Head Gasket/exhaust Manifold

[JustMarkC]

Anyone out there have experience replacing Head Gaskets or Exhaust Manifold? Looks like my 96 LX450's smoke issues is related to either the Gasket or the manifold seals? I did notice some "green" fluid leakage around the exhaust manifold and the "radiator fluid" looks dark green.

Is it worth tryin to do it myself? Any replies welcome :)

Thanks

[HOOSIERLX450]

I don't have any advice, but I do have the same problem with a blown head gasket.

My '97 LX450 has only 76,000 mi. This seems way too early for a head gasket.

Is there Lexus / Toyota technical service bulletin or something that documents this as a common problem? I am only about 10 months out of the factory powertrain warranty.

Does anyone have advice on how to approach this with Lexus?

Very disappointed -

Matt

[Rookie]

Sorry to hear about your problems.

From what I understand, head gasket failure is about the most common major problem that occurs with these cruisers, and from what I gather it's a pretty big job. You might search the LC forums for more discussion and if there are any DYI tech articles that discuss the procedure. If you're going to do it yourself, I'd definitely think you'd want to have the FSM for guidance.

Good Luck.

Rookie

[kpoon]

i replaced the exhaust manifold on my old jeep w/ a header. it was a pretty big job, & it took me a long time, mainly 'cause it was the first time i had ever done it, & i was working alone. i followed the instructions in a haynes manual that i had. if you have all the right tools, don't run into any major problems, & have someone helping you, you could probably replace the exhaust manifold in one full day.

i've never replaced a head gasket, but i imagine it would be at least as much, probably more, work than doing the exhaust manifold. if it is a blown head gasket, you should get it fixed right away.

if you have the time, basic mechanical skills, the tools, & the interest in doing it yourself, it is certainly possible. whether or not it will be worth it is up to you. it was worth it for me to do it on my old cherokee 'cause i learned a lot in the process, it was satisfying to me to do it myself, & i saved a lot of money.

i probably won't be doing much work on my '97 lx450 on my own until the extended warranty expires in '06. the stakes are higher w/ this vehicle than w/ my jeep.

good luck.

[dakrri]

If you are mechanically inclined it’s not a big deal. I replaced the head gasket on my Mercedes 300E and the dealer told me it would be a #uck up……ya right. It took $70.00 in parts and 10-11 hours of labor and saved me $1200.00 over all.

It really isn’t about saving money as much as it is getting to know your vehicle. You will be able to walk the walk and talk the talk if you at least try and do the repairs.

Buy a Haynes manual and DIG IN!

dakrri

[ellieoh]

Head gasket failure is common, however there is a hose on the side of the engine that fails. Try this link for explanantation

http://sleeoffroad.com/technical/tz_heater_hose.htm

Regards

David

[dougjohn]

Yeah,

you definitely want to keep an eye one the "pesky heater hose" (PHH). That's a fairly common, but well documented problem. It's a !Removed! to get to though...

Like with all things that tend to fail -- it's located in a crummy, hard-to-get-to spot.

...

Doug

[jbs]

Hello,

New member here, thinking of buying a LX450 or Lancruiser.

Is the heater hose THE cause of the blown head gaskets?

or

Is the 1FZ-FE engine just poorly designed?

or

Did Toyota cut corners w/a cheap head gasket?

I'm doing my research and up till now was under the impression that they were fairly bullet-proof.

I'm a pretty good wrench. I'm not affraid to tackle any job, just want to know what I may be in for.

[Rookie]

Hey Doug,

I've read some about the PHH. Where the heck is the little P.O.S. and how do you know if it's gone bad? Seems like I remember some mention about you have to take off the #1 and #2 oil pan to get to it??

Thanks,

Rookie

[dougjohn]

Hey Rookie,

Take a look at the link posted by ellieoh. Christo has some nice pics of the heater hose in question. I had to print the pics and take them out to the rig to locate the darned thing.

It's just in a very difficult to get to spot. Especially with my tree-trunk arms. Those with little twiggy arms shouldn't have as much of a problem. The section of hose is not very long at all -- and that adds to the difficulty in getting it connected since you don't have much wiggle room.

Once you locate the hose, just keep an eye on it -- check it from time to time. If you don't see any leaks or bulges in the hose, you're okay.

Doug

[dougjohn]

Hello jbs,

Well, the cause of the failing head gaskets is sort of still up in the air. There seems to be a number of theories, but nothing concrete yet.

Some things I've learned -- stay with the red toyota brand coolant. Do not ever mix the red with the green stuff. Some say to stay away from the green, but that seems to be up for debate still as well. Has to do with the composition of the different kinds of coolant -- I don't remember the details, but could find it if necessary.

I used to have a 1994 Land Cruiser (same engine). Put about 60k miles on it -- sold it at 120k miles; no problems with the head gasket.

My current '97 LX 450, with 91k miles, shows no problems with either the head gasket nor the pesky heater hose (PHH). The '97 we just bought (with 68k miles) shows no evidence of any problems.

So, no, I don't think Toyota cut corners and yes, I do think the engine is pretty much bullet-proof. Sometimes, stuff happens -- gaskets leak.

For the most part, you might find that your wrench will get rusty from lack of use ;)

I have had no major problems at all with any of my rigs -- well, that's not necessarily true -- with the '94 I had a problem with a section of wire coming from my O2 sensor. The insulation had rubbed off from 100k miles of vibrating against the firewall (one of the very few dumb design features). However, it was not a problem until I had the O2 sensors replaced. The mechanic had pulled the wire a bit when he reconnected everything. It became positioned in such a way that the exposed wire would occasionally come in contact with bare metal. This caused my EFI fuse to short out. Once we figured out what the cause of the problem was -- it was a very easy fix.

So...out of my aproximately 120,000 miles of experience with the 1FZ-FE and associated components, that's been my one problem.

One thing to note -- and I'm sure you've found this out already. The 80 series eats through brakes like a hungry kid tears through cap'n crunch. Be prepared to swap pads every 10k miles. Other than that -- you'll probably be very happy with the LX 450.

Just my 2-cents worth.

Doug

[jbs]

Thanks for the answers Doug.

I sent you a PM w/similar ??

Thanks for the help, It looks like I'll be new to the 4wd game.

I've owned mainly road race cars, drag race cars, I've never owned 4wd truck, but it wiill help with my fly fishing addiction/habit, much better than trying to take a 35 series tired car off-road......not that I have!

[Rookie]

Ahh... the brakes!! I knew I was missing something.

Good link on the PHH, just what I needed.

Thanks,

Rookie