My BJ74 engine is busted (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Jan 6, 2022
Threads
4
Messages
34
Location
USA
Hi guys,

I have a BJ74 with a 13BT 5 speed manual. My engine got overheated and smoke came out from the engine. I checked the coolant level every morning. But the water hose cracked during a trip and the temperature gauge was not working. Long story short, my mechanic said most likely the engine needs to be replaced.

I found a good condition 14B engine for about $3500. It should be a direct swap. I was thinking about 1HZ or even 1HDT. But it’s not easy to find here and it will be much more expensive to buy and bring it over. Plus the things I need to do to fit the engine.

Fixing the 13BT might be too costly. So I am leaning towards to swap the 14B engine. I have done some research but I didn’t get so much information on the 14B. Only know that it’s slightly more powerful and robust. I don’t plan to turbo it though. My mechanic mentioned it will be louder than the 13BT. But I don’t think the noise really matters. It’s not a quiet car to begin with.

So what do you guys think? Putting a 14B without turbo is a good choice? Or spend a lot more to find and get the 1HZ etc assuming I can even find it locally. Not many highway driving for me. Mainly in the city or in the forest sandy roads with mud.

Thank you for your input.
 
I went through this a few years ago. The previous owner of my bj74, my friend, had the same thing happen. A heater hose blew on the highway and they didn’t notice, guage was pretty slow. They pulled in to park and heard it knocking.

Damage was blown headgasket, 2 bent push rods, bad lifter, scored piston liner, bad piston.

I ended up buying it from him and did a full rebuild after it had sat for 4 years. Everything on mine was rebuildable and all parts we able to be found. I would say it was $3500ish parts,machine shop costs to rebuild. I did the rebuild myself minus installing crank/pistons , my friend had already bought rebuild kit. I had $1,800 in machine shop costs.

I’d be surprised if your engine is junk. You should be able to rebuild for less than a swap.


As for the 14B, it’s a great engine but it’s also 20hp LESS than a 13BT. I wouldn’t want any less HP than the 13BT. Me personally I wouldn’t do that swap unless my 13BT was not rebuildable. You also don’t truly know the condition of that 14B. You are putting a used engine in that could crap out.


If your 13bt is trash, you could turbo the 14B. It’s a direct injection engine with a lower compression ratio so a Holset HE221 would be excellent on there.


My guess is
Rebuild 13BT cheapest
Install 14B and turbo it
Any 6cyl swap will be the most fab/money
 
I would say tear the engine down yourself, that's a free job to do. That way you can determine if the engine is actually needing replacement or if it can be rebuilt. Otherwise your flying blind just assuming that your engine needs to be replaced. And anything factory turbo is just cool. My 0.2c
 
Thanks for the suggestion. Parts are not easy to find here. I may have to order it and ship them. But shipping is also a little difficult and costly. That being said, I will try to open up the engine and see what the problem is. My friend has the 14B engine so I can take it when I really need to replace the engine. He swapped a 1HZ.
 
Will the 13BT turbo fit onto 14B?

Yes as long as the intake/exhaust can be swapped from the 13bt it should work. I don’t know for sure that the manifolds will swap.
Thanks for the suggestion. Parts are not easy to find here. I may have to order it and ship them. But shipping is also a little difficult and costly. That being said, I will try to open up the engine and see what the problem is. My friend has the 14B engine so I can take it when I really need to replace the engine. He swapped a 1HZ.


Are you in the US? There are a few vendors on here that stock lots of 13bt parts along with partsouq and eBay mega zip etc. I could easily find all the parts I needed for a full rebuild and have most to my door within a few days.
 
No, I am not in the USA (I used to). But if I can find the parts in the states, I can get them shipped to Miami, FL and then I will have a way to ship them to me.
 
Back in 2008, my 13b-T also suffered catastrophic overheat. The PTO shaft to the front winch rubbed against the lower rad hose clamp, and dumped all the rad coolant out of the engine, without me knowing (turns out, the temp gauges needs SOME coolant in it to register a reading... no coolant at all, does not register as overheating)

I actually drove that engine until is would smoke like an thing that smokes a lot and not run like a thing that does not run (I am all out of clever similes for you) .

Three Times!

Yes, after it cooled off, the engine would fire right up and run just fine until it overheated again, and it would not run anymore and spew smoke everywhere. Almost like it was seized. Astonishingly, I had to do that 3 times before I bothered to check the coolant level (again, the gauges never said it was overheating!, but it still speaks to my weak mechanics game!)

Bottom line, the head gasket and water pump were destroyed. I had the head checked by a pro and he surfaced it but it was not cracked or warped. New valve seals were installed just to be safe. With that done, the engine sparked to life just fine, and it's still running and going strong 13 years later.

13BT's are incredibly tough engines. They do not suffer form the 'Oh, it's too hot for me I am swooning' 3B head cracking problems. Based on my experience with owning 5 13BT's over the past 20 years, I would expect more than a lack of coolant to take out a 13BT. I say, tell you mechanic she's not dealing some chicken s*** engine and that she out to woman up, put some water back in that thing and fire it up and see what's what.
 
