FJ80, a good buy in today's market?

Yeah if the comp test is bad I'll just assume it needs a top end rebuild.. let's hope it doesn't come to that. Maybe I should get that done before anything else..

 

Do a block flush, there's a block plug on the drivers side. I got more junk out there too than with a regular flush.

 

I was gonna follow these steps: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/coolant-flush-process-verification.107438/ (Not the main post, but the first comment by Cary).

You think starting with a garden hose til it runs clean, then flushing through a few gallons of distilled water would be a good idea?

Or would it be more efficient to take it to a shop where they can use a machine? Either way a flush is definitely needed as the coolant looks kinda rust colored. I hope they didn't use Dexcool..

 

Once the radiator is sorted it's not hard to do a flush. Yeh you can run hose water with a block flush. That will get all the hose water out then you don't need to re flush with distilled, as long as all the hose water is out of the other parts of the cooling system.. That plug leads right to the cylinder sleeve water jackets and is angled to the the flush plug so all the water will come out of the block. I removed the thermostat, reassembled the housing without the thermostat in, opened my heater valve to flush that, and pulled the block plug. I used the top rad hose and stuck my garden hose in there for like 10 min. To me that flushed it fully. And yes do a rear heater bypass. Easy to do. Buy the best constant tension hose clamps you can get. You don't want to keep tightening those, especially the PHH clamp.

 

Do a few fluid changes then just drive the damn thing! Don't get too caught up getting it squared away before you can enjoy it.

This morning I went and tried to buy another, the guy wasn't home.
208k. kind of beat up, but very rust free. If I can get it cheap enough I might steal a few parts to clean mine up then flip it...

 

Plan to tackle that this week. I think I'll stick to a flush and PHH/Tstat replacement. I've heard the heater hose thing is a PITA though, so I've got something to look forward to.

 

I’d do the rear heater bypass since those heater hoses need to be replaced.

 

Have a new heater control valve on hand or at least a piece of 5/8" pipe on hand cause with that valves age and appearance you're about 50/50 on breaking the nipple right off.

 

Thanks. These were the steps I was gonna follow for the cooling system "baselining." I was also thinking about refilling the fan clutch and checking its timing.

 

I just picked this up last week! 95 FZJ Triple locked.

 

That's a gorgeous rig, congrats! I'm guessing it cost you a little more than my humble stock 80. Looks like a turn-key truck though; how many miles?

 

Yeah it was quite a bit more... the market is crazy right now. But it's really worth it for all the work done on it. it's at 200K, literally just turned over. Barely broken in . Yours is quite nice too I love the green.

 

It's actually black, but it can look dark blue or green depending on the lighting lol. At least the clear coat isn't faded. Mine has 226k. Do you know if yours has a new top end?

 

Yep, I helped the PO do the rebuild. It’s pretty much ready to go! I need to figure out a beefier cooling solution though. Bigger fan/fan clutch from a 100 series is what I hear people do. Any tips are much appreciated.

 

I've heard blue fan clutch is the way to go.

I've also heard TYC 1918 radiators are the best.

 

There's a "fan clutch mod". You get a blue shaft fan clutch and replace the oil inside with a thicker grade oil and it works amazing actually. The mod is on the Mud forums. Very easy to do. You can probably do it on the standard clutch too. Just buy a new clutch and change the oil to 20k weight silicon oil

Get the best aluminum radiator you can afford. Mine is a TYC but lots of fakes out there so search on Mud for a reputable vendor. Toyota red or Pentosin red (same formula) is made for the metallurgy of the 1FZ engine. Don't use anything else. Flush the block and system very well though. And new OEM thermostat.

 

I'm kinda confused by the Toyota Red vs Prestone Green debate. Opinions seems to be split on Mud and on here too over whether Red is really better. I was leaning towards green because of the greater availability and due to my budget. I'm not saying you're wrong, but have you seen one overheat specifically because it had green instead of red?

 

It's not an overheat issue but formulation issue. The red is specific formulation for the 1FZ. I asked the machinist who machined my head an he said use the red and replace it every other year. He's been doing head machining for 30 years and said to use what the Mfg. put in. In this case Toyota red.

 

So you're saying the red formula can help prevent the alloy head from warping, all other things being equal? I wonder what about its chemistry would cause that.

Do you think I'd have issues using green? I was also considering Zerex asian red, but I wanna do a real good flush in any case. The OEM stuff is hard to justify for my budget, but if it really is a case of buy once cry once I'll have to consider it.