[Appolyon]

Well first off, Hi. I'm an FJ80 owner from Central Arizona, and I do a bit of offroading, but no rock crawling. I use my truck mostly for transportation, and getting to hunting locations. I use it like an actual truck, and I haul construction materials.

I love my Land Cruiser, and it works wonders the way it is. I've almost never had any trouble with it, and it's nearly unstoppable. It's stock, other than a cell phone adapter wired into it. It just hit 137k, and I had to replace some wiring. My biggest problem with it is the gas consumption. It is a 150 mile, 2 hour plus drive to the nearest large city, and with the gas mileage, that's an expensive trip.

I'm looking at swapping the engine out, but i don't know what my options are, and/or what putting a supercharger or turbo charger would do. How can I improve my fuel economy and increase the avaliable power? Also, I am planning on adding a 2 inch lift and putting larger tires on to help with traction. I'm putting an ARB Bull bar on the front, and a 9k winch. Any suggestions for any of these? I would love some advice, and what would improve my fuel economy.

Also, where would I be able to take it to have it upgraded. I have limited automotive experience, and am concerned about screwing something up. Also, i don't have any of the heavy equiptment that I would need to pull off an overhaul like this... Any advice would be appreciated.

[Downey]

1. I hate forced induction (i.e. turbos, blowers). Your stock pistons, wrist pins, connecting rods and bearings were not designed for boost (something being crammed down their throat whether they like it or not) when they were new, let alone your (2009 minus 1991) 18 year old parts. I'd say let your stock engine RIP!!!
2. If you were to consider a late model GM engine, I'm your go-to guy for information (and limited parts). I would not use the stock FJ80 transmission though. PM me and we can have a chat about that.

[Appolyon]

Oh, ya. I was not thinking about boosting the current engine... I know that wouldn't work. I am seriously considering an engine swap though...

[BrotherRob]

Start by looking for an FZJ80, 93 or newer. It'll be cheaper that changing a motor. I wouldn't use a supercharger in AZ. Overheating will be a big problem.

Check out the Copper State Cruisers section. The locals can give you some good input.

[lndcruz]

the smaller cummins turbo diesel seems to be a popular swap. Search for diesel swaps.

[Appolyon]

I'm not looking to deisel. I would much rather stick to standard gasoline.

Can anyone tell me what engines are the easiest to squeeze into the engine compartment, along with a new transmission... due to my relative lack of skill in the automotive area....

[89GASHOG]

137K is nothing for a 3FE. An engine swap other than a diesel probably won't garner you much of an advantage fuel consumption wise. Bullbar, lift, winch, tires will probably cost you 3k or more, so I'd start there and stick with your stock engine. What's up with the wiring?

[retrofive]

TwoTonic put an Atlas I5 in his. Here is the thread:

http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...sion-fj80.html

[OhioCruiser]

[QUOTE=Appolyon;4896196]
It is a 2 hour, 200 mile plus drive , and with the gas mileage, that's an expensive trip.

QUOTE]

With 100MPH it should be expensive.
Get a more economical car for the trips

[cody c]

Originally Posted by Appolyon

I'm not looking to deisel. I would much rather stick to standard gasoline.

Can anyone tell me what engines are the easiest to squeeze into the engine compartment, along with a new transmission... due to my relative lack of skill in the automotive area....

Are you planning on doing the conversion yourself? It is alittle unclear on if you want something simple or if you are going to get a shop to do the install for you. If you arent going to do the install yourself then it wouldnt make a difference (other than cost) if it was something simple like a 327 SBC TBI or maybe a little more difficult (4BT cummins). I am getting about 500kms for 70 litres of fuel with my 6BT cummins at the moment on 35's.

[Appolyon]

Originally Posted by OhioCruiser

With 100MPH it should be expensive.
Get a more economical car for the trips

Ya...... my mistake Switch that... 200 mile, 2 hour plus trip.

I have a Volvo 850 that is my normal car, but that may be going to my brother sooner than later.....

Originally Posted by cody c

Are you planning on doing the conversion yourself? It is alittle unclear on if you want something simple or if you are going to get a shop to do the install for you. If you arent going to do the install yourself then it wouldnt make a difference (other than cost) if it was something simple like a 327 SBC TBI

I'm still at odds whether or not I want to do this myself. I don't have any of the heavy equiptment to move engines around, so i'm leaning toward having a shop do it. In that case it wouldn't matter for me... So i'm leaning toward having a shop do it...

