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How long is it worth maintaining old diesels for?

Just a conversation I was having with one of our agricultural fitters earlier. As the owner of an increasingly heavy breathing 1hdt we were discussing piston ring replacement, re-bores, sleeves, etc etc, and he said he wouldn’t want to spend the money rebuilding an engine “that they’ll tax off the road before you’ve had your money’s worth out of it”.

It’s something I’d thought about myself, is it really worth spending big money rebuilding a 250k mile engine, only to find that in 5 years time the tax is so expensive, or diesel so costly that it’s even harder to justify than it already is? (Mainly to the mrs, I like spending money on diesel)

For a little background the engine runs beautifully but is increasingly smokey, blows the oil filler nearly out of your hand if you remove it when running. This has only really come to a head since the clutch started slipping on the way back from Bosnia a couple of weeks ago, the front and rear crank seals also need doing, you know how these things snowball.

So, would you be able to justify the cost of a rebuild?

Rob

Getting back to the main topic there is something which hasn't been mentioned, which is the sense of achievement at the end of the project when its finished.
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This was my first 4x4, I ran it for a year then decided to do a little welding job on it. 5 years and about £5k later it looked like this. It was rebuilt end to end and was like new underneath. I had it for about 17 years altogether.
The point is, sometimes things can get away with themselves when you start on " a little job" or "I'll just do this".
 
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I’ve looked at the title to this thread many times and thought the answer is ‘as long as you want to’, meaning it’s a heart decision if you love your truck. Then there is no question. Nobody has a crystal ball. Do it and don’t look back I say.
 
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You missed the part of "it'll take a weekend to get it out, and I can get it put back in the weekend after"



I pulled the engine out the 4Runner at the end of August, got it started at the end of September, but then went away for a month... now realised I'd made a mistake putting it back together and has taken nearly 3 weeks to sort it out....
 
I pulled the engine out the 4Runner at the end of August, got it started at the end of September, but then went away for a month... now realised I'd made a mistake putting it back together and has taken nearly 3 weeks to sort it out....
:doh:

I thought I was the only one that did things like that…
 
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Getting back to the main topic there is something which hasn't been mentioned, which is the sense of achievement at the end of the project when its finished.View attachment 151357 View attachment 151358

This was my first 4x4, I ran it for a year then decided to do a little welding job on it. 5 years and about £5k later it looked like this. It was rebuilt end to end and was like new underneath. I had it for about 17 years altogether.
The point is, sometimes things can get away with themselves when you start on " a little job" or "I'll just do this".
It's odd Andy but I get that sense of achievement at the end of a job when its finished even when it's been done by someone else for me. Mainly I think because it's prolonged the life of the 80 such as the rust proofing job.
 
It's odd Andy but I get that sense of achievement at the end of a job when its finished even when it's been done by someone else for me. Mainly I think because it's prolonged the life of the 80 such as the rust proofing job.
Something simple like when I changed the front anti roll bar bushes in my truck .. It cost £15 and took 20 mins. but that relief when you drive it and that annoying clunk has GONE.. Sense of achievement... And slapped some paint round the bash plate while I had it off...
 
TBH Higgy, although there are one or two genuine Lady Cruiser owners out there somewhere I don't recollect ever seeing one at a meeting.

Helen glares at Andy :eusa-naughty:


Something simple like when I changed the front anti roll bar bushes in my truck .. It cost £15 and took 20 mins. but that relief when you drive it and that annoying clunk has GONE.. Sense of achievement... And slapped some paint round the bash plate while I had it off...

You have no idea how disheartening it is when some insignificant , clueless ass wipe of unquestionable authority fails them very same bushes only months later because his boss made him work late on a Friday and because he knows absolutely nothing about 4x4's .

I love that truck so rather than just do what dickhead demanded i stripped out steering rack , wishbones and i don't know what else thinking i may as well make it count while doing jobs i don't need to do . But my heart wasn't in it , the truck is not a necessity and so its been abandoned in bits on a Sorn ever since . The insurance ran out on it 2 weeks ago .
 
Thats why I don't go for the lr/rr brand as the model codes have too many numbers and not enough letters in them Andy! :lol:
 
Believe this belongs to a local pharmacist. Excellent condition (the car). Don't think the wheels are original though.
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