more power? (1 Viewer)

[aaron_d]

hey guys. i was wondering if it is possible to remap or reflash my ECU on my 1990 lj78... or do i even have one? i know on past cars i could just put in a chip in the ECU for more power and was wondering if that would be possible to do with my cruiser.

and another question... would i see significant power gains if i intercooled my truck? ive been thinking abouit it for a while but wanna know if its worth the effort or not.

thanks guys!!

 

[jas-E]

hey,

if you have a diesel then they dont run with an ecu. The engine is timed with the injector pump so you can't chip it unfortunately.

I hear fitting an intercooler is well worth it and have sourced one for my car already so looking forward to having some time to fit it in..

 

[OILERSrule]

Absolutly worth it!!! You can only turn up the fuel and turbo so much without running the risk of hurting something. When intercooled obviously you can turn it up more just make sure the egt doesn't get too high, something like 1200f of the top of my head. This way you get much more power and less risk to turbo. I read about a guy that did it to a 13BT and could squak the tires in 3rd. He was running a modest 17psi boost or something. If you want more power out of your turbo there is no better way in my mind. Just m2c

 

[buggyboy7]

aaron_d

You do have an ECU in your 78. The "E" in 2L-TE indicates that.
I don't know about re-chipping though.

Cheers

 

[RHD Toyota's]

I did some searching a while ago and even e-mailed a company that does stand alone engine management they had no desire to make one for such an old engine, it would seem allmost better to get rid of the electronic parts of our engines and go all mechanical

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I do not profess to be an expert on the LJ78 or the 2L-TE even though I do own one however I do believe the 2L-TE has enough potential issues that "tweaking" it might not be a good idea. The LJ78 is a heavy vehicle that is certainly under powered with the stock engine which contributes to some of its problems ( overheating, cracked heads and other internal issues). I am sure there are those on the Forum who will disagree with me but I think your best bet is to recognize these shortcomings and operate your LJ78 accordingly ( go slow and enjoy life )
...........1978HJ45

 

[pradocruzer]

I've been playing around with the power potential of the 2lte. I have pushed the boost to 16-17 lbs of boost and seen the 2lte wake up. With a respective amount of boost, turbo rebuild that includes some performance goodies and porting, intercooler and cheating the fuel trim, you can run more power at lower EGT's with better fuel economy then the stock set up. Laugh all you want I don't think the people that complain about the 2lte have driven one that is set up properly. On the other note you need to be aware not to push it too much with a stock set up. the more boost you add the more fuel will be added, this equals high EGT'S. The ECM reads the boost pressure and adds fuel acordingly. I have been tricking my ECM into thinking the boost is lower then it really is. Like 1978HJ45 said you have to know how to drive a 2lte. I recommend driving by the EGT gauge not the speedometer. I do not know of an ECU update or an after market ECU that is available.This engine will never be a power house but you can sure give it some more power.

Take care.

 

[cicak]

Absolutly worth it!!! You can only turn up the fuel and turbo so much without running the risk of hurting something. When intercooled obviously you can turn it up more just make sure the egt doesn't get too high, something like 1200f of the top of my head. This way you get much more power and less risk to turbo. I read about a guy that did it to a 13BT and could squak the tires in 3rd. He was running a modest 17psi boost or something. If you want more power out of your turbo there is no better way in my mind. Just m2c

My 13B-T runs 21PSI its pretty cool to drive but not as cool as the mighty WA trailer queen HJ75 pickup running 25PSI.

and yup it will spin the 29" sneakers very easily 1st and 2nd and hook sideways out of corners in 3rd and it pushes 35" sneakers without any effort on 9/41 DIFFS.

 

[gotoy]

Bets advise would be to chuck the 2lte engine and go for a 1kz or 13bt engine.

2

 

[Gun Runner 5]

My guess would be that if people like "aaron_d" ( and myself for that matter) had the funds to just dispose of their current engine they would not be on the Forum asking for advice and help. There are times when the 2L-TE haters need to stay on the sideline and this thread represents one of those times.
.........Just my opinion..........................1978HJ45

 

[gotoy]

My guess would be that if people like "aaron_d" ( and myself for that matter) had the funds to just dispose of their current engine they would not be on the Forum asking for advice and help. There are times when the 2L-TE haters need to stay on the sideline and this thread represents one of those times.
.........Just my opinion..........................1978HJ45

Dunno if you are referring to my post or what but I'll add a bit of back ground info.

