Build Isuzu 4BD1T Lexus LX450 (Land Cruiser) Build

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It does suck after all the hard work and time, but these are great engines! Don't throw in the towel yet.

These engines were designed to push a 15-17,000 pound cube truck, so we will never work them very hard in our Cruisers.

Hopefully it's a head gasket and you drive on for a long time with a simple fix. Still a bummer, but all this happened in 2014. In a few days, it's a new year and fresh start!
 
Ya i remember my dad having a problem with his gasser land rover. It was running warmer than normal and he said the radiator smelled like gas so he dripped water down the carb at a high idle and it looked like the radiator was on fire. Funny i used this many drip method many years later to get rid of a rat problem. Hooked up the exhaust to my drain around the house . You see rats will just die where they are from carbon monoxide, but if its coloured by smoke it will back them up to there vent holes . Most vent holes are actually closed with a thin root system. ( in my case lawn ). I had about 50 small spot fires in my lawn some almost 200 feet away.
 
What does that have to do with the price of eggs?
 
wrongway around said:
Sounds like its just a gasket, failed. If its not your torque wrench, I'd be checking your head bolts for stretching if this is the case.
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The head bolts are most likely getting replaced. The the tourque wrench is getting tested before it gets used for the head again. I may also go ARP head studs for the same cost as the Isuzu replacement bolts.
 
Ordered a full top end rebuild kit and all new head bolts from Isuzu yesterday. Whats another $700 in parts at this stage.

Hope to start tearing it down next week. See how much more money I need to burn.
 
ForealBoreal said:
Don't arp studs have a higher clamping pressure?
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The factory bolts are pretty good. Randy went north of 60psi boost before his stock head gasket let go.

Jeremy. Any chance you could setup an experiment to test the max tension the stock bolts can handle?
 
ForealBoreal said:
all I am thinking is if the ARPs are torqued way higher, wouldn't this essentially clamp the headgasket more and lessen the chance of blowing a headgasket like he did?
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It would but I think my issue was using a non OEM headgasket to start with. As soon as I got it in the truck and running I had an leak at the front of the head gasket that seemed to have fixed it self after a few hundred kms. At this stage though its really anyones guess till I get it appart.
 
Wheelingnoob said:
It would but I think my issue was using a non OEM headgasket to start with. As soon as I got it in the truck and running I had an leak at the front of the head gasket that seemed to have fixed it self after a few hundred kms. At this stage though its really anyones guess till I get it appart.
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It'll be really interesting to see where it leaked and why. I put up photos of my head-gasket job last year: http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showthread.php?40241-Head-Gasket-Repair

There is no risk blowing a good factory gasket wtih clean surfaces and factory bolts at 20psi. My only opposition to studs is how much harder it can be to get a head off with them in.
 
I doubt Jereme's HG went from inadequate clamp pressure. The ARPs do clamp about twice what stock bolts do, and can do more if you increase your torque to just below the yeld of the bolt. I doubt you need the extra clamp. They are very nice to work with. I'm hoping you get an obvious reason where the gasket failed. I can't help but think of those block irregularities you had. Arp studs have an Allen fitting in the stud itself and you don't tighten the stud all the way into the block but let it sit a bit above the bottom. Allows for a bit of movement and helps reduce overall friction. So they can be removed easily.
 
gerg said:
I doubt Jereme's HG went from inadequate clamp pressure. The ARPs do clamp about twice what stock bolts do, and can do more if you increase your torque to just below the yeld of the bolt. I doubt you need the extra clamp. They are very nice to work with. I'm hoping you get an obvious reason where the gasket failed. I can't help but think of those block irregularities you had. Arp studs have an Allen fitting in the stud itself and you don't tighten the stud all the way into the block but let it sit a bit above the bottom. Allows for a bit of movement and helps reduce overall friction. So they can be removed easily.
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Yes I have built a few engines with full ARB hardware. They are great but in this case the mods required to run them was going to be more than I wanted to undertake. So I got new OEM ones.
 
gerg said:
I doubt Jereme's HG went from inadequate clamp pressure. The ARPs do clamp about twice what stock bolts do, and can do more if you increase your torque to just below the yeld of the bolt. I doubt you need the extra clamp. They are very nice to work with. I'm hoping you get an obvious reason where the gasket failed. I can't help but think of those block irregularities you had. Arp studs have an Allen fitting in the stud itself and you don't tighten the stud all the way into the block but let it sit a bit above the bottom. Allows for a bit of movement and helps reduce overall friction. So they can be removed easily.
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Yeah my experiences have been poisoned by memories of rusted in studs on old tractors and the like with gaskets that have been weeping water into the holes for years. Take off the nuts, the studs are surrounded by rust and that head needs a huge amount of persuasion.
With bolts they normally either come out or break off at the deck.
 
gerg said:
Ahh yeah, I can see how it would only take that happening once to sour your opinion. I've not really heard of breaking head bolts off. Wow that would suck. You must be super human to break them Doug. Shesh.
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I have done it before, it sucks! Fortunatly I was able to get it out after a great deal of work.
 
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