FJ73 with 22R engine ... help!

[mike5299]

Hello, I’ve wanted a mwb landcruiser for a fair while and a sweet little FJ73 has come up, body is in really great nick, but the 3F engine was swapped out 50000kms ago for a 22R and I really don’t know what to make of it. From what I’ve gathered the 22R was standard in the petrol bunderas and are quite reliable but I always get the impression that they are looked down on, and also lack pep. It has a Weber carburettor but I’m not sure how much of a difference this makes. In all honesty I won’t be doing anything too flash in it and I don’t know a whole heap about cars, but I do want to know if it’s not as good as I think it is and if it’s a bit of a lemon. Also any other things I should keep in mind would be great. Cheers!

 

[D21FJ60]

@John Young do you want to share your 22r in a 70 series experience?

 

[FJBen]

22R are great and reliable, but pretty low on power. I wouldn't really want any less power than I have with my 4cyl turbo diesel honestly so it would be a hard sell for me on a 22R powered middy or 4 door.

That said, if the body is in good nick and not all bogged/bondo'd up, if the price is right, it could be worth it and plan on an engine swap.

 

[John Young]

@John Young do you want to share your 22r in a 70 series experience?

It would be my pleasure, but I suspect my son also will want to chime in.

I bought a 77 for the purpose of teaching my sons to drive a standard transmission. As it happened, my younger boy fell in love with the 77. Our truck has been in the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake on loan for the last two years. In August my younger boy and I will fly to Salt Lake and drive the truck down to Florida where my son will use it as a daily driver.

To get it to the museum we drove it from Virginia to Salt Lake. I'd say the power of the 22R is 'adequate' but not generous. The truck was happy at 55 and less happy at 60-65. It is worth noting that we did not get a single honk or blinking headlights on the whole trip. I think people can sense it is an old, unusual truck and they make allowances even though we sometimes were going slower than traffic.

At the end of the trip my son noticed drips of gas coming off the back of the carb, and the truck would stall out if the nose was pointed up more than 10 degrees. It seemed that the alcohol in the gas had had its way with the carburetor. Right now the truck is with a carb specialist in Salt Lake. I'm going to be very interested to see how the truck drives after the carb is serviced and it has had a general tuneup.

Re the 3F, I've got a spare one in Dubai that you can just have it you come and pick it up. The 22R has two main advantages for you: there are a LOT of 22R engines in the world and there are a lot of aftermarket add-ons; and the 22R is lighter than the 3F. I personally think it was not a crazy swap. That 73 is cute as a button and most of the ones I have seen have the 22R to start with. It is not a big truck. If it were me and the truck drives nice and is in good nick I'd go for it.

Then, maybe in a couple of years, drop a Cummins 2.8 liter crate turbo 4 cylinder diesel in it. That would be absolutely killer! That is a project I've been thinking about for a long time. That Cummins is just made for that little 73. It would just FLY and be dead reliable at the same time!

 

[pithicus]

Interesting find. Does the 22r bell housing etc bolt straight to the h55f?

 

[roscoFJ73]

From what I’ve gathered the 22R was standard in the petrol bunderas and are quite reliable but I always get the impression that they are looked down on, and also lack pep. It has a Weber carburettor but I’m not sure how much of a difference this makes. In all honesty I won’t be doing anything too flash in it and I don’t know a whole heap about cars, but I do want to know if it’s not as good as I think it is and if it’s a bit of a lemon

The 22r is a reliable unit but too small for a FJ73 body.. This is all about the condition of the body , how much you will pay for it, and how much you want to spend on getting it up to scratch.
I put a freshly rebuilt 1HZ into a FJ73 and it performed quite good. I wish I still had it.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I personally think it was not a crazy swap. That 73 is cute as a button and most of the ones I have seen have the 22R to start with. It is not a big truck.

The FJ73 weighs as much as any 7* series. The 73 series with 2L or 22r engines are the light duty versions with coil fronts.

 

[clb 017]

fwit
Over here the 22r\e is legendary
Yep under powered "today" that's why we "double" em!

 

[mike5299]

22R are great and reliable, but pretty low on power. I wouldn't really want any less power than I have with my 4cyl turbo diesel honestly so it would be a hard sell for me on a 22R powered middy or 4 door.

That said, if the body is in good nick and not all bogged/bondo'd up, if the price is right, it could be worth it and plan on an engine swap.

Thanks yeah that’s my concern. Think I’d rather just be patient and wait for one that ticks a few more boxes

 

[mike5299]

The 22r is a reliable unit but too small for a FJ73 body.. This is all about the condition of the body , how much you will pay for it, and how much you want to spend on getting it up to scratch.
I put a freshly rebuilt 1HZ into a FJ73 and it performed quite good. I wish I still had it.

Would love to engine swap it but doubt the cash could stretch that far currently ... might just have to wait a little longer til the right one comes up

 

[mike5299]

It would be my pleasure, but I suspect my son also will want to chime in.

I bought a 77 for the purpose of teaching my sons to drive a standard transmission. As it happened, my younger boy fell in love with the 77. Our truck has been in the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake on loan for the last two years. In August my younger boy and I will fly to Salt Lake and drive the truck down to Florida where my son will use it as a daily driver.

To get it to the museum we drove it from Virginia to Salt Lake. I'd say the power of the 22R is 'adequate' but not generous. The truck was happy at 55 and less happy at 60-65. It is worth noting that we did not get a single honk or blinking headlights on the whole trip. I think people can sense it is an old, unusual truck and they make allowances even though we sometimes were going slower than traffic.

At the end of the trip my son noticed drips of gas coming off the back of the carb, and the truck would stall out if the nose was pointed up more than 10 degrees. It seemed that the alcohol in the gas had had its way with the carburetor. Right now the truck is with a carb specialist in Salt Lake. I'm going to be very interested to see how the truck drives after the carb is serviced and it has had a general tuneup.

Re the 3F, I've got a spare one in Dubai that you can just have it you come and pick it up. The 22R has two main advantages for you: there are a LOT of 22R engines in the world and there are a lot of aftermarket add-ons; and the 22R is lighter than the 3F. I personally think it was not a crazy swap. That 73 is cute as a button and most of the ones I have seen have the 22R to start with. It is not a big truck. If it were me and the truck drives nice and is in good nick I'd go for it.

Then, maybe in a couple of years, drop a Cummins 2.8 liter crate turbo 4 cylinder diesel in it. That would be absolutely killer! That is a project I've been thinking about for a long time. That Cummins is just made for that little 73. It would just FLY and be dead reliable at the same time!

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully she’s running nicely when you get her back. I certainly get the impression that the 22R is by no means “bad”, but probably not super ideal and I might get frustrated with it. From what you’ve said though I can see it’s adequate ... would love to swap out the engine one day ... will see! Thanks for your help

 

[roscoFJ73]

I certainly get the impression that the 22R is by no means “bad”, but probably not super ideal

I think the OEM carburettor was its main fault. The Toyota R engines date back to the late 1950s , so any internal faults were long sorted.