[Mickslj81]

Hi I am currently in the process of doing up an old lj81 and was wondering if any particular motors fit straight in or with minimum modification? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mickslj81]

I had heard the 1.3l from a carolla will fit but wanted to find out form somone who has done it and how dificult it is to get compliance plates/engeners cert.

[Mickslj81]

I had heard that a carolla 1.3l will fit in, is there anything i should be wary of when doing it?

[303zuke]

1.0lt Sierra F10A engine will be a bolt in.

You will need to use the F8A sump and oil pick up, the F8A distributor housing (you can use the F8a Dizzy, the F10A or the electronic G13A, but the F8a has an o-ring on the shaft to stop oil seeping out into the points/cap end).

The F10A carby inlet is slightly larger than the F8a, so you will need to cut a slit in the rubber aircleaner boot to get it to fit, then seal with tape and hose clamp. Depending on the year model F10A you choose, there can be a different clutch spigot bearing in the end of the crankshaft, either a needle roller used with a longer G/box input, or a roller bearing used with a shorter G/Box input. Either will work, just use the right bearing for your crank/input combination.

[Mickslj81]

Thats very helpful thanks heaps! Much apreciated. Do you think it is worth getting a enginers cert?

[sideways]

Regarding the carbys, I'd swap the F8a carby and inlet manifold (can't just swap the carbs, the bolt spacing on the manifolds is different) onto the F10a if you've got a good one. The F10a carb is about 10mm shorter so you have to move the airbox towards the motor and as 303 says, the spigot is about 1mm bigger which makes it a massive PITA to get the boot on.

They're both 32mm so there's no performance disadvantage.

[UBZ]

sideways wrote:

They're both 32mm so there's no performance disadvantage.

very interesting tech !
I've never measured the difference , as I always assumed the F10a carb would be bigger to account for the extra 200 odd CC of the Engine over the F8a

So the F10a carb must logically have larger jets to account for the extra required fuel ?????
or did suzuki intentionally run them a bit lean to improve on the F8a's very marginal fuel economy .?

[sideways]

I've pulled between 106 and 112 mains out of F10a carbs. LJ80 is 105 according to the manual, different carbs are going to require different jets though.

Interestingly the manuals list the venturi diameter of the F10a carb 1mm bigger, but then the inner venturi is fatter so there would be little difference in cross sectional area.

Mick, I missed your post about Corolla engines. I assume a thread got merged. Anyway, they're deceptively hard work to fit, requiring the steering box to be moved and a new gearbox cross member to be made and welded in. They're super old tech and they can't rev like an F motor can so you'l lose out on top/cruise speed. I can cruise at the end of my speedo (120, real world 110) with my F10a which is spinning at 5800rpm at those speeds, it doesn't mind doing that for hours at a time. A 4k wont touch those sort of revs. Back in the day you could get higher ratio transfer gears so the various engines people put in them would cruise better on the highway, those are unobtainable these days. 4.11 diff gears from a 1l Sierra bolt in and are easy to get, instant 10% drop in revs.

For all the work it takes to fit a Corolla engine you might as fit a G16b or M1xa. You'l have almost twice the power, better fuel economy, smoother running, you'l be able to run a jackshaft and the only harder parts of the conversion are the wiring and EFI fueling. The transfer is questionably strong enough, but hey, only one way to find out!

F8as shouldn't be any worse on fuel than F10as. I've got a magazine with a review of an LJ80v where they say they got between 8.7 and 12.3l per 100kms and another review of the LJ81k with similar. Mine got around 10l/100kms with a completely dead engine. I think that's pretty awesome for a super old tech 4WD. I don't think you'd get any better with an F10a.

To sum up, an F10a is the only bolt in conversion/upgrade. Basically anything else is going to require extensive work to fit.

[Mickslj81]

Thanks for the advice guys, i have tracked down a f10a engine, full reco but will cost bout $2100, so here goes. The wreckers that i found were nowhere near as good as you guys.

[tanshi]

for slightly more than that you would pay for some one to fit a g16 i would reckon.

thats a lot of money to spend on a 1 litre motor

[Mickslj81]

Where would i be able to find someone who does that?

[sideways]

You can get a brand new F10a from China for around $1300.

