Builds My First Land Cruiser - Cdn 🍁 BJ60 "Wabi Sabi" (4 Viewers)

[PapaGiamati]

Then from Chitina to McCarthy was surprisingly the worst 62miles of road I drove the whole trip.

Check out the warning signs before you drive! Haha

I again lucked out with the weather window and had a perfect opportunity to see all the glaciers around the Kennecott Mine

 

[PapaGiamati]

While I was parked up at the mine I had 3 seperate people come up and talk to me about the Land Cruiser. The truck that brings people together!

I ended up walking to the mine site (should have taken the shuttle) and then walked onto the glacier to go have lunch!

 

[PapaGiamati]

The drive out was a little better as there was less traffic and dust. But I still hammered the truck over the pothole and washboard ridden road.

I then headed for my later days of the trip up to Anchorage and Homer Alaska.

On the way I caught one more hike to see another epic glacier.

Then once in Anchorage area, I found a brewery and after some chatting with the locals, they let me use their hose to wash off my truck! Legends.

Then off to Homer AK on the Kenai peninsula

 

[PapaGiamati]

I ended up making it to the most western highway location you can drive on in North America! Mission success.

Found an epic camp spot on Anchor Point

 

[PapaGiamati]

the Kenai peninsula was one of the few places I spent multiple nights in the same camp spot!

Leaving the beach was the first time I heard the knocking/rattling noise from the engine. I didn’t think much of it, and figured the bearing on the water pump was failing.

Another wicked 60 series I saw in Homer. This one was fully built and looked to be an HJ60.

Some fresh caught Alaska sockeye salmon for dinner!

Took a glacier flight on a float plane and loved this sticker in the cockpit.

Then drove over to Seward AK for some of my last adventures.

 

[PapaGiamati]

Bagged another hike! On a perfect bluebird day.

Salmon berries and huckleberries were in full force in august too!

Back to the same spot on the river for 3 nights in a row just outside Seward.

Out of the whole month, I only spent $20USD on a single camp site. Pretty good cost savings!

 

[PapaGiamati]

Took a cruise from Seward to see some wildlife and the Northwestern glacier.

And we saw a humpback whale calf breach as well!

 

[PapaGiamati]

The last day of the trip before the long haul back was in Whittier AK. An old Cold War army port town that only is accessible by boat or driving through a miles long train tunnel!

Saw my last 60 series on my way out of Seward and before I started my long drives back. I was hoping this was a good omen.

The ticking noise was still intermittent but was getting a little louder…

Odd I thought. But not a concern.

 

[PapaGiamati]

Now started my long 10+ hour days on my way to try and get to Bend Oregon.

Little did I know at the time that I would only make it to Calgary, and only just!

I got my oil changed at a jiffy lube in Anchorage. I usual don’t like letting these small places change my oil but I figured what harm could be done by an oil change and really making sure they put the right quantity and quality of oil in. Not sure if this led to any issues before the engine failure. I doubt it.

Day one was from Anchorage to Destruction bay Yukon. Once again the tapping/rattling/knocking was occasional, but there was no loss of power and the engine still felt smooth while driving! Why I suspected it was an accessory failure.

Day two was from Deatruction Bay YK to south of Watson Lake YK. Back down into BC I went. Again the knocking was only occasional and seemed to have no effect on the drive. The truck once again was cruising just fine.

To be fair I was probably pushing the engine pretty hard with the long prolonged climbs out of the mountains and trying to make ground on the way so driving pretty quick for an old rig.

I left my sign on a post in the Watson lake sign post forest!

 

[PapaGiamati]

Then came my redemption drive to Hyder AK!

It was a perfect weather window to see the salmon glacier. It was another prolonged drive up a gravel road. Probably hard on the engine again.

But the knock was still only really intermittent and the truck ran fine, so again, I wasn’t concerned cause I knew if I got to Bend I could park the truck and have a shop rebuild whatever was failing.

Also I want this tire cover.

 

[PapaGiamati]

And now to yesterday, destruction day.

I ended up driving from Hyder AK to east of Prince George the day before and the knock went from occasional to now being constant. But not too loud.

Yesterday I went from east of PG to Calgary AB where the truck blew up.

I did some small diagnostics to see if it was a stuck injector or the water pump. So I cracked the fuel lines. No change to the noise. Then I took the fan belt off the water pump to see. No change to the noise. Uh oh.

I still had the long drive through the icefield parkway to get to Calgary. Lots of hills and lots of elevation gain and worst of all, no cell service.

So as I drove back into Alberta, the knocking was getting really pronounced. In hindsight, I probably should have pulled over and had the truck towed into town, but I was too confident and hopeful that it wasn’t something catastrophic.

As I made it to Lake Louise I got cell service again but still had a 2 hour drive left. Yikes. The rattling got worse.

So I drove at a meagre 90km/h the whole way back and eventually made it into town. The knocking was really bad by now. But I made it. I made it to a city where I had contacts so I was hopeful.

This entire day I would shut the engine off on prolonged downhill sections and coast down in neutral so that I didn’t have to use the engine. I think I saved it for a few extra kilometers that allowed me to get home thankfully.

Once I was in Calgary, I made a drive to my old house that I still own and was planning to pop in for a quick visit then visit a mechanic buddy to get the problem looked at.

Just as I rolled up to a stop light only a block or two from the house. I shut down the engine and when I went to restart it and pull away, I was in first gear, pulling away and then BANG!! I heard a loud noise and then the sound of a whole lot of metallic noises fill the drain pan. It sounded like someone took a punch of pennies and tossed the into the engine block. And then, nothing!

The engine continued to run and there no longer was any knocking! What the heck???

So I immediately pulled over and shut the engine down. I walked back to the spot on the road it blew up and looked for oil or any indication that I punched a hole in the crank case.

Luckily no Swiss cheese engine block.

So I drove the truck another probably 1km by turning the engine on, getting the truck rolling, then turning the engine off and coasting. Once again the truck ran and the engine pulled like normal.
I think I blew the bottom end and a bearing.
If the engine would run too long after the detonation, you would hear a loud squeal that got worse. I never let it get that bad as I would keep shutting the truck off.

After a very short drive back. I parked the truck at my house and that’s now where it sits until I can get a shop to look at what blew up and source more bottom end parts for this 3B engine.

yikes.

I am lucky that the truck got me all the way home and didn’t blow up on the long stretches of road without cell service or shops for miles and miles around. I was very lucky all things ls considered.

Should I have driven the truck 1000km+ with a knocking noise? Probably not…

Time to see what the cost will be and if I can even get this fixed! If there are people with spare 3B engines sitting around or parts hit me up. I’m in the market! Hahaha

The story continues…

 

[BurntToast]

the Kenai peninsula was one of the few places I spent multiple nights in the same camp spot!

Leaving the beach was the first time I heard the knocking/rattling noise from the engine. I didn’t think much of it, and figured the bearing on the water pump was failing.
View attachment 3981194

Another wicked 60 series I saw in Homer. This one was fully built and looked to be an HJ60.
View attachment 3981159

Some fresh caught Alaska sockeye salmon for dinner!
View attachment 3981160

Took a glacier flight on a float plane and loved this sticker in the cockpit.
View attachment 3981162

Then drove over to Seward AK for some of my last adventures.
View attachment 3981163

I have the same one, you can get them here

WARNING! Stickers MK. II - Etsy

This Tools & Equipment item by AvEwerkz has 4915 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Canada. Listed on Aug 25, 2025

www.etsy.com

Awesome trip report! Curious to hear what comes of the engine

 

[mcmlxxxv]

What a beutifull trip !! Wow hope to live that kind of adventure someday !

 

[duncanrm]

Sorry for your loss

 

[Gimme a 60]

Pics of the old sad 60 and me catching the Alaska marine highway to Haines AK!

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That 60 is abandoned. Was it a diesel?

I’d be getting that thing right now lol.

 

[PapaGiamati]

That 60 is abandoned. Was it a diesel?

I’d be getting that thing right now lol.

Hahaha yeah I should get a flight back to Alaska and see if I can find the owner!

Luckily I have some irons in the fire right now and might have some contacts with the ability to source an engine or rebuild what’s already broken if that’s possible.

We shall see.

 

[sodafeld1]

What an awesome adventure! I would actually estimate the value of the memories of where you went and what you saw as equal to the cost of your engine. The body and chassis is actually more valuable. Engines can be repaired or replaced. An old farmer I met was praising how his 2h could still run with a broken crank, not sure for how long though.

