Head Gasket Replacement

[thebovees]

Last week my '80 had coolant strongly leak through the head gasket into 2 cylinders. I was able to make to my dealer and checking it out he put in 3/4 gallon of coolant into the radiator, then asked me to start the engine. Doing so, the engine went "clank - clank" and stopped. He now has the engine at a point to put back together and said to me that he "has never done a Land Cruiser head gasket of this style engine". He is listed as a Toyota 'Master Mechanic'. If any can offer me advice to get this done properly, I will be greatful.

 

[jpoole]

Sounds like it may have hydro locked on that restart attempt. I don't want to add excess paranoia or complication here but it is worth considering inspection of the lower end while it's semi-apart. Not knowing the current state of the engine, exactly what happened and what your plans are for the 80 I'm not trying to tell you to definitely dig in beyond the head gasket but be aware that if it did hydro lock and do bottom end damage that you may find out as soon as you finish the head gasket and start her up, or soon after.

There's a first time for everyone/everything and I don't think that the 1FZ is very unique or difficult relative to other Toyota HG jobs so being the first time may not matter much. General competence, attention to detail and willingness to follow the FSM and other resources as needed is what matters and dictates if they will be able to do the HG job well. If they rush, cut corners and hide mistakes then you are probably screwed regardless of how many times they've done the job.

In a situation where you know that an engine has ingested coolant through a failed head gasket you don't fill it up and try to restart it unless you don't really care what happens to the engine. I don't know the full story but if the mechanic knew that the HG had failed, ie. if coolant was coming out of the tail pipe as steam or they had scoped the cylinders, etc and then they recommended you try to restart it I question their "master mechanic" status. I wouldn't let that same mechanic work on my vehicle further if that is what happened. Given what's at stake in this type of situation most experienced mechanics would know to figure out what's going on before turning the engine over with spark plugs in place, risking hydro lock.

Good luck!

 

[MikePL]

The big red flag for me is going to a DEALER and expecting MECHANICAL competence. Go to a person who specializes in repairing stuff and not selling stuff. The 1fz is actually a neasy engine to work on because it's an inline 6 with a chain and access from each and every side.

 

[raisinhell2]

Wow just wow . If the dealer filled it with anti freeze or water then hydro locked it .They owe you a new engine. You bore scope a suspected blown head gasket 1st just to make sure it isn't full of coolant for this exact reason .. I would not use the lower end without an inspection which requires disassembly . Hydro locking usually damages the rods.. I hate to say this But the dealers are the worst for our rigs. I have redone more head gaskets done by a dealer on both 3fe and fzfe engines.. I would seriously talk with them about the hydro lock issue before proceeding . Would suck to get your head on and discover a rod knock or ever worse blow a engine due to damage caused by hydro locking. Then I would call a tow truck and take it to a Land Cruiser shop or someone who knows them .

 

[baldilocks]

They broke your engine beyond the original problem. Whether due to incompetence or on purpose we will never know but one reason is far worse than the other.

And now they are supplying you with excuses about their lack of experience with “this style of engine” after they broke it to the point they could milk you for thousands more.

You are being played. I assume your cruiser is being held hostage in their building so simply walking away and buying an engine from our local Mud engine guy is out of the question. Right?

Dishonesty needs to have its guts stomped out. Do what you can and keep us apprised.

 

[charka]

I recently replaced the head gasket on my 1HZ engine. If you have the tools, it's not that difficult. However, you'll need some mechanical experience and the engine manual. The cylinder head weighs 40 kilograms.

Замена прокладки ГБЦ 1 HZ.

Всем чистого неба над головой и доброго дня! В общем стал ржаветь в прямом смысле антифриз, что только ни делал промывал, водой со сменой антифриза помогало но не надолго, ездил на дистиллированной…

www.drive2.ru

 

[charka]

Last week my '80 had coolant strongly leak through the head gasket into 2 cylinders. I was able to make to my dealer and checking it out he put in 3/4 gallon of coolant into the radiator, then asked me to start the engine. Doing so, the engine went "clank - clank" and stopped. He now has the engine at a point to put back together and said to me that he "has never done a Land Cruiser head gasket of this style engine". He is listed as a Toyota 'Master Mechanic'. If any can offer me advice to get this done properly, I will be greatful.

What kind of engine do you have with the TLС? You need to remove the spark plugs and turn the crankshaft by hand to clear the cylinders of fluid. Check the crankshaft for ease of rotation. It is necessary to check the engine block head for cracks and flatness.