3FE engine beef up

wheels · 08-02-04, 08:37 PM

Is there anyone who makes perfomance parts for the 3FE engine?

jesterb · 08-02-04, 08:48 PM

Not really. A few vendors sell a header and a snorkel. Man-a-fre sells a hi-po rebuilt long block.

Its a tractor motor. Keep it fed and watered well and get used to the slowspeed

jesterb · 08-02-04, 08:49 PM

Oh yeah

Welcome newbie

lovetoski · 08-02-04, 11:00 PM

Welcome!

I have a 2f and a 1fzfe, but understand your concern. Do a thorough tune-up for starters. Use OEM parts. Read the posts on lubricants - there's some thought that synthetic in the diffs and transfer will help milage.

A great stereo will help the time pass.

Nothing "bolt-on" will do diddly. If you are ambitous, you might explore the idea of shaving the head. This will raise compression, and is the single biggest improvement you can make. You'll have to go to premium gas though.

Use the search, and I'm pretty sure this has been covered.

When the sun is shining, Cruisers don't get there first...but when the weather is foul, or the road is lousy...

Doc · 08-03-04, 06:18 AM

Custom turbo would be the way to go here, but you need to locate a turbo manifold first.

bjowett · 08-03-04, 09:30 AM

The 3FE in normally aspirated form has much potential... it just needs to be discovered. I'm sure there must be a few folks around here who have built something good.

mpetersrx7 · 08-03-04, 10:43 AM

Several people have redone the exhaust system after the headers and also bored the throttle body with good results. I am not one of them yet so I can not comment on the improved performance. Also getting an extreme valve body will help with slow shifts for perceived performance.

Mark

overhanger · 08-03-04, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjowett

The 3FE in normally aspirated form has much potential... it just needs to be discovered. I'm sure there must be a few folks around here who have built something good.

I love the 3FE that Robbie at Slee rebuilt for me last year. .060" OEM pistons, .060" head mill, port matching of head, intake and exhaust manifolds and rebuilt injectors and bored out throttle body (3mm) by RC Engineering. Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,000' used to be a 40 mph/second gear grind. Now doable at 60+ mph in third gear with a similar load in the truck. Wasn't cheap and requires 91 octane but I'm super happy with the results and best of all it is 99% stock - even the cam.

wheels · 08-03-04, 11:15 AM

Hi lovetoski,

You mention you have a 1FZ-FE. How does the extra 57 hp compare with the 3FE? If a guy could find one it might be a good way for some extra horses in a FJ62.

Wheels

[QUOTE=lovetoski]Welcome!

I have a 2f and a 1fzfe, but understand your concern. Do a thorough tune-up for starters. Use OEM parts. Read the posts on lubricants - there's some thought that synthetic in the diffs and transfer will help milage.

lovetoski · 08-03-04, 12:54 PM

Hi Wheels,

My 1FZFE is in my FZJ80 (1994). I've driven an early 80 though with the 3FE. (Will probably buy one soon.) I like the 3FE, it is a strong engine, sounds and feels like a cruiser. Not fast though...

hj60 · 08-03-04, 01:03 PM

Anything you can do to make a motor breathe better will improve performance.
Port and polish.
Headers.
Free flowing cat.
Free flowing mufflers.
Wider throttle body.
Tuned intake manifold (think headers on the intake side of the motor).
If you're going to get a new camshaft, make sure you match the valves and ports to it.

There's a book called "Engine Math" or similar that has formulas for literally everything that
affects a motor's efficiency and output.
Talk to a speedshop. See what they'd recommend. They will probably be very vague and
just quote you dollar amounts for what they'll do, but if you listen between the lines, you
can get an idea of what they mean.

If you throw enough money at it, you can make any motor scream. Including your F/2F/3F-E.
It's all about how many cubic dollars you have under the hood.

Aseif007 · 08-04-04, 12:15 AM

wheels,
I have a set of domed forged Aluminum pistons that raise my compression to ~9.2:1. I have noticed a great increase in power, but until I dyno it I cannont say how much. ( no I am not saying that the FJ-62 is a race car now, but compared to before.... ) I have also replaced all bearings, seals, stock CAM, oil pump, water pump, and many other parts with genuine Toyota parts, head rebuild,a .040 over bore, and the 3FE ceramic coated 'equal length' headers. (not sure how much I am gaining from them though) The .060 bore is the max you can go and if you ever plan on rebuilding the motor again you cannot bore the cylinders anymore. I am planning on the injector rebuild, and throttle body bore, in the near future. The Extreme valve body will help you feel like you have more power by improving shifting and converter lock-up. All those, plus a less restrictive exhaust will help but not as much as a SBC would. The SBC is lighter and has at least 200 HP or much more and in the end will probably cost the same as what I did and am planning on doing. But I love my 3FE. Another way to get more 3FE power to the ground is to get rid of the A440F (tranny) and put in a H55F 5-speed manual Toyota tranny. I am toying with that idea because the 5 speed has so many advantages over the A440F on road and off. The FJ-62 will never be fast with the 3FE, but I would trade fast for reliability any day. My 3FE had 300,000 original miles before I rebuilt it. And it would have gone more too.. Good luck in whatever you choose.

