Head Gasket problem at 110K?

[johnnmac]

Hey all,
Forgive me as I am a "Noob" but I am towards the end of my long and rigorous search for a great FZJ80. I have read thousands of posts on here about my predicament but couldnt find an answer. I want to move forward on one that I found on my local craigslist. It was priced very high, but that wasn't the problem. I got in touch with the seller and he said that since listing it and getting it smogged the HG has blown at valve one.

Here are the vitals:
110,xxx miles.
No lockers,
Little to no rust
and claims that quite a bit of preventative maintenance has been done.
3rd owner, he says its never been wheeled.
asking $5500 as is (With a Blown HG), but that is not where we started, started at 8k fixed.


The mileage is the most enticing part, other than it being a LC. I want to keep whichever 80 I buy forever, but do not want to bury myself in maintenance off the bat. Is there other things to look out for since it has "Overheated" anything that sno-balls afterward? Please let me know what you think about it and what to look out for! Also what do you think it is worth as is?

Thanks!

 

[Whileemptyheadsdream]

You are still going to have to do all the P/M because the rigs nearly 20 yrs. old or more. I bought one with 110K and went through the engine bay replacing main seal, oil pump gasket, dizzy O-ring, tube seals, grommets, Radiator hoses, belts, Idler pully, air cond. tention pully and more. They need It even from age. I am putting new seals on axles and repacking all bearings and cleaning and refilling birfs as well. There not leaking but everything else was and I have reccords from 4 mi. to 110K from the same Toyota dealer, they don"t do P/M on L/C most don't kmow how. If I can not see the rig In person I won't be able to tell you anything accept most peoples view of P/M is changing oil and brakes. Good Luck..!

 

[johnnmac]

You are still going to have to do all the P/M because the rigs nearly 20 yrs. old or more.

Yeah, I had budgeted about $500 to take care of a lot of the small hoses and harnesses and such. But not to get the gasket replaced for about 1500.. What all should be done?

 

[retrofive]

Uh no. Unless maybe under $3k, and I would be still shakey on that deal.

 

[rc51kid]

that is just crazy. it is not worth half that IMO. HG done right by a real LC shop is around 2500-3000 with a complete head rebuild. The milage does not mean much is it was not maintained. All the rubber parts of the truck break down from age not millage. So you still need to PM all the same stuff as i did with my truck with 185,000 on it. I spent $6200 on a great running truck, no rust, very clean body, nice interior, lockers and brand new 285/75/16 BFG KO2. Over two years i have probably put another $5000 worth of OEM Toyota parts into it in PM. I hate to say it but i think it is about the type of PM these trucks need. Regardless of mileage. I have not totaled up my stack of receipts, and i dont want to. It might be $3000 or it might be $7000. I dont really know. This truck would have to have a insane stack of PM receipts all OEM parts and all within the last year for me to pay that. Then you have to hope that who ever installed all the parts did it right. I basically don't trust anyone except for myself or one of a few LC shops around the country.

Also if it was over heated what other damage was done? Who knows. Then why did the HG go at 110,000 miles? Did he over heat it first and that blew the HG? That means you have cooling system problems. I am of the mind set that these trucks need a 100% coolant system replacement with OEM parts anyway as PM. Thats one of the best things i ever did, radiator, hoses water pump, fan clutch heater valve and so on. If you have a known coolant issue dont even do the HG until you do it all at once. Since the motor is bad you cant test dive it. What would i pay for a used car that i cant test drive, almost nothing. How do you know the transmission shifts well? Or the brakes are not grinding or the birfields are not clicking or the u joints loose? With out a test drive i would give half the value of a truck. But that is me. Anything could be wrong with it.

 

[johnnmac]

Thank you much! How much does the entire cooling system cost to replace with oem parts? Also would you consider a Toyota dealership an acceptable mechanic!?

 

[rc51kid]

For all or any parts i would PM CDan, Beno or Sam. I would guess the coolant system is less than $1000 or so. I think rad is less than 400, hoses are around 150, water pump around 150 heater valve 75 or so and some odds and ends. I think dealerships are better than most "joe the mechanic" but they are crazy over priced. I would get a FSM and learn to do it yourself. Or find a LC specific shop in your area such as Slee or Robbie Andersons shop or ACC. Here in Atlanta i am lucky enough to have ACC. I have done all my own work but would not hesitate to use them. Ask on this board for recommendations in your area. I am beyond picky and simply dont trust anyone (accept the above mentioned people). I dont even want tire shops mounting my wheels for me or a battery shop installing a battery. People screw up simple things all the time and make hard to find problems for you down the road. Also, by just crawling under your rig and changing the oil you become familiar with it. You might see a new leak or notice when a old one is getting worse. When doing brake pads you might notice a leaking shock or ripped tie rod boot.

 

[mechanist]

The radiator alone is around $400 and that's before install. Hoses, pump, heater valve, rear heater - at least $1,000 in parts. Labor will be over $100/hr and the dealership will probably charge for at least 12 hours to do all of it.

But the headgasket is blown - so there's that and all the other stuff that goes with that. You're probably looking at at least $3,500 in parts and labor to fix only what the seller is telling you about.

Get the vin and pay for carfax. It's a little hard to believe a three-owner 20 y/o vehicle only has 110,000 miles.

 

[johnnmac]

Well the saving grace is that I Work at toyota so I have good discounts on parts and a little bit of favors on labor. I will most definitely get the carfax and see what I can do there. But the more and more you guys reply the value keeps going down more and more. I was quoted circa $1500 by my service department for just the gasket. And I would love to learn how to do all of this maintenance as I plan on keeping this vehicle forever. Just a little skeptical on learning out of an fsm or off of youtube. Do you guys know of any LC shops in the northern ca/ Nevada area?

 

[mechanist]

Check the clubhouses local to you. That's probably your best resource other than the dealership where you work and the master mechanics you see on a regular basis.

Why not have them (the Toyota mm guys) walk you through the parts diagrams and show you what to look for? Or, better yet, take one to look at the truck with you?

 

[johnnmac]

That was actually something That I was thinking of doing! Only problem is going to be getting the same days off! haha but I am a mechanically smart person so I think that If i had one take some time with me that It would be entirely possible! Thanks for the advice!