lumbee1
Native American
16K miles after my full engine rebuild, my Cruiser blew its headgasket. It had all the classic signs slowly starting to build (spikes in temperature, rough running, slow loss of coolant) however I wanted to ignore the warning signs. Last night after dinner, the Cruiser had a very hard start. I tried to start it twice and she fired up on the 3rd try but it gave me pause and my fears were coming true. I almost instantly knew the hard starts were from a hydrolocked cylinder. I didn't know which one it was until I started driving and received P0306 on my scangauge. Uh oh. At this point I'm watching the temp on the scangauge like a hawk. 177*, 179*, 181* which is normal and it remained there. It was running pretty rough but not overheating.
I spoke too soon, 5 miles down the road 181* quickly jumped to 188*, 190*, 193*. I am able to cool it down by turning off overdrive but I still had 30 miles before I was home. I was able to maintain between 202* and 211* all the way home until 1/4 mile from the house. DOT is doing road construction in front of the neighborhood so traffic was at a complete standstill. 211* spiked to 231* before I was able to start moving again. Revving the engine and driving in 2nd gear got me down to 204* and I was able to pull it into the driveway and shut off the engine.
I popped the hood and didn't notice any fluids exiting the block and the engine didn't feel or smell overly hot. This is now the 3rd supercharged Cruiser in our club that blew it's headgasket shortly after installation of the LC Engineering Master Rebuild kit Premium Master Rebuild Kit - https://www.lceperformance.com/Premium-Master-Rebuild-Kit-p/1010080.htm
Next steps.
I've got two options here, install a new headgasket (the rest of the engine is fine) or pull the 1FZFE and trans and swap in a LS with a 6L80. I honestly loved the power of the supercharged 1FZFE both on and offroad, but what I didn't like was the fuel economy. At 12 to 13mpg on the highway, I'm stopping for gas breaks more often than I would like. I'm only a few miles from @fourtrax who helped with me with removing and installing the engine for the rebuild but his shop is tied up with his own projects.
For now, the Cruiser will remain parked until I decide what to do. It's a family heirloom and won't be sold.
I spoke too soon, 5 miles down the road 181* quickly jumped to 188*, 190*, 193*. I am able to cool it down by turning off overdrive but I still had 30 miles before I was home. I was able to maintain between 202* and 211* all the way home until 1/4 mile from the house. DOT is doing road construction in front of the neighborhood so traffic was at a complete standstill. 211* spiked to 231* before I was able to start moving again. Revving the engine and driving in 2nd gear got me down to 204* and I was able to pull it into the driveway and shut off the engine.
I popped the hood and didn't notice any fluids exiting the block and the engine didn't feel or smell overly hot. This is now the 3rd supercharged Cruiser in our club that blew it's headgasket shortly after installation of the LC Engineering Master Rebuild kit Premium Master Rebuild Kit - https://www.lceperformance.com/Premium-Master-Rebuild-Kit-p/1010080.htm
Next steps.
I've got two options here, install a new headgasket (the rest of the engine is fine) or pull the 1FZFE and trans and swap in a LS with a 6L80. I honestly loved the power of the supercharged 1FZFE both on and offroad, but what I didn't like was the fuel economy. At 12 to 13mpg on the highway, I'm stopping for gas breaks more often than I would like. I'm only a few miles from @fourtrax who helped with me with removing and installing the engine for the rebuild but his shop is tied up with his own projects.
For now, the Cruiser will remain parked until I decide what to do. It's a family heirloom and won't be sold.
