Last year I picked up a used 3FE & trans from a 1989 (same year as mine) that was getting a V8 swap. I took a little leap of faith with the seller... as all he could tell me was that the truck drove into the shop under it's own power, owner just wanted more of it. Engine was complete with ECU, harness, and all of the accessories minus the AC compressor. Reported with something like 220-240k if memory serves me right. I was able to turn the engine through by hand just fine. Pulled the valve cover off and there were no surprises there.
My plan was ... if the donor head/block are serviceable, rebuild completely and marry that with a new H55 & rebuilt xfer case and then drop it all in at once. Currently my engine & trans are running well, although I know of a few minor issues that go along with the 250k on my truck. (My truck thread is here: Builds - HELLO, MY NAME IS CLARK - FJ62 docu-series thread - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hello-my-name-is-clark-fj62-docu-series-thread.1276319/)
Finally got around to divorcing the transmission yesterday, then started stripping the head/block today and got the head off. Thankfully, no surprises, plugs looked good, head looks ok, I think the cylinders looked pretty good actually, could see the cross hatching still, and no lip on the top.
I've got a local contact for a machine shop that I'm going to reach out to tomorrow and see about getting the head gone through. I'm going to need a heavier duty engine stand because the one I got for my 83 Hilux 3RZ swap just isn't going to cut it. So I'll get to the block after I get the stand sorted out.
If anyone has any advice, words of wisdom, tips on the 3FE rebuild, please share. I'm hoping this can serve as a reference to myself and others in the future. There's a good chance I'll also eventually rebuild the 3FE that's currently in my truck at some point...
Questions I have:
Here are my teardown pics from today.
My plan was ... if the donor head/block are serviceable, rebuild completely and marry that with a new H55 & rebuilt xfer case and then drop it all in at once. Currently my engine & trans are running well, although I know of a few minor issues that go along with the 250k on my truck. (My truck thread is here: Builds - HELLO, MY NAME IS CLARK - FJ62 docu-series thread - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hello-my-name-is-clark-fj62-docu-series-thread.1276319/)
Finally got around to divorcing the transmission yesterday, then started stripping the head/block today and got the head off. Thankfully, no surprises, plugs looked good, head looks ok, I think the cylinders looked pretty good actually, could see the cross hatching still, and no lip on the top.
I've got a local contact for a machine shop that I'm going to reach out to tomorrow and see about getting the head gone through. I'm going to need a heavier duty engine stand because the one I got for my 83 Hilux 3RZ swap just isn't going to cut it. So I'll get to the block after I get the stand sorted out.
If anyone has any advice, words of wisdom, tips on the 3FE rebuild, please share. I'm hoping this can serve as a reference to myself and others in the future. There's a good chance I'll also eventually rebuild the 3FE that's currently in my truck at some point...
Questions I have:
where are people sourcing the 3FE head gasket from?answered- I can't really tell if this engine's been rebuilt before (I suspect not), can anyone identify if the head gasket is OEM?
- in the 3rd pic I'm pointing to a piece of the HG that appears to be covering a water jacket opening... there were 2 of them covered... is that factory?
Is it worth putting the Chevy stainless valves in the head if mine are serviceable?too late, head is already rebuilt
Here are my teardown pics from today.
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