Mechanic Fixed Head Gasket, At Completion Tells Me I May Require Engine Rebuild

[80 Life]

Normally, I'd say to just fix that valve spring, but $800 for a "new" engine, assuming it's is as good as you think, is a great deal.

But still something to see who's able to do that swap vs the valve spring. May be easier just to do the valve spring.

I’m at a loss.
Honestly might be patient on a rebuild of the original motor so I don’t absolutely kill the last bit of value this thing could have.
Everything in my body says to get rid of this thing. This was meant to bring me smiles, but lately it’s messing up my sleep and making me feel foolish.

 

[jaymar]

With the engine running remove/re-install one spark plug wire at a time. The knock will go away or lessen on the cylinder with the bad rod bearing. If nothing changes probably not a rod.

I had a misfire issue once on #6; new plugs and wires fixed it. When I started up, it felt like the whole truck was coming apart; I called a tow to get home--four blocks away. Not sure I'd have noticed the presence/absence of a knock, and I sure wouldn't wanna do that six times... Maybe my experience was unusual, I dunno and FWIW.

 

[80 Life]

I had a misfire issue once on #6; new plugs and wires fixed it. When I started up, it felt like the whole truck was coming apart; I called a tow to get home--four blocks away. Not sure I'd have noticed the presence/absence of a knock, and I sure wouldn't wanna do that six times... Maybe my experience was unusual, I dunno and FWIW.

Sparks and plugs are new as of a few months ago

 

[jaymar]

Kinda off subject. We did an oil change on a customers car, when she picked it up I was accused of putting a 1000 miles on her car. I explained to was impossible to put 1000 miles on the car in the two hours it was at our shop. My point yes it is tough being a mechanic and or shop owner. It has been 15 years since I closed and lately I have been thinking of opening a shop. Probably just do Cruisers and Jeeps. I know Jeeps a voodo on here.

Jeep repair sounds like a great business! Maybe add Rovers too! Gotta pay the bills while waiting on those Cruisers...

 

[ChaseTruck]

... This was meant to bring me smiles, but lately it’s messing up my sleep and making me feel foolish.

Trail trucks do that periodically, it's par for the course.
I speak from experience; we have 4 of them... you do something on one of them, one of the other will get jealous and throw a (more or less random) hissy fit.

From the cheap seats, it looks like you took a truck with an engine that was running pretty smoothly (I for one couldn't hear what was wrong in the 'before' video) to a mechanic who gave it back to you with a bad rattle, and he got paid for it. Walk away, don't give him the chance 'to make it right' - not going to happen after what has transpired. And you won't trust him anyways, and that'll make you paranoid about when the next shoe is going to drop.

Get that engine shipped & installed, so you have a working truck; then rebuild the current low-mileage engine at your leisure.

 

[SaturnAscends]

I’m at a loss.
Honestly might be patient on a rebuild of the original motor so I don’t absolutely kill the last bit of value this thing could have.
Everything in my body says to get rid of this thing. This was meant to bring me smiles, but lately it’s messing up my sleep and making me feel foolish.

I sympathize with your situation. I ended up parting ways with my FZJ80 in part because of the potential for situations like this. A lot of mechanics didn't want to touch my truck, at least not without charging an arm and a leg. I didn't have the tools and space to do more technical jobs like the upper pan arch seal and so forth, so I often felt I was at an impasse when it came to major maintenance on my truck; although I never got in as deep as you have.

To be honest I'm not sure why so many mechanics see to be so hesitant to work on these trucks: after all, they're basically a utilitarian tractor you can take on the highway. I suppose there's just so many little things that could be wrong on an old truck like this, and it being relatively low-production, with expensive parts, doesn't help.

If your Cruiser is in good cosmetic condition without major body damage and/or rust, you'd probably be better off going through with a rebuild or getting a new motor installed. Just be careful you aren't getting a cheap parts-store rebuild; I've heard estimates of up to $22,000 for a full OEM rebuild, but as you saw in this thread there's a big range. Usually small machine shops are much cheaper.

Good luck with this; I hope you come out ahead. FWIW I’d wish I’d kept mine.

 

[ozarkmud]

This vehicle may or may not be one that you'll love and enjoy. It's a disappointment when you buy it hoping that, and it isn't. And it seems like most of these issues can be pinned on the first mechanic, who you've been very gracious towards. I think it's more than fair to cut ways with him.

At this point, I wouldn't expect to love this 80. Just find a shop that can take care of it and have it fixed, for value's sake. Then drive it. If you love it, great. If not, sell it. If you're expecting it will bring great joy into your life, I understand why it's so disappointing. But there's no reason to not move forward on it to get this taken care of. Whether it's your forever trail rig or not.

 

[BILT4ME]

This whole thread is exactly why I do my own work.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I think if you asked, many of us will have had long periods with a cruiser out of action, sitting for one reason or another waiting on parts, shop time, motivation, or cash, or all of the above.

I certainly have, many times and currently do. It's frustrating and demoralising some times.

I think I'd book in the 2nd mechanic now, get a slot reserved.
Let this settle a bit and see how you feel in a few days.
You can always cancel.

$800 for a used engine sound good as a short term fix.
What does this fix actually entail?
Arrange shipping
Figure out who's gonna do the work, and where
Pull the old engine
Drop in the used one
give the used engine a bit if baselining
Fix any essential "while you're in there" items that pop up from pulling the engine.

There's a cost and time associated with all that. Does it get your cruiser back on the road faster?
Maybe.
If everything goes smoothly and nothing unexpected happens, the engine could be swapped in a weekend with the right help, right tools etc.
If you have to pay, who does the work? What's it gonna cost?
Maybe it all works out, and you ride off into the sunset.
Maybe you leave the used engine maybe you get motivated to pony up 5-10 grand to rebuild the original engine and get it back in


Or, wait for the 2nd mechanic to become available, he has it for a couple of days, replaces a valve spring
fingers crossed that's all it is and there's no other damage.
You've got your original engine back online, and your truck intact

It's a dilemma for sure!

 

[sodafeld1]

yes, move on, life is short, hard to find a good mechanic to trust, even good ones can make mistakes. I did not like how he offered the money back then did a 360, probably wife kids mortgage etc...not your fault. Second mechanic sounds much more experienced.

I think if you asked, many of us will have had long periods with a cruiser out of action, sitting for one reason or another waiting on parts, shop time, motivation, or cash, or all of the above.

I certainly have, many times and currently do. It's frustrating and demoralising some times.

I think I'd book in the 2nd mechanic now, get a slot reserved.
Let this settle a bit and see how you feel in a few days.
You can always cancel.

$800 for a used engine sound good as a short term fix.
What does this fix actually entail?
Arrange shipping
Figure out who's gonna do the work, and where
Pull the old engine
Drop in the used one
give the used engine a bit if baselining
Fix any essential "while you're in there" items that pop up from pulling the engine.

There's a cost and time associated with all that. Does it get your cruiser back on the road faster?
Maybe.
If everything goes smoothly and nothing unexpected happens, the engine could be swapped in a weekend with the right help, right tools etc.
If you have to pay, who does the work? What's it gonna cost?
Maybe it all works out, and you ride off into the sunset.
Maybe you leave the used engine maybe you get motivated to pony up 5-10 grand to rebuild the original engine and get it back in


Or, wait for the 2nd mechanic to become available, he has it for a couple of days, replaces a valve spring
fingers crossed that's all it is and there's no other damage.
You've got your original engine back online, and your truck intact

It's a dilemma for sure!

yeah, go the spare engine, pop that one in and rebuild your broken one at your own leisure if you have the space. Learn heaps.

 

[80 Life]

yes, move on, life is short, hard to find a good mechanic to trust, even good ones can make mistakes. I did not like how he offered the money back then did a 360, probably wife kids mortgage etc...not your fault. Second mechanic sounds much more experienced.

yeah, go the spare engine, pop that one in and rebuild your broken one at your own leisure if you have the space. Learn heaps.

This is likely what will happen.
I’m not getting rid of her

 

[dpeshkin]

I would verify with Toyota about availability and “in stock” i know people Have been waiting months for blocks @Rouleur waited 2 months for his. I understand the idea of just throwing in a assembled short block it will be good for a long time if taken care of. Remember your dowel pins will need to be transferred over from your old block to the new. These motors are designed with two rebuilds in-mind designed like that from Toyota. Let me know if you end up getting a short block I will buy your short block and renew life into it and sell it to a mud member. You can ship it in the crate Toyota packages your new block in.

