Another Head Gasket (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Dan Nielson

TundraViking
Joined
Aug 30, 2016
Threads
3
Messages
19
Location
Charlestown, NH
De-lurking after many years of reading.

I picked up a NTM ‘95 FZJ80 last week and was driving fine, put around 250 miles on it. Jumped in yesterday morning for the run to Home Despot, and it starts missing, smokin’ running like hell. This morning I cranked it up and found steam, possibly water coming out of the rear most exhaust flange.

So after reading many threads...

1. Who has the best kit available? I’ve seen some kits as low as $150 and others as high as$500.

2. I’m in need a machine shop for the head work, I’m located in Silverdale WA.

3. Pull the engine or leave it in the truck?

4. While i’m In here items, planning on PPH, belts and hoses. Possibly the front oil seal. What else?

A2B52D87-F151-402B-8300-B97EED772CF4.jpeg
 
Curt @ Cruiser Outfitters (Vendor on Mud)
Joey at Wit's End (Vendor on Mud)

Norwalk Toyota on the West Coast (internet search for their parts inventory)

There are definitely others YMMV.

I pulled my entire engine transmission and transfer case out and tore it apart in to tiny little pieces to replace the valve stems in the head, do not take my advice on leaving the engine in or taking it out. Again, don't listen to me......
 
Front crank seal and oil pump cover gasket are good to get done at same time. Break the crank bolt loose before the tear down, it torques to 308 ft-lb once you are finished.
 
A factory service manual is going to be your best friend and most powerful tool used to complete this job. The real deal and a must have.

I buy most of my oem parts from McGeorge Toyota online parts. They usually offer the greatest discounts of up to 34% off the dealership price.

Genuine Toyota parts are expensive but usually far and away the best. If you plan to keep your rig a long while, you might consider biting the bullet and buying as much as possible from Toyota.

You will need a good tool set that includes extensions long enough to access the fasteners on the bottom so the upper plenum from underneath and the throttle body bolts from passenger side fender. And an accurate torque wrench.

“While you are in there” could range from what you already mentioned on up to: complete cooling system overhaul, rear heater delete if desired, power steering and transmission hoses, power steering pump replacement or rebuild, power steering reservoir clean out and reseal, engine wire harness replacement or refurbishment, de-smog since we are now in the clear here in WA, fan clutch oil change and upgrade to thicker viscosity, new heater water valve, thermostat, battery cables, fuel filter, alternator replacement or at least replace the brushes, starter rebuild, the list of things you can address is long and once you have the head off, you will see just how much better the access is to many of these items.

The Toyota fipg sealant is good stuff better even than permetex grey. New head bolts are not cheap but worth it in my opinion or ARP studs.
 
Last edited:
FULL TOYOTA ENGINE GASKET SET. GET ALL THE HOSES. leave the engine in the truck, if its in good shape, other than the HG.
Thanks, any recommendations on where to buy?
 
This is where a guy like CDan and Beno would send you EVERYTHING you needed. Priceless!
 
This is where a guy like CDan and Beno would send you EVERYTHING you needed. Priceless!

Salt in the wound. Salt in the wound.
 
Personally, I'd pull the engine and do the head gasket in the comfort of my garage on a stand.

The first thing to do is do an inspection on all parts, send head out to be vacuumed tested before machining and parts ordering.

While in there I'd check the rod bearings, reseal the front crank, rear main, transmission input seal, oil cooler seals, hoses, rear heater delete, wiring harness wrap at EGR, send injectors out for cleaning, check power steering pump for leaks.
Just plan on everything but the gas cap, and then add 23 more things to that lol
 
Last edited:
This is where a guy like CDan and Beno would send you EVERYTHING you needed. Priceless!
I know CDan is retired, met him that the Landcruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake, but is Beno still working? Or who’s the next best thing?
 
Personally I'd pull the engine and do the head gasket in the comfort in my garage on a stand.

The first thing to do is do an inspection on all parts, send head out to be vacuumed tested before and ordering.

