I think I'm fawked

[TJDIV]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............................that sucks.............





s***ty s***ty s***ty s***ty s***ty............

If you decide to do the engine stuff, you know 2F's can be found cheap, and Chevrolet 250's or 292's can be found REALLY cheap and will work. I've got an old I-6 250 in mine that runs like a champ. Probably cost ya $200 for an engine like this. You could make more than that parting out what's known to be good on your engine.....


Damn. Wish sh*t were different for ya Ken. Let me know if you need some help hunting down parts or materials, etc.

OH, and BTW, here's to that little part of you that has to laugh.... (not in a good way, you know what I mean).

 

[Lusedekache]

Man, sorry to hear that!
Is this a daily driver or do you have another ride? I saw you mentioned a GMC, or is that the wife's ride? If you have other transportation I would definately reccomend rebuilding it. It's not as daunting a task as it may seem and would be a good chance to learn a lot about your Landcruiser and automobiles in general. That also depends on whether or not you have the space and tools to do it. I wouldn't worry to much about your ability though, it would be a perfect chance to improve them as you go. There are lots of good books out there to get you started as well as the factory manuals.
I would also take into consideration the condition of the Cruiser, is it really nice, rust free? If so then I would say hold on to it. Nice Cruisers, as anyone on this forum can attest, are really hard to come by and will only be more so in the future. If it's rusty and full of holes, well, maybe it would be a good time to unload it and set your focus on a future project.
Also consider any sentimental attachment you have to the vehicle. If it's really rusty but you have some sort of emotional association with it then you might want to keep it.
It's a tough call though if your wife is pressuring you to get rid of it. I'm not sure what your family situation is, that's gotta be your call.
If you really don't want to rebuild it yourself see if you town has an engine exchange operation; a place when you take your engine and they either rebuild it for you or sell you one they have rebuilt by an outside source for them.
I'm not sure about a GM conversion, I've never done one, so maybe some of the other guys will have more info, but I would think a 350 would be a lot easier to get your hands on than a 2F. But, if you don't do it yourself you would have to pay someone else to do it, as well as pay for a conversion kit.
So, in conclusion, my suggestions (if you decide to keep it) are:
1. Rebuild the 2F
2. Swap in a 2F (because I'm a big fan of stock setups)
3. Swap in a 350

 

[cruiserdan]

I fear there is a good chance that the crank is toast. One of our club members lost oil pressue in his 2F at Moab last year and it hosed his crank. I think I would start by pulling the oil pan and looking at the crank journals.

 

[IDave]

I, too, feel your pain, Ken. My vote is to swap in another 2F. Whatever you would replace your cruiser with is going to cost you more than what it would cost to fix. Tell your wife you're thinking of selling it and replacing it with a new $30000 Heep. $6000/yr payments. You know. She might see things differently.

 

[Romer]

Thanks for your thoughts. The new car wouldn't work since my DD is a GMC. This is a Toy for me, That at least is lucky. I already had a nice offer from someone in the area to swap out the engine with one sitting in his garage. Cruiser guys are awesome!

 

[Jman]

Wow, that sucks.

First, make sure it's absolutely, positively seized. I've only seized one motor, a Peugeot, and it took a LONG time (for over a mile heard a sound like I was dragging a chain while driving--put in new oil, did a tune up, it still drove another ten miles). Did you drain your oil and look for metal? If you're unsure of the diagnosis, maybe get a second opinion from a local pro.

If it's seized, I say rebuild if you've got the $$$, or get a used 2F to drop in. Quickest, purest way to get back on the road.

If it's gone, sorry. :'(

 

[Romer]

I tried two things. with the plugs, starter and Dizzy out.

I put it in reverse and used a tow strap and tried to pull it backwards with a Jimmy. No Go.

I put it in 4th and tried to push it (gently) with a Jimmy. No go.

Don't know what else it could be but siezed.

Ken

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Yikes Ken-it does sound seized! Take the local guy up on his offer and get back to Cruising! The longer it sits dead, the less slack you will get from the spousal unit. I have heard of at least 2 other ruined motors from distributor swaps. That absolutely sucks, and I'm sorry for you. If the spare motor is good, you could probably swap in a long day.

 

[HI^C]

For s#its and giggles, try going the wrong way! turn the engine over the oppisite way. Checkin to see if it has an object wedged funny in the rotation. Also can you manually prime the oil pump? just to wet things that sound like they went dry.

if you can make sure the top end is free, crank turned and bearings shouldnt be too bad $$$.

if not keep it and rebuild it. Doesnt sound to bad, at least you were not using it when i seized, so IMO would show very minor ill effects vs. heavily using it before the seize.

 

[Jman]

[quote author=HI^C link=board=1;threadid=17521;start=msg169728#msg169728 date=1086467727]
For s#its and giggles, try going the wrong way! turn the engine over the oppisite way. Checkin to see if it has an object wedged funny in the rotation.
[/quote]

This is what I was thinking--it's a long shot, but it's worth checking out.

