Hi all, im fairly new to land cruisers but i do love my 1994 FJ80 with lockers. Ive been successful making a few basic repairs. I hear about head gaskets alot. Any opinions on whether head gasket repalcement is a sure thing to be required? Mine has 253k miles on it and no signs of coolant in the oil and no smoke from tailpipe. thanks!
FJ80 Head Gasket - sure thing? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Rockydog1
- Start date
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One simple, cheap answer: send an oil sample in for analysis. If you want to hear more of my $0.02, keep reading:
My first 80 series, like yours, showed no signs of HG failure at 170,00mi. but I was suspicious due to reading this forum, pondering the physics/ thermodynamics of that long, light aluminum head sitting on top of that massive chunk of iron, and buying it with a weeping radiator. I sent in an oil analysis to Blackstone and sure enough it showed an amount of potassium (antifreeze) that was consistent with a mildly leaking head gasket. In fact, Blackstone hinted I could continue using the rig with frequent oil changes. I had bought the rig to use, and use hard in Baja heat so I immediately jumped in to the repair. No regrets 25,000 miles later.
My "new" 80 was definitely blown, and I was looking for a low mile, clean 80 with history - a blown HG only kept the purchase price low. Doing the work myself I know what I'll have and who did the work.
My first 80 series, like yours, showed no signs of HG failure at 170,00mi. but I was suspicious due to reading this forum, pondering the physics/ thermodynamics of that long, light aluminum head sitting on top of that massive chunk of iron, and buying it with a weeping radiator. I sent in an oil analysis to Blackstone and sure enough it showed an amount of potassium (antifreeze) that was consistent with a mildly leaking head gasket. In fact, Blackstone hinted I could continue using the rig with frequent oil changes. I had bought the rig to use, and use hard in Baja heat so I immediately jumped in to the repair. No regrets 25,000 miles later.
My "new" 80 was definitely blown, and I was looking for a low mile, clean 80 with history - a blown HG only kept the purchase price low. Doing the work myself I know what I'll have and who did the work.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the reply, makes perfect sense. About how much time did you have into your head gasket repalcement job? Did you replace other stuff while in there?
My First 80 was a 1991 and went well over 450,000 beore I sold it, with no head gasket. I currently have a 97 LC that has 275,000 on the clock. Never messed with a head gasket on it, with no indication of needed a head gasket. My DD is a 97 LX 450 that needed a Head gasket when I bought it at 160,000 and has since gone 115000 more since the head gasket was replaced without problems. Key is maintain your cooling system including radiator, hoses, thermostat, fan clutch, Keep your EGR working properly, Never mix incompatible antifreezes together, only use distilled water and you are likely to never need a head gasket. I have had 3 fj40s, 1 fj60, 1 3f 80 and 3 fzj80s with only 1 Hg repaire
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Yeah, there's always the "while you're in there's." Lots of posts on that. It took me about a week working on it very part time. The first one I did in the truck. On this one I've pulled the whole engine and tranny, and I wouldn't be doing that without some expert guidance.
But still, don't worry about it if an oil analysis comes back with a good report and you keep the cooling system well maintained as SARguy suggests.
- Thread starter
- #7
thanks guys. I may get my oil tested and i fell better about the head gasket. What antifreeze do you guys like for the 94 cruiser? I will do a search on this site too.
@98 SNAKE EATER had like 450k on his HG before it finally went iirc. Here's a thread I started on the long-term reliability of the 80.
toyota red 50 50 blend with distilled.
I wish I had a different story. I have a 97 LC with 223,000 miles and my Head Gasket started to leak a month ago. Fortunately it's leaking out to the end of the block and not into the cylinder. I added a can of Bars Leak and she's not leaking now... I've been doing wheeling locally, but don't trust it to go far.
I am still not sure what to do,.... Replace the HG, or pull the motor and rebuild,.... Ugh.
I am still not sure what to do,.... Replace the HG, or pull the motor and rebuild,.... Ugh.
I'm not a pro, but just pulled my engine and tranny. Previously I did my other 80's HG without removing the engine. Unless you have a pretty complete shop I'd consider sticking with a HG replacement in the vehicle.
Rockydog1, you probably have learned this by now, but don't mix the red and green stuff. Do a complete flush first.
can do a HG in a day if you have a spare head waiting to go in. its no worse than any other vehicle. personally i would pull the engine and do it plus a whole pile of little things over a long weekend but that is just me. can have the engine out of the truck, with the trans still on it, before lunch.
If your engine has good compression, uses no oil, and has good oil pressure, there is no reason to do anything except the HG, some other things that become much easier with the head removed and fix any oil leaks at this time. My 93 has 268k on the clock and it uses zero oil and runs like a sewing machine.
This statement is the gospel.
Where do you send the oil for an analysis?
ewillis
SILVER Star
Blackstone...
Blackstone Laboratories Blackstone Laboratories
Learn what's going on in your engine with oil analysis. Our free kits are easy to use and we explain the results in plain English!
www.blackstone-labs.com
