Bought Turbo Landcruiser and engine went within 150 miles. Need suggestions.

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So, how/when can you tell IF and HOW MUCH your knock sensors are pulling timing back??

I have no idea, just thought it would reduce power if it could not reduce the detonation to a manageable level, and of course throw a code.
 
What I would really like to know is best options and sources to help me fix it.

3. Rebuild what I have(Have someone $$$) with Cometic hg,ARP studs, and forged pistons. How much will that cost???

Would think @scottryana could tell you pretty close as he has built 2 over the last few years.
 
Not if the gauges don't work?!

Hmmm... :hmm:If AFR gauge was working good chance this may never have occurred. How long did the po drive it like this? As owner of other turbo'd vehicles would think he'd have known how important it is to monitor AFR's...just sayin...
 
Bummer....

Just put a v8 in it and forget about a turbo. Don't need it. Even a 5.3L will be better than the stock motor turbo'ed.

This post is opinion based of course but based on experience. I had an 04 Taco with a S/C, drove it 65k miles that way. Fried the TPS once in that time due to heat sink, Toyota only sells the sensor with the TB, cost = $1,000. Got a v8 LC and never looked back and have been smiling since!;)

Cheers
 
yea not having a working boost and or afr gauge would have been a huge red flag for me. I mean both are not hard gauges to install or maintain. Almost seems like he knew something may have been wrong and he was trying to dump it....

But now that your where you are at I can tell you what my full rebuild cost me, the link below details the cost. Highlighted in pink was some of the HG engine machining cost.
The Trail Snail - FZJ80 Expo Build

I've got an extra timing kit that I bought by mistake, if you want it I'll sell it to you for 80 bucks +SH
 
Ok good to hear that you use premium that is one thing to cross off the list.

9psi is a lot of boost to push on a stock system it is impossible to know if it is too much since the AFR gauge was not working but I would be very suspicious.

An AFR gauge is not required on low boost builds ONCE you have it dialed in and know for sure that AFR's are safe. I wouldn't consider this too be a low boost build <7psi

Water meth would be a very good idea once you get it back up and running.


1. I wouldn't touch it with a 10' pole. No first hand experience but I would bet they use the cheapest parts they can.
2. Stock engine with 150,000 miles would be fine but you would still have to PM it, replace seals, pull the head go through it, etc
3. You really do not need a Cometic HG and forged pistons at the power levels stock fueling will run
4. I bet Robbie would sell you a short block? $8K?

You can not just put bigger injectors in, because the closed loop fueling would just cut injector pulse width. That is what makes these so tricky and why I have warned many times to either keep boost <7psi so stock fueling can keep up, or you are forced with trying to trick the narrow band O2's in closed loop.


AFR/boost gauge was inop. The seller claimed the the 58 mm turbo was pushing 9 psi. Fuel was Shell 91 oct. from the station the seller suggested. I Read his IH8MUD thread that was 21 pages from April 2013 to present DIY Turbo V1.0, Boosted 80 = Happiness. Test drove the truck around the neighbor hood before buying it and ran fine. This is a quote from his EBAY ad
ALL PM DONE, NEEDS NOTHING TO TAKE IT TO WHATEVER CONTINENT YOU WANT.
I have 3 other turbo cars, 91 NSX (560rwhp) 89 944 Turbo (370rwhp) and 78 Trans AM (750rwhp). I really do not think the seller had any bad intentions just he ran this system for 3 years and 7000 miles and it blew on my watch. I intended to put a water/meth kit on it when I got it home.

What I would really like to know is best options and sources to help me fix it.
1. Buy rebuilt long block for $3400 from CARiD like this that has 3 year unlimited mile warranty. https://www.carid.com/replace/oe-replacement-engine-mpn-850a.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw-uDABRDPz4-0tp6T6lMSJADNoyPbqClGrqEGQW3szxsdwkqsfkvYAqoiZ-57dKe3ruRdUxoCI03w_wcB
2. Find used 150k mile or less engine and roll the dice. $500+.
3. Rebuild what I have(Have someone $$$) with Cometic hg,ARP studs, and forged pistons. How much will that cost???
4. Does anyone sell a short block for these?

I will be planning on bigger injectors, water/meth or intercooler.
 
