Lit'lphant - Toyota's Hemi V8

[oldeskewltoy]

Did you know Toyota built a hemi V8?



This is the "V" engine - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_V_engine - not a whole lot of information....

The "V" engine designation began in the 1960s, and ended in the 1990s. It began as a 2.6 liter V8, and in its last iteration it was 4.0 liters. Wiki is a bit confusing - in one place it states the V engine was superseded by the UZ, yet in another it says it was superseded by the GZ 12 cylinder. The later would be correct. While the UZ engine line is the next V8 after the V, the UZ was used in different applications then the V was, the GZ replaced the V in the only car to use either - the Toyota Century.

Some more info "gleaned" from the internet... (notice some discrepancies in power between this, and Wiki)

engine type naturally aspirated petrol
Engine manufacturer Toyota
Engine code 5V-EU
Cylinders V 8 in 90° vee
Capacity 4 litre - 3994 cc - (243.729 cu in)
Bore × Stroke 87 × 84 mm - 3.43 × 3.31 in
Bore/stroke ratio 1.04
Valve gear overhead valve (OHV)
2 valves per cylinder
16 valves in total
maximum power output: (JIS net) 164 PS (162 bhp) (121 kW) @ 4400 rpm
Specific output(JIS net) 40.6 bhp/litre - 0.66 bhp/cu in
maximum torque(JIS net) 289 Nm (213 ft•lb) (29.5 kgm) at 3600 rpm
Specific torque(JIS net) 72.36 Nm/litre 0.87 ft•lb/cu3
Engine construction light alloy head & block (reported to be 130 kilos[286#s]) for comparison a 1UZ tips the scales closer to 355#s
compression ratio 8.6:1
Fuel system EFi
bmep (brake mean effective pressure) 909.3 kPa (131.9 psi)(with a BMEP of 131 theres some serious room for improvement)
Maximum RPM unknown… but hemi article alludes to a crank capable of 9000 rpm
crankshaft bearings 5
Engine coolant Water
Unitary capacity 499.25 cc
Aspiration Normal


In my searches for info on this engine, I had heard that an old Hemi book had a few pages on the V engine... after pestering a few of my friends who build V8s... I got this...






Now the BIG downside... Toyota no longer services this engine - all gaskets will need to be custom made


So, I began my search... and it began with Moto! I had asked Moto a few months ago if he knew of any engine importers that might help me. He recommended a few. I tried them, and I also asked Robert @ EP importers - http://www.etsuryu.com . Robert was a great help and found a Toyota V engine for me! To make a long story short - Robert couldn't import the engine for me, so I passed the information (YJ auction) along to an engine importer that came recommended on Facebook. Once the engine gets here, I'll post the engine service with whom I bought my "new" 5V-EU from...

and here it is - scans came from the YJ auction




Robert did help me with 2 other significant purchases... 1 - an original starter for this engine, and 2 - a 5V-EU factory service manual!!




I expect the engine to arrive sometime late spring, or early summer.


A WHOLE lot more to come...

[oldeskewltoy]

A WHOLE lot more to come...

So, for those who only know me as "oldeskewltoy"... I'm 60 this year, and so my car life goes back to the mid 1970s.... so I've had my share of V8 powered muscle/pony cars: Shelby GT350-H, GT500, GTO Ram Air III, and my last one(1990-1994) was a 1970 Mach1 Mustang powered by a 428SCJ. A few of my friends from back then(70s) had cars like an L-88 Corvette, and a Hemi GTX. So, while I may be recognized here as a 4AGE specialist, my past has many V8 builds.

The problem with all the American V8s from that era are their mass, the 428SCJ and large spline Toploader transmission for my Mach 1 weighed in around 800#s!!! The 426 Hemi engine by itself weighed over 750#s!!


Fine for straight line performance... but trying to carve a back road with 800# iron block on the front axle is just a joke... (tires back then were also a joke)

The first time(15 years ago??) I saw a Toyota "V" hemi engine was on ebay... (note custom intake with "dual quads" )




I then did some searching, and found a few hotrods out there with the Toyota "V" Hemi engine




But there wasn't much information available other then it was the engine for the Century for nearly 30 years. As I dug deeper, I found the specs - posted above - and it was the engines mass(weight) that got me interested in it again, and then I asked Moto.....





While the engines weight is very light for a V8, there are no mention of external dimensions... all I have to go on for now is photos, it does look small in the Black Hotrod.... and it "fits" in a Corona......





more to come......

