Engine Advice

[Mn3519]

I recently bought a 1980 FJ40 with 98k miles. It needed some work, from what I gather the usual stuff, some body, paint and engine work. I took it to a mechanic listed in this forum as a quality FJ guy and he did a Weber conversion and some maintenance.

It runs a little rough at times, but I always hear about these engines lasting forever if properly maintained. Here's my question:

If this is a vehicle I'd like to make a daily driver and keep in the family, is it better to spend the money overhauling and tweaking the current engine or replacing it with a modern fuel efficient engine?

If replace it, what is a good option?

Thanks in advance..

 

[John Smith]

I hope you kept your old carb so you can go back. Although if the 80 carb is as bad as the 79 you may want to seek out a FJ60 carb. If you can accept the fuel mileage of the 2F, run your 2F until it dies, then decide what you want to do. If you want to do an engine swap, there are plenty of threads here where you can research your options. My observations are that Vortecs and diesels of all types seem to be most popular these days.

 

[N919HJ]

People are really hating the 79-80' carbs these days. I drive mine every nice day we have. It's not bad at all. It starts everytime on the first crank, even after sitting for long periods of time (Ohio weather) and ideals +- 40 rpm all day long. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of Land Cruiser drivers couldn't tell a difference.

 

[CarDude]

Personally I would keep the original engine. Even if you had to do a rebuild you probably would spend less money then if you converted to some else. Again this is my personal feelings i think it's just cooler with the original engine.

 

[bikersmurf]

You won't come out ahead $ wise by putting in a more modern motor. I'd add TBI before a motor swap. A SBC will cost you a wack of $ for a MPG or two... meanwhile it'll cost 2-5k+ if you do it all yourself... likely more. A good old school mechanic should be able to get it running right.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Weber swap was not money well spent. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Do you have to pass smog? What are the compression numbers?

If it really has 98k miles and it was properly maintained, I don't see any reason to spend a bunch of money on it. It's worth more the way it is.

 

[brooklyn]

If you running without smog equipment, get a carb from trollhole who is listed in the vendor section. Easy install, runs great, and not expensive. You then can send your stock carb for a rebuild. Regarding a modern engine swap, I had two fj40s with v8 engines and and they ran great, but it does change the charactor of truck. I pulled out my v8 on my current fj40 and went back to the Toyota engine. With your engine mileage I see no reason for an engine swap. Save the money to fix the body.

 

[70fj40]

I have an older model than you (1970) but stayed with F engine to keep it original and rebuilt it. Mine now has a Weber, a marks offroad header and DUI. It runs excellent with plenty of power. I do hear a lot about Aisin carb advantage but have no regrets.

 

[David70FJ40]

Compression numbers on my '70 FJ40 are low, under 100 psi for two cylinders. Would I benefit by removing the head, oil pan and pistons, honing the cylinders and installing new rings? I dread the thought of going through a full rebuild.

 

[White Stripe]

I recently bought a 1980 FJ40 with 98k miles. It needed some work, from what I gather the usual stuff, some body, paint and engine work. I took it to a mechanic listed in this forum as a quality FJ guy and he did a Weber conversion and some maintenance.

It runs a little rough at times, but I always hear about these engines lasting forever if properly maintained. Here's my question:

If this is a vehicle I'd like to make a daily driver and keep in the family, is it better to spend the money overhauling and tweaking the current engine or replacing it with a modern fuel efficient engine?

If replace it, what is a good option?

Thanks in advance..

The 2F is a great motor. I have tbi on mine and ditched the carb. It starts right up in cold weather, and I get 16MPG with 35" tires. But the installer of a tbi setup needs to know what their doing. If u want one with a newer v8, typically it's cheaper to buy one with the swap already done. V8 swaps do not add value to a 40 nd people typically lose a ton of money when they sell a cruiser with a motor swap.

 

[Pin_Head]

I don't think that you want to have an FJ mechanic working on a 2F from a 40. They are very different rigs and require a very different knowledge base.

 

[Splangy]

Compression numbers on my '70 FJ40 are low, under 100 psi for two cylinders. Would I benefit by removing the head, oil pan and pistons, honing the cylinders and installing new rings? I dread the thought of going through a full rebuild.

But you don't dread the idea of replacing everything except for the bearings? You will regret not going through the whole thing.

People tear down engines all the time without even knowing what's wrong with them. Do a leak down test or put some oil in the cylinders the next time you do a compression test. You might just need a valve job. If you're worried about the bearings, you can pull the pan and drop a main and rod cap to see how they look.

 

[landcruiserrich]

Theres really no point messing with an engine thats running and driving unless its got serious problems. Once you open it up you WILL find stuff that needs to be fixed and end up dumping a lot of money in to it. Running rough sometimes could be a lot of things but I would start with the basics ; Check for vaccum leaks around the carb base and intake manifold, bad plug wires, carbon tracked/ corroded cap and rotor etc. and go from there. Compression checks can indicate problems but if you have an engine that runs , doesnt make a lot of smoke and does what you want it to theres really no point throwing money at it until youre sure you want to keep it. Drive it a while and see if you can live with it. Rebuilding the 2f gives you a strong and reliable engine with modest power but will never give you great MPG (by todays standards) no matter what you do to it. Swapping to a newer engine can give you great driveability and better MPG at a high cost to your bank account. An "LS" swap will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-10k$ depending on what drivetrain you want and how cheap you got your donor engine. A TBI swap is cheaper but its getting harder to find used TBI engines that arent clapped out and in need of a rebuild.

 

[Racer65]

1980 is a sought after late model truck. You will have a high value truck if you keep it original. Stop the temptation to look for shortcuts by plugging in non-Cruiser parts. Do some research to use the right parts, and keep the 2F engine. The Weber has got to go, IMHO.

 

[Mn3519]

Thanks for all of the advice, compression numbers are good and I have used a mechanic mentioned on this site in our area who has experience with older model FJ's. I know I have an exhaust leak somewhere that has to be addressed, I need a new radiator and of course a few leaks underneath. As most of the people who buy one of these trucks, myself and my family have fell in love with it.

Our goal is to bring it back to life by investing the proper amount of money into it. It doesn't always drive roughly, it's a little inconsistent on how it's running at the moment, sometimes fantastic and other times it seems rough, less power, rough running.

I think my next move is radiator, exhaust leak, new cap and wires and reevaluate. If anyone doesn't agree, please share, I value everyone's opinion, thank you.

 

[Downey]

I'm thinking you could have a relative stock FJ40, but with a very efficient TBI conversion (happy on and off the road), then swap back to factory carb when you go to sell the rig (if you think that will bring more money from a purist). Photo is one of my TBI kits listed in my ebay store, but I do offer adapters only for the true doityourselfers.

 

[jamesg]

I agree with Racer65. Keep your truck as original as you can, take the Weber off and use an Aisin carb and enjoy an original truck.

 

[skidplate]

Have you replaced the fuel filter?

 

[JohnnyC]

last time you replaced fuel filter?

you could have crap in it from the tank

 

[Mn3519]

Haven't done that yet, on my list.