What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week? (59 Viewers)

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Threw the bed on it for the first time since this project has begun. It’s shoved in the corner of my small garage, so I can still work on it this winter and the wife get in and out.

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8(!) windows with Ford 8-lug axles! 'Crazy Eights' will need a V8, too... :)
 
8(!) windows with Ford 8-lug axles! 'Crazy Eights' will need a V8, too... :)

One 4 cylinder Isuzu diesel in it. One behind it. About as close to 8 cylinders as it’s going to get at the moment.

The rest of the drivetrain will be ready for a v8(nv4500,etc), I just have to learn things the hard way
 
Took the family to pick up a Christmas Tree, had to stop for a picture on the 'parkway.

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@pb4ugo was absolutely right, nailed it! I blew the head gasket! Not sure why I thought it was the valves, maybe because I know they aren't Toyota, but they are still fine. Great info too about when you have no compression on 2 consecutive cylinders it is likely the gasket, I had not thought of that. And the way this one failed, there was no water in the oil and visa versa, it was directly between cylinders 2 and 3.

HeadGasketBlown.jpg

The only problem I saw when I took this apart is likely the reason that the gasket blew. The Intake Valve Stem Seal on cylinder 2 was riding on the valve stem, up and down, no longer stuck to the head at all. This was likely letting a lot of oil into cylinder 2... so I think that would have increased the pressure and blown the gasket? Well, the valve stem seals were non-Toyota, so off they go and 12 new (expensive) Toyota valve stem seals replace them.

ValveStemSeals.jpg


CityRacer has the OEM head gasket for half the price of Toyota right now!
HeadGasketNewPartNum.jpg


And here is the shiny new goodness in place
HeadGasketNewOn.jpg


I quit around dark yesterday and still need to bolt back on the manifolds and accessories, but the new gasket is in and the head is on and torqued, as well as the pushrods and rocker assembly. It's not easy lifting that head straight out over the block and lowering it back into place nice and easy! But the rest will wait till next weekend, had to come back to work for a break, and so I could post on MUD :) Ya'll have a great day!
 
Glad you had some great information and direction. I am always deferring my crazy problems to the wealth of information in the forum. Looks like you’ll be up and running in very little time.

What I love about the 40 is that if you really need a deep dive into the engine, the hood folds up and out of the way, and almost anything from overhead can lift or pull something
 
Did you check the deck for flatness? Especially where it blew?
 
@pb4ugo was absolutely right, nailed it! I blew the head gasket! Not sure why I thought it was the valves, maybe because I know they aren't Toyota, but they are still fine. Great info too about when you have no compression on 2 consecutive cylinders it is likely the gasket, I had not thought of that. And the way this one failed, there was no water in the oil and visa versa, it was directly between cylinders 2 and 3.

View attachment 3784117
The only problem I saw when I took this apart is likely the reason that the gasket blew. The Intake Valve Stem Seal on cylinder 2 was riding on the valve stem, up and down, no longer stuck to the head at all. This was likely letting a lot of oil into cylinder 2... so I think that would have increased the pressure and blown the gasket? Well, the valve stem seals were non-Toyota, so off they go and 12 new (expensive) Toyota valve stem seals replace them.

View attachment 3784118

CityRacer has the OEM head gasket for half the price of Toyota right now!
View attachment 3784119

And here is the shiny new goodness in place
View attachment 3784120

I quit around dark yesterday and still need to bolt back on the manifolds and accessories, but the new gasket is in and the head is on and torqued, as well as the pushrods and rocker assembly. It's not easy lifting that head straight out over the block and lowering it back into place nice and easy! But the rest will wait till next weekend, had to come back to work for a break, and so I could post on MUD :) Ya'll have a great day!
Akin to pb4ugo's comment, did you check the the head for flatness? Where did you get those unique spark plugs, with the triangular grounding strap? Those are non-Toyota valves, a 'positive'-type valve stem seal, as opposed to a 'deflector' (runs with the valves) don't press on the valve guides for a dome-piston type cylinder head, iiac - maybe you have aftermarket valve guides as well?
 
Did you check the deck for flatness? Especially where it blew?
I didn't think to do that this time, but I checked it when I put it together 3 years ago. I just cleaned every surface with a razor blade and scrubbed it all down with alcohol, then made a mess with compressed air, then scrubbed some more with the blade and more with the alcohol, rinse and repeat. I am hoping the oil coming into that cylinder is the root of the problem, but I guess I will find out.
 
