A question and a little advice for furture planning (1 Viewer)

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Aug 30, 2006
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Location
Santa fe, New Mexico
Greetings all, and thank you in advance for your always thoughtful and incredibly helpful advice and information.

So, my 1988 LC has developed a little oil leak. It is right on the part that the oil filter screws into that then appears to mount to the engine block. What is this part called, and is it a part I could replace? Or, could my mechanic do it without having to bill me a dozen hours?:)

My future advice question is this: I love, and I mean LOVE, my FJ62. I want to keep it. I want to drive it and smile and enjoy it for years to come. It has 220 thousand miles on it, the engine runs well, and the tranny runs well without over heating now that I put a tranny cooler in.

The thing is, I know eventually I'm going to need to do something serious with the engine and possibly the tranny. So in preparation for this, I'm socking a little money away each month. But, what do I do with it? Do I rebuild the motor that is in it, buy a rebuilt motor, or do an engine swap that I keep hearing about? And the tranny, rebuild it, buy a new, what should I do?

Adding to this that I am not a gifted or even competent mechanic.

So, if you have some thoughts I'd be grateful for them.

Thank you again.
 
My experience has been with FJ60s. I have gone the route of having engines rebuilt. It is not a slam dunk because most machine shops do not know how to assemble the engines, at least from my experience. If you decide to go that route, do some homework and choose a mechanic or machinist who knows how to build a 2F or 3F engine. The more I own a carbed engine the more I would like to have the fuel injected one. Do some reading on the 2FE set ups.
Again, I do not know much about the automatic transmission. If I were in your place, I would consider a brand new 5-speed. The biggest issue in my thinking would be getting it set up with a clutch pedal and hydraulics. But, you already have the 4.11 diffs which is a plus.
 
only problem is a new 5 speed is $2250 w/o shipping.
 
At 220k shes just getting broke in. Little things like oil leaks can be fixed. All it takes is willingness to learn and get dirty (a few $ too). If I were in your shoes I would buy a compression gage from your local shop and check the compression numbers. Then you can base your decision to rebuild on what you find.

Cheers
 
Just to let you know, the 3FE is the most expensive Toyota engine to rebuild. So it ain't going to be cheap when the time comes to have it rebuilt if you go that route, especially if you are going to pay a mechanic to do it.

I'd look into an engine swap if you are interested in that sort of thing. Dirtgypsy just did a great engine swap with an Isuzu diesel engine for not a lot of money. Since you are slowly socking away money and your 3FE engine should last for sometime still, if you want to do an engine swap, I'd start looking now at what engine you might want, how much they might cost, and then just keep an eye out for any good deals that might come around.

As far as the tranny goes, the 3FE really wakes up and is much more responsive when you get rid of that soul-sucking auto and get an h55 5-speed manual transmission. The FJ62 is just a lot more fun to drive and is much more responsive when that auto is replaced. But some people like autos and don't mind how much power that they suck out of the system. So whatever is your preference. Anyways. Good luck and have fun dreaming up whatever it is that you want to do. Cheers.

:beer: Chad
 
Thank you all very much for your responses. I have a couple of other questions:

1. The tranny swap, how much would that cost to have a mechanic do it? I honestly do not believe I have the skills, time, tools, or location for such an undertaking and would need to hire it done.

2. As for an Engine swap, if I did that don't I then also have to replace tons of other components? How much is this then going to cost, roughly?

3. And three, the primary leak I have, really the only one from the engine area, is where the oil filter screws into. That part then bolts onto the engine. What is it called as I'd like to find it to replace it, but my book doesn't appear to acknoledge its existence.

Thank you all again.
 
Thank you all very much for your responses. I have a couple of other questions:

1. The tranny swap, how much would that cost to have a mechanic do it? I honestly do not believe I have the skills, time, tools, or location for such an undertaking and would need to hire it done.

2. As for an Engine swap, if I did that don't I then also have to replace tons of other components? How much is this then going to cost, roughly?

3. And three, the primary leak I have, really the only one from the engine area, is where the oil filter screws into. That part then bolts onto the engine. What is it called as I'd like to find it to replace it, but my book doesn't appear to acknoledge its existence.

Thank you all again.

Fixing the leak at the oil filter mount to block is super easy. You can do it yourself, 30 min. max. One gasket, get it from Toyota, less than $10.

On your back, 4 bolts, 1 gasket & you are done.

Good luck, John

Edit: Changed the # of bolts to be removed from 2 to 4. Two on top & 2 on the bottom of the mount. Still an easy 30 min job.
 
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Great! So I could get away with just the gasket? Fantastic. Any idea where to order it? I usually get my stuff from Manafre but can't find it on there site.

Also, do I need to drain the oil first?
 
