Rebuild, Replace, Long Block, Short Block, HELP

[jstouder]

I posted this in the 80 series tech section but I rarely get traction there. You guys have always been very responsive and helpful so here goes.

Need advice from the forum with regards to replacing the Head Gasket, Rebuilding, or even replacing the engine:

- 197,000 miles, no HG job that I am aware of
- Bubbler test comes back clean after 15min
- Blackstone shows medium levels of coolant in oil (not high, not trace either)
- White smoke on startup then it goes away
- No oil leaks
- 1qt of 5w30 burned per 3,000 miles

Given this setup and situation, and knowing that you want to drive the truck for an additional 200,000 miles, what would you do?

 

[2fpower]

The white smoke would bother me. Timebomb waiting to happen. Knowing that you plan to keep it for some time, and if you drive more than 50 miles from home, I would replace HG. Of course this is a rabbit hole, because then "while you are there" the list goes on. Look at the spreadsheet that Sammy did on "Twin Heads"

 

[half k cruiser]

What are your mechanical abilities and how is the supply of tools in your shop ? If both are good then I would say pull the whole motor for a refresh. I debated this when my 94 lost its HG last year. It would have been fairly cheap and easy to just do the bare minimum. However, I would still be dealing with multiple oil leaks/consumption and PS leaks, vacuum, EGR , you get the point. Because I planned on having the vehicle for several hundred thousand miles I just decided to go all in. I have been extremely happy with the result and now have a vehicle that doesn't leak a drop of oil and maybe burns a quart in 5000 miles, maybe.

If I had the spare funds and a spare vehicle I would pull the motor in my 97 next year and do the exact same refresh on it that I did with the other. It gives you a lot of peace of mind in your setup, especially if you do a lot of traveling or off road expedition.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/my-head-gasket-engine-rebuild-cost-breakdown.820707/ look here if you are interested in a cost break down.

 

[Robkc]

The Head gasket seals 3 different types of areas. Oil passages, Water passages and Combustion. It sounds like you may have a minor failure between Water and Combustion right now that gets sealed as surfaces warm and expand. Hopefully it will hold long enough for you to tackle replacing at your convenience. Hard to guess when it will migrate to a catastrophic failure and leave you stranded.

 

[jstouder]

@2fpower That's some wisdom and truth, thank you. It's my daily driver while also taking us up rock and snow in Colorado as often as we can get out there.

@half k cruiser I came up in the "lets hack together a bad a$$ stereo system" age at the great expense of my mechanical abilities. I have very little skills and no shop or parts to speak of. I'm a computer nerd who also climbs mountains but who lacks mechanical skills. Hopefully this convinces you to let me keep my man card. I've got a great working relationship with Williams Automotive in Lenexa and would more then likely see about him performing the HG job.

@Robkc Thank you for that piece of wisdom. As I mentioned this is my daily driver and I cannot afford a catastrophic failure. This needs to be PM and with the evidence given, should happen sooner then later.

I'm in Overland Park and willing to learn. If any of you have the time and would be interested in helping me (while earning a bit of scratch) please send me a pm. This is a super clean FZJ80 out of Amarillo. Nearly everything has been replaced besides the HG (I have records of every job and dollar). Thanks guys.

 

[Robkc]

There is a good DVD that walks you through a couple tricky spots from the Factory Service Manual. Local copy currently on loan to TAC member in Columbia. I would recommend obtaining a copy for Williams mechanic to review.

There is a Machine shop in Columbia for the actual head work once it is out most around TAC have used.

Also order gasket set from CDan on here.

 

[Jorgito]

@2fpower That's some wisdom and truth, thank you. It's my daily driver while also taking us up rock and snow in Colorado as often as we can get out there.

@half k cruiser I came up in the "lets hack together a bad a$$ stereo system" age at the great expense of my mechanical abilities. I have very little skills and no shop or parts to speak of. I'm a computer nerd who also climbs mountains but who lacks mechanical skills. Hopefully this convinces you to let me keep my man card. I've got a great working relationship with Williams Automotive in Lenexa and would more then likely see about him performing the HG job.

@Robkc Thank you for that piece of wisdom. As I mentioned this is my daily driver and I cannot afford a catastrophic failure. This needs to be PM and with the evidence given, should happen sooner then later.

I'm in Overland Park and willing to learn. If any of you have the time and would be interested in helping me (while earning a bit of scratch) please send me a pm. This is a super clean FZJ80 out of Amarillo. Nearly everything has been replaced besides the HG (I have records of every job and dollar). Thanks guys.

Hi,

this really depends how fast do you want to have the car ready. If this is daily driver then I would probably say to have somebody do it. The problem is then really finding some good shop in the area.

I am in process of doing the head gasket right now and I have zero mechanical experience other then changing oil in my old Camry. It is really more about how well you are organized and off course there is a lot of reading. I have the famous DVD which I can provide to you any time it is really valuable as there are a lot of little things which might skip your attention.

If you have time and don't depend on the car right now I would encourage you to do it yourself, there is always somebody more experienced around who is willing to come to help. I was really surprised by the community around this car and how people are helping each other.

Regards,

Jorge