Banjo Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 Hey guys, it's Sunday morning, 9:45am and I'm in a spot of bother. Background: Best mate ! (wife) blew the head gasket in my KE55 coupe during the week. Thermostat jammed closed (Oh I hate those troublesome things) and she didn't notice the temperature guage climb into red area. (have you ever met a girl that drives & looks at the guages at the same time ) Picked me up from doctors & said the brake are making a funny smell. Lift bonnet. Smoke coming out between head & block. Ohhhh ! Tow car home, lock wife in broom cupboard as punishment, & remove head yesterday. Strip down & clean & get ready to take off the local engine recond. factory next week for valve faces, grind & head skim etc, (as you do after such an occurence) Drop one split collet on driveway (gravel) and after two hours on hands and knees looking like a Ben Landin devotee', give up. Gret Idea !!! I've got a donor 4k engine in back of garage, that came out of my first KE55 coupe, whose shell went to Toyota Heaven, after developing cancer. (I kept it's heart & soul) Oh. and I remembered I had overhauled head not long before it was taken off road, so should be in good nick. Off with head, clean up, (with that great $1.99 spray degreaser you get in SuperPro) and on with head last night, new gaskets, torqued everything OK. This morning, all I have to do is fit rocker gear, adjust tappets & throw the radiator etc back in. Easy ? No ! I decide to use the pushrods that came with the donor head because they are cleaner. Better check they are the same. Oh no. They are about 5mm shorter than the ones in my engine. Refer to good book but only difference Haynes Manual states with 4K was a slightly different compression ration for 4K fitted to manual & auto model, but no details. Quick check between my engine reveals the following. Donor 4K engine number 4K 588 series My 4K engine number 4K 902 series Donor 4K engine had dished piston tops with recess for valves (Ohhh!) My 4k engine has flat top pistons like the picture in manual. Donor 4K engine has overall thickness of about 76mm. My 4K engine has head overall thickness of about 81 mm. Rocker shalf supporting bosses are the same height. Donor engines pushrods are about 5mm shorter that those from my engine. My 4k engine is already assembled with donor head, so I adjust tappets and turn it over with small torch down spark plug hole. Flat piston head does not touch the valves during any part of the cycle travel. All this background is to ask the following questions. What variations were there in the Toyota 4K engine series. Can the heads I have described above be swapped. What the hell does my compression ratio finish up being, and will it degrade performance significatantly. Have done a quick thread search on 4K head swaps but can find nothing. Lots on putting the 3K head on the 4K engine, but nothing I can find for the situation I find myself in now. Can anyone help. PM me if you have some experience with my problem. (no, not about how to get wife out f broom cupboard) and I will be most grateful !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banjo Posted November 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 O.K. Nick suggested I have a look at Super Jamies website, which was most helpful, in that I now know there are a lot of different variations of the 4K engine. On my ID plate on the engine bay rear firewall, the plate says my KE-55 has a 4K-1 290-ML engine fitted. However, thats not to say the engine presently installed is the original after 24-25 years. My 4k engine has flat top pistons, & has engine no: 4K9029539. The head on this engine, has the number "3" in the head casting between number 3 & 4 spark plug. This appears to make it a fairly standard 4K engine. The donor 4K engine no: 4K5880640 appears to be a heron type, with the "D" shaped "dished" piston tops. This could make it a 4K-E or 4K-U engine according to Jamie's website. It has the number "12" cast in the head between 3 & 4 spark plug. The other difference I have measured is the length of the head bolts. My 4K "standard" engine with thick head (81mm) has head bolts 99mm long. The donor 4K engine (76mm thick head) has head bolts which are 97mm long. Trouble is, I've unknowingly used the slightly longer head bolts with the 76mm thick ead, so maybe they have got to come out. Anyway, I trust the above info, allows someone with prior experience to advise wether these heads are interchangeable or no. If not, then it's off with this head, and a full head recond for the original head next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demuire Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 I know about the different sorts of K engines (or rather, the fact that there are the flat piston and dish piston sorts), but not much more. However, Doug (Felix) would most probably know the answer to your querries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irokin Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 sounds like a 4K-U to me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 yup, with D shaped pistons it would be a 4K-U. i don't think i would run the dished head on a flat top bottom end. from memory you end up with something like 15:1 CR..... not good. it would probably run hot, ping like mad and blow another head gasket real quick. sorry, not what you want to really hear atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 15:1 ey..sounds like its almost ready to turbo :dry: :insane: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 no, other way round. stick the normal head on the dished bottom end and you have around 7.5:1....perfect for forced induction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banjo Posted November 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 Thanks Felix ! No, not what I wanted to hear ATM, but better now, than be sorry after I got it all together, and it "don't WORK". Only 15 minutes to get the 4K-U head off. Thanks a lot ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 you're welcome :insane: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banjo Posted November 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 Anyone got a 4K split collet for valve retainer lying around. Just need one. Neighbour saw me on my knees looking like Ben Ladin devotee & called ASIO. Must get KE-55 back on road this week, so I can let wife out of broom cupbard ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 where abouts are you? if you are near Ipswich i have quite a few bits and pieces laying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 lol yeah - i was being very scarstic :insane: 15:1 on a K motor is crazy ! Good luck with it all banjo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwarf Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 Northside Brisbane, feel free to come and rape my collection of heads..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwarf Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 Tony Scott's KE70 used to run 15:1 and ran on some evil Jungle Juice. Now decompressed to 11:1 to run Premium. Yes that car used to be quicker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy Posted November 28, 2004 Report Share Posted November 28, 2004 that thing is very_fast. And to think it was quicker :insane: ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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