Ae92 Sx Seca Drama

[orangeLJ]

Hi all,

 

I'm from NSW, bout an hour north of sydney, I'm probably a bit out of place on a rolla site (i own toranas and commodores...)

 

But I'm just looking for a few basic answers to a few questions regarding my partners AE92 SX seca (4AGE 100kW motor)

 

Sorry if its all been covered but I'm not too crash hot with the jap stuff, I'm more at home with early girl holdens (toranas etc) and later model aussie cars (commodores, falcons etc) then i am with late model jap stuff.

 

I've sat here for a few hours and flicked through a bunch of topics but I'm still just chasing definitive answers to the following-

 

1) I'm told the 4AGE 16V motors are notorius for drinking oil.

 

Her first SX was pretty bad on oil, used a couple litres every 500 kms. So i bought an identical smashed rolla, with 40,000kms less on the clock (and picked it up cheap) so ive rebuilt the thing with all new front clip (gaurds, bonnet, radiator support, engine cradle, etc etc) New suspension, fresh paint etc, and now we have got it on the road, its chewing the oil aswell (so I'm reasonably pissed off)

 

So how bad are they on oil? are they all like this? or is it just the ones that have had the ringer revved out of them? (young bloke that smashed it only had it for a month, and was 1 old lady owner before that)

 

 

2) would it be worth rebuilding the 16V motor? or finding another one to chuck in? I've rebuilt probably 20 motors over the years, nothing overhead cammed (mostly holden V6s and straight 6s) so i could do most assembly myself.

 

3) 20V silver top motors... Ive read alot of back and forth on here and other sites about the 20v and debate on if they are decent or not. So is it worth chucking one in? (again, mechanical knowledge isnt a problem, i could do nearly anything in the workshop) If i was to follow this route, I'm under the impression the basic block is the same (in terms of the engine mounts will fit straight in) but the intake (quad throttle bodies) and head are different (aswell as internals i assume)

 

So i would obviously need to change the ECU to suit, and would need all the bolt on auxillary parts (ie, airbox, sensors etc etc) but how in depth and time consuming would it be to drop it in? is there a big difference in wiring (will the ecu plug straight in, sensors etc)

 

EDIT: And is it legal without and engineers cert?

 

and just for fun, a picture-

 

Edited May 9, 2008 by orangeLJ

[Golberg]

1)I didn't think 16v 4AGEs had any rep for going through oil unless they are rather old. How many K's are we actually talking here?

 

2)From what I've heard they aren't that big a deal to rebuild shouldn't be too hard.

 

3)IMHO if its just going to be a daily, just grab a jap import 100kw 4AGE, low k's and drop it in. Shouldn't cost an arm and a leg because you wont need a computer, loom or much of anything apart from the bare motor.

[7shades]

Welcome to Toyotaland, where everything really is as simple as it seems.

Basically, pick an engine with an 'A' in it, and it'll bolt n.

You could rebuild the current engine, but personally I reckon the 16V are getting a bit long in the tooth... fine for a rwd conversion in a shitter ke70, but in a newer car like the '92 I'd seize the opportunity to upgrade to something a bit more smooth and refined like a 20v.

 

Silvertop are cheap as chips, rev like buggery and won't give you any dramas.

Blacktop are even better, slightly pricier.

 

Just make sure you get it comp tested first, and pop the rocker cover off too see how clean it is. The Japanese aren't renowned for their fastidious servicing habits and a lot of the import engines we get haven't seen an oil change in 50 thousand k's.

Edited May 9, 2008 by 7shades

[orangeLJ]

Cheers for the replies.

 

The car has just over 201,000kms on the clock. The wear and tear in the car matches that figure (by best judgement)

 

I'm just overly pissed off that BOTH of the SXs weve had (identical down to the colour, one just had more Kms) have had the same drama. I could handle say a litre every 5000kms (general service intervals anyway) but a litre and a half (1.5) every 800-1000kms is a bit ridiculous.

 

So just a few more queries on the 20valve (silver and blacktop)

 

Is a straight swap legal WITHOUT a engineers certificate? I'm assuming aslong as I stick with the pollution gear that came with the 20v, then I shouldn't have too much drama.

 

And ive gone through all of the engine conversion threads, but havent found anything that can decisively tell me how much i need to change (loom and ECU wise) to fit a 20 valve.

 

Does the 20v ecu plug into the old 16v loom? or is it just a matter of swapping over the plug to suit, or do i need to rewire the whole engine loom?

 

Or alternatively has anyone done a write up on a 16v to 20v swap in the AE92 SX?

 

Cheers,

Chris

[Trev]

Maybe you are putting in a oil that is too thin, Even with 330'xxxkm's on the clock mine didnt chew oil like that.

