1 or 2j

green

New Member
Dec 17, 2007
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Toronto
I have a 87 with a 1j, the car rode nicely pulled very hard but in the last couple of months i have been burning oil at idle. At first I could deal with it as it was not all that bad BUT then the weather warmed up and now it is blowing so much blue smoke that the people around me in traffic have to roll up their windows. I have looked and searched about the smoke at idle, I have read that it could be the turbos(stock twins), valve seals, or the piston rings. I was told by a local shop that it would be very costly to fix anyone of those problems since the turbos would need rebuilding and if not those the head would have to come off in order to fix any of the other 2. The shop asked if I was interested in a 2j swap. Either I stick it out and find out the problem and fix it or go 2j either way I think I have to start counting my pennies.

Any help would be appreciated
 

Dylan JZ

一番 King
Oct 18, 2007
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湾岸せん
Generally 1J's I've been around suffer from either valve stem seals or smoking twins.. more often than not just smoking twins but sometimes both.

if it's valve stem seals or turbos and/or both, I would stay 1J and consider replacing the valve stem seals and going single or at the very least getting a set of stock twins that will last you a while longer.. The more costly option other is 2J or a 1.5J and generally it's an upgrade in most opinions you will hear.. though it depends on what you want to do with your car. The only way to truly weigh the options is to know specifically what is wrong with the car.
 

green

New Member
Dec 17, 2007
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Toronto
Thanks for the responses so far.

I know that either way it is going to be costly, i know that the twins are very prone to taking a poop and the option of going single is one option BUT I would like to enjoy the stock twins for then a longer period then just a couple of months. I called around a few shops and a quote I got for repairing the turbos and replacing the ceramics with steel would be around 400 each.

I have read that if it is the valve seals then the head would have to come off, the question now is that if the head is off should I might as well rebuild the whole motor? Or just fix what needs to be fixed.
 

S.A. supra

New Member
Feb 15, 2009
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Buda, Texas
I think it's your turbos. I would go single. You can get a kit from driftmotion for around $1400. Slap it on and call it a day. Check your ic pipes for oil.
 
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supra0022

New Member
Apr 6, 2010
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Suffolk, VA
I agree with everyones responses, but one more option you could look into is the PCV. The one for the 2j is directly interchangeable with the 1j, and a lot cheaper. My 1j's plugs kept fowling out because of all the oil in the cylinders, all because the PCV valve was failing. If you haven't already, I would suggest you pull all your spark plugs and check to see if they are oil soaked after running the engine at temp. If not, then chances are its not your valve seals or your PCV Valve. I would check that first. But I do agree with you. Something about the twins on the 1j are just so nice. Also the vavle seals from the 2j are compatible and if your experienced with the 1j enough it shouldn't take but a day or two to do a valve job on the head if thats all you do. I would recomend though, if you do take the head off, have it inspected and machined accordingly, then just do the entire valve job. BC has springs, titanium retainers, and valves that will help make your head bullet proof up to about 8000 rpm. I wouldn't rebuild the entire motor just because I have to pull the head off only because you can pull the head with out pulling the motor, but on the other hand if your cool with it being down for a while then I would say rebuild definitely. Thats what I am currently doing to mine, for the second time. The first was a general bring it back to stock rebuild, now I am working on bullet proofing my block and head now. Sorry for the novel.
 

green

New Member
Dec 17, 2007
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Toronto
^^ I have checked the pcv and replaced it with a camry pcv valve but problem is still there. I pulled the plugs and a couple were covered in oil.
 

92TealSupra

Supramania's Parts Man
Sep 2, 2008
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Great Lakes State
I would go with a 2JZ, if you already have swap mounts and everything the 2JZ goes in really easy. 2JZ for sure if you have the money. The 1JZis awesome I love them, but I would go with a 2jz any-day.
 

Jayhall

WHIP THE PISS OUT OF THEM
May 7, 2005
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Surrey BC
I rebuilt my 1J. I spent $1500 on parts, $1000 at the machine shop. That included all my head work too but my dad has been using the same guy for 35 years so he hooked me the fuck up. as for the re + re of the motor I did all that myself to save some coin. I needed a few other things to so my rebuild didnt end up costing my $2500 but you should be able to rebuilt for anywhere from $2500-$3000. In not sure how much a 2J swap will be worth but hopefully that helps. But like IJ said figure out for sure what the problem is for sure and go from there. You might want to replace the twins but why replace when you can upgrade for a few more bucks? I wanted to run the twins but when I was doing my swap it ended up being a little more money and less of a head ache to just go single so thats what I did
 

green

New Member
Dec 17, 2007
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Toronto
thanks for the help

Yeah I am going to do the compression and leak down hopefully before the weekend. And that is what I figured in terms of the turbos for a little bit more then I should go single but again I want to enjoy them. More then likely I am going to go single if the 2j thing does not pan out.