Andrew
88' FJ-62
97' FZJ-80
01' Tacoma

wheels · 08-04-04, 08:40 AM

ASEIF007,

Hi Andrew,

Is the SBC you mention the DOHC 1FZ-FE engine?

kevin g · 08-04-04, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheels

ASEIF007,

Hi Andrew,

Is the SBC you mention the DOHC 1FZ-FE engine?

I'm not Andrew, but SBC = small block chevy

Rollin'in'Zona · 08-04-04, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overhanger

I love the 3FE that Robbie at Slee rebuilt for me last year. .060" OEM pistons, .060" head mill, port matching of head, intake and exhaust manifolds and rebuilt injectors and bored out throttle body (3mm) by RC Engineering. Eisenhower Tunnel at 11,000' used to be a 40 mph/second gear grind. Now doable at 60+ mph in third gear with a similar load in the truck. Wasn't cheap and requires 91 octane but I'm super happy with the results and best of all it is 99% stock - even the cam.

Hey Overhanger,

Where did you have this done? About how much did it cost? How long did it take?

Thanks!

hj60 · 08-04-04, 02:09 PM

From all anecdotal evidence, a freshened up F/2F/3F-E will blow you away compared to
what you're used to. Pimp can prolly back me up on this.
Most of us are close to 200k, if not more, miles. My guess is the F family of engines is due
for its first overhaul at 100k. At that point it should be well-seasoned and should have
flexed and warped all it needs to to attain its final shape. After that, it should be good for
250k miles at least.

If I get a new job soon, I may have access to an inexpensive, rebuildable 2F core.
I plan to bore it .020 over. Align-hone the crank bores. Mill the head just enough to level it.
Deck it just enough to level it. Maybe polish the runners and portmatch the manifold
mounting surfaces.
The above will likely net me 10HP and 20ft/lb over factory, and another 250k miles. It'll
definately last me until I can do my impersonation of HZJ-60_Guy with a 12H-T.

overhanger · 08-04-04, 02:19 PM

Robbie at Sleeoffroad.com did the work at Christo's shop in Golden, CO. Cost? Man, I have those receipts buried at the bottom of the Cruiser receipts box in case anybody else (wife) ever goes looking through it! Parts alone were over $3K, I think but I'm going on memory that has been sublimated.

Time was longer than an engine building-only shop as Robbie is the only mechanic at Slee and I wasn't pushing since I had other wheels. Got a little nervous as Cruise Moab dates got closer last year, though, but Robbie got 'er done and the engine has rocked ever since. I'd do it again, just the same way. There are some engine companies that do stock rebuilds like Jasper.com that have good reputations, I just liked giving Christo and Robbie the business and I was able to do all of the porting work myself.

sourcemine · 09-02-04, 10:36 AM

skimming this thread... definately interested in seeing some pictures of the slee built 3FE overhanger..

TPI's headers were the headers you got or made your own?

and jasper is jasperengines.com and to save time its like 5425 for the remaf. engine.

overhanger · 09-02-04, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourcemine

skimming this thread... definately interested in seeing some pictures of the slee built 3FE overhanger..

TPI's headers were the headers you got or made your own?

and jasper is jasperengines.com and to save time its like 5425 for the remaf. engine.

Look at any old 3FE and you'll see what the engine in my truck looks like. It's all stock, including the exhaust manifolds - no headers on it. Stock exhaust manifolds on a 3FE are short, straight and there is plenty of metal to grind out to help them flow better. The rest of the exhaust system was built very similarly to the pictures that you posted of your truck although I stuck with two O2 sensors. Din't your pictures show a single O2 sensor bung?
I've heard only good things about Jasper rebuilds.

sourcemine · 09-02-04, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overhanger

The rest of the exhaust system was built very similarly to the pictures that you posted of your truck although I stuck with two O2 sensors. Din't your pictures show a single O2 sensor bung?
I've heard only good things about Jasper rebuilds.

No I used both 02 sensors run one after the other, no CEL or anything, just used one modern ODBII cat versus the two old OBDI cats.

overhanger · 09-02-04, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourcemine

No I used both 02 sensors run one after the other, no CEL or anything, just used one modern ODBII cat versus the two old OBDI cats.

