80 Life
SILVER Star
In June I purchased a 93" FZJ80 with 153,000 miles on it.
After only a little bit of ownership I was telling my mechanic and 80 owner friends due to the smell coming out of the exhaust I thought the head was leaking. When checked it was barley able to get the dye to change but eventually it did, the head was leaking slightly.
I asked my mechanic (Toyota Specialist, works on a ton of 80's) if the rest of the vehicle was up to snuff and worth fixing, he said it was.
This entire time there was something between a knock and a tick occurring under the hood. My mechanic concluded this was due to the timing chain guides being broken and that he would fix that as well while in there.
$3,000 + worth of work later and the noise is still there. Mechanic goes back in to replace the tensioner because he thought that was now the issue, noise is still there.
Through some more trial and error the mechanic was able to conclude it was coming from the rod in cylinder 1.
At this point he is not sure if a full rebuild is warranted or not, but I should know soon.
I would like some advice on how to handle this situation and where to go from here. I would like to say this mechanic has always been fair to me and I still do believe him to be a great mechanic and person. With that being said I am not here to talk s*** or drag someone through the MUD. I am 24 and this is one of my first vehicles I have owned and could use some advice.
I was considering engine swaps and other routes, but was told that a head gasket repair would get my vehicle right again. At under $4,000 to get it running smoothly again I was sold. At this point I am almost $4,000 in and being told my engine is in worse condition than I ever imagined. Should this knock been diagnosed first and not brushed aside as timing guide issue before doing $3,000+ in other work? Any advice on what to do if the evidently does need a full rebuild?
Edit *I want to emphasize that I am not blaming my mechanic and just wanted 2nd opinions on this expensive transaction from people much wiser. This mechanic has always been fair to me and done good work and I believe he still is.
After only a little bit of ownership I was telling my mechanic and 80 owner friends due to the smell coming out of the exhaust I thought the head was leaking. When checked it was barley able to get the dye to change but eventually it did, the head was leaking slightly.
I asked my mechanic (Toyota Specialist, works on a ton of 80's) if the rest of the vehicle was up to snuff and worth fixing, he said it was.
This entire time there was something between a knock and a tick occurring under the hood. My mechanic concluded this was due to the timing chain guides being broken and that he would fix that as well while in there.
$3,000 + worth of work later and the noise is still there. Mechanic goes back in to replace the tensioner because he thought that was now the issue, noise is still there.
Through some more trial and error the mechanic was able to conclude it was coming from the rod in cylinder 1.
At this point he is not sure if a full rebuild is warranted or not, but I should know soon.
I would like some advice on how to handle this situation and where to go from here. I would like to say this mechanic has always been fair to me and I still do believe him to be a great mechanic and person. With that being said I am not here to talk s*** or drag someone through the MUD. I am 24 and this is one of my first vehicles I have owned and could use some advice.
I was considering engine swaps and other routes, but was told that a head gasket repair would get my vehicle right again. At under $4,000 to get it running smoothly again I was sold. At this point I am almost $4,000 in and being told my engine is in worse condition than I ever imagined. Should this knock been diagnosed first and not brushed aside as timing guide issue before doing $3,000+ in other work? Any advice on what to do if the evidently does need a full rebuild?
Edit *I want to emphasize that I am not blaming my mechanic and just wanted 2nd opinions on this expensive transaction from people much wiser. This mechanic has always been fair to me and done good work and I believe he still is.
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I suggest grabbing another engine from one of the above poster and hang on to it. See if the original engine can be repaired and if not, you got a backup engine for parts or a whole swap. No way would I suggest the OP do any kind of an engine conversion 'cause I don't think he has $20k laying around for a conversion done by others. 
