Fellas - Fishing for some advice here regarding my 1992 FJ80. A few weeks back I found myself at a red light in the far right lane that ended right after the intersection. I suppose I could have put my blinker on and politely asked someone to let me in, but instead I drag raced everyone when the light changed, The Cruiser performed admirably and I got out ahead of the pack, but at the next light I noticed some terrible valve noise and loss off power. I was able to limp home, pulled the valve cover and found one push rod that was badly bent and two others that had the slightest bit of bend [not discernible to the eye - only when I rolled them over a mirror.] Anyhow, I replaced the three push rods, adjusted all the valves, and put it back together...I gave it a new cap, rotor, and plugs at the same time. Well I fired it up and it has a rough idle that doesn't smooth out until you rev it up to about 2,500 RPM's...when you put it in gear, it runs very rough, and somewhere around 20 MPH the valve noise is horrible. There's an off chance that I could have gooned up the valve adjust, but I don't think so - I was super meticulous and all valves seem to be opening and closing well when cranking with the cover off. I also rechecked the previously bent push rods and they're still good to go. I have a little water and white smoke coming out the tailpipe, but I've always had that in the year that I've owned it...I drained the oil and there's no antifreeze in it, and also checked the coolant and no oil in it.
I've spoken to a few folks who think it could be head gasket leak or other valve issues...my most telling clue [see pictures] was when I pulled the plugs that were only in the motor for about an hour of idling. You'll see #1 thru 3 are pristine, #4 is a little gray, and #5 is black...#6 is back to being pristine. Incidentally, the bent push rods were #3, 5, and 8, so no correlation with cylinder #5. And the one that was bent the worst was still not too bad - bottom line, I think I fixed the wrong problem.
I think that I should pull the head and send it to a shop, but I was hoping for a second opinion based on the condition of those plugs. I also wanted to ask if there are noticeable HP gains to be had by milling the head, as I have read in a few places that there is. I figure as long as I have it off, I might as well. Or are there drawbacks to doing that? Lastly, what else would you recommend changing out while I have it apart?
The motor has 204K on it, and it looks like the head, intake, and exhaust gaskets are fairly new, so I think the previous owner had it apart. I'll add that I took it up in the desert last July and it overheated badly - the old radiator was pretty rusty inside, even after multiple attempts to flush it and the block. I now have a new radiator, although that trip might have been enough to warp something.
Thanks in advance for any advice y'all might have - if I get my baby running again, I promise no more drag racing! Matt
I've spoken to a few folks who think it could be head gasket leak or other valve issues...my most telling clue [see pictures] was when I pulled the plugs that were only in the motor for about an hour of idling. You'll see #1 thru 3 are pristine, #4 is a little gray, and #5 is black...#6 is back to being pristine. Incidentally, the bent push rods were #3, 5, and 8, so no correlation with cylinder #5. And the one that was bent the worst was still not too bad - bottom line, I think I fixed the wrong problem.
I think that I should pull the head and send it to a shop, but I was hoping for a second opinion based on the condition of those plugs. I also wanted to ask if there are noticeable HP gains to be had by milling the head, as I have read in a few places that there is. I figure as long as I have it off, I might as well. Or are there drawbacks to doing that? Lastly, what else would you recommend changing out while I have it apart?
The motor has 204K on it, and it looks like the head, intake, and exhaust gaskets are fairly new, so I think the previous owner had it apart. I'll add that I took it up in the desert last July and it overheated badly - the old radiator was pretty rusty inside, even after multiple attempts to flush it and the block. I now have a new radiator, although that trip might have been enough to warp something.
Thanks in advance for any advice y'all might have - if I get my baby running again, I promise no more drag racing! Matt