Uh, what is CEL? Using a single cat here too but didn't realize there was an OBD designation for a cat. My O2 sensors are located in the two separate pipes before the Y. The thinking there was that more accurate feedback can be given to the ECU as opposed to two sensors side by side in a single pipe.

sourcemine · 09-02-04, 02:23 PM

CEL = Check Engine light, sorry its a term used for the audi's alot. What is ODB designation? Every recent cat has one, new ones are ODBII compliant.

HZJ60 Guy · 09-02-04, 02:33 PM

I bet you could install a FI 350 cheaper than you could mess with that 3FE.

TB

overhanger · 09-02-04, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HZJ60 Guy

I bet you could install a FI 350 cheaper than you could mess with that 3FE.

TB

Quite probably true. So? Different strokes(!) for different folks. I prefer TOYota to Chevota for the kind of stuff my truck goes through - I don't pull trailers. I have wheeled with Chevota 62s before. Not my cup of tea. Great for other's though. To me it is sort of like the "lifetime guarantee" that some rebuilt parts come with. What good is the guarantee if you are having to replace the part every two years or so? OEM Toyota lasts a loooong time.

Razor · 09-02-04, 05:40 PM

Any thoughts on this setup:

Some of the procedures performed during the engine build:

Bored .030"
Decked .012" (to get 9 to 1 CR)
Crank grind
Resize rods
Bigger cam
Complete balance to within 1/2 gram
All new valves
All new guides
All new upgraded springs
Head milled .030 (to get 9 to 1 CR)
Non USA 3F in/ex manifolds (big improvement over stock 2F)

dd113 · 09-02-04, 07:33 PM

before youy get all gung ho on the super rebuild spend a few hundered bucks and a bunch of time and tune your existing 3FE.

Landpimp · 09-02-04, 09:21 PM

WORD!

our bone stock(but 33x9.5's and ARB bar) and two owner(1st till last year) 90 fj62 has ran well sense we got it, did a basic tune up right away(plugs cap ect ect) and it was prolly the most powerfull 3fe I have driven(and have driven alot, owned one for 9 years), but now that a VSV sensor and the EGR are replaced it just flat hauls butt and purs like a kitten, no ruff idle....no crap it feels almost like driving moms 97fjz. I LOVE driving it, Connie is just flat out exstatic and she had been driving my 2000 UZJ.

did I mention this is with 241,000 miles on it?

So YEAH, before you go nutts, make sure what you have is working as well as it can.........because it will suprise you what it can do.......for a tractor motor

(BTW DD, even 89 fj62 shows the power pack as optional and AC, looked last night)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd113

before youy get all gung ho on the super rebuild spend a few hundered bucks and a bunch of time and tune your existing 3FE.

HZJ60 Guy · 09-02-04, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overhanger

Quite probably true. So? Different strokes(!) for different folks. I prefer TOYota to Chevota for the kind of stuff my truck goes through - I don't pull trailers. I have wheeled with Chevota 62s before. Not my cup of tea. Great for other's though. To me it is sort of like the "lifetime guarantee" that some rebuilt parts come with. What good is the guarantee if you are having to replace the part every two years or so? OEM Toyota lasts a loooong time.

Man I can respect not wanting to venture into non Toyota territory, but you cant be serious. If there is a better, longer lasting engine platform out there than the venerable Chebby 350 I dont know what it is.

Dont try and tell me they arent reliable, because there isnt a better engine out there.

Now Im a diesel guy, and I have a diesel 60, but outside of diesel nothing beats a Chevy 350.

TB

sourcemine · 09-02-04, 11:09 PM

I'd like to beef up the current motor actually, been saving input from post, as you can see I asked about the 3FE beef up, not dropping a Chevota in there...

saw TPI's headers.. having the maintence items done first and the air intake... than I'll see what else I can do for cheap..

Aseif007 · 09-03-04, 11:10 AM

sourcemine,

I hate to burst your bubble but did you ask TPI if those headers are Cali smog legal?
I have the same set but from MAF and they didn;t have any CARB numbers so that makes the headers on my 3FE California smog illegal. I would spend that money on the throttle body and intake manifold enlarging from RC engneering, and also do some porting work on the exhaust manifold and head. Then replace the exhaust with a freer flowing system, but not too free flowing as that will hurt low end torque. There you will need to retain the 2 O2 sensors and the 2 cats to pass visual smog inspection here in Cali. I have raised compression and that has a good effect on performance. (No, I am not saying that the 3FE is a race motor now, just saying it has a little more power now) I am headed towards the throttle body and intake maifold enlarging, along with an injector service since my injectors have 300,000 miles on them.

Andrew