While in there id check the rod bearings, reseal the front crank, rear main, transmission input seal, oil cooler seals, hoses, rear heater delete, wiring harness wrap at EGR, send injectors out for cleaning, check power steering pump for leaks.
Just plan on everything but the gas cap, and then add 23 more things to that lol
ccslider - yeah, the list of “to-do’s” is growing expensively fast. I like the idea of pulling the engine, but I’m space limited. I think I’ll keep the rear heater, I spend a lot of time in Alaska. Why the rod bearings, big end, right?
 
ccslider - yeah, the list of “to-do’s” is growing expensively fast. I like the idea of pulling the engine, but I’m space limited. I think I’ll keep the rear heater, I spend a lot of time in Alaska. Why the rod bearings, big end, right?
I'd at least just plastigauge them. You don't want to put a head gasket in and then have a bearing issue in 10k.
 
I know CDan is retired, met him that the Landcruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake, but is Beno still working? Or who’s the next best thing?
I think that American Toyota in Albuquerque are still carrying on with the discounts for ih8mud'ers. Beno (Onur) is also retired.
Give American Toyota a call and tell them you are with ih8mud.
 
Best advice I can give you .... Watch the @OTRAMM YouTube videos. All the parts all the way trough BEFORE starting. The FSM is great, but if you are a visual learner, the vidoes are 1000x easier to follow.

1. Who has the best kit available? I’ve seen some kits as low as $150 and others as high as$500.
McGeorge has done me right on parts in the past. Conecelli Toyota in PA is good as well. Get the big kit, mine had all the gaskets and o-rings I needed.

2. I’m in need a machine shop for the head work, I’m located in Silverdale WA.
I had the head cleaned (as well as other parts), new valve seals installed, clearances checked and pressure tested for less than $500 at my local NAPA machine shop. The old guy there just basically does heads all day and it was a snap for him.

3. Pull the engine or leave it in the truck?
Opinions vary ... I left mine in the truck and just pulled the head solo with a hoist. It's heavy and awkward AF. I also opted to pull the harness from behind the glovebox rather than remove the starter to get to the connections around the transmission. Those would have been horrible to get apart.

4. While i’m In here items, planning on PPH, belts and hoses. Possibly the front oil seal. What else?
ALL the hoses under the upper intake, many of the other gaskets come in the big kit (dizzy, dizzy cap, coolant line, spark plug gaskets ... all the good stuff). Do the exhaust manifold to down-pipe gaskets as well. If you are doing the oil pump seal, you may as well do the front main seal as well since the balancer is already off, but put all that back together before doing the head because you need the indexing mark on the balancer for the cam timing.

I did all new exhaust mani studs and nuts. Make a decision if you are keeping the rear heater, if not, now is the time for it to be bypassed. If the steering was starting to whine, no better time than now to do the steering pump since you can move the alternator out of the way and it's already loose for the head to come off. Plugs, wires, dizzy cap and rotor, thermostat and the radiator are all things to consider as well, that way when you put it back together it will be solid for a long time. Also wrap the harness near the EGR or do the EGR delete now as well.

Most of all ... take your time, try not to rush and check the cam timing marks many times before final assembly, follow proper tq procedure and make sure the cam is seated all the way forward like the FSM says. I had to do mine twice to get it proper.
 
De-lurking after many years of reading.

I picked up a NTM ‘95 FZJ80 last week and was driving fine, put around 250 miles on it. Jumped in yesterday morning for the run to Home Despot, and it starts missing, smokin’ running like hell. This morning I cranked it up and found steam, possibly water coming out of the rear most exhaust flange.

So after reading many threads...

1. Who has the best kit available? I’ve seen some kits as low as $150 and others as high as$500.

2. I’m in need a machine shop for the head work, I’m located in Silverdale WA.

3. Pull the engine or leave it in the truck?

4. While i’m In here items, planning on PPH, belts and hoses. Possibly the front oil seal. What else?

View attachment 2024308

Thanks for all the info! I’ll start collecting parts while I’m at work for the next two weeks.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom