Everyone talking about rebuilds and swaps….am I throwing money into a pit building up a 240k mile rig?

[Francis K]

Added bonus - if your paint shop does the doorjambs & hatchjambs, green is almost black so masking the whole engine bay but blowing paint everywhere else will look great.

A good decade back a guy bought a red VW Corrado & blew it dark green - the red engine bay w/ the green got it dubbed the ‘Santa-mobile’.

Owner was thin-skinned & didn’t take the nickname lightly.
He soon quit the VW Vortex board (VW’s version of Mud).

I like the way you think!!

 

[SaturnAscends]

Missing the point of the started maintenance/ rebuild interval there. Fleet managers use these numbers to calculate the total cost of ownership for fleet vehicles, which typically factors when selecting vehicles. Like anything mechanical there's an engineered lifespan and an estimated mean time between failure.

Not going to disagree with the sentiment here though, Toyota tends to be conservative when they estimate their intervals. I've seen plenty of light duty Toyotas outlast Ford Super Dutys in mining environments.

I read somewhere that Toyota estimates a 3 year service life for the 79 series Land Cruisers used in Canadian mining operations.

 

[Feldrian]

I read somewhere that Toyota estimates a 3 year service life for the 79 series Land Cruisers used in Canadian mining operations.

Yup. Depends on the type of mining, too. I remember there being a differential between bauxite and iron ore mining in Australia when I was reading tables years ago with trucks working bauxite mines expected to last ~20% longer. They're basically actuarial tables for cars. Just like an accountant is likely to live longer than an underwater welder.

 

[Mojosolid]

Seems like half the threads lately are about blown engines, I picked up a 97 LC with around 240k on the odo that I’m pumping a lot of money into with aspirations of it being an everyday driver to replace my 2020 GX lease, with my sports car on the side during the warmer months. She runs strong she actually feels better than my old 97 LX where i was the original owner that i sold at around 150k miles but still Is this an exercise in futility?

I’m half way into with parts coming in every day, mostly all that is left is slapping them on and paint. What do you guys think?

Its so worth doing. I did mine not so long ago 5.3 with a 4lo6e tranny. Freakin awesome! My homeade exhaust sounds killer and it takes off like a bat! Now if I could just get someone to pull me out of the mud I would have it made

 

[dpeshkin]

Seems like half the threads lately are about blown engines, I picked up a 97 LC with around 240k on the odo that I’m pumping a lot of money into with aspirations of it being an everyday driver to replace my 2020 GX lease, with my sports car on the side during the warmer months. She runs strong she actually feels better than my old 97 LX where i was the original owner that i sold at around 150k miles but still Is this an exercise in futility?

I’m half way into with parts coming in every day, mostly all that is left is slapping them on and paint. What do you guys think?

Yes, but it feels good.

 

[KYLXFJ]

311k miles on original internals and original head gasket. My daily driver still. More reliable than any of the cars I've owned with just a couple years age and many under 30k miles.

 

[SaturnAscends]

311k miles on original internals and original head gasket. My daily driver still. More reliable than any of the cars I've owned with just a couple years age and many under 30k miles.

Are you noticing much oil consumption?

 

[dsmud4u]

Don’t feel bad. I picked up my 97’ with 260k on the clock from an unknown amount of owners. Apart from it burning a quart every 1500 miles it’s still going strong. 325k on the clock now.

I also based my budget on what I would spend if I bought a new comparably based SUV would cost.

 

[KYLXFJ]

Are you noticing much oil consumption?

I thought she may have been, but it turned out to be a bad sender. Oil is changed every 3k miles and its not low at that time, and she doesn't smoke at all.

 

[rc51kid]

I agree with you, but that wasn't the point of mentioning the designed engine life. We weren't saying "the engine will last this many miles because Toyota said so", that foolishness. We were pointing out that the 1FZ had design intent that included a long, rebuildable life - much longer than your "average" passenger car engine. But to your point, yes, every vehicle is unique and has to be maintenanced accordingly.

Although I do think the 1FZ is pretty awesome there are plenty of "average passenger" cars that can do these high milage as well if they aren't run out of oil or over heated.

