Rice's 1FZ-FE rebuild Thread (3 Viewers)

[Rice]

Not really anything new here that you can't find in the 80's tech section. Just some documentation of the journey to get rid of the tick-tick-tick in my current motor and, once the new engine is in, my "2 Week" endeavor into adding some boost via turbo.

I will edit in pictures as time allows.

Vehicle: 1994 80 with 168k miles.

Backstory:
The engine in my 80 has had a tick/knock for me and for at least one previous owner. A conservative estimate is it has been there for 20 k miles. If it was a bearing it would have let go long ago so I'm wagering it is either a wrist pin or piston slap. The characteristics of the knock relative to temperature causes me to believe it is piston slap. When the current engine is torn down I will report back.

This is not an uncommon knock among 1FZ engines. Stan, Stevezero, me, and several 80's tech threads all have it. There is a good chance this motor would go another 50k, however let's face it, when driving we don't like having to always wonder if today is the day and, even if it isn't, I can't stand listening to it.

For longer than I wish to admit I oscillated between a v8 swap and a rebuild. The rebuild hesitation came from not wanting to spend a couple thousand dollars and end up with the same 212 HP I already have. The hesitation for the v8 came from wanting to limit the time the 80 was down for fabbing and conversion relative to a quicker engine swap. The v8 swap I did on the 40 could have been faster until I discovered that I'm a stickler for details.

So, that's when I began doing research on turbo installs, the difficulty of finding an engine management that works, and why the '93 and '94 engines SUCK when it comes to boost. To be clear, the mechanics of this engine are perfect for boost .... perfectly balanced crank with 7 main bearings and almost no weak links to mention. The engine management part of the problem has shown itself to be formidable.

ENGINE #1:
The first thing I did was find a nice low milage engine in charlotte that a mud member was taking out for an LS swap. His exact words .... "engine runs great except a little smoke at start up and a little smoke at wide open throttle". I will not name this person unless they try to defend being a lying cheat.

A little smoke could mean rings, seals, or possible head gasket. So if you plan to put in a new set of rings, and head gasket, and valve seals on a 148k motor you should be good to go. That's a ready to boost motor for under $1k.

Here is what I found during disassembly:
First .... 4 exhaust bolt holes in the aluminum head are stripped! owner failed to mention that.
Next ... pulling off the oil cooler I see this thing is packed with "stop leak". Must have slipped his mind.
Next .... drain the oil .... milkshake ( and low enough the oil level would not show on the dip stick). Hmm.
Next ... pull the pan. Find lots of solids.
Next .... 5 heads on the flywheel bolts are stripped because of someone not using the right size tool. Hmm.
Next .... cylinders 1 and 6 have a ridge on them .... engine will have to be bored. That means new pistons.
Next .... send block to machine shop for boring. They call me back. The block is cracked. "MOTHER F*&^!!"
Next .... concede that not one piece of this engine is worth a damn and make it into a coffee table.

A few pics in the next post:

 

[Rice]

The first engine from Charlotte on its way home:

First thing I discover during pull-down:

Second thing I discover:

Welding nuts onto the flex plate bolts so I can remove them:

A little peak at what was in the strainer:

 

[weejub]

Look forward to reading!

 

[Roxx]

Just to be clear. I had several engines and I Did Not Sell an Engine to This Guy. I am glad!!!

Subscribed

 

[jamesurq]

This story has a happy ending. I can't wait to see it!

 

[weejub]

you like to watch happy endings?

 

[NCFJ]

Subscribed

I have no doubt as to the level of this build, it'll be fun to watch

 

[Rice]

Final chapter for Donor Engine #1:

Cleaned it: (Note for those wondering .... the crack in the block is in this pic ... freeze plug of #4)

Did some welding on it and gave it some paint:

@jfz80 already had a perfect piece of glass and because he is single and I'm not it now lives at his house:

 

[JToobe]

Are orders being taken for additional coffee tables or is this a 1 of 1 issue by this up and coming artist?

 

[Rice]

Continuation of our story:

An important detail regarding Toyota 1FZ-FE engines. Most of us know that Toyota hand fitted each engine on the assembly line. Pistons, bearings, rings, all HAND fitted. Main bearings, for example, come in 6 possible sizes. Each size represents a 0.0001" difference (Yes, a tenth of a thousandth!). That means when you call Beno and place an order you're giving him bearing sizes SPECIFIC to the motor you are building. This is important in that the local machine shop just declared Engine #1 junk and I had in my hand new bearings, rings, and pistons for that block/crank combination. I'm both ticked and sweating that whatever new donor engine I find will leave me holding the bag on a bunch of wrong-sized parts I can't use. Then things begin to click into place .....

The story of Donor Engine #2:
Turns out I already had a 2nd engine ... one I found on CL in 2013 with plans to rebuild it. Long ago I had pulled the head and found it had sitting water in cylinder number 6 which had pitted the cylinder wall. Back then I had no interest in spending $900 on new pistons PLUS machine work so I abandoned that motor.

Feeling like I was out of options I went back to that motor to find out what bearing sizes it had and weigh my options. By the end of the day I had discovered I only had 2 bearings (one Main, and one con-rod) that were the wrong size. Better, the 2 that were off were off by only one size (0.0001"). I was going to be okay with that.

