1fzfe Engine replacement, rebuild or V8 swap? (1 Viewer)

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bigredmachine said:
agreed on that, if you know that you have good parts they can be serviced and put back into service its going to save some money doing it that way. and theres always used parts floating around on the classified that you can pick up cheep, build and install when needed.
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Most of it's fine. I did a new water pump, new thermostat, new throttle cable, new alternator, new o-ring on the dizzy, sent the injectors out to Witch Hunter for cleaning and testing, full valve grind kit, all new cooling system hoses along with a rear heat delete, new heat shields, replaced or polished every bolt, nut and washer that came off under a wire wheel on a bench grinder, new PCV and new grommet, painted the valve cover and then eventually went on to replace the entire exhaust system with new OEM pipes, Bosal SS cats and a Walker Aluminized steel muffler.

Here is a video that I shot the first time I started it up.

The photo is of what I started with. Quite a transformation if I do say so myself :)



P1000340.JPG
 
that's some nice work. eventually id like to get the truck off the road for a year or two and just do a mini refurb. but first I need a house with a garage, I don't think that my parents will let me keep the truck on blocks in the front yard and I'm sure that the apartment complex would also frown upon doing the same in the parking lot
 
bigredmachine said:
that's some nice work. eventually id like to get the truck off the road for a year or two and just do a mini refurb. but first I need a house with a garage, I don't think that my parents will let me keep the truck on blocks in the front yard and I'm sure that the apartment complex would also frown upon doing the same in the parking lot
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Having a three car garage is nice, for sure. I have been able to expand my tool and equipment situation by quite a wide margin and I had a lot of stuff to begin with. Having a second car is key. I run the two truck system with the LC and a 1997 2WD, 5-speed, ext. cab, Tacoma with cruise as a second vehicle. These two trucks are my boys until I croak. I have what I want. Totally worth building up both of them as needed in my mind. Neither one of those types of vehicles will likely ever be sold again in the US as long as I am alive.
 
I still need the 80 to be my truck till I get a second so it cant come off the road just yet. fortunately I wwork in a shop so I have a lift at my disposal so that helps with getting smaller stuff done in the short term. worked oput real well when I had to send the gas tank out to be repaired.....twice. the first time they forgot to braze the patch on the tank and sent it back :bang:. I got pretty good at dropping the tank in about 15 min or so
 
Even at 10k id ls swap or 6bt swap. Yes, either one would go over that amount, but i would do my own work. Maybe you can’t or dont want to, but for 25k i have seen cruisers already ls or 6bt swapped.

Personally i would just fix the consumption issue.
 
Has no one asked what the source of the oil consumption is yet? Maybe try pinpointing and fixing that before spending $10k? At 230k, your engine is just broken in.
 
Red Merle said:
GM Motor swaps are always going to end up being expensive and I have read enough to know that there is no easy swap due to the electronics involved in an 80. It's too complicated to just have a simple DIY kit and unless you really know your wiring, you will always be tinkering with it and that could strand you just as easily if you drain a battery because something wasn't quite right in the cruise control module or something.

;)
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Red Merle said:
Who's money are we spending here? Mine, yours, or his? If it's not me and you guys are buyin', put me down for a 400hp LS crate motor and a couple of tear off tickets I can redeem for a new one when the piston slap gets bad. ;)
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OK, we get it, you don't much care for LS/Vortec swaps. That is your opinion, but lets clean up the facts a bit. You bet there are a bunch of electrical issues with most swaps you see in 80 series truck. A high percentage of those are due to how the swaps are done.

I do swaps as a stand alone unit with as little interface with the OEM electrical system as possible, for just the reasons stated above. A huge problem is the insistence of almost all 80 swappers to maintain the stock gauges. Crazy in my opinion, hacks on hacks just to get 22+ year old tech to talk with state of the art tech. I run new gauges in all my builds with no issues other than calibrating a fuel sender and programming gauges.

You speak as if piston slap happens to all of these motors. Actually only happens on a percentage of the motors with longer stroke.

There are all kinds of ways to get an 80 back up and running, all have merits and appeal to various circumstances. Budget is generally the factor that makes the choice. We all want things that just don't fit a budget, I have been collecting parts to build my own truck for several years now. I do not have money in my budget to do it all at once. So if you want something like a V8 or diesel swap, start saving :)
 
We are currently installing a Toyota OEM short block into an 80. Block, pistons, rods, crank. It’s a really nice piece. Rumor has it there steno more left. Maybe you can find s dealer sitting on one somewhere. Check with Beno for inventory? High oil consumption can be valve guide seals and/or rings. Compression testing MAY indicate rings? Swapping in a good used lower mileage engine may be a viable option. That would certainly be a temporary solution while the original engine is totally rebuilt in whatever fashion/schedule you choose.
 
