In need of an 1fz. Which direction to go?

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samiam09 said:
1997 LX450 - Land Cruiser Engine 1FZ-FE owner says it has 110.000 on it its a 97 up in the bay area of ca
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I talked to him today. His name is Ed, nice guy. I did't see it but he has no proof that it only has 110k other than his word. He saw some pics from the odometer before it was pulled for a project. He sounds legit and if I was closer, I'd go by. I thought about buying and installing.
 
scrowley said:
Pics above. Cylinder one shows indent from rings. You can feel the steps with finger.
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Yes, it definitely needs decked, if they can take it down that far and keep it in spec. Of course there is always the option of a Cometic gasket to return it back to stock specs. When I did my 94 I had the Head and the Block planed to take care of pitting and head warp. I then put an OEM head gasket, thanks @beno and put it all back together. The only thing that the actual cylinders required was a step hone ( installed new NPR rings) and the ridge removed. I think it cost $10 a bore for the hone and maybe $100 for the deck. If you want some ideas there is a link in my thread to the big red restoration, it has pics of the rebuild.
 
I'm tempted to scoop up a 1fz fe cheap somewhere, but when you look at how much it costs to rebuild, and a brand new crate lsx is reasonable and will continue to be supported for a long time. It's hard to look past that as a longer term solution. Even if you don't want drop the coin on a full blown build, you can get it done for a reasonable cost today and always upgrade other components down the road.
 
Why not go to a 98 up V8 out of a Tundra??? A front including the wiring is all you need...
 
landtank said:
Scott, so many possibilities that cost so little and so easily done. How will you choose?
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Unfortunately none of the options are cheap or easily done. I'm quite bummed about it.
 
jay said:
Head is pitted out common on cast iron blocks not ALWAYs tho u gotta chk REmber that when buy a used engine speak on it before u buy its had gasket failure same on my old block an its on sell ring u will need a mls head gasket 180 200 alone an machine honing rings yes could get it to work then you have the head job an the reinstall been thr same wit other engine thoughts.they discontinued the 1fze an restocked it wit supceeder number. 80 is popular demand shorts r going around 2400 2800 3100 after market 3500 a block me 3100 plus tax dealer you start fresh my pops said same an its a 80 land ah yeappp priceless like 1st gen 4 runner thnk about it you miss rideing already do the yota short
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Wow! Run on sencence. Kind of hard to tell what you are getting at there.
 
scrowley said:
Unfortunately none of the options are cheap or easily done. I'm quite bummed about it.
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Sounds like you are a long term 80 owner. Don't let this overwhelm you. Look at it in steps. I say stick with the original motor. It ran great but used some oil. Probably valve seals just like mine. I did a quality OEM top end rebuild and it does not use a drop of oil over 5000 miles with 227,000 on the bottom end. So I say do a drop end and OEM HG.

Now the bad part is your bottom end. It sounds like you might need some more info about what the bottom end needs. If you can do a hone, rings, bearings then I think you should be good for less than $1000. If you need to boor and new pistons then it gets a lot more expensive.

But in the end it is not that bad. People that have spun bearings have to source new cranks and stuff. Over heat a motor and you need new heads and other broken parts.

Hang in there. It could be worse. Plan for a really good OEM top end rebuild. Then get the bottom end cylinder looked at by a GOOD LC guy and find out what it really needs.
 
Go with the male justification logic - Spend the dollars now and do it right. When you amortize the cost over the next 10 years its cheap and you know it will last. Short cuts always leave you short;)
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
Go with the male justification logic - Spend the dollars now and do it right. When you amortize the cost over the next 10 years its cheap and you know it will last. Short cuts always leave you short;)
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So what's your suggestion Phil?
 
I am exactly where you are right now. My block was pitted so engine came out and was completely stripped down. THe rebuilt short block from toyota was like 3200, full machine work on the head, and block (over bore, pistons, machining the crank bearing ect ect) is going to run me about 2000-2500.

Had the option to pick up a $450 running 1FZ but at this point i decided to keep going with my engine. I want to remove all of the question marks under the hood.

You can see my photos in my build thread linked in my sig
 
scrowley said:
So what's your suggestion Phil?
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My first choice would be stick with your engine and if possible hone and deck given your block is a good candidate. Personally I would shy away from a bore only because every one have know that has gone that route picks up a higher running temp afterward. IMO if you buy another whatever you are tearing it down and replacing the HG making sure everything meets your comfort meter.

As your 80 sits its not worth anything close to what you have in it and if the love is still there do what will make YOU comfortable without putting a lot of weight on the cost. Its only money and the cost will be long forgotten if it ends up all that in your mind.

My wife tells me all the time not to marry metal and although I have several time and spent bank. Looking back I have no regrets and its been a good ride.
 
Doesn't Toyota have 4.6 and 4.7 rebuild kit? The engine is designed to be rebuilt twice with factory parts. I think now is a good time to go 4.6 tr 4.7 with Toyota parts and not have to worry about it for a long time and gain a little power along the way.


Just search for @NLXTACY's engine rebuild thread.....just don't do everything he did to save a few bucks.
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
My first choice would be stick with your engine and if possible hone and deck given your block is a good candidate. Personally I would shy away from a bore only because every one have know that has gone that route picks up a higher running temp afterward. IMO if you buy another whatever you are tearing it down and replacing the HG making sure everything meets your comfort meter.

As your 80 sits its not worth anything close to what you have in it and if the love is still there do what will make YOU comfortable without putting a lot of weight on the cost. Its only money and the cost will be long forgotten if it ends up all that in your mind.

My wife tells me all the time not to marry metal and although I have several time and spent bank. Looking back I have no regrets and its been a good ride.
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This is sound advice and how I came to my decision. Although I am going with a 4.6 over bore.
 
I think I will tear down the short block this week and bring to the machine shop. At this time I can inspect the crank which I believe to be fine. Then I can get it decked and honed not bored. Put in some rings and rod bearings. Get head gone through. I've had the truck 5 yrs and put on 30k. So 10 more yrs at that rate puts me at 60 k more. right around 300k. I would imagine it would make it.
 
I like your approach, hope you do a rebuild thread on this option, and maybe a recap at the end on cost. I hear that "while your in there" is such a slippery slope.
 
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