[sirdeuce]

Oh man! Been a long time since I saw one of those. I had a small collection of Toyota engines that I thought were cool a while back. I had one of those engines sitting in line with a bunch of other rare engines. Here are a few of the other engines I scooped up an 18RB(see if you can find that one), It was an 18R with twin 1bbl solex carbs. Along with that was a line up including a 3M from a 2000GT, 18RG E and U, 2TG, 3TGTEU, 4TGTEU( the 3 and 4 T engines were turbo and fuel injected with 2 spark plugs per cylinder). A little .8l opposed, air cooled 2 banger 'U' series engine I took out of a wrecked Sports 800 (I got to drive that car, I would give my MR2 for one for sure!). Couple of other rare engines as well. Had a collection of unobtainium parts from TRD as well, like a roller cam and rockers for a 20/22R and a head for an 18R block with 16 valves (never used it as no one had pistons for it), and a 4AGE head. The head was a reengineered casting with reshaped ports. Another piece that just sat on the shelf until I was pretty much forced to sell it all. Thanks for dredging up those images from the rusty files in my brain!

[sirdeuce]

I actually thought you were going to bring up the 'T" engines with that lit'lphant thing.

[oldeskewltoy]

Oh man! Been a long time since I saw one of those. I had a small collection of Toyota engines that I thought were cool a while back. I had one of those engines sitting in line with a bunch of other rare engines. Here are a few of the other engines I scooped up an 18RB(see if you can find that one), It was an 18R with twin 1bbl solex carbs. Along with that was a line up including a 3M from a 2000GT, 18RG E and U, 2TG, 3TGTEU, 4TGTEU( the 3 and 4 T engines were turbo and fuel injected with 2 spark plugs per cylinder). A little .8l opposed, air cooled 2 banger 'U' series engine I took out of a wrecked Sports 800 (I got to drive that car, I would give my MR2 for one for sure!). Couple of other rare engines as well. Had a collection of unobtainium parts from TRD as well, like a roller cam and rockers for a 20/22R and a head for an 18R block with 16 valves (never used it as no one had pistons for it), and a 4AGE head. The head was a reengineered casting with reshaped ports. Another piece that just sat on the shelf until I was pretty much forced to sell it all. Thanks for dredging up those images from the rusty files in my brain!

Of course..... I've heard a rumor the the V was used in some of the Stadium trucks.... not sure how accurate that is


Not sure why/how you got a hold of so many unique Toyota lumps... I hope you got worthwhile cash for them.......

I actually thought you were going to bring up the 'T" engines with that lit'lphant thing.

Its funny you should mention that.... while the combustion chambers are similar.... the rest of the head is significantly different




The rocker layout is also similar... but the intake rockers are unique - wrapping around the rocker - top rockers in photo





Oh a quick side note... my new phone... translates Japanese



more to come......

[sirdeuce]

I came across the engines at an importer(now defunct)
'All Engine Distributing' in Fresno CA. They had so many cool JDM engines! I'd go in just to see what he had, and occasionally I'd take one or two home.

I got 12k for all the engines and parts I had. That was back in '06.

[oldeskewltoy]

The engine has landed in L.A.. I expect it to be delivered to Portland Engine Rebuilders within the next two weeks.


more to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

My new Hemi.....



and it wasn't 10 minutes before I got bit.....




There was one shipping tragedy... and one I feared all along.... they (R&L Shippers) shattered the distributor




The WHOLE reason I bought THIS 5V-EU was this one had a distributor!!! At least they didn't break the lower half of it - that is the oil pump drive!


And a bit more disappointment... the reported mass of the engine was incorrect.....

While light for a V8, it isn't anywhere near the reported 130 kilos




More to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

Dismantle....









Intake rocker layout









more to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

The gaskets came out... kinda as you can see in the one photo above... and below



I've sent the gaskets to Cometic, they SAY they can make custom gaskets... we shall see......????



so, while waiting to hear back on the gaskets....



oiling for the cam lobes, and lifters. Interesting "windage tray" for the camshaft, and note the machined-in channels to direct oil @ the camshaft. Additionally note the structure - from the cam cap bolts holes are along the same rib as the head bolt holes.






Main studs.... full counter weighted crank, and "giraffe" aka diesel type connecting rods - similar rod type to the one used in 4U-GSE/FA20 engines




more to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

liner info





Timing chain and tensioner

[oldeskewltoy]

I want to thank Robert(and his wife), owner of https://etsuryu.com/. His help in this project has been immense, from helping me find this engine, to helping me secure the starter, and the service manual, to now saving me a great deal of time, and frustration.