Akin to pb4ugo's comment, did you check the the head for flatness? Where did you get those unique spark plugs, with the triangular grounding strap? Those are non-Toyota valves, a 'positive'-type valve stem seal, as opposed to a 'deflector' (runs with the valves) don't press on the valve guides for a dome-piston type cylinder head, iiac - maybe you have aftermarket valve guides as well?
Those plugs are E3 "DiamondFire" plugs, and I have not really run them. They were available from the local O'Reilly Auto and I needed something quick just to troubleshoot the issue, which I initially thought was just a miss-fire. I have been running the OE Denso U-Groove plugs this whole time. I'll clean those up and keep them, and then order a new set of them, but in the meantime maybe I will run these E3s and see if they are any good. For the stem seals on this head (forgive me if I am ignorant of some correct terminology) you press them onto the head above the spring seat. I carefully used a socket to fit around the seal and engage against the little rim at the bottom, and a rubber mallet to press them onto the head. You can feel when they bottom-out and are in place. The valve guides are original to the head as far as I know, and the aftermarket "Sealed Power" valves are identical to the Toyota ones that they replaced. To summarize, really, some of this gets over my ability and tool collection, but I have a go at it regardless LOL :)
 
To summarize, really, some of this gets over my ability and tool collection, but I have a go at it regardless LOL :)

I get that and there have been many events on repairs where it’s not the “toyota’ method but the job gets done with the same outcome. Maybe the dealers shops charge $170.00 /hr labor because they are required to have these special service tools.

My goal is to affect a repair the is equal to or better than…some times it actually happens …. Good job, and I have proven the fact that hindsight is 20/20.

Whatever the F that really means
 
Those plugs are E3 "DiamondFire" plugs, and I have not really run them. They were available from the local O'Reilly Auto and I needed something quick just to troubleshoot the issue, which I initially thought was just a miss-fire. I have been running the OE Denso U-Groove plugs this whole time. I'll clean those up and keep them, and then order a new set of them, but in the meantime maybe I will run these E3s and see if they are any good. For the stem seals on this head (forgive me if I am ignorant of some correct terminology) you press them onto the head above the spring seat. I carefully used a socket to fit around the seal and engage against the little rim at the bottom, and a rubber mallet to press them onto the head. You can feel when they bottom-out and are in place. The valve guides are original to the head as far as I know, and the aftermarket "Sealed Power" valves are identical to the Toyota ones that they replaced. To summarize, really, some of this gets over my ability and tool collection, but I have a go at it regardless LOL :)
I hope that I didn't shake your confidence.

A straight-edge (like you find on a combination-square) and set of feeler-gauges is used by a shade-tree mechanic to test for flatness. In the machine shop, a dial-indicator can be run over the entire head or block, using a milling machine - it tests more than an arbitrary line, but rather gathers data from an entire plane.

I know nothing about those E3 diamond fire plugs, but, they look hard to gap, and maybe they reach in the head a bit far? I use Autolite 65, and NGK BPR5ES, primarily. I have a set of Denso U-groove, but, I dislike cleaning the U-feature.

My '75 heads employ deflector-type seals. My '82 head uses positive-type seals. The difference is that the chamfer on the '75 valve guides won't allow you to press-on a positive-type seal. A positive-type seal can be installed on any head, according to Mud. However, it just runs up and down with the valve if you have the older-type valve guides.
 
I hope that I didn't shake your confidence.

A straight-edge (like you find on a combination-square) and set of feeler-gauges is used by a shade-tree mechanic to test for flatness. In the machine shop, a dial-indicator can be run over the entire head or block, using a milling machine - it tests more than an arbitrary line, but rather gathers data from an entire plane.

I know nothing about those E3 diamond fire plugs, but, they look hard to gap, and maybe they reach in the head a bit far? I use Autolite 65, and NGK BPR5ES, primarily. I have a set of Denso U-groove, but, I dislike cleaning the U-feature.

My '75 heads employ deflector-type seals. My '82 head uses positive-type seals. The difference is that the chamfer on the '75 valve guides won't allow you to press-on a positive-type seal. A positive-type seal can be installed on any head, according to Mud. However, it just runs up and down with the valve if you have the older-type valve guides.
Oh no sir, I appreciate all questions and feedback because I love learning more about my 40! I hope one day to have a nice shop with even nicer tools inside it, but for now I am typically crawling around in the dirt and cursing the sweetgum balls that unfailingly end up jabbing me between my shoulder blades! LOL You are right about the E3 plugs being hard to gap, in fact per the E3 literature they say that you just flat out do not set the gap and that it isn't adjustable. We'll just have to see how they do. When I was assembling last time, around December of 2020, I did use the square to check for flatness on the head and deck, and I even got a little fancy with some snap-gauges and dial calipers to test the cylinders and journals etc.. This time around, I am just glad it wasn't more serious than a head gasket and I am putting it back together quickly to get it back on the road... maybe not the wisest way to go, but I will be back to Cruisin and grinnin in short order :).
 
This time around, I am just glad it wasn't more serious than a head gasket and I am putting it back together quickly to get it back on the road... maybe not the wisest way to go, but I will be back to Cruisin and grinnin in short order :).
Not to encourage bad-practices, but you did what I would do. There is a world of difference between wise and optimization. I think that you took a path of wisdom, fixing what is broken.
 
Typically the protocol is to machine the heads mating surface when a there is a head gasket failure. At a minimum check it for flatness. I hope your repair works out for you. At this point I would cross my fingers and run it.
 

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