Reliability of Blacktop 4AGE's

[RICERX]

Hey guys,

Done a bit of a search, couldnt find exactly what i was after so decided to post:

I'm in the market for an AE111 BZ wagon but need a bit of advice on blacktop 4AGEs. (im a born again Toyota man after 3x Nissans and 1x Honda)

Ive seen a lot of blacktops on TM that have been rebuilt between only 150,000km and 200,000km (one after only 100,000km!) and it worries me a bit.

Is the reason behind this the blacktops week/light rods and them failing after people drive them hard for a while, or something even more sinister and internals failing with just normal driving?

i had a blue top AE82 that had done 230,000km and gave it arseholes and it kept going all the way to 300,000km before dying i'm told. i know it might be a case of 'they dont build them like they used to' but if there is a big problem with blacktops i'd like to know.

i like the odd bit of camping so it would need to be able to cart a bit of weight in the back once or twice a year - does the blacktop handle hauling a bit of weight ok or is this stress the same as revving it high for a long period? i know if the rods do fail i'll rebuild it with silvertop rods but would like to avoid the downtime if possible.

Any particular things to look out for while test driving would be much appreciated also. i'll be looking for an auto one too as it'll be a daily driver in akl.

Cheers,

Ben

[pc]

If the rods fail you probably wont be 'rebuilding' it... I think most people call it replacement

[Bling]

They are pretty reliable if you keep all the fluids topped up. They usually use oil, and so half the rebuilds are probably related to people not being auto savvy and not checking the oil, which leads to bearings going.

Only run it on 98 too due to detonation on lower fuels.

It will carry ya gear no worries, I've filled mine to the brim with camping gears/booze and driven 1500km without a problem. Once again, tho, keep the oil etc topped up.

done 45,000km in mine and just done the usual service every 5000km, never missed a beat.

[avinesh]

my mate has a balck top an has had it for a long time, he rapes that thing......but keeps service upto date, the only thing he breaks are gearboxes engine is still in top notch

[Flunk]

ive done about 90,000k's in mine... currently sitting on 140.. never had an issue with it, except the usuals.. fluids/brake pads/clutch etc.

[RICERX]

thanks guys, that has aleviated any fears i had.

i was hoping toyota didnt go backwards in their pursuit of HP and sacrifice reliability...

time to go shopping then!

[BigDon]

I have two cars with the b/ts in them. Ones my race car 140ks and it has proven reliable. The other is my street car 173ks which also sees 8k rpm on a regular basis.

Just keep the oil topped up and clean. I change oil and filter every 5k in the street car and every two events in my race car.

[Zak]

I think the problem is more people just not looking after there cars, like servicing every 20 - 30k instead of the proper 10k services they should have.

[RICERX]

righto, well i've found one and for a very good price.

it does have the common ticking noise at idle (hydraulic lifters?) from under the cam cover, is there a way of getting rid of this? oil change has been done recently.

cheers

ben

[sergei]

righto, well i've found one and for a very good price.

it does have the common ticking noise at idle (hydraulic lifters?) from under the cam cover, is there a way of getting rid of this? oil change has been done recently.

cheers

ben

It doesn't have hydraulic lifter.
They are generally noisier than most of the cars in the valve area.

[Bling]

thats just the 4 extra noise valves installed at the factory

[1I1]

Normally intake cam gear noise?

[RICERX]

thats a relief - the old man is in the process of installing a silvertop in his aw11 and told me tonight on the phone that it is normal for 20V engiens to make a bit more noise.

well i bought the one i was looking at and am well pleased!

just took it for a blat on the south-western and very impressed by the power!

[Bling]

just make sure to keep an eye on the oil

[RICERX]

will do, am planning on putting it over the pit on the weekend at work and going over it with a fine toothed comb to find any problems i may have inherited.

it was too cheap to say no to really so im expecting something to be wrong!

what oil do you recommend running in these engines? (or will i find that info somewhere else....)

[BigDon]

I use castrol gtx protec 15w 40 in both my blacktops. Seems to do the trick and is cheap so that the inevitable topping up aint so bad. I like fram filters with the non slip grip.

[touge rolla]

what oil do you recommend running in these engines? (or will i find that info somewhere else....)

The oil debate is always huge and every person will recommend something different, though Castrol protec and magnatec are popular.

[kim0663]

hmm my silvertop is sounding like a diesel atm lol,

im suspecting its too thin oil. i used mobil super syn which is like 10w40?

is that too thin for it?

[Crampy]

I used Pennzoil "Family car" and "Multi-Vis" in my Blacktop BZ-G Trueno.
Seemed to go alright. I tried a lighter oil (can't remember what it was) and made engine sound louder and used more oil than usual.

Pennzoil is in a 5 litre pack, so you have enough to do your top ups until the next oil change.

[Bling]

I go with Magnatec and usually use a another 4L between services But I do like to rev it occasionally so its all part of life. I tried the 15/40 version below magnatec and it didn't last long at all. Still, oil is only marginally more expensive than fuel these days so who cares!