$2.1K is ridiculous stupid bonkers money for an F10a, even if it is rebuilt. Your average second hand one is worth $200 tops, $100 is more like it though.

[Marko_SJ]

sideways wrote:

You can get a brand new F10a from China for around $1300.

$2.1K is ridiculous stupid bonkers money for an F10a, even if it is rebuilt. Your average second hand one is worth $200 tops, $100 is more like it though.

The owners of the 1 litre I looked at before the hardtop I settled on showed me a grands worth of receipts for engine work to the one litre.

On my test drive it still blew smoke. I guess some people are trusting (the nice people who owned the zook, and they were, I'm not being sarcastic), and others (such as that particular friendly local mechanic) are unscrupulous or don't care, i.e.: should have told the people to find an engine to swap rather than repair the head.

Man I'm so glad I decided to look at the next one that "had some rust" (and had none, by sierra standards)

[tanshi]

any performance shop should be able to do it.

Not sure whats down your way but up here we have suzisport, or suzi auto services

[ZookFan]

303zuke wrote:

1.0lt Sierra F10A engine will be a bolt in.

You will need to use the F8A sump and oil pick up, the F8A distributor housing (you can use the F8a Dizzy, the F10A or the electronic G13A, but the F8a has an o-ring on the shaft to stop oil seeping out into the points/cap end).

The F10A carby inlet is slightly larger than the F8a, so you will need to cut a slit in the rubber aircleaner boot to get it to fit, then seal with tape and hose clamp. Depending on the year model F10A you choose, there can be a different clutch spigot bearing in the end of the crankshaft, either a needle roller used with a longer G/box input, or a roller bearing used with a shorter G/Box input. Either will work, just use the right bearing for your crank/input combination.

They are great motors..better than a G13A I reckon

[Marko_SJ]

ZookFan wrote:

303zuke wrote:

1.0lt Sierra F10A engine will be a bolt in.

You will need to use the F8A sump and oil pick up, the F8A distributor housing (you can use the F8a Dizzy, the F10A or the electronic G13A, but the F8a has an o-ring on the shaft to stop oil seeping out into the points/cap end).

The F10A carby inlet is slightly larger than the F8a, so you will need to cut a slit in the rubber aircleaner boot to get it to fit, then seal with tape and hose clamp. Depending on the year model F10A you choose, there can be a different clutch spigot bearing in the end of the crankshaft, either a needle roller used with a longer G/box input, or a roller bearing used with a shorter G/Box input. Either will work, just use the right bearing for your crank/input combination.

They are great motors..better than a G13A I reckon

Higher first gear, less torque, more revs at 100... already bigger T case and diff ratio... Sounds great.

[Mickslj81]

Have found a F10a engine in china, is new but has anyone heard of a site called alibaba before? It looks legit but i am worried because you never know with the internet.

[henno]

Alibaba is legit in the same way that Ebay is legit.
It doesn't necessarily mean the things being sold are legit (in fact, there is a heap of counterfeit stuff on there).

It's not solely a scam site though, if that's what you are asking. It's a legit marketplace.

[sideways]

Mickslj81 wrote:

Have found a F10a engine in china, is new but has anyone heard of a site called alibaba before? It looks legit but i am worried because you never know with the internet.

sideways wrote:

You can get a brand new F10a from China for around $1300.

That's what this is about. A fellow on the teammightyboy forum got one for his Carry van.

[Mickslj81]

Thanks guys, they quoted me a
Suzuki F10A Complete Engine with gearbox​ carburetor type ​ ​ ​ ​ FOB USD 725/Unit

Suzuki F10A Complete Engine with gearbox​ ​ fuel injection ​ type ​ ​ FOB USD 1005/ Unit

one unit delivery to Sydney port,Australia Sea freight Total USD 150 am trying to reasearch the company atm but seem legit so far, am waiting back on some querys about the company and payment methods then i will probably jump in as it seems to be the best value for money i can find.

[lauby]

Mickslj81 wrote:

Suzuki F10A Complete Engine with gearbox​ ​ fuel injection ​ type ​ ​ FOB USD 1005/ Unit

A ' crate ' EFI engine and gearbox, I think that's a great deal.

