Posts Tagged ‘3fe’

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 11.23.2008

I guess it’s been a few weeks since my last update.

I am finally able to announce that:

MY LAND CRUISER STARTED AND RAN TONIGHT!!!!

After spending the weekend trying to finish all the final details prior to the initial startup of the rebuilt 3FE, I was able fire it up just after dark tonight.

Per the instructions from the rebuilder, I started the engine and ran it at 1200 RPMs until the coolant temperature began to rise, then I increased the RPMs to 1800 and ran it for 45 minutes (the rebuilder stated a minimum of 30 minutes).

So far everything sounds and looks good (except for all the smoking from the new paint).

I have to wait until Tuesday for the initial test drive. I still have to swap out the rear tires for the stock tires rather than the 33 inchers. I put the stock tires on the front in order for the engine to clear the front cross member. I’ll run the stock 31 inch tires all the way around for the engine break in period (first 2000 miles or more) so I reduce the chances of lugging the engine (plus the odometer will be a accurate for the multiple oil and filter changes, retorquing of the head gasket, etc in the next 2000 miles).

That’s all for now.

-Steve

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 11.09.2008

I am finally able to announce that my 3FE engine, transmission and transfer case is gently resting in my 80-series Land Cruiser. Nothing is hooked up yet except for the tranny cross member and engine mounts.

Prior to installing the engine, I ran new extended breather lines for the transfer case and transmission. The old breather line was somewhat brittle, so this was the perfect opportunity to run the new lines.

I still have to clean my air flow meter, hook up the belt driven accessories, vacuum hoses, wiring harness, drive lines and fix the exhaust head pipes that I had to sawzall in two to get the engine out.

It’s getting closer. But now it’s all weather dependent. Damn the storm that’s blowing in for the next four days.

I’m starting to get excited about having my Land Cruiser back.

To be continued.

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 11.04.2008

It’s been a couple weeks since I posted an update on the 3FE engine rebuild in my FJ80 Toyota Land Cruiser. Here is the latest on my 80-series 3FE project.

In the last installment, I just finished making the initial adjustment of my valves. Since then, I gave the mighty 3FE a coat of paint, bolted the valve cover on, installed the exhaust manifold, intake manifold and the exhaust heat shields.
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Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 10.13.2008

In today’s installment of the assembly of my Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE engine, I torqued down the rocker arm assembly, adjusted the valve clearance, cleaned the rocker arm cover and intake manifold. I have two stripped studs where the exhaust head pipe bolts to the exhaust manifold and I was able to get one of them out before I had to rush off to my daughter’s soccer practice.

You can see all my photos from this rebuild at Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser 3FE Rebuild

To be continued.

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 10.07.2008

Today, I was planning on getting a lot done on the assembly of my 80-series Land Cruiser 3FE engine. I ended up spending about seven hours in all disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling the rocker arm assembly.

Call me a little anal when it came to the cleaning, but the rocker arm assembly looks brand new. The rockers had baked on oil residue from nearly 200,000 miles of use on the FJ80. I soaked everything in citrus based solvent, wire brushed and eventually used a wire wheel on my grinder to take each piece down to bare metal.

It may be a little over board for some, but I don’t want to chance a chunk of the residue breaking off and causing problems down the road.

Steve

Toyota Land Cruiser FJ80 3FE Rebuild Progress Report – 09.29.2008

Here is the latest update on the progress of getting my Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser up and running again.

I received the head gasket and oil pan gasket order I was waiting for last Thursday. Over a long weekend, between soccer games and family time, I was able to devote a few days to cleaning, inspecting and assembling my 3FE engine. Here is a progress report of what I have completed so far.

NOTE: This is NOT a step-by-step instructional guide for assembling an engine. You need to consult the proper factory Toyota Land Cruiser service manual for instructions on assembling your engine.

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The Parts for My 3FE Rebuild Have Been Ordered

After a busy week, I was finally able to order the remaining parts (hopefully that’s all) that I need to assemble the 3FE engine for my 80-series Toyota Land Cruiser.

The parts I ordered are the factory Toyota head gasket, oil pan gasket, thermostat, hoses and belts. I have an aftermarket head gasket and oil pan gasket in my possession, however with the amount of money I’m investing in my FJ80, I’m going to do things right.

By the way, I’m ordering my parts through John Hocker at Sierra Toyota in Sierra Vista, Arizona. John is the go-to guy for Land Cruiser parts on the Toyota 3FE group on Yahoo.

I picked up my rebuilt Toyota Land Cruiser 3FE short block

Today I picked up my rebuilt Land Cruiser 3FE short block and head from the machine shop.

Now comes the cleaning, inspection (and buy new parts) and reassembly process.

I need to go buy a small parts washer to make the job easier. Probably Harbor Freight for me.

I’m going to replace all the hoses, belts, thermostat, etc while it’s apart. I noticed that my radiator appears to be leaking so that may need a rebuild. Who knows what else I’ll find during the inspection process.

No estimated time frame when it will be done. I know I’m tired of being a one vehicle family.

Here are some photos of the short block and head.

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Increased Fuel Economy and Power for a 3FE Powered Toyota Land Cruiser?

Brandon over at olympiafj60.net mentioned to me on the Whiskey Dick trip about a thread over on ih8mud.com in the 60-series forum on an adjustment that can be made to the Toyota Land Cruiser 3FE engines. There happens to be some type of fuel regulator on the fuel rail near the firewall that be adjusted. People are reporting increased power and even better yet, increased fuel ecomony.

You can see the thread at What the deuce is this thing?.

Well I went ahead and popped the plastic cap off and tightened the screw a couple of turns. Initial impressions while driving around my house seemed to be an increase in low end torque (a very unscientific approach).

I now need to take a test run over Snoqualmie Pass to check against my baseline mpg of 13.4 when traveling from Federal Way to Ellensburg, Washington. Hopefully, I’ll have a little more power on the climb to the summit. When I have the data, I’ll report it back here.

Thanks Brandon for the tip.

Steve

Preview: Toyota FJ80 Land Cruiser Cargo Box Build

My goal was to have have a place for my dog to ride as well as having quick access to tools and equipment without unpacking everything I had strapped down. I also needed a place to house an auxiliary battery since its not an easy task to locate a spare battery under the hood of an FJ80 powered by the 3FE engine.

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