HG?? (1 Viewer)

[lowtideride]

wondered off this tech part and in to the 80/100 board... i think ever time i went over they were talking about HG's blowing??? and i cruise this board a lot and almost never see it??? is somthing not to worry about in the fj-40's and 60's? besides just seeing gray sludge in the cooling system is that the only way to tell???im not really to worried i just never really saw anything on this board about it..its prob why the 40's and 60's are cooler than 80's anyway

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Actually, I've seen headgaskets in friend's FJ40 and 60's that went bad too. I think that's probably normal in an older car that gets overheated. In my friends FJ40 his daughter was driving it full throttle all the time-we called her hot-rod Hannah. The engine would ping under load, and I think 6 months of mistreatment and it blew. The 60 that went bad was purchased used by another friend and I suspect it had been previously overheated. When the head was off, it was found to be cracked and had to be replaced. So, lowtide, don't think your 60 is immune, but keep it cool and it should live a long and healthy life.

 

[jwest]

There are alot of 2F's that are hot running, have unexplained coolant loss, an overpressurized cooling system (milky oil caps), missing, etc. that could indicate blown or leaky HG's.
Sometimes overlooked is simply the periodic retorqueing of head bolts and rocker support bolts, which should be done on a cold engine, following the sequence and before a valve adjustment (done hot). And if the head's been off the block, it should be retorqued after a few hundred miles and several heat cycles.
Again, I'm only referring to the cast iron head and block of the 2F.

What's the story on the grey sludge? Exhaust gasses seperating the solids from the coolant? There was a problem with sludging on aluminum head GM's using Dex-cool.

 

[PHAEDRUS]

What the grey sludge is is up for debate. no onw is quite sure. just seems the 1fze block is finnicky on the #6 cylinder water jacket. for exhaustive reading check out rick bigelow's (landtank) write up on change out and theorys.
Dave
proudly running 3fe

 

[lagwagon]

The '95-'97 seem more prone to HG blowing but I have seen several with high mileage and no probs. My '94 has 180K on it now and is fine. My first Cruiser was my '76 55 and it blew the head gasket on the way home from the purchase. Took me a whole 2hrs to change and never broke down or ran hot for the next 40K or so that I drove it.

 

[RHINO]

its prob why the 40's and 60's are cooler than 80's anyway

maybe so, but the 55 is even cooler yet

 

[brian]

i've been really thinking about getting an 80(something in a size '97 or so), but the whole head gasket thing has me worried.

this what i've come up with.

1. the oem HG has a really thin spot on the backside of the motor.

2. that motor runs hotter than our 2F's.

3. it would seem the 80's cooling system needs alittle more care than our stuff, and if it does'nt receive that care it gets mad.

4. the gasket that replaces the stocker has more meat where the oem'er is thin, so it would seem that the HG failure is a one time deal( hopefully!!). the down side is, it looks like if you don't catch the failed HG in time there's a BIG chance you'll smoke the whole motor.

5. it's quite random. some trucks blow at less than 50K others go 150K, some never go.

i may still get one, but i've read a few stories about proud new owners, complete with a $1000(or is it $1500) HG repair bill. i want one, but not another project.

 

[lowtideride]

i wasnt saying my 60 is super man or somthing, or anything like that, i was more along the lines of i want to catch it before it happens.. i like to try to keep my 60 running as best i can. i NEVER want to get rid of it and as long as i dont kill myself surfing...ill keep good care of da beast ....
if i ever did get another car i know it would be an 80 most likly as a DD because the mods on the 60 just keeep comin...
good luck with your cruisers...
-al

 

[lagwagon]

Brian, the 80s carry on the reliability of the previous models. The hardest thing about the 80 is it will be hard to ride in the 40 again. I went wheelin in mine the first week I had it, in the desert, and it comfortably outperformed ANY 4x4 I have ever had.