You're probably right, I just looked back and saw your comment about the knocking, so ugh, it's probably seized.

 

[swank60]

Man, I'm sorry to read about this. Totally sucks. When I came across this the other night, I was kind of thinking what HI C said about something jamming the engine - wedged in - but with the dizzy coming out without damage...well...

Maybe you could pull the dizzy out and run a magnet down in there and see if something lifts out. Then pull the oil pan and see what you can find from there. I can't offer much, but I wanted to offer something...I know how you feel.

 

[Romer]

I tried going forward in 4th and reverse in 4th, pushing and pully with my GMC. Its stuck.

Thanks for your good thoughts it makes it a lot easier.

 

[JohnL]

You can't quit the club, it says "Lifer" up there! Plus you now have a DUI you need to put in something...

Do the rebuild and share the pics...

 

[Romer]

I won't quit the club. Just when things seemed really dark, a fellow cruiser here in Colorado did a great thing and is going to help me. I can't quit a "club" that has members like that.

He has several engines he bought stand alone he was going to rebuild anyways and says rebuilding mine would be the same amount of work. We are still working out the details.

I plan on keeping the DUI Dizzy. I'll have someone help me this time to make suere I don't fawk another engine. This time I will make sure I fix the oil sender signal that broke when I pulled the old one out. Even though I knew that it turned the oil pump, I didn't think about monitoring oil pressure ( :whoops. I have heard from a lot of guys who did the same thing. Wish I would have known that before I started. I just thought if it fit down the hole, that I was OK.

Maybe we should post in the FAQ, things to watch out for when doing specific mods.

Ken

 

[folsom50]

have heard from a lot of guys who did the same thing. Wish I would have known that before I started. I just thought if it fit down the hole, that I was OK.

I almost did that too my brand new rebuild last Nov. when I first fired mine up. Luckily I looked at the gauge a couple seconds after it started and shut it down. It scared me so bad I took the oil pan off and pulled all the caps one at a time and checked the bearings. Nothing was hurt. It also scared me so bad that when I replaced my old dizzy with a rebuilt one last Tues. it took longer than it should have just because I was double and triple checking myself, making sure the oil pump was engaged.

I feel for ya, just chock it up to a hard lesson learned.

 

[cosfj40]

I won't quit the club. Just when things seemed really dark, a fellow cruiser here in Colorado did a great thing and is going to help me. I can't quit a "club" that has members like that.

He has several engines he bought stand alone he was going to rebuild anyways and says rebuilding mine would be the same amount of work. We are still working out the details.

I plan on keeping the DUI Dizzy. I'll have someone help me this time to make suere I don't fawk another engine. This time I will make sure I fix the oil sender signal that broke when I pulled the old one out. Even though I knew that it turned the oil pump, I didn't think about monitoring oil pressure ( :whoops. I have heard from a lot of guys who did the same thing. Wish I would have known that before I started. I just thought if it fit down the hole, that I was OK.

Maybe we should post in the FAQ, things to watch out for when doing specific mods.

Ken

When you motor seized up, did it make any kind of sound at all? The reason I ask is because I believe the same thing has happened to me. Just moved to Colorado Springs, haven't joined the club yet but was going to...kept missing the meetings due to life getting in the way.

 

[CruiserStuff]

What cosfj40? I thought you just solved your probs by changing out the coil, etc? Wassup now? (Did you put super unleaded in it again? LOL!!)

 

[cosfj40]

What cosfj40? I thought you just solved your probs by changing out the coil, etc? Wassup now? (Did you put super unleaded in it again? LOL!!)

Yeah, very funny on no laughing matter. We have a smiley with a finger? LOL J/K I did get that fixed. Then I took it out for two drives...one that lasted ten minutes, the other maybe fifteen minutes. It was on the latter drive that the engine acted like it lost compression, then quit. When I tried to restart it I heard a very loud click. First thing I did was replace the starter since I was going to do that eventually anyway. Same thing: loud click. Thought maybe the motor was under compression, rolled it a bit and popped the clutch in third gear (lowest gear). Still nothing. A friend told me to remove the plugs, turn it over that way and still nothing but the click. I figured if the motor siezed up it would make some sort of sound...never heard of one doing it without making one heck of a noise.

 

[CruiserStuff]

I just recently seized an engine and I really don't think this is your problem (from what you've described anyway). Put your truck in neutral and use the factory jack handle (hopefully you have one) and put it through the front bib and into the crank pulley (it is built to fit) and try turning the engine manually. Did you check your fuses....loud click? Did you check the clamp on your dizzy to see if it's loose?

 

[cosfj40]

I just recently seized an engine and I really don't think this is your problem (from what you've described anyway). Put your truck in neutral and use the factory jack handle (hopefully you have one) and put it through the front bib and into the crank pulley (it is built to fit) and try turning the engine manually. Did you check your fuses....loud click? Did you check the clamp on your dizzy to see if it's loose?

Nope, haven't done those things yet, but I appreciate the pointers! I'll do all of them, and let you know the result.