AFR/boost gauge was inop. The seller claimed the the 58 mm turbo was pushing 9 psi. Fuel was Shell 91 oct. from the station the seller suggested. I Read his IH8MUD thread that was 21 pages from April 2013 to present DIY Turbo V1.0, Boosted 80 = Happiness. Test drove the truck around the neighbor hood before buying it and ran fine. This is a quote from his EBAY ad
ALL PM DONE, NEEDS NOTHING TO TAKE IT TO WHATEVER CONTINENT YOU WANT.
I have 3 other turbo cars, 91 NSX (560rwhp) 89 944 Turbo (370rwhp) and 78 Trans AM (750rwhp). I really do not think the seller had any bad intentions just he ran this system for 3 years and 7000 miles and it blew on my watch. I intended to put a water/meth kit on it when I got it home.

What I would really like to know is best options and sources to help me fix it.
1. Buy rebuilt long block for $3400 from CARiD like this that has 3 year unlimited mile warranty. https://www.carid.com/replace/oe-replacement-engine-mpn-850a.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw-uDABRDPz4-0tp6T6lMSJADNoyPbqClGrqEGQW3szxsdwkqsfkvYAqoiZ-57dKe3ruRdUxoCI03w_wcB
2. Find used 150k mile or less engine and roll the dice. $500+.
3. Rebuild what I have(Have someone $$$) with Cometic hg,ARP studs, and forged pistons. How much will that cost???
4. Does anyone sell a short block for these?

I will be planning on bigger injectors, water/meth or intercooler.

Option 1 won't honor warranty if they find out the engine was turbo'd, so I'd cross that off the list. If you want it reliable and trustworthy, I'd go option 3, or scrap the whole turbo setup and swap a V8 in there. The truck looks awesome, just need a new heart.

The gauges not working would give me pause, that's a real roll of the dice to drive that home with no way of keeping an eye on things. Sucks that it bit you in the ass this time.
 
Yup, that's my old truck which was my daily for the last 4 years. Truck was running great however the AEM Boost/AFR Guage was not working. Sent it back to AEM and they tested everything and said the harness was faulty so they sent back a new harness free of charge since it was still under warranty. I handed the new harness to the new owner but at the time of pick up it was not installed so he was unsure of boost numbers as well as AFRs at the time of damage. One piece of the puzzle he maybe forgot to mention was that he was climbing a grade and boosting when he heard the scary sound and saw the puff of smoke. Then he said he pulled over and the engine was running rough. There was no sign of detonation anytime during my ownership of the truck. Only thing I can think is that extended amount of boost over a large grade climb and it got starved for fuel maybe. However AFR's were 10-11ish if I remember correctly under boost. Max I've ever hit was 9.7lbs and that was one time on the hwy and it was in the safe AFR range. But again I am very easy on my right foot when it comes to driving my personal cars/trucks. I never really beat on them or abuse them. I have driven up the Grapevine with A/C on and the whole family in the truck with 100 degree temps but I was easy on the skinny pedal to control full boost all the time. I would usually turn off overdrive to kick it into higher revs. If anyone knows of a mechanic that can either swap the block or rebuild it please pass the info to me or to the new owner. The truck is still sitting at my shop currently.
 
Man, I bet you paid a ton of money for that truck. Sorry about your bad luck!

Am I the only one that thinks that the exhaust being 4" away from the air filter is a bad idea? I don't know. I'm not a turbo guy, but I would think that it would pull a lot of exhaust in when in park
 
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Really feel bad this happened, I would have definitely preferred a safe journey back for him with maybe a phone call to thank me for a great truck that he just bought but this happened. I offered my cost on any parts he needed for the build and did not charge for removing the head to find the culprit. Whole situation just sucks.
 
This is a quote from his EBAY ad
ALL PM DONE, NEEDS NOTHING TO TAKE IT TO WHATEVER CONTINENT YOU WANT.

JMHO, but you made a pretty bold statement in your ad. Then sending him off without a working AFR Gauge (so it really did need something), made it impossible for him to see that he was headed for serious trouble...I feel for you both.
 
This is a quote from his EBAY ad
ALL PM DONE, NEEDS NOTHING TO TAKE IT TO WHATEVER CONTINENT YOU WANT.

JMHO, but you made a pretty bold statement in your ad. Then sending him off without a working AFR Gauge (so it really did need something), made it impossible for him to see that he was headed for serious trouble...I feel for you both.

