My '96 FZJ80, HogarthThe80

[HogarthThe80]

Figured I would start a log thread here for 'Garth. My iPhone has been out of commission for a couple weeks, had to grab my lady's D3300 for the pictures, which I have no idea how to use hah, but wanted some pictures anyway;

Current projects: mess of oil leaks (though normal), flushing/replacing fluids, apply mileage:
Remedy-
-Valve cover gasket/plug tube seals
-Distributor O-ring
-New Dist. cap and rotor
-New power steering hoses, reservoir cap (OEM Toyota), and fresh fluid
-New spark plugs
-All fluids flushed/changed (Coolant, engine oil, auto. trans (filters too), differentials, center diff, etc..)
-Replaced coolant reservoir (fabricated an aluminum replacement, that fits in stock location). It was free minus labor and I am a fabrication nut at heart lol, sorry Toyota.
-New Thermostat

Most of that work has been done the last few weeks.

I got the oil cooler job done tonight. 8 bolts and 2 gal. of oil away from a start-up. Assuming all goes well, I will flush/refill coolant.

Next is getting those Grabber AT2's mounted

Also, I was able to recover one picture from my old phone. I gave the valve cover a good refinish, turned out better than some I have done, but other's have been better, overall I'm satisfied:

 

[Gary820]

I like how well the valve cover looks
Nice 80

 

[HogarthThe80]

I like how well the valve cover looks
Nice 80

Thanks man! I wanted to keep it subtle but still clean.
Hopefully can start this ole Beelzebub up this morning, Cheers to hopin'!

 

[HogarthThe80]

Got some more pictures after I buttoned the truck up today. Spent a couple hours this morning cleaning/prepping the manifold and downpipe for re-installation. All went well. I had to re-install the WP/Alt. drive belt, the P.O. had it routed incorrectly. Thankfully the routing is printed on the underside of the hood.. *eyeroll*
Grabbing a timing light from my buddy tomorrow morning and then get it out for a quick wash/drive

Close-up of the oil cooler area.. Didn't realize until I was finished today, I forgot to snap any pics before the manifold went back on. But, as shown, its all clean and dry:

Aforementioned coolant overflow:

Tirez:

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Nice ride there always good to see USA vehicles here.

 

[HogarthThe80]

Nice ride there always good to see USA vehicles here.

haha I will be completely honest with you..
The amount of general fuckery, bs, 'shade-tree'/wrong advice that exists on the Internet, seems to come from users in the USA (yes, my home land), so I kept that in mind this time around with the LC (I have been apart of a few car forums over the years, from Integras, Miatas, 1st Gen. 4Runner's..).
In hopes, that advice/information on here is at least slightly more credible, and from what I have seen thus far, it remains true.

 

[HogarthThe80]

Got the '80 fired up late late Saturday evening. No oil leaks, no water leaks, and it is not mixing the two inside, Success! I also got great readings on my Oil pressure gauge, so I cant complain.
Except, when I had it running, it pissed about half a reservior worth of power steering fluid all over the floor in about 5-10 minutes of run time..
I ordered a new Power steering pump, high pressure hose, and new Banjo bolt(s) with crush washers on Monday, should be here by Thursday.
I had suspicions the pump itself was leaking, but hoses were confirmed leaking weeks ago (hence replacement) so I did that first and handled more important things (Oil pressure/leaks), first.
Updates soon!

 

[clivehorridge]

Got the '80 fired up late late Saturday evening. No oil leaks, no water leaks, and it is not mixing the two inside, Success! I also got great readings on my Oil pressure gauge, so I cant complain.
Except, when I had it running, it pissed about half a reservior worth of power steering fluid all over the floor in about 5-10 minutes of run time..
I ordered a new Power steering pump, high pressure hose, and new Banjo bolt(s) with crush washers on Monday, should be here by Thursday.
I had suspicions the pump itself was leaking, but hoses were confirmed leaking weeks ago (hence replacement) so I did that first and handled more important things (Oil pressure/leaks), first.
Updates soon!

I had a gusher leak from my PS too, recently, and thankfully it was just the low-pressure return hose to the reservoir that had perished. Cut it off and replaced it with new, simples...

 

[HogarthThe80]

Well its certainly been longer than I wanted , but the truck is running.
I got the P/S system buttoned up: new pump, high pressure hose, and all other P/S hoses, blew out the cooler loop tube and steering gear box. System is leak free, clean, and functional now.

I got the General AT2's mounted with some help from my brother's shop. Next stop was the local Tire shop for a balance on all 4 wheels. The Tech. on duty called me back to show me the 'wheel bearing' situation..
Loose as an effin' goose! I drove it 7 miles home, SLOWLY, without drama.

Got the right hub disaassembled, and based on the evidence, it looks like someone in the past had the hub apart, and did not re-torque/pre-load the bearings properly. The axle nut and adjusting nut with FINGER loose, spun them off with my pinky, wonderful..
Both nuts had marks/nicks on them, quite severe really, that was evidence it was removed without the proper socket.. A couple hours later, some cleaning, filing, de-burring, and I had 'saved' my $6.47 axle nuts.. Yeah should have looked at replacement cost BEFORE re-conditioning my originals.. Good for the hands I suppose ha

I checked all components. The bearing(s) (inner and outer) were actually in very great condition.. They were replaced, not installed correctly, and have successfully survived the P.O.
I ordered new claw washers, adjuster lock washers, hub flange seals, and snap rings for both sides sides (L and R). Picked up new wheel bearing oil seals locally as well to install. All races/surfaces on the spindle/hub/etc.. were in fine condition, so with a little OEM Toyota parts and proper re-installation, we can see if these bearing assemblies will hold a proper pre-load.
Toyota parts only ran me $28! Score..

Stay tuned for updates..

Cheers!

 

[clivehorridge]

Yep, it happens.

I recently had a front wheel bearing fail, but at 400k km I can't complain!

The service refused to change the other side at the same time, saying there's no reason to replace original stuff, till it shows signs of wear. So that bearing has ambitions for 1,000,000 kms

 

[HogarthThe80]

Wow.. Extremely long overdue update here. So, since December, lots about this specific truck has been discovered. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it has certainly kept me busy.
Wheel bearings torqued down great, perfectly at preload, and have not developed any issues after 1-200 miles.
Over the past couple months I replaced a lot of the coolant hoses in the engine bay (Bypass, PHH, etc..), as well as a new radiator. Finally, the system was leak-free and had good flow.
On cold start-ups, the truck would produce a good bit of white smoke (not good), as well as run 'rough' generally. I feared HG after reading around, and sure enough:

Turned yellow almost instantly.. Oh boy. So this process began:

Once the head was close to being ready for removal, I realized this task would be a little difficult with the head's size/awkwardness, so I built my 'core support table'. Pretty simple and only cost me several dollars from the 'defective lumber' section at the local lumber supplier. Bench is only for tools/handy space though, I dont trust core support and a 2x4 with my body weight:

Andd out came the head, which really went super easy.

The last one is a pano shot I took of my fleet. Toyota is a family thing.
1996 Land Cruiser, 1995 Camry LE, and a 1987 T4R, SR5, 5-speed.

Cheers all, more updates soon!

 

[HogarthThe80]

Small addition -
This is my coolant reservoir, Version 2.0. I have improved my atmospheric vent, and added a level indicator hose on the exterior. My first plan was to use a dipstick from the fill plug on top, I decided this was more functional and accurate:

A quick pic of the new radiator:

 

[white90]

Sorry to see the head gaskets blown.... on the plus side no6 pistons squeaky clean!

 

[HogarthThe80]

Yeah it was a bit of a let down, but a reality check in a way. 302k miles on the ticker and I was to expect it to not be blown? I was dreaming ha.

Furtherly, since this is most definitely the truck's second time of having the head off, I found these:

General area I zoomed in on:

Close-up of crack:

Needless to say, I will be sourcing another casting. Possibly, another complete used head.
A trait I have noticed on the used market (locally at least). The folks who know what these engines are worth, sell a good condition, non-cracked head, for about 7-800 bucks.
The folks who don't know this chassis/engine, will sell a complete/already removed from a running truck long block (valve cover to oil pan), for 6-700 bucks hah.

Hunting a good deal!

-D

 

[Scott]

Shame to see that the head has cracked, but top marks for effort in getting your 80 into good condition; your work ethic and standards look very good.

 

[clivehorridge]

Disappointing, but at least you can sort a new or s/h head and then you’ll know its right.

 

[Julian T]

It is still a lovely looking truck even with all you have had to do to it thanks to the lack of maintenance by previous custodians, just think how well she will do and how many more years of service she will still have in her after a bit of tlc.

 

[white90]

That crack doesn't look particularly catastrophic, and its not near a water jacket, simple stich repair if the rest of the heads ok.

 

[thelal]

nice work. Bummer on the crack. Like the innovative options including the bench!
Mines a 97 USA truck from Colorado

 

[HogarthThe80]

Wow everyone, thanks for the kind words! Paying less for this truck initially would have been a nice change, however, I still can't put a $-value on zero rust and all original sheet metal, so I will stick with that.

There are a couple 180-200k mile used engines for sale here locally. Both of them claim to be 'running when pulled' and priced under 500 bones. Going to get over to one or both of them this weekend and check them out.

One question though, and maybe more for the U.S. fellas:
One of the long blocks is from a '94 Cruiser, which is an 'OBD 1' era engine. Would this head have the correct sensor provisions as a head of my era, ('96+ OBD 2)?