Cracked Exhaust Manifold Cost?

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H

hlm587

Joined
Sep 28, 2020
Threads
10
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52
Location
NY
Hi all -- tried searching the forum first. My mechanic, who has done work on my '94 80 series before and I generally trust, says my exhaust manifold is cracked and needs replacing. I took the truck in after it was rough/low idling, sometimes dying. Replaced the battery. He says there is a big exhaust leak which will cost `~$3K to repair due to scarce parts and labor. The kicker is that he warned it's a risky repair, because the bolts needed to come off are rusted badly, and they tend to break when being removed, which can lead to further damage and costly repairs.

Basically, to put it bluntly, it sounds like doing open heart surgery on my grandfather, who may not make it through the surgery, but we can try at great expense.

Question: does any of this sound off? Is the repair really that expensive and risky? What are my alternatives, besides selling it at a steep discount just to get out with some return?

For context, I paid $7k for the truck in 2020 with 178k miles. It's been pretty solid with no real issues other than A/C fixes, O2 sensors, and some minor things. Would be sad to let it go.

Thanks very much.
 
This is crazy talk, you can buy a used manifold for relatively cheep, I doubt your manifold is cracked It’s not common but could be. Yes he might break some exhaust studs but if he uses lots of penetrating oil and is careful he might get lucky. OEM gasket and bolts are cheep also. You’re looking at a couple hundred bucks in parts and maybe 2-6 hours of work.
 
Fj80oregon said:
This is crazy talk, you can buy a used manifold for relatively cheep, I doubt your manifold is cracked It’s not common but could be. Yes he might break some exhaust studs but if he uses lots of penetrating oil and is careful he might get lucky. OEM gasket and bolts are cheep also. You’re looking at a couple hundred bucks in parts and maybe 2-6 hours of work.
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I was thinking about the same.
One (of many) really good thing about the 1FZ-FE and the placement in the engine bay is the passenger side stuff is usually not too difficult to access.
When I did my rebuild @372k miles, I broke exactly zero bolts.
I think you got a good deal originally; some work is to be expected
 
pics of how rusted the bolts are would help. if every manifold stud and bolt snapped off and had to be extracted from the head it would still be less at my shop. I haven't listened to it, an exhaust leak COULD cause some odd running sometimes but i think its likely that it WILL NOT fix your rough running low idle issue. I rarely snap off these studs/bolts even with all the rust here in Ohio, i take several off every year for head gasket jobs. haven't seen any cracked yet but it could happen.
 
Sounds like your "generally trusted mechanic" either doesn't want the job, or knows much less about Land Cruisers than you're giving him credit for. Run away.
 
hlm587 said:
Hi all -- tried searching the forum first. My mechanic, who has done work on my '94 80 series before and I generally trust, says my exhaust manifold is cracked and needs replacing. I took the truck in after it was rough/low idling, sometimes dying. Replaced the battery. He says there is a big exhaust leak which will cost `~$3K to repair due to scarce parts and labor. The kicker is that he warned it's a risky repair, because the bolts needed to come off are rusted badly, and they tend to break when being removed, which can lead to further damage and costly repairs.

Basically, to put it bluntly, it sounds like doing open heart surgery on my grandfather, who may not make it through the surgery, but we can try at great expense.

Question: does any of this sound off? Is the repair really that expensive and risky? What are my alternatives, besides selling it at a steep discount just to get out with some return?

For context, I paid $7k for the truck in 2020 with 178k miles. It's been pretty solid with no real issues other than A/C fixes, O2 sensors, and some minor things. Would be sad to let it go.

Thanks very much.
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Does this guy buy his parts form Autozone? Manifolds, even new, are hardly scarce; they're in stock in Toyota warehouses...
1776267435919.webp

1776267483732.webp
 
You are correct, the '93/'94 manifolds are not in the US inventory, but that doesn't mean they can't be had. My point was simply that if you are taking your truck to a mechanic, you should choose one that knows how to get parts. I wouldn't expect a general mechanic shop to be able to do that.
 
Thanks everyone. Is the retrofitting a 95-97 manifold intuitive (or is it a bear and something I need to give him specific instructions for, and if so, does anyone have that handy)? Thanks again.
 
hlm587 said:
Thanks everyone. Is the retrofitting a 95-97 manifold intuitive (or is it a bear and something I need to give him specific instructions for, and if so, does anyone have that handy)? Thanks again.
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It will take some doing. You would be better off sourcing a good used one. In my experience the rear manifold is the bastard of the two.
 
To run the 95 manifolds is not hard on the 94. Remove the pair system, plug the hole coming off the air cleaner lid, done.
 
I also have a set of known working exhaust manifolds from a stock 1994 1FZ-FE - I'll let go of for a very fair price - you cover shipping - I am in Northern California
 
"big exhaust leak which will cost `~$3K to repair due to scarce parts"

If the exhaust manifolds have to come off I expect (and plan) to replace all the exhaust studs and nuts. Most nuts come off with the stud, zzzipp zzzipp zzzipp with a small impact. There's a rear-most nut/stud on the rear (#2) manifold that has to be approached from underneath the vehicle with a long ratcheting box wrench, it cannot be removed from above IME.

FWIW I don't recall anyone on the forum ever mentioning a cracked exhaust manifold, so might be worth the effort to get another opinion as to what the problem is with your engine. Many people have found a crack in the "Y" of the front exhaust pipe that bolts to the exhaust manifolds (in the 95-97 FZJ80 Models).

But as already mentioned above, first get another mechanic's opinion, preferably a mechanic who has more experience working on this model.
 
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I might be out of touch, but for $3k I would think you could have custom headers made.
 
I would be asking for proof of where the manifold is cracked. These VERY rarely do, as they're quite solid and I believe they're cast iron. The gasket between manifold and head can sometimes need replacing and be the source of the leak, or more commonly the 2 donut ring gaskets joining the manifolds to the down pipes. It's easy to diagnose an exhaust leak.. spray really soapy water (when cold) all over the manifold if you cant visually see a crack...and then have someone start the car and give it a few revs while you observe.. the leaks will show as bubbles. The other way to do it, is to run a section of thin hard plastic (or stiffer rubber) hose all around the manifold and joints and the other end in your ear... you will hear it splutter and be louder where there are leaks. You should also be able to observe black carbon build up where it's escaping. The price he's quoted you is ludicrous IMO.


Leaking gasket at the manifold to downpipe flange. 2 new donut gaskets fixed the leak.

flange leak.webp
 
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