I agree with the above thoughts about a conservative approach. It is likely your bottom end has at least 100K of life left. So I'd gamble on a head rebuild and replacement of peripherals like water pump, etc. That could buy you a decade of Cruising your 80 with out spending a ton. Then 10 years from now, you can do your big swap, or scrap it and buy something else.

If you don't like that idea, a used but good running 1FZ would be my next thought. Often cheaper than even a head gasket job.
 
I would find the source of the oil consumption as well. If its just valve seals then have the head rebuilt and port n polished. If its the bottom end, then I would consider whether or not you are going to keep the vehicle for a long time. If you are going to keep it, then I would do a LS swap if you have the circumstances.
 
NCFJ said:
OK, we get it, you don't much care for LS/Vortec swaps. That is your opinion, but lets clean up the facts a bit. You bet there are a bunch of electrical issues with most swaps you see in 80 series truck. A high percentage of those are due to how the swaps are done.

I do swaps as a stand alone unit with as little interface with the OEM electrical system as possible, for just the reasons stated above. A huge problem is the insistence of almost all 80 swappers to maintain the stock gauges. Crazy in my opinion, hacks on hacks just to get 22+ year old tech to talk with state of the art tech. I run new gauges in all my builds with no issues other than calibrating a fuel sender and programming gauges.
:)
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Just curious, but do you have any pics of aftermarket guages in an 80? Thanks!!
 
NCFJ said:
OK, we get it, you don't much care for LS/Vortec swaps. That is your opinion, but lets clean up the facts a bit. You bet there are a bunch of electrical issues with most swaps you see in 80 series truck. A high percentage of those are due to how the swaps are done.

I do swaps as a stand alone unit with as little interface with the OEM electrical system as possible, for just the reasons stated above. A huge problem is the insistence of almost all 80 swappers to maintain the stock gauges. Crazy in my opinion, hacks on hacks just to get 22+ year old tech to talk with state of the art tech. I run new gauges in all my builds with no issues other than calibrating a fuel sender and programming gauges.

You speak as if piston slap happens to all of these motors. Actually only happens on a percentage of the motors with longer stroke.

There are all kinds of ways to get an 80 back up and running, all have merits and appeal to various circumstances. Budget is generally the factor that makes the choice. We all want things that just don't fit a budget, I have been collecting parts to build my own truck for several years now. I do not have money in my budget to do it all at once. So if you want something like a V8 or diesel swap, start saving :)
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Lot of good points there and for the record, I think well done LS swaps are sweet. Who wouldn't enjoy more power? That said, my opinion is based on my limited skills as a mechanic. I can follow directions in the FSM and I can ask questions here if I run into trouble, but it's really hard to get good info about trouble people are having with their swaps because the only person that knows what they did is the person asking the questions.

It sounds like you are several :banana::banana::banana:s ahead of me as a mechanic and I would certainly defer to your expertise when it comes to the intricacies swaps. The only point I am trying to make is that people should have a good understanding of what they are getting into before they just buy a motor and plan on tossing it in over the course of a couple of weekends. I have seen a good number of swap threads start and then the person runs into a snag and we never hear from them again, or it ends up taking several years to get it dialed in entirely. If that is worth it to the OP, then by all means he should keep it in consideration. However, many of us would rather just get the truck running great in stock form and use the time we would have spent wrenching on a swap out enjoying the vehicle in the woods or where ever they drive it.

As for the reliability of the GM motors, it seems to me that people talk up parts availability for them more than they talk about them being bullet proof. I don't really know which is better but I think the parts availability for the 1FZ-FE seems adequate and the parts seem to last a long time. All of these are at least 20+ years old now and you rarely hear of major engine problems that can't be remedied by a good top end refresh.

At any rate, this is a good discussion. :)
 
gummycarbs said:
Where are you finding it that cheap? I just checked a few places and it was $12k - $16k!

It says partial engine assembly, so I assume it's not a complete engine.
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No electrical or manifolds
I've updated my original post with the sites for what I've found
 
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Red Merle said:
Only 36,000 miles though. If I was buying a rebuilt motor I would hope to see another 300,000 miles out of it and I am not sure it would last that long if they used inferior parts. Not sure.
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I’m surprised there is no time limit, like 2years or 2 weeks from date of receiving your credit card info. Does it have to be installed by an ASC Certified mechanic, so they can blame all problems on him?
 
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