Let us know with many pictures how the install goes

[sideways]

That gearbox wont be any use to you, it's for a Carry van. Also, the EFI manifold might not clear the engine mount or inner guard. Still, please get it and see if it will fit! Obviously the carby manifold puts the carb on to great of an angle and probably wont clear the above mentioned anyway. You could probably use the new carb on a 1l Sierra manifold though.

Because they're carry engines they're meant to be leaned right over, hence the wacky manifolds and gearbox that's no good to you. You'l have to swap your sump, dizzy housing and so in to make one of these fit, just like any other F10a.

Also search up 465q. It's a name the Chinese use for the F10a. There used to be some bare engines on there, they might be cheaper. Hardly worth paying extra for stuff you don't need/can't use. $1k landed is still a cracking price for a brand new engine though!

[Mickslj81]

I have wussed out and changed the order to a carbie engine, am going to strugel to get a blue slip as is, does anyone know if it possible to put in a snorkel on a lj81?

[kingjnr2677]

Hi Mick,

Just wondering if you could tell me what seller you purchased the f10a engine from?

Have you received it yet?

Sorry can't help you with the snorkel question but am sure someone on here can!:)

Cheers,
James

[Mickslj81]

Hi sorry about the slow reply I got the engine from golden vitall machinery the engine was great but the import taxes handling and other duties added a heap and the import receiving company stuffed me round something severe but in the end I got the engine for around 1800 but it was pretty stressful, there is a company in Brisbane that reconditions f10a engines, for around 2000 from memory,

[Gwagensteve]

That would want to be a good rebuild though. Lots of engines that have a cheap rebuild don't last long enough to make the cost worthwhile.

Steve.

[sideways]

So the big question is, how does it go? What's the quality like?

[nzscott]

HI Mick , I just imported a F8a engine from china for my lj81 Ute . I have a couple of questions for you. can you tell me what you did on your import engine to change the dizzy? as like yours, mine is designed to fit a carry van. also did you swap the imported engines intake and exhaust manifolds for a standard f10a's ones ? and did you change the flywheel and sump for a standard Japanese Lj's ? my f8a cost me all up including shipping duty and import charges $1880 NZD about $1690AUD cheers Scotty

[UBZ]

Hey Scotty

Another NZ LJ - Awesome

You will need to swap the Dissy / Fuel Pump housing on the rear of the engine for a LJ80 / LJ81 F8A housing which points the dissy out sideways .
A Stock F10A exhaust manifold from a SJ410 will hit the chassis rail and will have to be modified to clear .
A F10A Intake manifold will fit the F8A , but you will have to run a F10A Carburetor which will be over jetted for the F8A . The F8A Carburetor has a smaller bolt spacing on the throat .
Better to use a F8A intake manifold .
You will need to Fit a F8A Sump to clear the Front Diff Pumpkin . F8A and F10A Flywheels are the same , not 100% about any differences to the Carry Flywheel .

Do you have a Doner F8A for Parts ? F8A engines are rare as fark here in NZ .
I may have a few of the parts you need stashed in the shed

Oh and pictures of your LJ81 Please

[nzscott]

hi UBZ . I have the old F8a engine that the LJ came with . I don't think the LJ's dizzy housing from my old f8a engine will work on the Chinese f8a engine. the Chinese f8a has the dizzy facing towards the intake side of the engine and down towards where the starter motor needs to go , where as my original f8a has the dizzy facing towards the exhaust side of the engine and also the gear on the original f8a's dizzy doesn't match the Chinese f8a's dizzy drive gear they are the same size but they seem to be designed to run in the opposite direction .
I think that if I can get a f10a or a or a f8a dizzy housing that has the dizzy facing the intake side of the engine I will be ok. I have done some research and I know that the f10a and the f8a both come out with the dizzy facing towards the intake side of the engine ,its just weird that my original f8a is facing the exhaust side .
I will have to change the flywheel as the Chinese f8a has the ring gear on the rear of the flywheel as the starter motor on the carry must be mounted behind the engine beside the gearbox. so if you or anyone has a dizzy housing that will do the job I'd be happy to buy it from you.
cheers Scotty ps how do I post a pic on the forum?