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From: Bruce L. Bergman on 30 Oct 2008 03:01
On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:21:44 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven(a)geemail.com>
wrote:
>Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
>
>> It's still the old General Motors "Blue Flame Six" / "Stovebolt Six"
>> at heart, side of block lifter galleries and all. If you are going to
>> buy the existing design and tooling for an internal combustion engine
>> like Toyota did, you buy one that is proven utterly and beyond a doubt
>> bulletproof - and then keep making it better...
>
>I went through three exhaust manifold gaskets on that 2F engine. When I
>sold it in 2001, the third one had blown. They were all replaced by Land
>Cruiser mechanics, not by me. When I smogged it when I sold it, the smog
>technician told me that this type of leak was not on the list of
>problems that would cause an automatic failure, and that if it hadn't
>been leaking then I wouldn't have passed. I was not impressed with the
>reliability of the 2F engine. Maybe the block is fine, but not the
>pieces around it. Also, the 2F engine wasn't powerful enough for such a
>heavy vehicle.

Yeah, the 0-60 speed sucks, you have to plan your passes with a
calendar. ("Tuesday looks open. I'll have my people call your
people... Ciao, Baby!")

But that's not what they were after. That straight six is a torque
monster and is rather reliable. An exhaust leak is annoying, but
isn't going to leave you stranded 100 miles from civilization.

>I think the worst thing about the 1985 FJ60 was that it didn't come with
>an LSD or locker, nor was one available from Toyota. I put in an
>after-market LSD after getting stuck one too many times.

It only wasn't available factory installed on a new car in the US.
Things like Limited Slip and manual locking diffs have been readily
available in the aftermarket, both factory parts through official
Toyota parts sources that ARE factory installed in the rest of the
world, and aftermarket from companies like ARB. But they can't or
won't sell them that way in the US, often because it doesn't meet some
obscure motor vehicle safety statute.

Same reason they didn't offer your choice of transmission because of
the stupid way the Government regulates cars. Each powertrain
variation (I6 Gas, V8 Gas, I4 NA diesel, I6 Turbodiesel) or
transmission variation (4 Sp, 5 Sp, 3 Sp Auto, 4 Sp OD Auto) or body
variation (2 Door Wagon, 4 Door Wagon, Cargo Van [no rear seats] or
Pickup Truck) would have had to pay another pile of inspection fees to
be run on the EPA mileage tests, and smog system tested, and submit a
few sacrificial cars to be barrier crash tested, etc.

For a low volume car like the LandCruiser, the money wasn't there to
pay the fees three or four times and go through the same battery of
tests three or four times, and sell about the same quantity of cars.
Make them all essentially the same, and only pay the fee once.

--<< Bruce >>--

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