The wiring is in good shape for what I know.... I have had it into the shop regularly, and everything works...

Thanks for the input....

[Appolyon]

Another question- What size engines will swap into the compartment? I have no idea- I'm looking at engines, but i don't know what sizes will physically fit without modifying the engine compartment-

Sorry to sound like a complete newbie but i have no idea- I'm looking at wrecked trucks but I need to know what will actually fit. (I can't measure the actual engine or compartment, as I don't have physical access at my truck right now)

[jonheld]

Doing an engine swap from a good motor to improve fuel economy makes very little financial sense, especially if you are paying someone else to do it.

Spend wisely and purchase a small commuter car that gets 30 mpg, leave your 80 in the driveway. Done.

[Appolyon]

So i understand the financial problem with doing that, but I am going to be driving to Western Colorado 3 or 4 times a year in the near future, and will need a 4WD vehicle... That's why I'm doing this...

[firetruck41]

FYI, a cummins conversion from profitts cruisers, who specializes in these swaps is $20k+. If you are paying someone to do any engine swap, it will probably cost 2-3 times the value of the vehicle, at minimum.

[SuperRunner]

If you are looking for a good MPG gas motor, the lexus 4.0 engine is a good choice. Just need to get yourself a A343F tranmission and swap out bellhousings to bolt up to the 1UZ motor.

You might loose out on a little bit of low end toruqe(not by much), but your mpg will get a big boost. Motors can be found very cheap too, and pretty easy to get wired up. Also is like half the weight of the stock motor, so you can add a big front bumper and still weight less than stock.

[Appolyon]

Okay, thank You!

I'm realizing how extremely technical this is, and expensive if you don't have your own garage to do this in... I'm definitely not planning to do this engine swap now, or anywhere within the next four years, but i'm definitely going to start with smaller things and keep working and looking on this thread.

I appreaciate all of you guys help with this so far on this forum and how understanding you've been, putting up with my completely nonsensical questions.

[cody c]

i hope we didnt give you more questions than answers on your proposed engine swap and i think your idea of tackling the smaller preventative maintenance until you feel capable of tackling something bigger like this is a great idea.

I did a SBC swap in the other 80 and it was alot of work and difficult to find motivation to keep working on it after a month of evenings and weekends and for me there was lots of times where i wondered what i was doing and thought it would never end.
There is also lots of things like welding engine mounts to the frame and getting exhaust built sorting out wiring, gauge wiring, power steering hoses, rad hoses and all the bugs that you will have to sort out that steal your time. In hindsight if i were to do another i would like to do a cummins 4BT swap as i think if your going to go to all this work, this engine has alot of pros and the biggest con is the install. I have owned 80's with a 3fe, SBC and now a 6bt cummins for reference.

So anyways hopefully we will still see a write up on an engine swap by you in the future!

Cheeri-o!

[Appolyon]

Originally Posted by cody c

i hope we didnt give you more questions than answers on your proposed engine swap and i think your idea of tackling the smaller preventative maintenance until you feel capable of tackling something bigger like this is a great idea.
So anyways hopefully we will still see a write up on an engine swap by you in the future!

Cheeri-o!

So just out of curiousity, what smaller preventative maintenance would you recommend? Also, what kind of mods would I be able to do myself? Like one day things? EG: what's the difficulty of installing a HAM unit into the empty mounting slot in the dash (if, and most of you have, you've removed the tape deck) or putting on an ARB Bull Bar? an Old Man EMU suspension kit? Changing the Oil Pan Gasket? Changing the tire size sounds pretty easy, but what about regearing? (i'm expecting that regearing is more than i'm ready for... but i don't know...)

I am starting to organize the ideas I've seen on here, as well as the excellent info that i've gotten from the engine swaps i've read about on here... and of course looking for garage space and tools for starters. My parents have an adequate amount of tools for smaller stuff, but i'm going to have to move out eventually... might as well take advantage of the tools i have now when doing the smaller stuff... I actually do have more questions about the swap now than answers, but that's because i'm learning.... Which is important... I've been a computers and electronics guy for years, but Internal combustion mechanics is an area i need to improve.... thanks to this forum I'm learning a lot really fast...

Thanks for the input....

[firetruck41]

Theres alot of ideas in the faq, if you haven't seen them. They contain alot of step by step instructions, as well as basic info on things like locking differentials. The faq is a sticky thread toward the top of the 80 series forum.