I recently bought a 1997 80 with a bad head (I didn't know the head was bad at the time of purchase)
I just picked up the head from the machine shop and unfortunately the exhaust valve seats have pitting. This is my first time going through a head gasket or doing anything more than the superficial jobs like water pump, front main seal, oil pump gasket level stuff so I wanted to get y'all's opinions. The shop charged me $250 to hot tank and deck the head (he took .008 off). He said he would recommend I have him cut new valve seats and trim my valve stems to keep the lash in spec and that it would cost $900. What do y'all think? I added 3 valve seat photos that I chose at random but they all look roughly the same (this condition) Would lapping be sufficient? Should I have new seats cut and if so is $900 a reasonable price? I'm down in South Texas.
Thank you in advance
You should definitely have the seats cut and valves ground, is he doing the valve adjustment in that price? New valve guide seals installed? New valve guide bushings installed? In Oregon that price would be a little cheaper but if it’s a quality shop and does honest work with a warranty I don’t they are that far off on price.
You should definitely have the seats cut and valves ground, is he doing the valve adjustment in that price? New valve guide seals installed? New valve guide bushings installed? In Oregon that price would be a little cheaper but if it’s a quality shop and does honest work with a warranty I don’t they are that far off on price.
That's what I was thinking as well. I think I will go with a different shop for the work. But I called a reputable one a few hours away and they seem to be in the same ballpark price wise which is fine with me for quality work. I bought an OEM head gasket kit that came with valve guide seals. I'm not too sure on the valve guide bushing?
The shop that had the head already decked it and mentioned he took off 0.008 which seemed like a lot but again I'm new to all of this stuff so it's all kind of overwhelming
That's what I was thinking as well. I think I will go with a different shop for the work. But I called a reputable one a few hours away and they seem to be in the same ballpark price wise which is fine with me for quality work. I bought an OEM head gasket kit that came with valve guide seals. I'm not too sure on the valve guide bushing?
The shop that had the head already decked it and mentioned he took off 0.008 which seemed like a lot but again I'm new to all of this stuff so it's all kind of overwhelming
The amount taken off is with in spec so you should be good. The bushing have a tolerance that should be checked and replaced if out of spec. The Toyota FSM lists them.
For ~ $1600 you can pick up a new Toyota head (11101-69107, shop around) versus $900 to machine what you have, add new OEM valves and springs for a bit more and drive happy. Sell what you have in Classifieds to recoup a bit of the cost of the new head??
For ~ $1600 you can pick up a new Toyota head (11101-69107, shop around) versus $900 to machine what you have, add new OEM valves and springs for a bit more and drive happy. Sell what you have in Classifieds to recoup a bit of the cost of the new head??
Only if it was that easy, you’re looking at $400 for valves, $300 for springs and keepers. Then you need new PHH nipple and throttle body coolant pipe purchased and installed. Then a couple hours to set up new valves and measure, then order appropriate shims, wait wait wait, then final valve check and hopefully you measured correctly and valve clearance is correct. A lot more goes into a new head than just buying. Valves may also need lapped into seats and that needs to be checked also. Equaling $$$$ in labor if you’re paying a shop.
I would like to have a valve job done given the points @Fj80oregon mentioned are associated with a new factory head install. One of my biggest concerns is that the guy at the machine shop mentioned he would need to deck the head once again after he cut new valve seats. This concerns me because he mentioned that the head appeared to have swirls from a previous (botched) attempt to resurface the head (likely why my head gasket was leaking leading up to all of this). So with that being the case I know of that wire wheel resurfacing attempt (botched), the 0.008 decking (just done) and then a possible addition amount taken off for the valve job. How much head mating surface can be sacrificed before the head is essentially unusable? Along with this, in y'all's experience, does redecking the head warrant another head resurfacing or could I find a shop that feel confident that they could complete the valve job without needing a follow-up resurfacing
Thank you for any input you may have.
I dont get the comment from the machine shop about decking the head again after new valve seats being done, the valve seats do not sit at the same level as the head surface, they're recessed into the head (non interference in the event the cam chain fails) unless so much has been taken off the head already?
I dont get the comment from the machine shop about decking the head again after new valve seats being done, the valve seats do not sit at the same level as the head surface, they're recessed into the head (non interference in the event the cam chain fails) unless so much has been taken off the head already? View attachment 4148583
That was my thought as well. And if redecking is necessary to complete valve job, it seems like he could've presented the idea of cutting new valves when he noticed the pitting rather proceeding with everything and then waiting until I went to pick the head up to mention both the pitting and his plan to redeck if I opted for the valve job. But oh well.
I think I try to get a few more opinions from other shops and see what the general consensus is. Hopefully they say a redeck is not necessary. I also wish there was a standardized stock head measurement so I could compare mine against a baseline in terms of the delta that has occurred. I would prefer to keep my land cruiser all matching numbers but I don't want I jeopardize longevity for something silly like matching numbers.