After I towed the car back to town, I started the engine and it would start but die immediately. I needed to step hard on the gas pedal so it will remain idle and I drove it for about 20 meters to park. The engine seems having no pressure.

I also hope it won’t be a big problem and I will insist to loose the engine and check the inside with my mechanic together. It’s good to know that I can source engine parts for 13BT in the states. I just hope the engine is not cracked or warped. There is a guy here to check that and it will cost me $500 to just check. It usually will take him 10-15 days though because he’s usually busy. I am not sure if it’s necessary to check first before I do anything.

Thanks for the good advice so far.
 
Hi guys, I just came across a 1992 75 series pickup locally today. Two door version. 4 speed manual though. Originally it had a 1PZ. The guy changed to a 3B engine now. Need to do some work on it like clutch, brake lines and new paint job etc. no airco. May need more fixes once I start this project. But the deal is good. So I will most likely get it next week.

Also my friend is going to lower the price on the 14B for me. Now I want to get some of your advice. Here are my thoughts:

1. Putting the 14B into my BJ74 now. Then I take my time to rebuild the 13BT later (because it will take over 1 or 2 months to receive parts). Maybe later I can put the rebuilt 13BT into the 75 series pickup (with 4 speed manual) if the 3B engine has some problems. Or keep the 13BT as a backup in case one of the other two engines have problems.

2. Rebuild the 13BT in my BJ74 now. Drive the 75 pickup with 3B or put the 14B into the 75. And sell the 3B. Or keep the 14B as a backup.

I will probably buy the 14B engine because I know the history/condition of the engine. It is not easy to find a good condition engine locally at a good price. Bringing an engine from overseas is always an unknown.

The 75 series pickup will be mainly used in forest sandy/muddy road. The 4 speed manual won’t be a problem because we mainly use 1/2/3 gears only on those roads. Only occasionally it will drive on a paved road (80km/h usually). I will be hauling 800L diesel or so regularly. There is no big hills but it does have some slopes. Not super steep. The 3B engine is capable of that?

What would you guys suggest? Thanks a lot.
 
As I understand it, the 14B is basically a Stroker 13B-T. That's cool.
I am pretty sure it also has a direct driven power steering pump mounted on the front gear case in front of the injection pump. Also, cool.
If I had a line on a known, good 14B, I would be all over that, even if I didn't NEED an engine for any reason! It's also likely I would never actually DO anything with that engine, rather, hoard it to protect if from the un-appreciative masses, and take comfort in the knowledge that I have it, and someone else doesn't. But that's just me.
As for the 3B... bleck. No one needs that junk.
 
I agree with you guys. Keeping the 14B as a backup in my garage might be the decision. In the meantime I will try to get the 75 pickup sooner and just fix it so it can drive normal first. I will worry about the paint job later.

I also don’t prefer the 3B but this is what I have to deal with at the moment. Will it handle the payload that I will carry (700-1000kg)? some mentioned the payload capacity for a 75 series pickup is between 1100-1200kg. But I am just not sure if the 3B can handle that weight especially on sandy/muddy roads with slight slopes. What do you guys think?
 
Toyota sold BJ75 with a 3B and the same 3.5T GVWR.
In Europe there are many BJ75 that were outfitted with giant campers and carried their weight around the world. Won't be quick but it will move over any terrain.
 
That’s good to know. I was only concerned that the 3B won’t be able to haul 1000kg of cargoes in the back. I don’t mind driving slowly.
 
I agree with you guys. Keeping the 14B as a backup in my garage might be the decision. In the meantime I will try to get the 75 pickup sooner and just fix it so it can drive normal first. I will worry about the paint job later.

I also don’t prefer the 3B but this is what I have to deal with at the moment. Will it handle the payload that I will carry (700-1000kg)? some mentioned the payload capacity for a 75 series pickup is between 1100-1200kg. But I am just not sure if the 3B can handle that weight especially on sandy/muddy roads with slight slopes. What do you guys think?
I have a 1985 BJ73 3B with a 5 speed manual. It sits at 2350kg total weight.
It is not a powerful combo, but in 4WD at moderate speed it does just fine.
If you don't have to go fast and can engage 4Low if neede, it will work for you, I guess.
In sand and mud rather my tyre grip got lost than my engine stalled, even on slopes.
Tarmac and highways, were you can't engage 4Low and need to maintain a certain speed to not become a rolling roadblock, are more of a concern..
Cheers Ralf
 
Luckily on the tarmac roads or “highways” here, we don’t have any slopes. It’s always flat.

I am going to take the 75 series pickup in a few days. i will keep you guys posted. Thanks.
 
Long story short, my mechanic said most likely the engine needs to be replaced.

Has the engine been inspected.? Ive seen engines overheat and come good with an oil change . The 13BT is a fairly tough engine.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom