Rocky's intro

[rklemm80]

My plan is the replace the 4.0 liter in line 6 with and transmission.
Hi, I am rocky klemm and I just purchased a 1992 80 series Land Cruiser, my life long dream! These are pictures of me towing from New Jersey to DC. Being a Newbe, my first project will be to get this truck more ready for the road than it is so I will have lots of questions. I am not going to do anything with the exterior at this time. I just want to concentrate on whats under the hood and every thing else the eye does not see. The LC drives a few miles here and there, but is not road worthy and instead of piece mealing it back to health, would like to give it a major overhaul. I would like to start by replacing the in-line 6 because I was told it was always underpowered at 155 and lacked torque. If anyone has any ideas on what to replace the engine with, I would much appreciate it! VIN JT3FJ80W3N0050820.

 

[Crispin]

Hi,

Nice truck.

What are you wanting to replace it with?
Why do you feel the 4.0 is underpowered? Perhaps we're just "conditioned" here in the UK with smaller engines

 

[rklemm80]

Hi,

Nice truck.

What are you wanting to replace it with?
Why do you feel the 4.0 is underpowered? Perhaps we're just "conditioned" here in the UK with smaller engines

Thank you. Long term. I am looking for ideas on what to replace it with. I am told my engine is 3FE. Youtube suggested a swap to an LS. They did one in 5 days but it took 5 technicians. They had to fabricate new motor mounts. Another guy on Youtube swapped the in-line 6 in his 97 LC with an 8 cylinder engine they use in the 100 series. They started out with a low mileage (hard to find) engine. They had to deal with all the plumbing, wiring (they really cleaned it up), hand fabricated motor mounts all the way down to other specific stuff they had to fabricate. a professional place in Golden Colorada at thefastlane.com Slee pros did it all for $25K, reasonable when you compare to a new LC.

I am not up to all that this month, so I have decided to take 2 weeks leave at the end of the month and overhaul my 3FE in-line 6 that shipped with my LC and see if I can get it to perform better. I have the electrical wiring diagram for the 1992. I plan to order repair manual for $55 today.

Question, does your transmission ever go "CLINK" once in a while? My does. thats why I plan to order the automatic transmission overhaul manual today for $14.95.

 

[uHu]

Congrats on a superb looking 80. The best looking Land Cruiser body ever (IMHO). By keeping your 80 in good shape, you do a good deed.
Comments on choice of engine:
1 - The inline 6 is the best balanced engine design. Naturally balanced and very smooth. The 3FE might be a bit weak for highway driving at 70 mph+, but is that what you have an 80-series for? I drove 80s with that gas engine sporadic over a few years in the 90s, and loved the smooth performance. We also had a lot of diesel i6 80s (1Hz), but the gas version was smoother and quieter, delivering good power quietly and effortlessly.
2 - If you insist on a V8 (with it's lumpy, unbalanced crackling ), the 2UZ-FE (from e.g. the 100 series) is one of the best V8 in this size ever made, especially the vvti version and combined with the A750F auto box.
3 - There is also a diesel version, 1HD-FTE, which is The Most Epic i6 diesel, used in e.g. the 100 series world-wide. This one also best combined with the A750F box.

 

[rklemm80]

uHu, Thank you for you advice! Regarding number 1, "the 3FE might be a bit weak for highway driving at 70 mph+". The way I understand your comment is that it would not necessarily overheat or be detrimental to the engine just because I drove it 70, or even 80+ miles per hour. You meant that if I were trying to excelerate at those speeds, I should not expect to get as much thrust, or for that matter, hardly any thrust at all when compared to what I would get at lower speeds (0-60). I am understanding you correctly? If so, for the time being, I would favor staying with the 3FE. Regardless, I will look into the 2UZ-FE you referred me to.

 

[uHu]

Again, your 80 looks insanely good. When I had both my 1997 1HZ 80 and the 2000 1HD-FTE 100 (back in 2001-2002), I would often choose the 80 over the 100, even for the long hauls, but then the speeds were normally under 60 mph. Even long inclines of 5-7% over 10 miles did not slow me down. And the gas version was even better.