2L-TE - any success stories?

[disco voador]

Hi all,

I'm sure we're all familiar with the horror stories... but have any of you had success with the 2L-te in a 70 long term?

I've done a bit of work to my LJ78 to try to mitigate the head cracking stuff (fan hub mod, intercooler) and I try to drive it gently (EGT under 1000°F pre-turbo, coolant temp under 97°C) but still I'm fearful that the head will crack.

right now I'm around 230K km, the head was done by the previous owner supposedly (dunno when), and I've put something like 60k on the car. honestly I kinda like the 2L - it makes a good sound and I've had no real problems with it, other than it getting hot. but the issue is that I roadtrip with my prado and if the head lets go when I'm like 3000+ km away from home base it could be a bit of a pickle... so I wonder if I'd be better off spending the money and time to swap a more reputable engine in before I'm left stranded.


but then again I guess no machine is indestructible so nothing can be guaranteed? I'm just looking for some reassurance (or not?) about my s*** motor so I can keep doing stupid roadtrips haha.

cheers

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

I use my cars exclusively for long overland trips so can relate to your situation. For that reason, I stayed well clear from the 2L-T or 1KZ-T engines.

I have a hunch that the 2000+ 2L-T, as found in the LN165 Hilux, solved the head cracking issues of earlier engines, but fundamentally IDI and turbocharging is a recipe for overheating with any impairment to the cooling system.

The good thing is that you really don't need a lot of power for overlanding, unless you want to cross sand or like highway driving. I would be tempted to drop in a 5L, which is a pretty bombproof engine. It's a 3.0 litre version of the 2L/3L and has exactly the same engine architecture as the 1989+ 2L-T, more torque than the 2L-T off boost, though probably a bit less top-end.

 

[AirheadNut]

The one person who’s probably pushed the 2L-TE the hardest is @GTSSportCoupe, you can check out his thread on the subject here: Ideas for improving the 2LTE - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/ideas-for-improving-the-2lte.680759/