As you see in previous posts my phone has been very useful when it comes to translations.... but, it hasn't been perfect, and I've used my collective automotive knowledge to "assist" where it says the right words, but gets structure a bit wrong.

Well, this is the most complex page I've had to translate.... and my phone had a really tough time with it, it took about 10 passes with the phone before it made any sense....



but I was not feeling confident about this translation, so I asked Robert if he would assist me, the following day he had sent me this, translated by his wife (who is Japanese)




While some of my phones translation was somewhat correct, what I had as the spec, and what is written were DIFFERENT... my translation was set 1mm down, measure to 2mm down, was very wrong. The spec was to set the lifter 2mm down then test/measure it 1mm further. My method would have likely condemned all the lifters

So, thank you Wife of Robert


more to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

The gaskets have arrived, I'll be laying them up on the block and intake manifold in the next day or 2 to make sure it all lines up. Still don't have timing cover, or water pump gaskets - I'll be concerned about that later if I need too.

In the mean time I've been thinking about the ignition system since the shipping company busted the distributor, which may be(is likely) a blessing in disguise.

So my plan for the ignition is a crank sensor, and cam sensor.

For the crank sensor, I'll take an existing crank sensor and mount it to the crank pulley, making sure to get it re-balanced.

For the cam sensor.....



The plan is to use the existing pick up @ the very base of the distributor - remove all but one of the spokes, and then use that spoke as the cam sensor. The remaining cast housing will be machined away at the base/mounting flange, and a small cap placed over the pick up and single spoke to keep dirt, and debris out of the way.

This should allow me to run the ignition, and if I want sequential injection. As of now, I'm thinking of running GM type wasted spark coils so I can retain the hemi look with individual wires going to each plug.



More to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

Now this is a development.....

About the time the engine arrived, I was still working on a transmission solution. The easy answer appeared again on Yahoo Japan... https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m54403331



It is an A340E for an early 90s Century, it comes with the bell housing, unique to Century, and torque converter, also unique to Century. So I bought it.


While it does provide me a transmission solution, at the time I wasn't aware of THIS:




I've spoken with the adapter's manufacturer, and he believes the 5V-EU bell housing can also be adapted!!! Since the bellhousing doesn't get modified, I'm left now with a "2 in 1" option. I can use the manual trans set up while I'm still able, and if need be, I can swap the auto back in at a future point in time IF I can no longer drive a shift, or I'd want to for some other reason...???


DEFINITELY more to come.......

[oldeskewltoy]

I has been a while....... the engine has finally been torn down to the last nut and bolt. The good news is all the bearings show little or no sign of wear (YEAH!), the oil pump, and housing also show no sign of wear(YEAH!), and the final bit of good news is the timing chain, and tensioners show only minimal wear (YEAH!)



The "bad news".... the rubber "O" ring that seals each cylinder into the block will need some kind of replacement, and the bigger bad news is there is wear in the pushrod end of the rocker arms(most of them) a solution is now undecided..... and still to be determined... the lifters also show some cupping (wear). The cam and lifters are going out to Oregon Cam to get "read", so that we learn the duration, lift, and since it is a single cam - lobe separation angle....




The block has some nifty features... the main caps are all dowelled, and all the mains use studs. Additionally the oil gally plug acts as a timing chain squirter/oiler.


the crank, and main caps





more to come......

[oldeskewltoy]

OST-059, and OST-060

[oldeskewltoy]

I can't be sure.... but there are not many hemi owners who can carry both heads at the same time....




A bit of discovery....




and a bit more discovery



btw, that is one of the new Cometic head gaskets.


More to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

A bit of discovery....





and a bit more discovery

and a bit more discovery...... I did a bit of casting.......


Exhaust....





Intake....





Both....






more to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

Intake looks really well, exhaust I guess you can improve the angle a bit.

Am I wrong in thinking these are nice looking ports for an oem head? Exhaust short side radius looks like it could use a little work but the intake looks spot on.

Considering the age of the design, and the casting techniques of the day...... These heads as cast are pretty good! There is some core shift, but for the most part they are very nice as cast.

On the intake side... a small amount of work around the seats and bowls, and making the ports consistent from one to the next

this is OST-059 cylinders 4(on right) and 3





whooops, almost forgot this....




more to come.....

[Nick94tt]

Really cool look into a platform I didnt know much of anything about.

Thanks a ton for documenting your journey with it. Makes for interesting reading. Always cool to see some of the early stages of engineering and how things branch out from there.

[oldeskewltoy]

Really cool look into a platform I didnt know much of anything about.

