really smoothly. I had everything undone so all we had to do was get a hoist and pull it. I rented a hoist and my brother and I pulled it 2 hours. The hardest part was getting the engine up and over the front of the cruiser. I know some people pull all of that but the FSM shows pulling it out without having to do that. For future reference I would pull all of that. It would have been a heck of a lot easier. We figured out a crafty way to get it out without. We bought a come-along and pulled the motor level while pulling the hoist back and up. It worked amazingly well.

Prior to pulling the motor I climbed under it and had my brother rotate the engine. Everything appears to rotate rather well. Smoothly in fact. The one thing I noticed was the amazing amount of wear I could see from the bottom. Even the cylinders that looked decent up top looked terrible from below. I think its a good thing we are doing this exchange.

Pics and video to follow.

 

[Fourt7]

 

[Fourt7]

Time lapse of the engine removal

 

[sn22]

Cool man, thats great stuff! So cool what your doing with this cruiser and the memories it will hold for your family and kids. I am in the middle of my first engine pull and complete overhaul in my 95 FZJ80 and at first it seems like a huge task but once you get rolling its not too bad. Take lots of pics and consult the FSM often. Like others have said give your replacement engine a thorough going over before install and it'll last you a long long time. Good work!

 

[1973Guppie]

are you just swapping the engines? if you are going through all that work and plan to keep the truck I would suggest breaking the good engine down and having a machine shop go through it thoroughly. It just makes sense with all the labor you are putting in.

 

[Fourt7]

I've decided I have the worst luck. I'm so close to bagging this whole thing.

I bought an Aussie locker back before I ran into all the engine trouble. Now that the engine is out and stripped I've decided to install the locker while I wait to get my engine.

With my brothers help we pulled the third and while lifting it to place it in the garage I felt a pop in my back and I've been in serious pain since. I'm doing all I can to nurse it back to health.

In the mean time I got the third on the bench and pulled the pinion shaft and got the gears and thrust washers out. I installed the locker gears, thrust washers, and spacers and checked my gap tolerances. Way too tight. I can't fit .002 between them. The minimum is .006. I've pulled them out and reinstalled them in several configurations to see if it makes a difference. Nope! I can freely spin the drivers side but the passenger side is so tight it takes a lot of force to move it. Even though I can move the drivers side I can't get a proper gap. I can slide .002 in there.

Suggestions?

 

[Fourt7]