I am purchasing a 88 FJ62 that cracked the head and the owner now wants to sell. The rig has 145k miles and I am debating on the best course of action for getting her back up and running and I would love some feedback or opinions from the group here. As I see it, I have a few options without breaking the bank.
1. Take the existing cracked head to a machine shop and have them evaluate if the crack is something that could be "repaired" and then gone through (magna fluxed, reconditioned, etc.)
or
2. I found a FJ62 owner who is pulling his engine for a LS swap, and I could get the complete 3FE engine for around $1200. This motor has about 250k miles, however it does run well and no problems as reported by him. Would you go this route and pull the head from this donor motor and have it gone through by a machine shop and then swap that FJ I'm buying? The benefit here is maybe the additional parts that would be left from the donor motor in case anything else was needed down the road?
or
3. Is there a reputable shop/source for rebuilt 3FE heads online that people have used? Is it better/easier/faster to go that route and purchase an already remanufactured head? Please post a link if so.
Lastly, I've read many posts about using only the Toyota OEM head gaskets. Is there a preferred site online for this and any of the other gaskets/hoses?
Thanks so much!
1. Take the existing cracked head to a machine shop and have them evaluate if the crack is something that could be "repaired" and then gone through (magna fluxed, reconditioned, etc.)
or
2. I found a FJ62 owner who is pulling his engine for a LS swap, and I could get the complete 3FE engine for around $1200. This motor has about 250k miles, however it does run well and no problems as reported by him. Would you go this route and pull the head from this donor motor and have it gone through by a machine shop and then swap that FJ I'm buying? The benefit here is maybe the additional parts that would be left from the donor motor in case anything else was needed down the road?
or
3. Is there a reputable shop/source for rebuilt 3FE heads online that people have used? Is it better/easier/faster to go that route and purchase an already remanufactured head? Please post a link if so.
Lastly, I've read many posts about using only the Toyota OEM head gaskets. Is there a preferred site online for this and any of the other gaskets/hoses?
Thanks so much!