1996 80 series needs new motor is it worth it?

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those prices for an engine rebuild seem excessive. I know a full rebuild with all the work done is much cheaper here in san diego down by the border. I would look south if I were you near the border and find a good shop that has good reviews on yelp. You should be able to get it done for half of the prices you quoted.
 
What motor did you put in? Cheap? I wish mine ended up being cheap.



What is considered a passenger vehicle? I have a 92/92 combo, but I have it registered out of state so I don't have to *** with the emission police.

They mean a consumer vehicle. No CDL required vehicle.

Means that you can't just buy a cheap 4BT out of a decommissioned Frito Lay delivery truck and drop it in. Because that's a commercial vehicle.

It's a stupid law, that I've seen several here from az complain about.
 
How nice is your truck. My motor went just after I got the truck how I wanted it and the interior, body, and paint were perfect so I went with the new motor.

But if it isn't a very nice truck I would be tempted to pick up another one and move my stuff over to it. Honestly if it died tomorrow I'd probably drop all my goodies on a 3FE rig as they seem to be bottoming out price wise.
 
If you pull the motor from a 98 dodge 2500 wouldnt that work? The epa didnt ruin the cummins until 2003

If you like chevrolet motors I would do duramax/allison or just get the 350 chevy v8. The 90s suburbans still get like 20mpg highway or if you want more power I think the LS1 would be a good route.

Its all been done so pick a motor that fits your needs. Im hoping to swap in a 1HD-FT the first time I have to do motor work... if it can hold up for a few years
 
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I just looked up the 4bt specs and it said it has 105hp and 265 ft-lbs of torque. Isn't that less than the 1fz-fe? Is the main appeal of the 4bt that its a cummins and will go a million miles?
 
It is less. I dont understand the appeal of putting that motor in either. If im going to waste 50 hours swapping a motor, it would be for a significant power and fuel consumption change
 
It is less. I dont understand the appeal of putting that motor in either. If im going to waste 50 hours swapping a motor, it would be for a significant power and fuel consumption change

50 hours man!
 
Hey im just guessing. I dont have any helpers and ive never undertaken a project like that.
 
Maybe Im weird but I would not ever swap my 1FZ E for a 4BT. I like the torque that big in line 6 puts out. My old man swore by in line and slant 6s in the old Dodge trucks. Run forever, fairly easy to work on.
 
Ive worked around cars for about 5 years and im convinced the pre 03 5.9 cummins is the best motor ever made
 
Get a diesel donor truck and send them both to me in denver. Ill do the swap for you for cheap. (With 4 kids under the age of 5 I could use the money). I've already done the swap on my own vehicle... Pm me if interested

How much are you talking and what's the time frame? What motor would you swap? 4bt? Or find a different ?
 
theres a guy doing a swap for me in Phoenix that could do a vortec swap for a lot less , the motor and transmission price and how complete it comes will be the variable , the labor is the same .
pm me if you want his name.

Phoenix is where I am. What's the cost on the swap with you bringing the motor???
 
So is there any motor swaps that can use the 80 trans and keep the AWD?? Or get a new trans but keep AWD?
 
You can keep awd with the vortec swap. Marks adapters makes an adapter to retain the factory auto but the shift points are not v8 friendly. Some of the diesel swaps can retain the factory auto.
 
I had a lx450 with a spun bearing and it had lockers an non sliding rear windows but was so trashed I could put parts from my 94 on it, and I don't want to just swap motor, I wanted to swap it all, I ended up selling her off

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You can keep awd with the vortec swap. Marks adapters makes an adapter to retain the factory auto but the shift points are not v8 friendly. Some of the diesel swaps can retain the factory auto.

Yeah I like the idea of part time, I will NEVER have manual hubs on a vehicle again so I will need to keep that AWD if I ever swap.
 
Three years ago my '96 FZJ80 (RedCruiser) lost her engine at about 200k. Had over heated a few times just after I got it (with 34k miles) in '99 but she held on. Replaced the radiator with a 3-row and never had a problem since. But the damage was done. Many subsequent hard off-road miles didn't help either.

When the engine blew and I couldn't bear the thought of replacing RedCruiser, I got a short block from Cruiser Dan in Albuquerque (awesome guys over there at American Toyota) and had it shipped to Dave Kinnison at Ultimate Imports in Tempe. (Highly recommended.)

We replaced most any part that looked like it needed it so the cost was not bare bones. We also had his head guy do an extra $1200 worth of porting and polishing to coax a few extra ponies out of the engine. With a lift and 33's it drives about like stock or even a bit more brisk and still on regular gas.

The entire cost of engine, other parts, and labor was right about $8k. Totally worth it. She can climb a tree if traction is good. RedCruiser is my baby and she knows it. Sorry dear...

FWIW,

Michael
 
RedCruiser80 said:
Three years ago my '96 FZJ80 (RedCruiser) lost her engine at about 200k. Had over heated a few times just after I got it (with 34k miles) in '99 but she held on. Replaced the radiator with a 3-row and never had a problem since. But the damage was done. Many subsequent hard off-road miles didn't help either.

When the engine blew and I couldn't bear the thought of replacing RedCruiser, I got a short block from Cruiser Dan in Albuquerque (awesome guys over there at American Toyota) and had it shipped to Dave Kinnison at Ultimate Imports in Tempe. (Highly recommended.)

We replaced most any part that looked like it needed it so the cost was not bare bones. We also had his head guy do an extra $1200 worth of porting and polishing to coax a few extra ponies out of the engine. With a lift and 33's it drives about like stock or even a bit more brisk and still on regular gas.

The entire cost of engine, other parts, and labor was right about $8k. Totally worth it. She can climb a tree if traction is good. RedCruiser is my baby and she knows it. Sorry dear...

FWIW,

Michael

Wait a minute. Are you saying that your truck had overheating issues at 34k. And ten years later the problem manifested itself as a blown HG???? Sorry to hijack the thread. Is that typical???? I just have this crazy picture that all if a sudden, while you are driving, the engine or the radiator just blows. Or if I read between the lines you stalled or slowed down the head gasket from blowing for ten years??????????
 

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