[orangeLJ]

Nope, not that one.

 

We were/are running 40/70 weight oil (thickest stuff around)

 

i was running 20/50 but was chewing through that, and in the end, before i decided the other one was stuffed (was more then just the oil burning wrong with it) i went to 40/70, and its what I'm running now this one has had a drama.

[Trev]

Nope, not that one.

 

We were/are running 40/70 weight oil (thickest stuff around)

 

i was running 20/50 but was chewing through that, and in the end, before i decided the other one was stuffed (was more then just the oil burning wrong with it) i went to 40/70, and its what I'm running now this one has had a drama.

 

Shit ey, I justrun 20/50 in mine, What brand you using, I have seen comments from people that different brands were burning more than others, camerondownunder88 on here runs 1 brand that reduced the consumption and it was the same weight as the old stuff, I use penrite, Its been the best stuff i have used.

[orangeLJ]

penrite 40/70 at the moment, but ive run penzoil and valvoline.

 

I run penzoil 40/70 penzoil race blend in my worked 202 (straight 6 holden engine) in my torana for ages without any dramas, used to run 20/50 penzoil without any trouble aswell.

 

I'm just at a bit of a dead end with these things.

[Trev]

penrite 40/70 at the moment, but ive run penzoil and valvoline.

 

I run penzoil 40/70 penzoil race blend in my worked 202 (straight 6 holden engine) in my torana for ages without any dramas, used to run 20/50 penzoil without any trouble aswell.

 

I'm just at a bit of a dead end with these things.

 

You don't own the orange lj 2 door 6 banger in ipswich do you?

[MYSTIK[RL]]

Silvertop are cheap as chips, rev like buggery and won't give you any dramas.

Blacktop are even better, slightly pricier.

 

Just make sure you get it comp tested first, and pop the rocker cover off too see how clean it is. The Japanese aren't renowned for their fastidious servicing habits and a lot of the import engines we get haven't seen an oil change in 50 thousand k's.

 

 

4ages arent known for chewing oil either, mines got 252,xxx on the clock, and i use shell helix 20/50 and its used maybe half a litre mainly due to a small leak on the distributor o-ring.

 

plus most of the so called "low kilometer" motors would have similar of km's on the clock when compared to your original 16v (seems cynical, buts it's to be likely true)

 

silvertops are also getting long in the tooth, your looking at motor thats close to 14/15 years old at its oldest.

blacktops are atleast 10 years olds.

 

my personal opinion is to rebuild the 16v that way you have a "fresh" motor rather than a "low kilometer" motor with an unknown service history.

[Trev]

I drove a customers silvertop ae71 wagon the other week and i had to get into it to see if it had ignition break down still (after new cap, rotor & leads) but it was fine, I honestly wasnt impressed by the performance of the engine at all, This was a nice clean conversion and ran the standard ecu, Id save my money and stick with the 4age smallport that the car already carries as the upgrade isnt anything to write home about.

[orangeLJ]

You don't own the orange lj 2 door 6 banger in ipswich do you?

 

 

naaah not me mate.

 

this is my old girl-

 

I'm from the central coast, NSW, and mines a four door.

 

 

 

 

 

Missus drove 700 odd kays on the weekend (up the coast and back) to visit some relos, used about the same amount of oil again. I'm looking into rebuilding the bloody thing this week. From what everyone has said, I'm not too sure on spending $1500 on a halfcut from the yellow nations, and having it end up with the same problems.

[Trev]

Thats a tidy lookin 4 door.

 

How much oil is the corolla burningin 700k's?

[cuzzo]

I would say the 4age with kms on it is more likely to leak oil than burn oil.

 

Leaks from the dizzy are pretty common.

 

Is there smoke or is it just needing topping up constantly?

[orangeLJ]

Using about 1- 1.5 litres every 800-100kms

 

It has a small leak around the distibutor seal, but nothing that would use THAT much oil.

 

It blows a bit of smoke on startup (which points to leaking in the cylinders/ worn rings) But once its running its fine, but if i run it over 6 grand it blows puffs of smoke on changes.

 

I'm gunna chuck it up on the hoist this weekend and have a look for the small leak (10c piece on driveway) but I'm seriously just thinking of cracking the head off and having a look (just need to add it to the list of jobs to do...

 

This keeps me pretty occupied-

 

 

 

Three of those need resto jobs, aswell as changing the diff in my daily driver (VT commonwhore)

 

I thought i was done with her SX, and was relieved i could do some other things, but now it seems i was wrong!

 

Thanks for the help guys.

 

I'm still hearing mixed things about the 4AGE 16V motors. (ive had a few people tell me theirs ate oil from new)