Need advice on 100 series Landcruiser

[Ddaks_]

So I bought mine 9 months ago and already went to big sur and yosemite which was awesome. But now I went to my mechanic and he told me I need to replace the engine or rebuild the engine. The problem with the car is that the engine heats up on stop and becomes normal again when driving. Then there is a ton of thick white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I was guessing it is the head gasket. What I want to ask is what would be better, to rebuild the engine or just swap it out? If rebuild, what would be the cost of the rebuild. If swap, i have been looking for 2uz’s and I can’t find them. I’m also open to upgrading the engine if it is possible.

Thanks guys

 

[Forte]

Sounds like you need a new mechanic... Unless the 2UZ is different than other engines I've worked on, as long as you haven't hydrolocked the engine you should at the very worst have to replace the head if it was overheated and warped, but more than likely it'll be the head gasket. Unsure why your mechanic said full rebuild?

 

[VCeXpedition]

With only this much information, it's hard to condemn the engine. Your observation of white smoke suggests a head gasket, but runs hot at idle then normal when driving might mean a warped or cracked head, which likely means it was overheated at one time.
Head gasket issues on the 2UZ are fairly uncommon, might have been caused by some other event like overheating / loss of coolant, stuck thermostat.

If your mechanic hasn't or doesn't want to give you a full diagnosis about what the repair would take, I'd get a 2nd opinion.
To say "full rebuild" is mechanic-speak for "I don't really want to work on it". He's scaring you out of his shop. May be time to move on.
Like @Forte said, you may just be in for a head gasket repair, or maybe heads if they're cracked.

When you get it fixed, add a way to monitor your Engine Coolant Temperature, like a ScanGage or UltraGage, or at least the Torque App from the OBD2 port. It's extremely important to watch engine coolant temps on Toyota's. Don't let it get much higher than 105C, but 88C is about optimal.


Dan.

 

[Ddaks_]

Sounds like you need a new mechanic... Unless the 2UZ is different than other engines I've worked on, as long as you haven't hydrolocked the engine you should at the very worst have to replace the head if it was overheated and warped, but more than likely it'll be the head gasket. Unsure why your mechanic said full rebuild?

Aaah ok ok thank you! Will def get a second opinion

 

[Ddaks_]

With only this much information, it's hard to condemn the engine. Your observation of white smoke suggests a head gasket, but runs hot at idle then normal when driving might mean a warped or cracked head, which likely means it was overheated at one time.
Head gasket issues on the 2UZ are fairly uncommon, might have been caused by some other event like overheating / loss of coolant, stuck thermostat.

If your mechanic hasn't or doesn't want to give you a full diagnosis about what the repair would take, I'd get a 2nd opinion.
To say "full rebuild" is mechanic-speak for "I don't really want to work on it". He's scaring you out of his shop. May be time to move on.
Like @Forte said, you may just be in for a head gasket repair, or maybe heads if they're cracked.

When you get it fixed, add a way to monitor your Engine Coolant Temperature, like a ScanGage or UltraGage, or at least the Torque App from the OBD2 port. It's extremely important to watch engine coolant temps on Toyota's. Don't let it get much higher than 105C, but 88C is about optimal.


Dan.

Thank you for the advice! I will def get a second opinion. I thought it was just the fan clutch causing the temp to do that but with the white smoke I kinda got scared. I do know some stuff about cars but my knowledge only goes so far hehe. Thank you again!!

 

[Forte]

Thank you for the advice! I will def get a second opinion. I thought it was just the fan clutch causing the temp to do that but with the white smoke I kinda got scared. I do know some stuff about cars but my knowledge only goes so far hehe. Thank you again!!

Yeah a fan clutch would have been easy if you didn't mention white smoke. If you would like to troubleshoot on your own you could buy a coolant system pressure tester. After pressurizing the system, watch the pressure gauge. If you're loosing pressure and do not have an external hose leaking you'll know you're leaking internally. You could then pull spark plugs and check to see if you have water on top of the pistons. Just don't put the plugs back on and start it if you do find water spraying into the cylinder.

Have you checked for oil/water mixing? If either looks like chocolate milkshake that's an obvious sign. Also are you using water, have to top it off all the time?

 

[Ddaks_]

Yeah a fan clutch would have been easy if you didn't mention white smoke. If you would like to troubleshoot on your own you could buy a coolant system pressure tester. After pressurizing the system, watch the pressure gauge. If you're loosing pressure and do not have an external hose leaking you'll know you're leaking internally. You could then pull spark plugs and check to see if you have water on top of the pistons. Just don't put the plugs back on and start it if you do find water spraying into the cylinder.

Have you checked for oil/water mixing? If either looks like chocolate milkshake that's an obvious sign. Also are you using water, have to top it off all the time?

So I went to a second mechanic and he said it’s the head gasket forsure. I have checked the backflow on my coolant reservoir and it was dark in color not the coolant that I put in the rig. I could smell the smoke coming out of the exhaust too and have that “sweet” smell.

 

[smritte]

Its not easy finding someone who has knowledge and is willing to do that kind of work. When you do, its gonna be expensive. I went through my motor last year. Started out as just a reseal and a head gasket. The inside looked like the previous owners never changed the oil. I ended up going through the whole motor. The point is, as a tech you have to guarantee the work, including things you don't see or touch.

It's possible the tech either didn't know how to do the repair or didn't want to, and just bid it high enough to make you leave. Its also possible he's been burned in the past by high mileage, multiple owner vehicles where the current owner doesn't actually know the vehicles history. In that case, he's covering his butt.

Not sure of your mileage but you may want to do a bunch of "while I'm there" items. Radiator, thermostat, water pump, hoses, fan clutch. Obviously your going to get timing cover, valve cover and crank seal.

 

[Ddaks_]

Its not easy finding someone who has knowledge and is willing to do that kind of work. When you do, its gonna be expensive. I went through my motor last year. Started out as just a reseal and a head gasket. The inside looked like the previous owners never changed the oil. I ended up going through the whole motor. The point is, as a tech you have to guarantee the work, including things you don't see or touch.

It's possible the tech either didn't know how to do the repair or didn't want to, and just bid it high enough to make you leave. Its also possible he's been burned in the past by high mileage, multiple owner vehicles where the current owner doesn't actually know the vehicles history. In that case, he's covering his butt.

Not sure of your mileage but you may want to do a bunch of "while I'm there" items. Radiator, thermostat, water pump, hoses, fan clutch. Obviously your going to get timing cover, valve cover and crank seal.

Yeaah I told my guy to change those since he’s already there. Also he found a crack on one of my cylinder heads so he’s replacing that as well. Thank you for the help :)