4EFTE life span

FendtLad

Member +
Hi all,
have just purchased a 1991 EP82 GT Starlet. I has done 309,000kms and still original. I have thought maybe about pulling the engine and rebuilding it for piece of mind. Just wondering what kms people have got to before having any issues with engine wear etc?
 

Jay

Admin
If it's still running without any issues a lot of people would leave it alone. Rebuilds are usually done when something goes awry.

You could do compression and leakdown tests to get an idea of engine condition and, if you were really suspicious, visually inspect the camshaft and crank surfaces for wear to pre-empt any issues.

My auto GT needs a teardown at 260,000 due to sticking piston rings but it's had a hard life.
 

SKINY

Lifer
If it ain't broke don't fix it :)
Like Jay's mine has suspected gummy rings, not the haribo type tho :) 149xxxkm on it. It puffed smoke out occasionally but nothing lasting, no water or oil usage to speak off really either, compression tested was just over 150psi across the board.
It's parked last 3 years and started up weekly, nothing unusual to report there, the 2 years I drove it daily it didn't get an easy time, ran it at .8 bar boost.
Recently started working at it again and I've no plans for the engine as its not needed yet :)
 
DO NOT rebuild it. old 4e engines are best left until showing signs of impending death. by all means inspect away.
these are not cars that have been treated well. most are thrashed at some point in the last 30 years.

i am definately sour after my experiences with these engines, but bear in mind, i personally think mine was the worst on earth.
i opened my 310 thousand kilometre 4efte and it essentially Ruined me financially. 12k down the drain. i regret it intensely.
i-will-send-you-to-jesus-jesus.gif
 
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Djaniero

Member +
DO NOT rebuild it. old 4e engines are best left until showing signs of impending death. by all means inspect away.
these are not cars that have been treated well. most are thrashed at some point in the last 30 years.

i am definately sour after my experiences with these engines, but bear in mind, i personally think mine was the worst on earth.
i opened my 310 thousand kilometre 4efte and it essentially Ruined me financially. 12k down the drain. i regret it intensely.
View attachment 8946
What went wrong with yours man, and how come it was so costly to rebuild?
 
What went wrong with yours man, and how come it was so costly to rebuild?
oooh boy. Buckle up.



so what happens when previous owners do not do scheduled seal replacement, And overall servicing to maintain an engine?
well. it leaks out of EVERY seal. all at once. add to that, the 74mm stock pistons in a 74.5mm bore indicating a previous forged setup was swapped out to possibly recoup costs secretly by the previous owner. All up this resulted in, blowby, AND massive oil leaks,


6k of parts, bearings, seals, forged rods, pistons etc, and another 6k of labor. only for it to die 2600 ish k's later, randomly.



lets not even talk about the wait times, on the finished product and parts shipping. also taxes on GBP > AUD, EURO > AUD USD > AUD
YEN > AUD,
 

Djaniero

Member +
oooh boy. Buckle up.



so what happens when previous owners do not do scheduled seal replacement, And overall servicing to maintain an engine?
well. it leaks out of EVERY seal. all at once. add to that, the 74mm stock pistons in a 74.5mm bore indicating a previous forged setup was swapped out to possibly recoup costs secretly by the previous owner. All up this resulted in, blowby, AND massive oil leaks,


6k of parts, bearings, seals, forged rods, pistons etc, and another 6k of labor. only for it to die 2600 ish k's later, randomly.



lets not even talk about the wait times, on the finished product and parts shipping. also taxes on GBP > AUD, EURO > AUD USD > AUD
YEN > AUD,
Aww man. Sorry to hear that. Seems like you had a nightmare to say the least.
Dishonest sellers and Jap cars seem to go hand in hand these days.
Did you get to the bottom of what caused it to die 2600ks later?
 

Calum122

Member +
Ouch, yeah similar experience myself. Although I'm still waiting on parts. Engine went pop 3 years ago, in hindsight I should have merely "botched" the repair and it would probably still be going now. But me being me, I like to get it all repaired and operating correctly, so here I am waiting on rods amongst other parts, meanwhile parts for these cars are just vanishing!

Either way, for me it's not about driving it, just enjoy working on it and playing around with it!
 
Aww man. Sorry to hear that. Seems like you had a nightmare to say the least.
Dishonest sellers and Jap cars seem to go hand in hand these days.
Did you get to the bottom of what caused it to die 2600ks later?
the engine now belows to Robert biviano, on the Au starlet page. so as for how it died, that is no longer my concern :) i moved on.

Ouch, yeah similar experience myself. Although I'm still waiting on parts. Engine went pop 3 years ago, in hindsight I should have merely "botched" the repair and it would probably still be going now. But me being me, I like to get it all repaired and operating correctly, so here I am waiting on rods amongst other parts, meanwhile parts for these cars are just vanishing!

Either way, for me it's not about driving it, just enjoy working on it and playing around with it!
i love working on them, no matter what breaks, however at the end of the day if she cant drive, then i have no motivation left
 
Anyway, coming back to this with a real answer.

i would expect a full serviced Automatic, STOCK, 4efte ep82 to reach 500 thousand K's quite easily.

however. i would also say that manuals Vary in damage because "sick FWD Burnout noises"

that video link shows what i mean. but i am sure you already knew. in it you can see nicer owners, and not great ones and everything in between

 
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