Thanks a ton for documenting your journey with it. Makes for interesting reading. Always cool to see some of the early stages of engineering and how things branch out from there.

What can I say... I like to show my work.......

on the intake side...

I've not yet mentioned the exhaust side...  This has to do with a few possible options open to me.



As you can see, the exhaust side exhaust valve could be larger(original is 34mm).... the seat is even large enough to accommodate a bigger valve. 





A bigger valve is EASILY available, the Toyota 2/3TC engines use a nearly identical exhaust valve(length, stem, keeper groove) except the diameter is 36mm!






And if you look back to the castings, the exhaust port appears to be able to support a larger valve.....





So... that pretty much leads me to where I am right now...  Getting the flowbench prepared to run the hemi heads. 





The thought is to test the current valve and see if we are above/below a flow ratio of 65% of the intake flow is the exhaust flow.  Above 65%, leave it alone, run a 34mm valve, with a fresh valve job.  Below 65%, and have the valve seat machined to accept the 36mm valve.



To run the head, I need another one off tool....   a "new" valve actuator... a friend will need to weld that nut(plus another) to the metal bar





more to come........ 

[Nick94tt]

What can I say... I like to show my work.......

Show away. The details, measurements, and info on obscure motors only help.

Besides, some teenager might find one in a back yard somewhere 20 years from now. Power of them internets.

[oldeskewltoy]

What can I say... I like to show my work.......

Show away. The details, measurements, and info on obscure motors only help.

Besides, some teenager might find one in a back yard somewhere 20 years from now. Power of them internets.

they might..... they might


Well, the new valve tool is ready..... I'm only using test springs in there, so it doesn't have to be too stout.




now I just need the time to finish the set up, and calibrate the bench(new set up)



more to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

people often ask me why do I post up my work... sometimes its so others can see what I've missed.



There is something in this I missed...... Note the invoice shows 2 head gaskets... not one left, and one right????


A reader "from another forum" noticed it! Why can't I have the same gasket.... because the cooling from one head to the other would be significantly different!!!






Catching this now saves me time... money... and anger issues later.


More to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

So... if you missed what was wrong with the gasket.... I made a quick and simple gif....




more to come.....

[oldeskewltoy]

Catching this now saves me time... money... and anger issues later.

not sure what the issue is.........

first they sent me this.... (both sides of same gasket) both ends of the gasket are open for coolant passage.....




so I sent Cometic the above explaining they had to close one end.


I even sent them BACK the gasket they didn't make..... hoping that they would get it right.....


they responded and sent me this yesterday....(top 2 scans of 3 panel)

As you can see, they closed up one end, but the scan shows the gasket I already have.... NOT the one I need.





So I made... what I hope to be.... a more concise photo showing what I need





I am SOOOOO glad I caught this now....

more to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

So... while I wait to see if Cometic got it right this time....



Let's see if we have any really smart people in here.... can anyone tell me what we are doing... and why it is important......






Anyone...???

[oldeskewltoy]

Protractor to set properly the angle on the new push rod "guide" ?
(Push rod stuff are totally uncommon here so I have no idea)

On a side note, clamping that cast piece directly on the vice make me cringe. I hope they are soft jaw.
I would have gone with a 1 2 3 block and strap clamps, or better, an aluminium block with tapped hole matching the one on the part (even for a "one time" job it would make sense since you have 4 of them)

The vice is only holding the lifter bore housing so we could insert the bar stock into the lifter bores so we could measure "lifter bank angle".



Without knowing the lifter bank angle we can not hope to learn the camshaft lobe center lines.

Why do we need to know that?? I'm changing the whole engine, all the specs I found show peak power occurring @ about 4400 rpm, additionally it originally was designed for use in their top of the line limo - so smooth operation/idle was important. I'm changing all of that, I'm hoping to push peak power rpm to about 5600(redline @ 6000), and to introduce a small amount of lope at idle

Sooo... the camshaft centerline is now the focus, for a smooth idle, and low rpm peak power, the likely centerline is around 116 to 118, maybe even higher, but to attain my goal, the likely centerline is closer to 110-112.



more to come....

[oldeskewltoy]

By jove, I think they got it.......




more to come...

[oldeskewltoy]

Well, the new valve tool is ready..... I'm only using test springs in there, so it doesn't have to be too stout.




now I just need the time to finish the set up, and calibrate the bench(new set up)



more to come....

yeah..... no.



This set up was a poor design... I couldn't get steady reliable settings - the arm was just too far, so I've been waiting on a better design....



and a better one arrived......



should be very steady/reliable..........




more to come...