But pretty much can be said about any Japanese NA 6 cylinder from that era - they were reliable, efficient and with less displacement usually had less low end but a lot more top end than the 3800. I'd take any of these 90ies/00s V6 or better yet 2JZ or BMW I6 engines over the current turbo 4s.

That being said, the original 1UZ was a terrible engine. It was smooth, but it was a clusterpluck of of vacuum and coolant lines, developed all kinds of leaks, had issues with coils, mafs, ecus, and was ridiculously difficult to work on. It was also terribly underpowered and returned awful gas mileage. The only thing it had going for it is that it was a non interference engine. Later revisions improved some, and when it became the 3UZ it was one of the best if not the best engines from every perspective.

 

I'd look at three criteria, in order of importance: (a) reliability, (b) efficiency, and (c) output per unit of weight.

Under "reliability," I'd have to say that I'm happy with my 3.5L Toyota V6 in my RX450h, though I don't have that much of a history with the engine. But reviews are very positive. Before this engine, I drove a Mercury Mountaineer with a 302 V8 for many years with never an issue until the very end.

As for "efficiency" I'd have to say that an Atkinson-style engine probably represents the pinnacle as measured by specific fuel consumption. The RX450h V6 is such an engine.

Finally, as for output, I really have no idea which engine is tops here, but it sure ain't the Atkinson engine, which sacrifices HP for efficiency in for form of a high expansion ratio. And I don't care about the actual HP figure, since one can simply build a bigger or smaller engine for the job.

I also don't care about DOHC versus pushrods. I'd say in general pushrods make for a more compact package while DOHC makes for more HP via increased redline.

As it turned out, my venerable 302 V8 in the Mountaineer began leaking coolant. Turned out not to be a simple fix--the timing chain cover bolts passed through the water jacket before anchoring in the engine block, and over time the threads would corrode. Ford and others said the only way to replace them was to pull the engine/trans partly out of the bay. Looking at $3K+!!! With other issues starting to appear (non-powertrain related) it was time to go to Truck Heaven..

 

From what I got from the video, the 3800 is a very easy engine to work on. That is big plus those who like to keep their car long term. The host doesn't have great things to say about the 3.6 that replaced the 3800

 

Is that really true? I figure that all those fancy technologies will just break

 

GM obviously thought so, toyota seems to have made it work though

 

GM has all that tech. They have had it for a long time. I don’t follow GM like I do Toyota. My guess is that most of their tech is no different in how long they last.

 

What six cylinder Japanese engine was there in 1989 for sedans other than the VG V-6 in the Maxima (which was a pretty good engine too)? Cressida? Both solid motors but gutless next to a 3800.

And yes, I agree. I would take almost any old 6 cylinder over these awful 2.0ts. I'd drive a late-model 3800 in a second over one.

Say whaaaaat? 250hp/260lb-ft were solid numbers in 1989. It got a solid 23 HWY and avoided the gas guzzler tax, unlike virtually every other V8 in luxury cars then.

 

You are literally the first person I have ever heard say such a thing lol

 

The 3800 went through three generation, and up to mid 90ies 3800 Series 1 made 170hp/210lb/tq, and with series 2 introduced in 95 power was 205hp/230tq, and Series 3 in 2004 with the same output. Even with the supercharger they made only 240hp/280tq with series 2. This is more or less in line with the "gutless" japanese V6 engine of that era, perhaps with some torque advantage due to much higher displacement. For instance 86-92 Camry had a 2.5 V6 making 160hp/160tq, Maxima's 3.0 made 190-220hp/200tq.

Starting in the mid 90ies most Japanese V6 engines had more HP than the 3800, despite still being smaller displacement, and by 2000's smaller NA Japanese V6 engines were making more power and torque than even the supercharged 3800. It was certainly time to retire the 3800 which just couldn't compete in the late 2000s anymore.

That being said, at the time Toyota's 3.0 NA 2JZ was really the sweet spot with balanced 225hp/225tq output, but it did come at a premium.

Numbers on paper were solid, but on pavement it failed to deliver. I owned the original LS400 with the 1UZ, and a GS430 with the 3UZ - which was basically an improved 1UZ. The 1UZ was Toyotas first V8 engine, and it did have a number of issues. By the time they ironed them out and made various tweaks during that decade, and it transitioned into the 3UZ it was barely recognizable.

 

Thats because most people sang praises to the 1UZ when it was new. Once it got some miles under its belt, it was a royal pain in the *** to work on, one of the worst. I spent a good chunk of my time wrenching on it, and I developed a special hate for it. I've also worked on the 3UZ quite a lot, and what an improvement.

 

The 1UZ-FE is widely accepted to be an excellent engine lol, FAA rated for aviation use, won many awards. To call it "terrible" is just ridiculous. Yes they had some early things that were rectified, but the LS400 would not be regarded as one of if not the most reliable cars ever made if its engine was "terrible" and "riddled with problems"



Folks in the LS400 forum who's cars are now 30 years old disagree. You're in the extreme minority with this opinion.

 

he's salty about it being better than existing BMW V8s at the time

 

There were several revisions to the 1UZ - the original 1UZ, revised 1UZ in the 2nd gen LS, and second revision in the 2.5 gen LS and GS400. The 2nd revision was totally different and it was closer the the 3UZ than 1UZ. I still stand by my statement that the original 1UZ was a terrible design.

 

LOL, nothing against the 1UZ in your 99 LS - its an amazing engine. Its the 1UZ in the original 90 LS400 that I don't like.

 

1UZ in the LS400 was slow for a V8, slower then the 6 cylinder FWD Acura Legend at the time.

My uncle gave my grandmother his 88 Pontiac Bonneville with the 3800 engine and it was very surprisingly quick up to about 60 or 70, then it lost just about all its ommph. I easily beat Mustangs and Camaro's with it all the time and it was the non supercharged engine, it was smooth and powerful up to about 60mph. It was odd because it was quicker, felt quicker then my uncle's 94 Lesabre and 96 Grand Prix even though they were newer, they both used the same basic engine, all those cars had problems though, build quality was not very good. Looking at its specs it probably felt a lot quicker then it was because the suspension was so floaty and steering so loose, it was nowhere near as quick as my GS430 which I used to shock passengers how quick it was.