You have one more option: Move to Wyoming where there are no emissions.
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Haha! Ding Ding Ding! Hot dog! We have a weiner! I thought about possibly signing it over to a friend a couple counties over or my mom in Florida so it could be registered there. I'm not one for the government telling me what I can do (Amerka), but the emissions now are equal to 20 modern cars. That's just bad. The emissions tech was sort of joking, but he said, "your the reason old people and babies are dying." haha - oh boyYou have one more option: Move to Wyoming where there are no emissions.
I can't thank all of you enough for humoring my pissin' and moanin'. Tan? Really? It definitely grew on me, but I was upset when I finally landed on this one in 2004. I really wanted the 2-tone gray, but I kept finding ones with 200k and a prices between 10 and 13k. This one ended up being in my mom's neighbor's garage. It had 100k and he sold for 6k.
I always heard that what Colorado used was far better than either of the sodiums used elsewhere. Everyone marvels at how rust-free it is. In fact I just sold a 2009 4.7L V8 (god I wish I could afford to put that engine in the Cruiser). I bought that thing from Michigan because it only had 64k on it and looked like it was 6 months old ... until you looked underneath. I planned to get the full 400k out of the engine, but the rust paired with other circumstances made it easy to sell. That's what made me stop ignoring my emissions problem. Now look where I am!
I replaced a leaky head gasket within the last 5 years and replaced the push rod cover gasket about a year or so ago. This shop was hoping it was a valve problem. They looked good. I read on this forum that a fella was running 3 cylinders at 0 compression and found it to be rusted exhaust valves. I was saying I'm not sure if they looked at the exhaust valves. Seemed like they were referring to the intake valves based on where they looked. I need to confirm. They sent me a grainy video holding a rag over the cylinder in question. I'm assuming the valve cover was off. The rag was whipping around from the air escaping the cylinder.
Really? I valued the truck as is (not knowing I had a compression problem at all) somewhere between 12 and 15k with the great shape of the body and frame, original paint, and low miles. I figured with an expertly rebuilt engine it would be the same or even more because buyers would not have to deal with most issues that could pop up from a 32 year old engine. Is that not the case?
Oh man. I've thought about that so much. I reached out to Proffit's and Redline here in CO. The cost is enormous, but I understand the trade-off. What makes an LC special is that incredibly stupid but unstoppable dog of an engine. I felt I would have a big, dumb Frankenchevy that would last about 60k miles.
That's what I was thinking BEFORE all this. With an engine that likely needs a rebuild it has plummeted in value. I could maybe get 2k for it now?
Hahahaha! Now is that engine a pain? I hear conflicting reports and seems like there are a few pain points, but isn't what makes them cool is it is essentially a Japanese version of a 1950s Chevy tractor motor that sits in a bay with some space aka easy to work on?
How is the engine/trans set-up from a longevity standpoint? Is that something that starts having issues at 60k? Is it a typical American car situation at that point?
A rust free, low mileage (less than 200k is low mileage on these) unmolested FJ-62 is probably worth more than the $6k you paid even with an unusable engine. 'Unmolested' is key to most buyers.|
Lastly - have you truly determined that the engine can't be fixed short of overhaul?
Your description sounds a lot like head problems which can be fixed MUCH cheaper than pulling the engine. There are only 5 types of compression leaks:
I suggest you start a thread called "Help me diagnose low compression in 3FE".
How does that work? I've seen a few mentions of the 2F and torque. Doesn't the 3FE beat the 2F in both torque and hp?If I had a 3fe that needed rebuilding and I decided to go that route if source a 2f engine and rebuild the bottom end. Have the 3f head serviced and put together a 2fe. Get the efi and the extra torque.
Seems like most of the money is in pulling and putting the engine back in.Pulling it yourself will save you a ton of money because of the amount of work it takes.
I understand not putting more money into it if I want to sell, but there is certainly value on the stock side. In this condition with only 156k (if I didn't have the compression problem and the leaks) I could list this truck for 11-15k. If a purist is hunting for a stock 60 I would imagine there would be even more value in an original, rebuilt engine because you could have a vintage vehicle with next to zero of the hidden surprises a 30+ year-old engine can bring, right?First, if you are going to sell it, don't put another dime into it. As 60works said, it won't get you a better price. Half the people looking at these are going to drop a V8 in there anyway. The value to yours is how clean it is.
I cannot think of a logical reason to keep a Landcruiser. It's all about love.
Well, Slee is just a few miles away, but won't work on anything before the 80 series. They are turning 60s away. The others are great and I've chatted extensively with both of them. They are far away, incredibly expensive (but seem to be worth every penny), have 9-month+ waiting lists and can keep the truck for months. I'm not a plastic surgeon with a new toy. It's a daily driverYou already mentioned Profits and Redline. Don't overlook Slee off road. They do all kinds of custom work and can probably give you advise on everything from the value of your truck currently to a complete V8 engine swap.
I think I have to drive one. I know it's impossible to get too much out of this engine, but I've driven it for 15 years in the right lane (does great at 80+mph on flat highways) - I know what it's about. It's just that driving on inclines - over 7%ish maybe?- is almost dangerous. I might have a top speed of 35mph or less in some areas. I don't want to pass people on steep inclines I just want a confident and steady 55mph. I'm so curious how much impact it will have. Will it be just enough?Fourth, H55 Trans swap. I did that. It makes huge difference in drivability.
Fifth, pretty sure the stuff they spray on the roads in CO is not nearly as bad as salt. If you are going to keep it and put the money into it, use it. Rocks, mud, snow. That's what they are made for. Don't cage the beast in the winter.
Sixth, that brown cloud that you can see hanging over Denver on a clear windless day is the problem emissions is trying to solve. There is a purpose for all that crap under the hood. In any case, I live in California so I got it worse than anyone.
Sorry for the long rambling post. I've been in your position with the decision on the truck.
Thanks!To the OP - get a note out on the Rising Sun page to look for a used engine and Denver-area resources. www.risingsun4x4club.org
I had my 3FE engine rebuilt by Martin Davidson machine shop out here on California 15 years ago.
How does that work? I've seen a few mentions of the 2F and torque. Doesn't the 3FE beat the 2F in both torque and hp?
If the CO state legislature has any concerns about how mag affects old cars, it's almost certain that they would prefer that the cars rust out sooner to get non-green cars off the road.