The other issue ... I was not getting good vibes from the machine shop that's here in Greensboro and their level of care. During one conversation I recall him saying "just get some Clevite bearings and bolt them in". This left me with a bad taste. It was coming up on October 1st and I had a camping trip planned for Mount Mitchell. I decided to call on my old friend in Asheville to ask him if he'd be willing to do me a personal favor.

Some of you may remember my mention of Ben Barnes. He is 72 years old now but during the wild years of NASCAR was engine builder for Harry Gant, Jack Ingram, and Tommy Houston, among others. He did all the machine work, clearancing, and balance work on the engine in the 40 and is the reason that engine is so solid. I called and asked if he would please take this piece of Japanese steel and work it over. Ben said yes.

First week in October I take the 2nd engine to Ben along with rotating assembly and bearings. The plan is to bore to +1.0mm, hone, check bearing sizes, spin balance, and then bolt the bottom end up for me. In all his years this is Ben's FIRST piece of foreign steel. Most anyone else would get nervous about that but I still knew this was the right move.

Things take a funny turn from the start ....

Cleaning the block:
Most high end engine guys, including Ben, got rid of their caustic dip tanks years ago. All the engines Ben builds get shot blasted. Not only do they come out gorgeous but it also relieves stress in the metal. When Toyota built these engines they drilled the oil galley the length of the block and then hammered hardened steel balls in the end holes. This part is not available from Toyota. If a ball has to be replaced they replace the whole block. I cave in and say "Ben, if there is no other way then to build it dirty then let's do it". Ben refuses to build a dirty motor but there simply is no way to shot blast it and have a way of getting the shot cleaned out of the oil galley. "2 Weeks" later on the phone he tells me he has an old friend in SC that still has a tank and that he shipped the block down there for dipping. Amazing.

Then we come to measurements. I give Ben a copy of the FSM for this engine and, again, we hope the bearings will fit up within specs.

After another "2 Weeks" I get a text from Ben. Block is ready.

 

[OGBeno]

The first engine from Charlotte on its way home:

View attachment 1356004



First thing I discover during pull-down:

View attachment 1356005



Second thing I discover:

View attachment 1356006


Welding nuts onto the flex plate bolts so I can remove them:

View attachment 1356008


A little peak at what was in the strainer:

View attachment 1356009

Interesting. You got an early 1FZ-FE: 8/1992-8/1993 as those were the only months that received 11291-66010 on the valve cover from the factory.

 

[Rice]

Any visit to Asheville has to include taking Ben to the "Moose Cafe" at the farmer's market. This is where we discuss this "Jap" motor.

Important! If you dip a 1FZ engine you will destroy the bushing for the oil pump. There is only one place in the US (that I know of) to get a replacement. Supply and demand .... a $140 bushing:

For you Stan! As if to REALLY tease me here is one of the engines Ben had ready for delivery. 420 cubic inch LS that will be turbo charged:

 

[GLTHFJ60]

OMG yes! Have been looking forward to this for a long time.

 

[Rice]

Interesting. You got an early 1FZ-FE: 8/1992-8/1993 as those were the only months that received 11291-66010 on the valve cover from the factory.

This is interesting. I recall it came out of a '94 which would indicate not that rigs original motor. Not that this would make it a more desirable coffee table made with rare parts.

 

[OGBeno]

8/1993 build truck would technically have a MY 1994 designation.

 

[NCFJ]

Great story Rice. Can't wait to see this come together.

 

[David70FJ40]

Subscribed. I was wondering about the story of the block for the table.

 

[LXSTEVE]

Love this story Rice ! Thanks for the detail posting ! Can't wait for the next chapter .

 

[lt1fire]

 

[Rice]

Engine #2 .... continued.

So I get a text from Ben letting me know the block is ready. The timing is about perfect ... we don't have school on Election Day so that becomes my planned return to Asheville (and to the Moose Cafe ... again)

Election Day ... I arrive at 10:00. I always plan it this way so I have time to chat with Ben before it's time for lunch. Ben is a quiet unassuming man, but when he speaks there is about to be learning. He rolls out the 1FZ which is my que to ask the obvious question... so how did everything go?

I'm now completely sold on OEM:
From the start Ben says the 1FZ was impressive. The norm for any chevy or ford when he gets it is for there to be a significant list of things that need fixing to get an engine into perfect spec .... centering lifter bores, resizing rod ends, line honing cam and crank journals ... on and on. Ben measured every aspect of the 1FZ and only found 2 things that weren't perfect. One piston had a wrist pin bore that was 0.0001" small and he honed it out and ONE compression ring that needed 0.001 shaved off. He noted the Toyota rings were way better than anything aftermarket and said the pistons were some of the nicest he'd seen. He said it isn't rare to find coated pistons but it's very rare to see the ring landings are coated as well.

The crank ... over 80 pounds and is now balanced to within 0.1 grams. When he measured how much runout each of the crank journals had they all measured 0.0000" except #4 in the center ... 0.0007". According to the fsm 0.0024" is allowed.

I asked about boost and HP using stock bottom end parts. He says not to worry.