Opinions on engine work (1 Viewer)

[noncompliant]

Hi. My nephew called this AM and he has a 97 LC (guessing its an 80 series?).
He experienced much 'smoke' last night and had to stop a few times on way home to let it cool. (No not good LOL).

He asked me for advice. Aside from kiddin' him about an OM606 I didn't really know what to say.
He couldn't really pin down the actual source of all the coolant. So I'm guessing the hose didn't blow. He's not stupid.

I did a quick check on remans and JDMs. Remans pretty spendy it seems to me.
What would be the consensus to proceed? Just rebuild? Swap with 4.7L (I had one in a tundra; pretty good I thought)?
The trucks a SW truck so really good elsewise.

Thanks.

Oh. Forgot. He said it has 290 on the ticker.

 

[1MOA]

Take it to a shop to get a proper diagnosis but if its cracked head or blown head gasket and overheated you can't say you didn't get your money out of it with 290K on the clock.

 

[clx16]

Seems like you are thinking the worst which is fine but don't tell a mechanic that or they might make sure it is the worst. That could have been just one of the small coolant hoses going or any number of things. If you know a land cruiser mechanic i would look for that just so you don't get taken.

 

[noncompliant]

OK. Thanks for the quick replies.
I have to go back to NM soon so I may just "swing by" there if he doesn't get anywhere with it. Plus I need to go check on my mom anyway.

Are these motors as bad as the 3VZ's as far as head gaskets and such?
Or any other "geez that's good to know stuff"?

 

[clx16]

The earlier models i believe had head gaskets that were weaker than the later years or year i believe. They are by no means all going to have head gasket failure but head gaskets are the primary weakness If that makes sense. It isn't like a range Rover disco thing were it will happen but it isn't uncommon either especially with the older head gasket. It is one of the more scary outcomes and so it is a big worry. However usually the bottom end is still in very good shape so it is often just a top end rebuild and you are back in business.

 

[Pascoscout]

As far as the 4.7 swap goes, while it's a good motor, the swap seemed to be difficult to accomplish to me. Think there is an issue with mating up the LC transmission to the tundra engine and/or the LC T-case to the tundra transmission. I explored it once and concluded that an LS swap would be easier and cheaper.

If you're not after more power a rebuild or replacement with a like engine is going to be the best option. If you do rebuild and still want more power there is always the turbo option. Even at $6k I think it'd be cheaper than most v8 swaps.

 

[noncompliant]

Thanks once again. This is very good info.
He did tell me this AM that it had been burnin' oil and smoking quite a bit in last year. So maybe all he needs would be a rebuild.

I'll post back what he decides to do.

 

[Kernal]

"He couldn't really pin down the actual source of all the coolant."

It's not clear what happened; coolant on the ground, coolant loss, or ??

Was there a large puddle of coolant on the ground under the vehicle? Was there a large vapor cloud coming from the tailpipe or did the "smoke" come from the engine bay/under the hood?? Was the coolant level extremely low (before or after the overheat)??

How did the engine run; did it start to misfire? Check engine light, any misfire codes??

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks once again. This is very good info.
He did tell me this AM that it had been burnin' oil and smoking quite a bit in last year. So maybe all he needs would be a rebuild.

I'll post back what he decides to do.

Burning oil or oil loss could be a simple as hardened / worn valve stem seals and no more. Or it could be more serious.
They will burn a surprising amount of oil with bad valve seals.

Tell him to get some proper diagnosis done, or throw money at a rebuild