Cali fj62, want to make more power

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weaselope

10 Year 15 Year
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I own an FJ62 and while I really enjoy it, it is just slow on the uphill grades. Does anyone have any suggestion for how to make more horsepower out of the 3FE engine, without ruining its chances of passing the biannual smog cert? I use this vehicle for ski trips etc where uphill is a big part of the trip.

I'm not interested in an engine swap, but would like to hear what others have done in this regard and how it has worked out for them in terms of power, drivability, reliability, etc.
 
The auto tranny wastes a lot of power. Put in an h55 and it will make a real difference.
 
Any manual transmission and a rebuild.

Pony up the cash or learn to enjoy the slow lane.
 
Go diesel,yeah i know you don't want a swap.:meh:
 
wouldn't going manual fail the visual on the biannual smog?
If you enjoy the 3FE, you would go APE happy with an engine swap, so don't do it....:flipoff2:
 
MANUCHAO said:
wouldn't going manual fail the visual on the biannual smog?
If you enjoy the 3FE, you would go APE happy with an engine swap, so don't do it....:flipoff2:
Click to expand...

It's only an issue on OBDII vehicles. This is because if the ECU is left untouched on those particular engines they will trigger a code due to the lack of Transmission Control Module. If you switch to a manual ECU (or reprogram your auto one) this is not an issue. Since the A440F is entirely mechanical, there's nothing to indicate to a smog tech something is amiss. Last time I smogged one of these, I didn't see the tech mark anything regarding transmission type.


There's a lot of info on the internet swirling around the legality of engine swaps and CA. Most of them are wrong. It's a very simple formula for swaps:

  • Same class of vehicle (cars and half ton trucks are the same class, no 3/4 tons)
  • Same year or newer

Find some passenger car or 1/2 ton truck of your favorite brand that is the same year or newer than your truck. Swap all the emissions parts over with the engine. This gets much easier if you want a Chevy with an automatic. Take to referee, obtain official decal and be on your merry way.

Note: I've refereed an '84 Hilux with a 5.0 and a 5 speed. It's not necessarily difficult, but it is a bit time consuming since there isn't a lot of specific information out there.
 
Not much you can do. I have a 62 with k&n filter, MAF header, 2.5" exhaust with no cat and straight through muffler. Low end taking off is fine but I can't hold 75 up a hill with 33"s and stock gearing with my foot in the floor if it stays in 4th. With those mods amd the stock 235's I could cruise at 80-85 amd hold speed fine.
 
I just rebuilt the motor in my old girl a couple months back, and one of the things I did when I had it apart was to gasket match the intake. The original runners were pretty undersized compared with the opening available at the gasket where the runner meets the lower intake. Was able to open it up a couple mm's, and polished out the tubes as much as possible. Can't say how much of a difference it makes, but it's definitely got a smoother power band.

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IMG_20150111_105124_012.webp
 
FordFascist said:
It's only an issue on OBDII vehicles. This is because if the ECU is left untouched on those particular engines they will trigger a code due to the lack of Transmission Control Module. If you switch to a manual ECU (or reprogram your auto one) this is not an issue. Since the A440F is entirely mechanical, there's nothing to indicate to a smog tech something is amiss. Last time I smogged one of these, I didn't see the tech mark anything regarding transmission type.


There's a lot of info on the internet swirling around the legality of engine swaps and CA. Most of them are wrong. It's a very simple formula for swaps:

  • Same class of vehicle (cars and half ton trucks are the same class, no 3/4 tons)
  • Same year or newer

Find some passenger car or 1/2 ton truck of your favorite brand that is the same year or newer than your truck. Swap all the emissions parts over with the engine. This gets much easier if you want a Chevy with an automatic. Take to referee, obtain official decal and be on your merry way.

Note: I've refereed an '84 Hilux with a 5.0 and a 5 speed. It's not necessarily difficult, but it is a bit time consuming since there isn't a lot of specific information out there.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for posting that. Can you point me to the relevant regs. I can't "afford" a swap right now but IF it is doable in CA, AND I can do it for around $5-6k total I might try that when I get the funding.
 
California ARB does not post the regs you speak of, they are administrative rulings so you are subject to the referee station. The good news is you only have to get refereed once.

Transmission swaps are not strictly "legal" according to CARB, but it's sort of a grey area. The referee will definitely catch it, but as stated earlier the smog tech likely will not.

Here's the regs for reading:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/replace.htm
 
Thanks for posting that link FordFascist. You are correct about a lot of misinformation regarding swaps in CA.

I have an FJ60 with a 3fe and h55f. I swapped the trans (though both were manuals) after the truck was through the ref. The smog tech couldn't care less what trans is in it and folks on here have claimed to have swapped manuals in autos have successfully argued that since it is an OBD1 vehicle the trans doesn't matter here.

For power I upgraded my exhaust when I did the swap to a 2.5", run a higher voltage coil, and added a snorkel which seems to give me a bit of a ram air effect over 70 MPH. I don't know what the HP difference is but it seems to pull strong to 4K where the published torque curve is falling off.

I would certainly like to hear from others that might have upgraded camshafts etc...

When my engine finally goes I will likely have the block bored and see what else I can do.

Frank
 
I hear this.. Arrow dynamics, weight and tire modification kills it. Up hill nightmare, named land CRUISER for a reason. The more weight I put in the worse it is UPHILL.. The more weight downhill she's the best. ARB changed her for ever. It is what it is, a tranny cooler really helps. Lighten weight if possible or get some speed down to come back up. Ski trips are obviously gonna suck (adding the weight) if you're looking for more power. I lived outta my fj62 for 3 years but always had everything I needed. She pretty much gets RV mpg at 8 highway and 6 reg, like 2 steep grade. I say lighten the load when you can and when you can't bomb hills to semi make the next 🤘
 
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