Whats the power like? (1 Viewer)

[livelarg]

I just got my 80 a month ago.
What I am wondering is how much power is this engine supposed to have?
I runs great, very smooth and sounds perfect. It does have 200K miles on it tho'. But it does not seem to have a lot of power. It cruises around town ok, but it is pretty slow off the line. and on the highway, it struggles to get to highway speeds. When it does get to 65-70mph it stays there fine, but the acceleration is pretty weak.
It mys my 3.0 in my 88' 4runner seem speedy!

Thanks
Kent

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

What year 80?

 

[e9999]

my 97 is not a hot rod by any means, but perfectly adequate for my leisurely type of driving. I would never say that it struggles, except that I can tell the difference when towing or at high altitudes, and even then it's not bad at all.
I have the feeling that if I mashed the pedal at a red light, it would probably go enough that I'd beat the other cars if they were starting off normally (not racing me).

 

[miked]

last week i had a chance to compare my 96 to a 93. we took mine out first. the lady who owned the 93 asked me " wow, what did you do to the engine? " i told her i had installed more valves per cylinder. she belived me. hehe..

 

[gbell210]

Hmm thats odd. I just sold my 88 V6 4runner not too long ago for my 94 LC. The LC to me has more getup, even if the engine was rebuilt recently. I'm going to assume you have a pre-93 rig, since I have not driven one of them, and only heard they seem to be a little underpowered, compared to the FZJ-80 rigs (93-97). Either way, a good way to find out if its supposed to be weak is to baseline the rig with a general tune-up and all that good stuff.
But let us know the year, and that will help narrow down somethings.

 

[Darwood]

My truck is slow. I'm lucky to get it up to 80. I think it's the 295's and the 6 inch lift that do it. Before the 6 inch lift I was scared to get it up to 80 but now it feels nice and stable however it doesn't want to go 80 anymore. The drag must have increased just enough between the J springs and spaces to the 6 inch lift to make 80 a hard speed to achieve. Getting to 75 is fine, but there seems to be a wall now at 80.

I can't remember how it was stock anymore... it's been too long and stock only lasted about 5 months

However with 295's and the stock suspension my friend thought the 1FZ-FE was pretty powerful. He does drive a F150 Crewcab with the V8 which is just anemic which is probably why he thought it was powerful.

 

[livelarg]

sorry, it's a 92'

 

[Darwood]

A '92? Yeah you have should have no power, or more accurately:

3FE POWA!!!

 

[e9999]

yes, the 92 has only 4 real cylinders, the other 2 have japanese squirrels in them...

 

[CreeperSleeper]

yes, the 92 has only 4 real cylinders, the other 2 have japanese squirrels in them...

I heard that you can replace the Japanese squirrels for US "hy-bred" squirrels and you should get a bit more torque.

 

[Texus]

dude...

They all suck for speed...stock anyways...

 

[cruiserdan]

A 3FE couldn't pull the skin off of a custard...............

 

[trucruiser]

Yeah i had a 91 and it was gutless, but the torque was there for climbing in 4lo.

 

[Beowulf]

Kent,

Don't let those guys get to you on the 3FE engine. While it is lacking a little in power it makes up for it in durability. There is nothing you can do other than keep it tuned; plugs, wires, dizzy cap, rotor, injectors, etc. Learn to live with the lower HP and enjoy your truck for what it is.

-B-

 

[abclin]

Hay all, after coming from a 22r to the 3fe sure seamed like it was powerful enough, although this is the only cruiser I have every been in, besides a fj60. You'll learn to use the vehicles "power spots" not to bad off the line for me and second to third is oke doke too. Driving from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon on some open flat freeways averaged 80 mph no problem. Clean your throttle body and fuel injectors that should help some too. Powa! is all relative, enjoy not getting any speeding tickets, and why do you think they called them cruisers.
Later, Cliff

 

[elum]

I'd take reliability any day... and that my friend is what you have! Or you can just move somewhere where the speed limit is a little lower!

 

[helocat]

Kent,

Don't let those guys get to you on the 3FE engine. While it is lacking a little in power it makes up for it in durability. There is nothing you can do other than keep it tuned; plugs, wires, dizzy cap, rotor, injectors, etc. Learn to live with the lower HP and enjoy your truck for what it is.

-B-

Agreed. An other power opt.: I did have good luck swapping the 3FE short block for a 2F short block in my 90 FJ-62. The 2FE produced a bit more power and lower bottom end toque. The 3FE head does bolt to the top of the 2F long block that is the easy part. All of the accessories are in different places so you spend a ton of time making new brackets to line it all up. I don’t see why it would not work in an 80 set up. It is a lot of work so keep this as a “block has a knock in it” kind of thing.

I am with Beowulf, enjoy your truck. Its still an 80, off road it will kick the pants off all challengers built similar. Only one exception to this and that’s if another 80 comes along!

Mark

 

[livelarg]

After driving my 3.0 in my 88'runner, i am used to not being a speed demon. I was just wanting an idea of what to expect so I have a baseline.
I agree with one thing, dependebility is AWESOME. My 88' has 250k and is still running perfect and the cruiser' has 210K and runs perfect. Show mw another set of trucks taht are this fun at this high milage.

Kent

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Kent,
what others have said with one sligth aberration, HOWS YOUR HEAD GASKETS !!!!!!!
I love my 3FE, I can run at 70-80 until I hit hills then it slows down a bit, ad far as eeking more power, chagne out your plugs, check the resistance on your plug wires and replace them OEM only do not use the aftermarket crap that is out there. Keeping it well tuned will make it go just fine.
Dave
198k and counting.....

 

[livelarg]

I have cleaned the K&N (it was like mud when I cleaned it, previous owner), new plugs, oilchange, pcv valve.
all I need is an 02 senor, new plug wires cap and rotor.
Planning to change out all of the other lubes pretty soon. Actually, if I stop babying the truck, it runs great.
thanks
Kent