My wife had a 98 CRV that she drove around the city of Atlanta and cross country MANY times. She did not baby it at all. I never opened the engine past the timing belt. The transmission eventually let go at over 440,000 miles. Nothing but BASIC pm.

 

[SaturnAscends]

Although I do think the 1FZ is pretty awesome there are plenty of "average passenger" cars that can do these high milage as well if they aren't run out of oil or over heated.

My wife had a 98 CRV that she drove around the city of Atlanta and cross country MANY times. She did not baby it at all. I never opened the engine past the timing belt. The transmission eventually let go at over 440,000 miles. Nothing but BASIC pm.

Yeah I think a lot of engines will go the distance if heat cycles are kept to a minimum i.e. lots of highway driving.

Those old B20s are no joke either, I think they just tend to burn valves if not adjusted

 

[rc51kid]

Her B20 was amazing. She did drive it from Altanta to California and to Wyoming a bunch of times but really the miles were every day all over Atlanta. Basically horrible traffic city driving, lots of heat cycles.

I am hoping to top the milage with my 1FZ. It sits at 340,000 now and is my daily driver. I put somewhere between 15-20k a year on it. Maybe about 5 more years and I should be over 450k.

This kind of leads me back to what the OP is asking. I do a lot of PM with all OEM parts to my truck. No way could I or would I own the truck if I didnt do my own work. But for all the PM I do I really use it a lot. A lot of miles, a lot of camping, exploring, wheeling and so one. It is not a babied truck. I bought it at 182,000 and it now has over 340,000 on it. Still my only vehicle and my DD (other than a DRZ400 for play).

To start at 240k is a little higher than I would like, but it will be fine. Better with that than a lower milage truck that is not carried for. I did my HG as PM at 220,000. There was still hone markets like new in the cylinders.

 

[SaturnAscends]

Her B20 was amazing. She did drive it from Altanta to California and to Wyoming a bunch of times but really the miles were every day all over Atlanta. Basically horrible traffic city driving, lots of heat cycles.

I am hoping to top the milage with my 1FZ. It sits at 340,000 now and is my daily driver. I put somewhere between 15-20k a year on it. Maybe about 5 more years and I should be over 450k.

This kind of leads me back to what the OP is asking. I do a lot of PM with all OEM parts to my truck. No way could I or would I own the truck if I didnt do my own work. But for all the PM I do I really use it a lot. A lot of miles, a lot of camping, exploring, wheeling and so one. It is not a babied truck. I bought it at 182,000 and it now has over 340,000 on it. Still my only vehicle and my DD (other than a DRZ400 for play).

To start at 240k is a little higher than I would like, but it will be fine. Better with that than a lower milage truck that is not carried for. I did my HG as PM at 220,000. There was still hone markets like new in the cylinders.

What was the condition of the head gasket itself when you opened it up?

Just wondering since I’m considering doing the same maintenance in my 230k mile truck

 

[rc51kid]

What was the condition of the head gasket itself when you opened it up?

Just wondering since I’m considering doing the same maintenance in my 230k mile truck

Perfectly fine. The new oem hg is different slightly in construction but I cant remember what it was. Maybe just shaped differently around one coolant jacket or something.

 

[LINUS]

Perfectly fine. The new oem hg is different slightly in construction but I cant remember what it was. Maybe just shaped differently around one coolant jacket or something.

Bingo they modded the cooling jacket hole sz to even out the issue back by #6 cyl.

A deep dive would show a org vs update gasket side/side.

 

[rc51kid]

Bingo they modded the cooling jacket hole sz to even out the issue back by #6 cyl.

A deep dive would show a org vs update gasket side/side.

i can look at my photos at some point. I might have one but it is probably only of the new or old one pointing to what is different. I think also something silly like the color of the material or something might be different which MIGHT indicate a differnt materail or manufacturing proccess. But i bet they are both GTG. I think most HG issues with the 1FZ are due to old coolant systems over heating these motors. Just my opinion.

 

[DirtyPepper]

311k miles on original internals and original head gasket. My daily driver still. More reliable than any of the cars I've owned with just a couple years age and many under 30k miles.

1997 with 221K miles on mine...factory head gasket...no issues, knock on wood.

My brother has a '97 also with 375K miles, no known issues with the engine, HG, or tranny.