FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[65RHDEER]

I can't make out the stamping on the end of that, what head did you go with, a Vortec style replacement?

[SuperBuickGuy]

new heads arrived today

other head is about off.... figure Sunday will be its day to be a runner again

[SuperBuickGuy]

That's the problem with Vortec heads, they crack too easily.

I have a pair on my 2000 Mercruiser, I know that day is coming!

first time I've had this problem - but the cracked block that happened early might have driven a nail into these heads... it seemed to get air trapped - which would create hotspots.... so who knows.... the lesson in all of this is don't cheap out. I'll probably build a 383 at some point with all my 'spare' parts because eventually, I'm sure, this motor will go - looking at cylinder 6, it has some scoring from the overheat....

[65RHDEER]

That's the problem with Vortec heads, they crack too easily.

I have a pair on my 2000 Mercruiser, I know that day is coming!

[SuperBuickGuy]

the answer to my question is summed up here


it's not the cleaner coming through the valve... it's the cleaner that's on the floor of the coolant passages. New heads - I could/will use the parts from these heads to complete my other Vortec heads - but time and money both conspire to simply replace them with some cheap, Summit Racing Vortec heads.

[SuperBuickGuy]

well.... time to pull it apart
picture for posterity (and to remember which line goes where)


and to know where the distributor was when pulled

not a terrible space to work

no smoking gun... but the center (4,6) got hot and there is some erosion.

the erosion

all signs (including rust on the spark plug threads) point to number 6 being the issue... but look at 8 - nice and steam cleaned...

and the spark plugs - rich and a bit late timing... oh and a bit of oil on number 2

but look under the exhaust valve for #6.... that looks like moisture got in there

so the question of the century... pull the other head? sleeping dogs and all of that - but it would be annoying to put it back together then start with problems.... a reminder on these heads - they came from PF1 when I went to aluminum heads. They came with the car and were "new" - they were clean and unpainted - but I've never see a head fail in less then 10k miles... yet here we are.... granted, they were also on the motor that had a cracked cylinder (number 8 was the issue there)....

I suspect it'll cost about the same to fix this head as to have another set assembled and cut down for the higher lift...

and I'm going to the Rubicon in September (hard to believe it's been 30 years since I last wheeled it)... so it needs to be stone solid.
and I may have just answered my own question... but feel free to post your thoughts.

[SuperBuickGuy]

so, as I mentioned before, I have another set of Vortec heads. Uncut (no mega lift cams), the heads had like 3k miles on them - then got pulled apart. I bought them because my wife was designing an inhaler that didn't use any compressed anything to power it. Long story short, she has a patent on her design and that design came about after they modeled the heads on a supercomputer so they could understand how the design worked. The design is patented and may see production someday...

problem is that was 15 years ago and I have no idea where I put the valves... ah well, I'll drop them off at a machine shop to get put together... I have plenty of springs and keepers... benefit is when I go to fix this leak, it'll all happen in a day. Either the heads on it are good or they're not - it won't matter.

While I'm at it. I cheaped out on headers and learned that the exhaust port design is unique enough for the Vortec head that the manifolds on the car leak.

but first, time for the last test... pressure

it didn't stay there long


so maybe in a month or so, this will be back better then ever.... just in time for me to break the Corvette at Optima

[Deaf Bob]

I think I'm going to hit the easy button on this one and either get the head fixed or simply swap them for another set of heads I have... and I just realized I think I have 2 sets.... the right heads would be the bare heads I have (I'm not sure where the valves are for them)... now to find the time... at this point I could simply leave the cap loose and it will work okay to move it around...

I’d say blown head gasket.
we’d get water out the right side header
changing the gasket works
had good luck with Fel Pro blue
looking in the radiator while running will show bubbles... but then you already know that.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I think I'm going to hit the easy button on this one and either get the head fixed or simply swap them for another set of heads I have... and I just realized I think I have 2 sets.... the right heads would be the bare heads I have (I'm not sure where the valves are for them)... now to find the time... at this point I could simply leave the cap loose and it will work okay to move it around...

[silver_bullet]

[SuperBuickGuy]

well now, problems.
Yesterday, I drove my '40 and ended up beside the road because it was overheating. I've had trouble with 2 things, one - it randomly overheats (like it has an air bubble in the cooling system... but how does it get there? thought maybe a heater hose that was loose. then yesterday all the warnings went off and I walked home then towed it home.

I get it home and the lower cooling hose connection is disconnected. It's been there for 7 years - so, while it doesn't have a lip on the tube, it should have stayed... but it didn't... so first checked the thermostat because collapsed hose

took 450* to get this to open

and would close at 139*

got a new one


took it for a drive and blew the hose off again

back to the drawing board - in the past I noticed a bit of coolant in the exhaust on the passenger side.... which leads me to conclude I probably fully cracked the head...

which now leads me to what to do.... I have enough parts to build a 383 (from the crank I have left over from my worst day (those who know, know).

[SuperBuickGuy]

high build applied...
outside, of course



and shot the insides too


now 2-4 hours of sanding - the whole point is blend so it's not immediately identifiable as junk (need to look at it closer to determine that)... but whatever, they're full metal, aren't rusty, and will fit the hole... and, as I said before, probably never used....

[SuperBuickGuy]

I've had these half-doors mostly finished for years... time to get paint on them

all I have to do is a bit of finish work, make them a bit less wavy (and seriously, good enough is more then good enough)

[SuperBuickGuy]

I had a heck of a time bleeding the one on Mutt the Race Truck. I solved it with a veterinary syringe pushing brake fluid back into the master from down below. I now use that method to bleed brakes with usually good results.

fitting the 'stock' FJ40 flex line to the aftermarket slave was the biggest issue. I may yet have to machine a face on the slave cylinder then use a copper crush washer on top of it. The other issue is that you have to adjust the pedal to what seems like a pre-load in order to get it to work. I suspect that over time that will resolve but at the start - it really seems like you're doing it wrong.

[DanStokes]

I had a heck of a time bleeding the one on Mutt the Race Truck. I solved it with a veterinary syringe pushing brake fluid back into the master from down below. I now use that method to bleed brakes with usually good results.