Re-Powering my 40?!

[Bill McC]

Two days before the New England Yankee Landcruiser fall gathering a mere 15 miles from my house and after spending $15 to get a copy of my registration so I could get its state inspection my new to me FJ40 with its original 1963 F engine seized. and the horse it rode in on!!!!
Luckily this happened 20 feet from my barn. Presently I suspect oil pump failure aggravated by a failed head gasket. Probably will be next spring before she is on the road again.

In the meantime I will document my engine removal. Whee. Not really what I was looking forward to, but what do you do?

I am also presently inviting your opinion on re-powering options. Gas or Diesel?
Toyota, Chevy, Cummins, Cat, Detroit Diesel, or not? Stick with the I-6 or go V8 configuration?

Outside of rebuilding the F, the 3 speed on the tree and vacuum actuated transfer case may all be history. The transfer case and tranny work but if I go up to a 2f or 3f they will retired in favor of newer parts.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Ouch

Is there absolutely no hope for that poor old F135?

 

[destin]

ugh sorry to here that man

Might be able to pick up a used F motor on the cheap. a lot of the rock crawler cats pull em out and sell em cheap.

Again bummer man, sorry to here the motor popped.

 

[Living in the Past]

I am also presently inviting your opinion on re-powering options. Gas or Diesel?
Toyota, Chevy, Cummins, Cat, Detroit Diesel, or not? Stick with the I-6 or go V8 configuration?

Outside of rebuilding the F, the 3 speed on the tree and vacuum actuated transfer case may all be history. The transfer case and tranny work but if I go up to a 2f or 3f they will retired in favor of newer parts.

In the 25 forum your not going to get many opinions other than rebuild the F135. If you want more opinion than stay stock you need to ask that question in the 40/55 section. This small group is pretty much all early OEM guys.

Sorry to hear about your engine. Was the oil light working?

 

[3jvj]

Bum deal. If you were in CO there's enough 2f motors to have you running in a day.

That's my vote: dig around craigslist for a $200 2f and be done.

 

[JohnnyC]

an I-6 Toyota Diesel


or well the F135

or any F or 2F

 

[wesintl]

The 135 is cool. I even tried to find one and it's somewhat difficult. I would either rebuild the one you have depending on what is toast from seizing.

Otherwise I would throw in a late 2f from an fj60. You can make it look like an earlier F with the valve cover etc. The rest of your 3 speed and vacuum case would bolt up.

at least pull the pan and the bearings and see where you are.

 

[Living in the Past]

You guys just had to make a liar out of me I thought about going over to the dark side myself but I but I have so many early cruisers I can still keep most original. I like the I-6 diesel idea. If you mate it to a early diesel four speed with the non split transfer case the length should be fine. I thought about going this route with my FJ45LPB. But I kept this low mileage A440F transmission for it for years. So I'll probably find a nice 3FE to put in front of it. Of course if my FJ62 tranny went out I could use it there then This didn't have the stock F135 when I bougth it so there is no way to keep it stock

If your looking to keep it original find a cheap 2F for now. The rest of the running gear will just both up to it.

 

[destin]

Hey Bill,

Was the motor recently rebuilt before you bought it?
Maybe the previous owner has a receipt / warrantee for the shop? ( If it was in fact recently rebuilt )

 

[Bill McC]

Far as I know it has not been recently rebuilt. For that matter I don't know if it ever has been. Being 46 years old it probably has had some internal work done. It seems that rebuilding the motor might run $4000 or so if nothing is broken. That being said I may be able to get a late F or early 2f with a 4 speed for maybe $2K installed. We shall see. I'll go take some pics for everyone of my disassembly so far.

 

[Bill McC]

#4 is scored, but not so much that I think it would be indicating seizing via pistons may be unlikely. Another observation: Huge gaps between the pistons and the cylinders. Maybe .5 mm all the way around.

 

[Bill McC]

Pictures of the "old" engine.

As therapy I tore into the old engine today. Cannot say I found anything in particular.

 

[Bill McC]

Cruiser with no teeth

Pic of cruiser and my swell, custom painted thermostat housing and water pump.

In engine news I am considering a F155 to replace the F135. I like the idea of more power. I wonder how much I was working with before?

 

[Bill McC]

Dropped the tranny/transfer case this afternoon followed by hoisting out the engine. Not so hard to do.

Engine, transmission and transfer case being made available for sale in Classifieds.

Presently looking at F155 coupled to a 4spd mated to a "3 speed" type transfercase.

 

[Living in the Past]

If th engine is rebuildable and the serial# matches the VIN plate engine I would just store it away. Once the engine is gone it can never go back to 100 percent original. Probably wouldn't get much for a F135 engine that needs rebuilding. Worth the most with it's original vehicle. Anyone can change a drive train only those with the original engine can ever be totally stock.

 

[Bill McC]

I suppose I could keep the block. I have yet to disassemble it and I do have lots of room in the barn..... We will see if I can get the pistons or crank shaft loose this week. Would the matching numbers add that much value? I could see it if it were a vintage corvette, a Boss Mustang, or a Ferrari but alas Barrett-Jackson has not beat a path to my door.

Humm, what if I put an Italian V12 in it?? I could settle for 2wd then. Then the 40 would be worth lots more.;p

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Actually Bill, I agree with Living In The Past. If you have the space, I would keep it all stashed away...worth a lot more if you sell it with the Cruiser, than on it's own, or in parts.

Too bad for me, I could have used spare parts, but it would be wiser if you kept it for yourself for a later date

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Bill,

You can repower however you like, but I think you would be doing yourself a favor finding out what exactly is wrong with this motor, it could be a straightforward fix. Did this just stop running "clunk" or did it lock up never to turn again? Catastrophic driveway failure would be pretty bizzare.

Any motor swap other than the original motor will have its share of issues and hidden costs, even a F155.

John is right, save the original engine for the truck for the purist. If resale value is what your after I'd go with a Chevy crate motor and scrap the F135. (sarcasm, but true ).

 

[Bill McC]

Well I suppose if it made it this far (45 years all together) it might be good to save the parts. Who is going to help me drag this sucker up into the loft? What??? No takers?????

 

[3jvj]

I'll throw it up the loft for you.

Just gottta pay my fuel cost.