Memories are all we have in the end. The memories with big smiles are the best.
I wonder what was quarried at the monster claw excavator? Quarries are really interesting. I can only guess those berries were edible? We don't have them down here. The glacial blue is truly beautiful.

Thank you for sharing. I loved the French film 'The Bear' set in B.C. But your pics go beyond.

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

Thanks for sharing your journey - it's a beautiful place up there! I've not explored that side of the world but can relate to the great feeling of driving through similar wilderness in Siberia.

Sad to hear about the engine, but I'm a bit puzzled by your description. Did it still have any oil pressure after whatever it was let go? If a big end let go but didn't exit the block, I struggle to imagine how it can run without knocking. Also the intermittent nature of the knocking early on is not how I understand big end noise develops (though I have no personal experience).

I think perhaps you lost one of those wretched pre-combustion chambers, which took out a piston. The bottom ends on these things are pretty strong, especially in your case where you don't have a turbocharger.

Not sure if it being a pre-combustion chamber would be any better than a bottom end - the heads on these are probably rarer than a crank. But it would at least mean that your block will be fine.

Very interested to see the post-mortem on this one. But maybe it's time for a 14/15B???

 

[PapaGiamati]

What an awesome adventure! I would actually estimate the value of the memories of where you went and what you saw as equal to the cost of your engine. The body and chassis is actually more valuable. Engines can be repaired or replaced. An old farmer I met was praising how his 2h could still run with a broken crank, not sure for how long though.

Memories are all we have in the end. The memories with big smiles are the best.
I wonder what was quarried at the monster claw excavator? Quarries are really interesting. I can only guess those berries were edible? We don't have them down here. The glacial blue is truly beautiful.

Thank you for sharing. I loved the French film 'The Bear' set in B.C. But your pics go beyond.

I really appreciate your words. Thank you for responding!

As my friend recently said, this truck brought me all the way home safely, and then decided to blow up. I owe it to rebuild or find another engine for it. It got me home so I need to renew its life.

That monster claw in Bella Coola was used for picking up massive piles of logs! Bella Coola was a large forestry town back in the day! That large log I’m sitting on in the next photo was the start of a ramp to put logs into the ocean to tie them together to float them down the inlet I can only assume. Or bring them out of the ocean and onto the processing plant that used to be on that shore!

Salmon berries are very edible! I had them around my house in Coquitlam BC where I grew up! I was happy to see them so far north as well. I also saw wild raspberries along my hikes.

 

[PapaGiamati]

Thanks for sharing your journey - it's a beautiful place up there! I've not explored that side of the world but can relate to the great feeling of driving through similar wilderness in Siberia.

Sad to hear about the engine, but I'm a bit puzzled by your description. Did it still have any oil pressure after whatever it was let go? If a big end let go but didn't exit the block, I struggle to imagine how it can run without knocking. Also the intermittent nature of the knocking early on is not how I understand big end noise develops (though I have no personal experience).

I think perhaps you lost one of those wretched pre-combustion chambers, which took out a piston. The bottom ends on these things are pretty strong, especially in your case where you don't have a turbocharger.

Not sure if it being a pre-combustion chamber would be any better than a bottom end - the heads on these are probably rarer than a crank. But it would at least mean that your block will be fine.

Very interested to see the post-mortem on this one. But maybe it's time for a 14/15B???

Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a pre-combustion cup! It still held oil pressure even after it blew up!!

And oddly enough it still ran strong even after the metallic BANG! Like what would let go that catastrophically and still allow the engine to run and keep oil pressure?

My bet is still somehow on a thrown bearing on the bottom end. If it blew a pre ignition cup, I would assume I would be firing on 3 cylinders? But when I parked it up it still sounded oddly “healthy” when running except for the squeal of whatever was getting hot after the loud bang.

Funny enough, I have a person I met on the day I was leaving to Alaska who has a Toyota 3B sitting on a tire infront of his mechanic shop in Calgary. I just hope he wants to sell it to me!

I’m debating taking money out of some investments to fund a motor swap if it’s really bad and I can’t salvage/rebuild or source a motor! I would love an OM605(6)? or Cummins 4BT hahaha.

I don’t even know where I would get a 14/15B in Canada!