I tried tuning a 2LT. By the time I had done a fair few mods the cost was almost as much as a 1kz engine. I asked myself why am I wasting $$$ on an engine when an upgrade is easily obtainable. So I saved a bit each month until I had enough for a 1kz.

You are right about funds. However, if one has funds for mods, the disposable income is available.

An ECU chip (add on or whatever), decent intercooler, fuel pump mod, boost gauge and controller is almost approaching the price of a 1kz and in some cases exceeds.

Of course it depends on the owner, insurance cover etc etc etc.


For 2LTe tuning here's a list of items to do:

1. Piggy back chip for ECU.
2. 2.5" dump valve mod on turbo.
3. 2.5" exhaust system.
4. Boost gauge and boost controller. Electronic better...but manual is cheaper.
5. Front mount intercooler.
6. More extremem would be to upgrade the turbo.

Add the cost up and you will see my point over the long term.

 

[pradocruzer]

My guess would be that if people like "aaron_d" ( and myself for that matter) had the funds to just dispose of their current engine they would not be on the Forum asking for advice and help. There are times when the 2L-TE haters need to stay on the sideline and this thread represents one of those times.
.........Just my opinion..........................1978HJ45

Well put 1978HJ45

Costs aside, for me anyways, I find it more of a challange to to keep the 2lte alive and well the to do an engine swap. There are too many bastard child's out there already.
I Do not want to hijack this thread so I will start a new one so that members can do a search and find useful infromation on increaseing power and fuel economy while lowering EGT's on the 2lte. You can do it and for under $100 bucks.

Take care

 

[Gun Runner 5]

My response was not intended to ruffle any feathers or to single out any individual. Anyone who owns a LJ78 or spends much time on the Forum should know that the stock 2L-TE has some issues that may affect operational reliability. The only problem I have is when someone like "aaron_d" is seeking advice on some aspect of the 2L-TE and 90% of the responders offer advice and the other 10% point out that he is an idiot for buying the LJ78 in the first place. ( I am not referring to this thread in particular.) Any thread that mentions the 2L-TE is akin to dropping blood near a school of sharks ( it often brings a quick and biting response.)
Again just my opinion................1978HJ45 ( 1990 LJ78 )

 

[prado t]

HMMMMMMM . The 2lte fuel injection system is complex. I believe it can be done.

 

[mojoloco]

What else did you do to your 13bt???

 

[mojoloco]

Sorry...previous post for cicak

 

[cicak]

What else did you do to your 13bt???

Since this is OT I will answewr it and no im not hijacking the thread some one asked about a 17PSI 13b-T and I answered now some one asked what I did to my 13B-T so now i will answer it.

And by the way im not a fan or 2LT-E engines nor against them they have caused friends a lot of grief over the years and for the record I do not like ECU's in computers thats why I have a 13B-T purely its simple to operate and will not fail when in WATER.

Mojoloco here is what was done to make the 13B-T a crap load of fun to drive at probably the expense of long engine life haha.

Changed TURBO to a CT26 variant, Added front mount intercooler, New pistons and rings and sleeves and complete bearing and head overhaul, Changed to 14B-T fuel pump and made it run to 21PSI, change to use 14B-T timing gear, added external wastegate set it to 21PSI and removed factory wastegate, made air intake twice the size from air cleaner to turbo, run 3" exhaust and its not noisy as I hate noisy vehicles - as for numbers no idea till I put it on a DYNO in the coming weeks - power adequate (laughing adequate hahaa). It pushes 35" sneakers on 9/41 (1:4.55) at ease but it will no longer take of in 2nd like it did on 8/39 diff's.

Innocent from the outside evil from the inside haha.

Back to the topic of 2LT-E

Good luck making it run faster - the 2LT-E I mean.

 

[mojoloco]

THANKS

Thanks for the info cicak...sounds awesome..did a few things to mine but
not to that extent..fun to drive with 33s

Will have to keep an eye out for that "YELLOW SLEEPER"

Happy trails