Newbie in Maryland Needs Help with a Blown Head Gasket

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NavyDoc

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Jan 3, 2015
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Hey guys,

I am a new owner of a FZJ80 and it has a blown head gasket. They guy kind of screwed me. He said that it was inspected by his mechanic, no issues, he drove it all the time, etc. Well long story short I ended up buying it and I lost about 2 quarts of coolant on the 45min drive from his house to mine. When I got home I did a combustion gas test and it actually passed. Then I pulled the #6 plug and could see coolant on the cylinder head. So, looks like it is time for a new HG. While I am mechanically inclined, I think this is slightly out of my comfort zone. My local mechanic wants $2500 for the job. Does anyone have recommendations on a mechanic in the Maryland, northern Virginia or Washington DC area? Thanks in advance!
 
Also, I forgot to add. Do you guys think the price is fair or should I shop around? Not saying that I want a cheap/bad job or anything...my mechanic is usually a little high on the price, but he does really good work. That price includes the machine shop fees. Basically, Im just wondering if that price is in range with what others have paid or if someone has a recommendation for a different local shop/shadetree mechanic.
 
Nice. Thanks guys! Looks like Ill have some phone calls to make in the morning.

Ill let you guys know how it plays out.
 
Just as a frame of reference, I did the HG on my 80 recently. I did not skimp on parts or machine shop or injector service etc. , and replaced a few things while I was in there. I don't have a firm total but a very close estimate is around $1200 in total out of pocket costs give or take. I did all the work myself. So if you take that as a rough baseline add labor. It took me about 2 days to tear down and the same to put it back together however I spent a lot of effort cleaning things while I had it pulled apart.

I would do as suggested and follow up on some of the references of those familiar with this vehicle.
 
Just wanted to give you guys an update. I really appreciate the reply posts and PMs! I called around and I was about to set up a date and time to get the work done with one of the guys mentioned above, then I got a curve ball. One of my friends (I randomly mentioned the story to him) has a friend that is a very experienced Toyota mechanic. This guy ended up being interested in the job- he has a really good price on OEM Toyota parts and gave me a really cheap price on labor. He has done a bunch of these before and his shop is really close to my house (what are the odds, right). I dropped off the truck at his shop last night and he is going to start on it Monday. Hopefully I should be back up and running by the end of the week!
 
Hey Navy- I recently picked up a fzj80, and I live in Maryland as well. Im curious who you got your truck from, as I was in the market as well. Also, could you give me the details of the shop you went to? Anyways, I have some extra OEM parts that I'd be willing to part with as well.
 
Ask your T mechanic if he wants some more dude work. Need a front axle rebuild. Just outside Annapolis
 
dslayer86 said:
Hey Navy- I recently picked up a fzj80, and I live in Maryland as well. Im curious who you got your truck from, as I was in the market as well. Also, could you give me the details of the shop you went to? Anyways, I have some extra OEM parts that I'd be willing to part with as well.
Click to expand...
maddss said:
Ask your T mechanic if he wants some more dude work. Need a front axle rebuild. Just outside Annapolis
Click to expand...

I purchased the truck from a private seller, not a dealer. The guy at the shop is a friend of a friend, so I got a WAY better deal than their regular rate. But to be honest it wasn't that much cheaper than OTRAMM's quote. The way it really saved me some cash was that I didn't have to pay a huge towing bill to have the truck hauled out to OTRAMM's place in NOVA. So since you dont have to deal with towing fees, I would just take it to him. Regardless, Ill ask him what he would charge and PM you the price.

As an update on my truck, it needed a bunch more stuff than the HG. Distributor was cracked, vacuum hoses started falling apart when the intake manifold was removed, valves needed reseating, one of the knock sensors was bad, etc. I also had had them replace almost everything that was mentioned in this thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ev...y-80s-build-thread.711362/page-3#post-8385780

They have had the truck for the past week. It took more time than expected to get the parts in. I should be able to pick it up in the next couple days, pending my availability.
 
I finally got a chance to go pick up the truck. The total bill was really cheap and the truck runs perfect! The shop is in Gaithersburg, MD. Please PM me if you would like info on the shop. I told the guy he may have some more LCs headed his way. Thanks for everyone's input!
 
Sorry to hear about your HG experience with your new 80, but good to know you turned it around. While I do most of my own work, it's always great to hear reports of local shops that do good work at a reasonable cost for whenever I may need one. It's also nice to see more Maryland 80 owners on the site... Enjoy your new ride!
 
NEVERMIND about me suggesting the shop. Never go to Eurowerks! My LC broke down on the way to work (several of the plastic caps on the distributor wires are missing and were in a little pile in the battery tray). The coil wire came off. After I fixed it on the roadside, I took a closer look at the engine bay. It is horrible. There are over a dozen missing bolts to the intake, valve cover, engine shroud, trans dip stick, PAIR system, etc. The ground to the engine by the intake isnt connected, the kickdown cable was where the cruise control cable was, and the list goes on. Im not really sure what I should do. If everything I can see is horrible, Im really worried about what I cant see!

I was wondering why it was shifting so weird when I drove it home last night. Is there anything bad that could happen to the trans by having the kickdown cable stuck out? See picture.

Anyway, I havent talked to the shop yet...I have no idea what to say. I dont trust him to fix the problems. I think I should get my money back from him then go to someone else and have them fix/take everything apart to check their terrible work.

Suggestions?

IMG_20150123_155410024.jpg
 
Yeah, Im sure they are going to be difficult to deal with. I hope when I go to the shop to talk to them, they still have all of the hardware laying around somewhere! You're right, Scott. I should have just done it correctly the first time. The unfortunate thing is that I was led to believe that this guy knew what he was doing...ugh.

Any thoughts on the kick down cable?
 
This is a shame. If you can't get your money back you might be out the whole job over again.
 
No kidding. It is on my credit card, so I could cancel the charge if he refuses to reach an agreement...but then he might turn it into a litigation, which could end up costing me more time and money...ugh! I agree iptman, I might be stuck paying for the job TWICE!
 
NavyDoc said:
No kidding. It is on my credit card, so I could cancel the charge if he refuses to reach an agreement...but then he might turn it into a litigation, which could end up costing me more time and money...ugh! I agree iptman, I might be stuck paying for the job TWICE!
Click to expand...
Take it to a legit shop. Just out money and a lesson learned.
 
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