Just FYI, new harness was going in the truck before it was to be sold on EBAY to the highest bidder which was still 2 days away from when the car was sold. However buyer called me and drove down the next day for me to end the auction early. So I didn't just send him off into the wild jungles with a stick in hand. The buyer has several boosted high performance cars so he is no stranger to a factory motor + boost can do. I stated to the buyer that it would need to be replaced to work properly. I don't play games or gimmicks. I'm not a used car salesman and again this was my daily driver for nearly 4 years. I occasionally used a heavy foot to get my position on the fast lane. But no smoke, no sounds, no problems, that is the reason I would say it needs nothing. We even took it on a test drive and pushed on it a few times, no issues. That being said, we all know by now that a 1996 Land Cruiser with even original 138k miles still has it's limits.
 
Man, I bet you paid a ton of money for that truck. Sorry about your bad luck!

Am I the only one that thinks that the exhaust being 4" away from the air filter is a bad idea? I don't know. I'm not a turbo guy, but I would think that it would pull a lot of exhaust in when in park

I don't like the whole setup, just my personal opinion. That air cleaner will get all the dust from Arizona trails, not to mention water crossings (yes we have them) and sticks N stones. The low hanging oil line and vacuum hose would be targeted by all the brush that sprouts up after monsoon season. It's a nice rig, but ya can't really wheel it. If I want a town car it would be better handling and more economic. JMHO. Each to his own, I recon.
 
That's stuff that you could pretty easily remedy if you decided that you really needed a rear mount turbo.

You could just throw some expanded metal over the bottom to protect the oil and vacuum lines, you could route the intake up into the rear cargo area panels, nothing that couldn't be overcome. But really the only reason for a rear mount is if there isn't room under the hood or to get around inspections, so it's kind of superfluous unless you're in CA. Lol

I don't like the whole setup, just my personal opinion. That air cleaner will get all the dust from Arizona trails, not to mention water crossings (yes we have them) and sticks N stones. The low hanging oil line and vacuum hose would be targeted by all the brush that sprouts up after monsoon season. It's a nice rig, but ya can't really wheel it. If I want a town car it would be better handling and more economic. JMHO. Each to his own, I recon.
 
I wouldn't have it in the first place, and I wouldn't live in California. Neither have any appeal to me personally. If YOU like either or both, then have at it. I'm happy for you.
 
AFR/boost gauge was inop. The seller claimed the the 58 mm turbo was pushing 9 psi. Fuel was Shell 91 oct. from the station the seller suggested. I Read his IH8MUD thread that was 21 pages from April 2013 to present DIY Turbo V1.0, Boosted 80 = Happiness. Test drove the truck around the neighbor hood before buying it and ran fine. This is a quote from his EBAY ad
ALL PM DONE, NEEDS NOTHING TO TAKE IT TO WHATEVER CONTINENT YOU WANT.
I have 3 other turbo cars, 91 NSX (560rwhp) 89 944 Turbo (370rwhp) and 78 Trans AM (750rwhp). I really do not think the seller had any bad intentions just he ran this system for 3 years and 7000 miles and it blew on my watch. I intended to put a water/meth kit on it when I got it home.

What I would really like to know is best options and sources to help me fix it.
1. Buy rebuilt long block for $3400 from CARiD like this that has 3 year unlimited mile warranty. https://www.carid.com/replace/oe-replacement-engine-mpn-850a.html?gclid=CjwKEAjw-uDABRDPz4-0tp6T6lMSJADNoyPbqClGrqEGQW3szxsdwkqsfkvYAqoiZ-57dKe3ruRdUxoCI03w_wcB
2. Find used 150k mile or less engine and roll the dice. $500+.
3. Rebuild what I have(Have someone $$$) with Cometic hg,ARP studs, and forged pistons. How much will that cost???
4. Does anyone sell a short block for these?

I will be planning on bigger injectors, water/meth or intercooler.

So, Ive done both; rebuilt a FZJ engine into my previous 80 and then converted to a V8 in my current 80. They have both provided satisfaction but if I only had one option, it would be the V8 conversion.

The V8 provides an 'endless platform' meaning you can do as much or as little to it as you want/can afford. With the inline 6, you eventually run out of options...even if you ad a turbo.

Just my 2 cents....
 

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