The bottom line, Toyota wouldn't make several major revisions to the 1UZ if they didn't know it was flawed.

 

Maxima didn't make 190hp until 1992 and only on the SE with the VE engine. Supercharged 3800s made 205hp IIRC then and way more torque.

No they didn't. I can't think of one Japanese V6 "bread and butter" sedan that had 205hp. Not Maxima, Camry, 626 V6, not even the Legend unless it was the GS with 230hp. None of them had the displacement or torque, either.

240/280 are solid numbers, even still today, and that number was very underrated. S/C 3800s were monsters. V8 power almost.

But yes, I suppose its time was up.

What issues? I never had a 1-UZ, but the 3-UZ I have is perfection.

 

240/280 out of a super charged 3.8 is solid? Toyota, Honda and Nissan make more out of smaller NA engines.

 

They didn't in the mid-late 90s. I'm not talking about the 2000s or today.

 

The original 1UZ suffered from a number of issues. Blocked EGR valves, cracked EGR pipers, ECUs using faulty capacitors and going bad, terrible IAC valves that went bad, terrible MAF sensors that went bad, clogged throttle bodies, a bunch of poorly designed coolant lines that went through every fcking component - they had a coolant line going through the throttle body valve, IAC valve, EGR valve for no good reason, and working on that engine was just a complete nightmare. These were all $1000+ repairs, and Toyota rectified them all on the latest 1UZ. It was also one of the last engines to use OBD1 so you couldn't diagnose it, and it also used old school distributor based ignition that was prone to all kind of fails. The engine also needed periodic valve adjustment because it did not have hydraulic lifters. The engine also had this gigantic mechanical fan that was in the way of everything and a huge pain to remove, with a ridiculously expensive fan pulley that was prone to failure. It also had leaking power steering pump and leaking high pressure power steering hoses that were also ridiculously expensive. Working on anything in front or top of the engine required removal of a bunch of vacuum line, coolant line and a bunch of other components. In comparison the 3UZ was such an elegant, well thought out design, and a delight to work on.

 

Wow. Yes I hear the 3-UZ is easy except for the starter.

FWIW I still see beater 400s on the road with that 1-UZ.

 

I don't think you'll see many 90-97, the 98-2000 is basically a 4.0 3UZ.

 

Well, the 2JZ matched it for torque and had more HP with less displacement. The Acura Legend engine wasn't too far off, and J30 I think made similar power.

Also, in general where the Japanese and Germans were losing on displacement and torque they made up through more efficient drivetrains and balanced output. It was ages ago of course, but somehow the V6 Maximas and Accords just felt a lot quicker and sportier than Buicks equipped with the 3800.

 

The first Accord V6 made 170hp IIRC....gutless. J30 was alright but a gas guzzler and felt slower than a 3800 bc it had significantly less torque. Now once the Maxima got the 3.0 VQ, there was a great engine.

The S/C Park Avenue in the (early?) 90s, I remember a M/T article listing all these foreign luxury cars (including every Lexus except the SC400) that would lose a 0-60 MPH sprint to the Buick.

 

Well, the first 3800 also made 170hp. Either way, my point is that most any Japanese V6 from that era was at least as reliable as the 3800, and even if the Japanese engines gave up some displacement and torque, they were put into much superior cars. I'd take a mid 90ies Avalon over any Buick of that era 10 times out of 10.

 

The first "3800" made 165hp/210lb....ten years or more before the Accord finally even got a V6.

"Bread and butter" GM cars had good pickup in the 1980s while most (not all) foreign cars could barely get out of their own way then.

Yes, I'd drive an Avalon, too, over an old Buick but not because of the engine.

 

Well, out of Wikipedia "Introduced in 1988, the 3800 LN3 would later be loosely considered the Pre-Series I, although the older 3.8 SFI (LG3) was still available that year in some models. Designated initially by VIN code C, the multiport fuel injected 3800 LN3 was a major redesign, featuring changes such as a balance shaft, on-center bore spacing, use of a 3x/18x crank-trigger system, and other improvements. This generation continued in use in several GM products into the early 1990s. It produced 165 hp (123 kW) and 210 lb⋅ft (285 N⋅m)."

At the same time 86-92 Camry V6 engine per wikipedia - "The 2VZ-FE is a 2.5 L (2,507 cc) version. Bore and stroke is 87.5 mm × 69.5 mm (3.44 in × 2.74 in) and the compression ratio is 9.0:1. Output is 159 bhp (119 kW; 161 PS) at 5800 rpm and 159 lb⋅ft (216 N⋅m) at 4600 rpm with redline limit of 6800 rpm."

So basically the same HP with a lot less displacement. Less torque but a lot more efficient drivetrain and just a vastly superior car to the junk that GM was building at that time.

Per wikipedia, the Avalon had a 3.0 1MZ-FE V6 engine making 192 hp (140 kW) and 210 lb⋅ft (285 N⋅m) of torque. So that's very much on par with the 3800, and was later upgraded with VVTi to develop 210 hp (157 kW; 213 PS) at 5800 rpm with 222 lb⋅ft (301 N⋅m) of torque at 4400 rpm.

Also, just about any V6 engine from the Japanese was guaranteed to be reliable, while GM only had the 3800 that was decent - the rest of their V6 engines were complete disasters. Heck, the 3800 was the only decent V6 engine from the big three, as whatever Ford and Chrysler built at that time was just junk.

 

Maybe a superior car, but not a superior engine. The 2.5 liter V6 in the 80s Camry has no legacy, nobody cares about it; it has no "fans." It would be absolutely annihilated by a 3800 powered car that was heavier.

Toyota did have a pretty sweet V6 by then but I'd still take a comparable 3800....they felt faster and had better low end.

Yes I already said that. The Ford 3.8 Essex was complete garbage by comparison. Ditto any Chrysler V6, including the DOHC 3.5 that went into the LH cars.

And IDK if you know this but that Camry V6 engine (2.5) that you mentioned had a bad sludge problem.

 

The 3800 Buick engine did a great job for GM for its time.....

 

It also was used in a number of Chevy, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac products. It was a classic GM work-horse power plant.