and.. she's alive! What an experience, long but rewarding! First start vid:
Zero Milage Engine and Tranny Rebuild 1FZ - Complete (1 Viewer)
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I know that feeling!
Great job! It sounds really nice. So you did a full rebuild on the tranny too? What brought that on?
Great job! It sounds really nice. So you did a full rebuild on the tranny too? What brought that on?
Sounds great. So what is the backstory?
- Thread starter
- #4
Sure did. It was first a blown head gasket with water in a cylinder. I shortly decided from there I wanted to keep the truck forever and went full go! Once I was rebuilding the engine and had the tranny out I thought it was a great time to get it done. Nothing was wrong with the tranny, call it PM overkill.
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Very nice. I did the same thing with mine last year.
My girlfriend was recording the initial start up attempt which didn't work...... I was so frustrated then found out I left out the 'circuit open relay' so I popped that in cranked it over and it ran like ass. Firing on 4 cylinders, thats when I noticed i had cyl 2 and 5 reversed on the dizzy. After a quick wire swap she fired right up and was smooth as silk. So satisfying.
My girlfriend was recording the initial start up attempt which didn't work...... I was so frustrated then found out I left out the 'circuit open relay' so I popped that in cranked it over and it ran like ass. Firing on 4 cylinders, thats when I noticed i had cyl 2 and 5 reversed on the dizzy. After a quick wire swap she fired right up and was smooth as silk. So satisfying.
Any cam changes? I've been curious how much hp you could make NA with cams/stroke, etc.
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
I'd suggest getting a magnetic drain plug.
- Thread starter
- #8
No changes. Stock rebuild.
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Mine was about 3500 with me doing the labor
DirtScaresMe
Trouble Maker
How long would you say it takes, if you were doing ~20 hours a week? Any parts that were hard to come by?
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
Parts were all available, its hard to say exactly because I causally worked on mine. But I imagine if you really got after it you could have the engine out in one day, tear it apart on day 2 get it to the machinist (that can be anywhere from 1 week to 5 wks), then maybe two days for rebuild and another day to slop it back in.
Again thats if you are getting after it.
Again thats if you are getting after it.
DirtScaresMe
Trouble Maker
So dumb questions here, I'm not a super-mechanic guy. Biggest job I've done is a knuckle rebuild which I really enjoyed, but it was straight vertical learning curve.
With the machinist, what parts are you sending and what are you asking of them? I imagine the engine block itself stays home. Are they looking for problems or or just cleaning stuff?
@ DirtScaresMe - Others can provide more detail but the necessary machine work depends on what condition you engine is currently in. If for example your head isn't perfectly flat and needs shaved, or if you are boring out for larger displacement. Bad bearing surfaces, etc... can add to the list.
SmokingRocks
hopelessly addicted to Cruisers
@DirtScaresMe check out my build thread linked below. The first post has hyperlinks so Just select the Head Gasket repair link and you can see how I determined what needed to go to the machinist. It ended up being the head and block, originally I was just planning on sending the head.
I grabbed the link for you:
The Trail Snail - FZJ80 Expo Build
I grabbed the link for you:
The Trail Snail - FZJ80 Expo Build
- Thread starter
- #16
I would say my build was a different approach and maybe a little more expensive.
I'm by no means rich, nor was this a credit card build, however it was not a budget build. I wanted a brand new FJ80 and made the mental commitment to go long on this truck.
Overview of big spend items:
- Long block overhaul including new pistons, oil pump, timing chain, valves and all resurfaced. Oil pan to valve cover. Balanced. I did not want a less expensive re-manufactured, so I took it to the top shop in Portland (Portland Bearing Co.) - $4900
- Toyota gasket kit - $350
- Tranny overhaul (by Rivercity Transmissions), all new seals -$1200
-Every hose that carries fluid replaced, new water pump, new head bolts etc.. approx $1000.
My rational for this is this is my daily driver and my long haul Overlanding rig. Lots of cars cost lots of money and any sort of new cool Toyota is 30-50k.
With the original 6k I paid for the truck plus the above I have a pretty cool rig for under 14k all in.
That works in my head at least!
Time wise, I did this over a year. Not because it takes that long, but money and time pushed it out. Once I had the engine back, I put it in over a Month at 10 hours a week.
Doing the labor myself was rewarding and scary! I totally recommend it. Lol
I'm by no means rich, nor was this a credit card build, however it was not a budget build. I wanted a brand new FJ80 and made the mental commitment to go long on this truck.
Overview of big spend items:
- Long block overhaul including new pistons, oil pump, timing chain, valves and all resurfaced. Oil pan to valve cover. Balanced. I did not want a less expensive re-manufactured, so I took it to the top shop in Portland (Portland Bearing Co.) - $4900
- Toyota gasket kit - $350
- Tranny overhaul (by Rivercity Transmissions), all new seals -$1200
-Every hose that carries fluid replaced, new water pump, new head bolts etc.. approx $1000.
My rational for this is this is my daily driver and my long haul Overlanding rig. Lots of cars cost lots of money and any sort of new cool Toyota is 30-50k.
With the original 6k I paid for the truck plus the above I have a pretty cool rig for under 14k all in.
That works in my head at least!
Time wise, I did this over a year. Not because it takes that long, but money and time pushed it out. Once I had the engine back, I put it in over a Month at 10 hours a week.
Doing the labor myself was rewarding and scary! I totally recommend it. Lol
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- Thread starter
- #17
Thanks man. Short answer above!
You did the transmission yourself as well?
- Thread starter
- #19
I uninstalled and reinstalled but a shop did the overhaul.
Have you driven it yet? How does it perform? We don't hear much about A442F rebuilds.
