Hi folks,
I just finished rebuilding the carb on my 83 FJ60 and am now going to rebuild the cylinder head. I am trying to plan things out ahead of time so I don't discover in the middle of the project that I am missing some critical item. I have searched the archives for information on rebuilding a cylinder head and have learned a few things but there is not as much info on this as I expected. Surprisingly there is nothing about rebuilding a cylinder head in the Technical links section. I will be following the FSM and taking detailed notes and digital pictures. When I finish I will post a report for everyone to add comments and suggestions. My hope is that this can be a resource for anyone looking to rebuild the cylinder head on an FJ60.
I am doing this work myself because I can't afford to shop it out, also one of my favorite hobbies is working on my Land Cruiser. And I learn a lot everytime I take on a project like this. Since I have another daily driver it doesn't matter if the job takes several weeks or a month.
I know I will need a new set of gaskets. These will definitely be OEM. I've purchased aftermarket gaskets before and they are miserable.
And I will need to have the cylinder head 'machined'. What exactly 'machined' means I'm not sure. Can anyone recommend a machinist in Tucson, Arizona who is familiar with Land Cruisers?
I also understand the valves will need to be 'lapped' and that this is something I could do myself. Can anyone tell me how to lap a valve. Or should I replace the valves?
Is it possible to replace the piston rings when the cylinder head is off? What about the pistons themselves? Or do I need to drop the oil pan to replace the pistons.
I don't have my compression numbers in front of me, but as I recall, in a wet test, cylinders 1,2,3,4 were all close to 150. #5 was around 120 and #6 was around 90. I am hoping the rebuild will cure the problems with the number 5 and 6 cylinders.
Any advice would be appreciated, and I'll try to put it all together in a report so that the next time someone want to do this job they'll have a good starting resource.
Thanks,
Matt
I just finished rebuilding the carb on my 83 FJ60 and am now going to rebuild the cylinder head. I am trying to plan things out ahead of time so I don't discover in the middle of the project that I am missing some critical item. I have searched the archives for information on rebuilding a cylinder head and have learned a few things but there is not as much info on this as I expected. Surprisingly there is nothing about rebuilding a cylinder head in the Technical links section. I will be following the FSM and taking detailed notes and digital pictures. When I finish I will post a report for everyone to add comments and suggestions. My hope is that this can be a resource for anyone looking to rebuild the cylinder head on an FJ60.
I am doing this work myself because I can't afford to shop it out, also one of my favorite hobbies is working on my Land Cruiser. And I learn a lot everytime I take on a project like this. Since I have another daily driver it doesn't matter if the job takes several weeks or a month.
I know I will need a new set of gaskets. These will definitely be OEM. I've purchased aftermarket gaskets before and they are miserable.
And I will need to have the cylinder head 'machined'. What exactly 'machined' means I'm not sure. Can anyone recommend a machinist in Tucson, Arizona who is familiar with Land Cruisers?
I also understand the valves will need to be 'lapped' and that this is something I could do myself. Can anyone tell me how to lap a valve. Or should I replace the valves?
Is it possible to replace the piston rings when the cylinder head is off? What about the pistons themselves? Or do I need to drop the oil pan to replace the pistons.
I don't have my compression numbers in front of me, but as I recall, in a wet test, cylinders 1,2,3,4 were all close to 150. #5 was around 120 and #6 was around 90. I am hoping the rebuild will cure the problems with the number 5 and 6 cylinders.
Any advice would be appreciated, and I'll try to put it all together in a report so that the next time someone want to do this job they'll have a good starting resource.
Thanks,
Matt