What do you mean by "These motors are designed with two rebuilds in-mind designed like that from Toyota." ? Just curious -Dan

 

[landtank]

Here’s an idea, buy yourself a tool kit and have a go at it.

How much worse can you make things?

Start a new thread, we’re here for you and ignore the enormity of the project and concentrate on the task at hand at that moment.

A lot of us started this hobby in this very same way.

 

[ChaseTruck]

I believe it was on this board where I once read: "...it's only metal. We can out-think it...".

 

[jaymar]

Get that engine shipped & installed, so you have a working truck; then rebuild the current low-mileage engine at your leisure.

Exactly what I'm doing, but installing a low(er) mileage and doing a slo-mo / slow-cost rebuild on the high. Never hurts to have a spare engine on hand...

 

[jaymar]

I think if you asked, many of us will have had long periods with a cruiser out of action, sitting for one reason or another waiting on parts, shop time, motivation, or cash, or all of the above.
...
Pull the old engine
Drop in the used one
give the used engine a bit if baselining
Fix any essential "while you're in there" items that pop up from pulling the engine.

Oh yeah on the first note above...

On the second, I would say do what PM you can on the engine before it goes in, as you can reach a lot more now than you can later, and with a lot less cussing and fewer scraped knuckles (PHH, anyone?). Then do any engine bay PM when the original block comes out. THEN put the new-to-you engine in.

 

[landtank]

sorry guys but I've been battling COVID for the last 7 days so my thoughts have been a little choppy.

I'm stuck on the fact that 1 mechanic gets good compression on cylinder 1 and another shows only 65lbs. So I worked through the process in my head trying to account for this.

For the benefit of the OP I'll run through the process.

So the head gets bolted down, camshafts installed, timing chain, distributor, spark plugs and valve cover. Or there abouts.

At this point the lower intake is installed. I always wad up paper towels and stuff the runners so nothing can fall inside as the intake holes are facing straight up. If something were to fall into a runner it would likely disappear out of sight.

The next step is to wrangle the engine harness back into place which requires threading it through the lower intake and then plugging it into all the injectors and sensors along the side of the block.

I think something might have fallen down the #1 intake runner and is banging around the back side of the valve. Somethings holding the valve open slightly. Maybe an M8 flat washer.

I would pull the upper intake and go fishing with a magnet. It's a simple job and you might hit pay dirt.

 

[BILT4ME]

sorry guys but I've been battling COVID for the last 7 days so my thoughts have been a little choppy.

I'm stuck on the fact that 1 mechanic gets good compression on cylinder 1 and another shows only 65lbs. So I worked through the process in my head trying to account for this.

For the benefit of the OP I'll run through the process.

So the head gets bolted down, camshafts installed, timing chain, distributor, spark plugs and valve cover. Or there abouts.

At this point the lower intake is installed. I always wad up paper towels and stuff the runners so nothing can fall inside as the intake holes are facing straight up. If something were to fall into a runner it would likely disappear out of sight.

The next step is to wrangle the engine harness back into place which requires threading it through the lower intake and then plugging it into all the injectors and sensors along the side of the block.

I think something might have fallen down the #1 intake runner and is banging around the back side of the valve. Somethings holding the valve open slightly. Maybe an M8 flat washer.

I would pull the upper intake and go fishing with a magnet. It's a simple job and you might hit pay dirt.

I was thinking the same thing. My thoughts went to one of the alignment dowels for either the intake manifold or the head.

 

[landtank]

I was thinking the same thing. My thoughts went to one of the alignment dowels for either the intake manifold or the head.

Not sure how well they work but they have those endoscope cameras for a smart phone. Just need to take off the throttle body (4 12mm bolts) and feed it down the front runner.

 

[Fj80oregon]

What do you mean by "These motors are designed with two rebuilds in-mind designed like that from Toyota." ? Just curious -Dan

Toyota sells .50mm and 1.0mm larger pistons that’s two rebuilds in my mind. Or they made them bigger I guess if your bore was damaged more than .50mm.