My son's 1988 FJ62 is a daily runner with 260K. Doesn't smoke or burn oil but I can tell it's probably ready for some major work since it's getting 10mpg around town and sounding kinda tired. I want to have some confidence in doing some extended road trips and camping. I am ready to buy a reconditioned 3FE or have the present one rebuilt. I live in N. Alabama and putting this out on the forum for some options that I can consider. My budget is 5K. Thanks for any input.
3FE rebuild or buy reconditioned?
- Thread starter Ocean15
- Start date
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find the most competent machinist you can drive to and have your block rebuild. make certain the guy knows the f family of engines and read thru Jimcs "how not to build a 2F" thread to become familiar with all the pitfalls and caveats...the trans might also need some help(I run the H42 4 speed from a late fj60- better than the auto, not as good as a 5 speed) the 3FE is my favorite Toyota engine hands down; I have a used runner in the rig right now, the original engine which was rebuilt by Toyota decades ago torn apart waiting for machine work, and I just picked up another one this last W/E. You can't have enough 3FEs
. Just whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A CRATE BLOCK from a generic engine mill...I spent about 3 grand building up my old 2F into a monster tractor motor, if you found a good machinist and your engine is in good enough shape, you might be able to budget for the 5 speed manual conversion without going to far over $5K. another option is to find a decent good used runner and put some new gaskets on it/check the bearings/etc, and run that while you have your engine built or to buy more time to do so...HTH
. Just whatever you do, DO NOT BUY A CRATE BLOCK from a generic engine mill...I spent about 3 grand building up my old 2F into a monster tractor motor, if you found a good machinist and your engine is in good enough shape, you might be able to budget for the 5 speed manual conversion without going to far over $5K. another option is to find a decent good used runner and put some new gaskets on it/check the bearings/etc, and run that while you have your engine built or to buy more time to do so...HTH
SHERMAN FJ62
Charlestons' King of Cruisers
AAC IN ATLANTA AT ONE TIME OFFERED SOME ENGINE SERVICES. IN GREENVILLE SC A GUY WHO IS ON MUD CALLED TROLLHOLE DOES WORK ON THE F SERIES MOTORS
I had a 3FE rebuilt by a local shop years ago. The owner was an old guy who had a lot of experience. I provided an FSM, bought OEM parts, and the results were great. I have well over 200k on this rebuild.
The key is finding a competent shop which likely means looking out of state. ACC has been mentioned. JimC in Ohio has a good reputation for rebuilding engines.
Since the current 3FE is running well enough you could source a 3FE core and have that rebuilt while still driving the FJ62.
The key is finding a competent shop which likely means looking out of state. ACC has been mentioned. JimC in Ohio has a good reputation for rebuilding engines.
Since the current 3FE is running well enough you could source a 3FE core and have that rebuilt while still driving the FJ62.
