How hard is a motor rebuild on a 1FZ-FE? (1 Viewer)

[offoradjunkie]

In the market for an 80-Series. Currently one is in my budget, but it has a thrown rod. I am coming from 100 Series where I have done everything from transmission swaps to timing belts. I wanted to gauge what you guys' thoughts might be on doing a motor rebuild.

 

[CJK]

@Fj80oregon has rebuilt a butt-load of them (and sells them, too) so he might be able to speak more to it.

 

[Brindleboxer]

If you are doing the work yourself, IMO it would be feasible. If you are having a shop put one together you start running into a lot of money. A rebuild can easily be 10k+ (considering the short block, since yours potential vehicle may have a rod through it, prices have increased the last few years. You also have to plan to rebuild the head. In addition, there are a lot of small items that once added can nickel and dime you. Not to mention while the engine is out I may as well do... that inevitably will come into play.

I do concur with CJK and if FJ80oregon chimes in he would have a better grasp in regard to actual prices since he has been rebuilding them for a while now and I believe he just finished a build in the last few months.

 

[OGBeno]

1FZ-FE is a relatively simple engine to build. It's the price that turns people off.

 

[offoradjunkie]

1FZ-FE is a relatively simple engine to build. It's the price that turns people off.

I wonder how it would compare to buying a replacement from a yard like Specter

 

[OGBeno]

I wonder how it would compare to buying a replacement from a yard like Specter

If you are going to just buy an engine, @Fj80oregon builds them as do many reputable Land Cruiser shops depending on where you are located.

Spector would probably be my last choice.

 

[manofthewoods]

If you are going to just buy an engine, @Fj80oregon builds them as do many reputable Land Cruiser shops depending on where you are located.

Spector would probably be my last choice.

I agree.
While I don't have experience with FJ8oregon's work. Given his contributions to this site; I'd trust him. That said, these engines are not difficult to work on. I spent the most time on cleaning and shimming the valves. Neither are rocket science.

 

[Fj80oregon]

Hard cost roughly machine work $2k, engine parts depending on what you replace $2-4k that’s not counting ancillary items, time, finding a machine shop thats trust worthy and experienced, all the while your in there stuff. It adds up quick. Rebuilding yourself will teach you a lot and give you a great understanding of any trouble you run into the future. There is a couple good threads documenting parts cost and work necessary. Cleaning is something that’s also over looked to get an engine bay looking keept up is a chore.

 

[Fj80oregon]

And to answer your original question it’s not hard to rebuild if you get a FSM and have experience which sounds like you do than it’s just nuts, bolts and attention to detail.

 

[offoradjunkie]

Thank you. I suppose you never know what it involves until youre in deep already.

 

[Fj80oregon]

1FZ-FE Engine Build

Hi Everyone, This is my first post on the forum here, I've been a fly on the wall for the past few years. I'm building a 1FZ-FE engine for my '97 LX450 and thought this would be a fun one to document. I'm doing this in my free time, so I'll be assembling little bits over the next few months...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[reklund5]

I just rebuilt mine last winter. I did everything except the actual machining, and used all OEM parts. The only aftermarket parts I used were a Cometic Headgasket and ARP studs.
It's *perfect*. It wasn't cheap.

The beauty of the 1FZ is that it rarely makes enough power to hurt itself. In your case, if the head is still good, you can get a used block, build it, and get 'er going in short order. I happen to have a good used short block sitting here... its needs to be gone through for sure, but for the princely sum of a case of Coors Banquet and a trip to Carson City, NV you can have it!

 

[azusa]

In the market for an 80-Series. Currently one is in my budget, but it has a thrown rod. I am coming from 100 Series where I have done everything from transmission swaps to timing belts. I wanted to gauge what you guys' thoughts might be on doing a motor rebuild.

What year is it?

 

[offoradjunkie]

What year is it?

This is a 1996.

 

[truthdetector]

Someone in the classifieds has a new short block for sale for less that what you can get it from the dealer.

 

[Vegabond]

I can highly recommend @Fj80oregon. I bought one of his rebuilds and it has been flawless since installed. Just 4000 miles on it so far, but not one issue has popped up. He also was just great to work with, great communication.

 

[Kabanstva]

What was the story with the engine throwing a rod? What happened?

 

[1MAC]

My local Toyota parts department shows a new OEM short block from Toyota 11400-66041 at $3644.51. There's no way I can rebuild my engine for that much in parts, let alone machine work. Right?

 

[manofthewoods]

My local Toyota parts department shows a new OEM short block from Toyota 11400-66041 at $3644.51. There's no way I can rebuild my engine for that much in parts, let alone machine work. Right?

I just checked Megazip for piston prices, $81 each (~ $500 total). Then you got, rings, main bearings, rod bearings, cam chain, slipper and tensioner...
My gut tells me that assuming your cylinders just need a hone that the short block might be a tad more expensive. But, your time might be more valuable, if you factor that in, then the short block is the way to go.

Full disclosure, I rebuilt mine because: It was working fine so, I wasn't worried about any damage, and though I believed it would need to be bored out, it didn't. And, I wanted to do the work - get into the guts of it, so to speak. Cheaper? Maybe a little bit. I'm not motivated to calculate it. Certainly not extreme one way or the other. Now if a dealer wanted to charge, say, $6 grand for a short block, then, that's a no brainer. Or, if the shipping or pickup was expensive then that's something to consider as well.

happy trails

 

[azusa]

My local Toyota parts department shows a new OEM short block from Toyota 11400-66041 at $3644.51. There's no way I can rebuild my engine for that much in parts, let alone machine work. Right?

Rebuilding an engine requires a lot more than decking and boring, the piston rings on the 1fzfe are 2 mm wide, those old thick piston rings were not so kind to the cylinders. You'll still see the crosshatches, measuring with a bore gauge you will see the wear and tapering of the cylinders. The water jackets are going to be gunked up with rust, the only way to clean that up is to put it in an oven and then into a shot pean, once you do that you'll have to remove all the oil galley plugs to blow out the oil circuits. The plugs are stainless steel bowls that have been inserted into the block, you need to use a TIG welder to get them out, which is a lot of fun. Then you'll need to check line bore and rods for roundness and clearance. Since it went through the shot peen and the oven you'll probably have to replace the idler bushing. And if you get everything right you better hope and pray that you got every piece of machined particle out, if not you can kiss your engine goodbye. Now to get somebody to do all this for less than a few thousand dollars and not fck anything up. You think you can do all this and be under $3,600. By the way the short block only comes with pistons, rods and cranks, you'll still need to purchase timing chain possibly timing cover, oil cool cover. You might also need a oil cooler if the old engine left any debris in the oil circuit.