Great! So I could get away with just the gasket? Fantastic. Any idea where to order it? I usually get my stuff from Manafre but can't find it on there site.

Also, do I need to drain the oil first?

Get it from a Toyota dealer. Won't have it in stock, but will be there the next day.

No, you don't have to drain the oil.

John

Have the parts guy describe it to you...gasket is in the shape of the capital letter I. And has 6 holes in it ...iirc.

John
 
Most 60/62 landcruisers are getting to the age where you WILL need to do work or swap drivetrains.

Think long and hard about what you want to do, what you can afford, and what your skills/knowledge will allow you to do.

Engine swaps are not for the faint of heart. They are expensive and labor intensive. I was quoted at ~$30,000 for a vortec engine swap from a very reputable and well know landcruiser shop. This is just to give you an idea, but probably on the high end.

Even if you are capable and have enough time/resources a vortec swap will cost $$$$$
To me its worth it... but Im capable and have some time.

You will have a major descision within a couple years; sell your broken truck to someone else to fix, pay big $ for an overhaul, pay big $ to have a mechanic R&R a used drivetrain, of pay big, big $ to have a new drivetrain put in.

Long story short, these trucks aren't a good choice for people who are not mechanically advanced (unless you have deep pockets).

I would sell now while everything is operational...

Good luck!
 
I'd estimate I have ~$2500 in my 2FE. Plan ahead, do it yourself, take your time and you can do big things for cheap.

2F core - free
3FE head - $200 I think (could reuse yours, but I wanted to build mine while the 3FE was still going)
Chev valves - ~$120
Bored throttle body - don't recall, maybe $200, I wouldn't bother with that again
Delta regrind of camshaft and resurface of lifters - $150?
Rings - ? not too much
Gaskets - ?
Water pump - $105
Engine coatings - ~$80?
Head assembly at a shop with needed springs and related - too much, but would vary by location

What am I forgetting..?

Most everything else was reused (including bearings since they were in good shape and I was broke at the time) and done myself. BIG improvement in power, but that comes from the plan ahead, take your time and do it yourself part, I spent a ton of time making sure that anything I could balance/match/improve I did.
 
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Mackeath;
Pls note that I edited my post # 8 to show you need to remove 4 bolts instead of 2. Started thinking & remembered the other 2. Still an easy job, all in easy reach.

John
 
$30,000 sounds extremely high. I paid around $5,000 for my 12H-T, H55F, & split-case t-case driveline. I paid another $5,000 for the installation. I did some of the simple work myself like pulling the 2F driveline and prepping the 12H-T. It had to be converted from 24v to 12v. Dirtgypsy just did an engine swap with an Isuzu 4BD1T for around $3-4,000, I think but he did the work himself. If you aren't going to to do the work yourself then you need to find a mechanic that knows the engine you want to install and charges a decent hourly rate. iron_giant installed my 12H-T. He is a great mechanic and was local when I used to live in California. I don't think he works on land cruisers any more but if you want a 12H-T you could talk to lynchmob. He works on my land cruiser now and he charges a very reasonable hourly rate. He also knows the ins & outs of a 12H-T. He is local to me in Portland but you could always have your land cruiser shipped (and would still cost you less) if you worked something out with him. You might want to contact him. He would have a better idea of what an engine swap would cost. Good luck!

:beer: Chad
 
Ok, really dumb question. I'm trying to find this gasket and actually don't know the name of it to order it:) Anyone have the name or a link?

This is somewhat unnerving. I'm actually forcing myself to learn how to do my own maintenance and having a blast but this sadly does not come naturally to me.
 
I believe you are looking for "oil filter gasket 15691-60010"

Shaped like a sideways "H" and held on with 4 bolts between the oil filter/cooler assembly and the block.
 
Ok, question. I'm ordering this from Toyota parts zone and for two of my parts they say replaced by and then the parts number. Is this because Toyota came up with something better and they are replacing the original?

Remove **691-60010 GASKET, OIL FILTER
[LAND CRUISER | 1988 | FJ62LV-PNEA | 198708-198808 | 3FE | WGV | USA | FJ62]
Replaced by: **691-61010 $2.43 $2.43
Remove **280-61010 REGULATOR ASSY, FUEL
[LAND CRUISER | 1988 | USA | WGV] $127.99 $127.99
Remove **207-74010 DAMPER SET, FUEL PRE
[LAND CRUISER | 1988 | USA | WGV]
Replaced by: **207-4601
 
Also, as like as I'm putting the order together, my oil pressure guage doesn't read right, and fluctuates hugely. I think I need a new regulator for it. Anyone know what the part number is cause I am unable to find it so far.

Actually, maybe it is the relay for it.
 
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