Toyota Car Parts - A Series Engines

To correct the air-speed problems of the earlier genrations of engine the heads inlet ports were redesigned to have smaller cross section inlet ports, and hence has been nickanmed as the 'smallport head' The next major modification was the high-performance 4A-G, with the fuel injected version, the 4A-GE, being the most powerful The engine was retired from North American Corollas in 1991, although it continued to be available in the Geo Prizm GSi (sold through Chevrolet dealerships) from 1990 to 1992 This engine was identifiable via silver cam covers with the lettering on the upper cover painted black and blue, as well as the presence of three reinforcement ribs on the back side of the block The 1987–1998 4A-FE is the descendant of the carbureted 4A-F An AE85 chassis code may be a base model Corolla, or an SR-5, with a 4A-C engine Power was also extremely varied, from 70 hp (52 kW) at 4800 rpm in the basic California-spec 4A-C to 170 hp (127 kW) at 6400 rpm in the supercharged 4A-GZE The plus side of this design is that it improved fuel efficiency and torque, the down side is that it compromises power The first- and second-generation engines are very popular with racers and tuners because of the ease of modification, simple design, and lightness The first obvious difference are the valves, the engine's intake and exhaust valves were placed 22 The 4A-GE engines for the 1985 model year are referred to as 'blue top' as opposed to the later 'red top' engines, because the paint color on the valve covers is different, to show the different engine revision, using different port sizes, different airflow metering, and other minor differences on the engine It is speculated that the 4A-GE is actually a road-going version of the Ford Cosworth BDA racing engine, reverse engineered by Toyota as the bore and stroke dimensions are similar and there are many similarities in the engine design, making it a reliable engine for motorsports applications Also, the 4A-FE had extra power Power output ranged from just 62 hp (46 kW) at 4800 rpm all the way to 90 hp (67 kW) at 6000 rpm The use of an air flow meter (MAF) sensor, which restricted air flow slightly but produced cleaner emissions that conformed to the US regulations, limited the power to 112 hp whereas the Japanese model — which used a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor — produced 130 PS (96 kW) Production of the various models of this version lasted for five generations, from 1983 through 1991 for 16-valve versions and the 5-valve 4A-GE lasted through 1998 New performance parts are still available for sale even today because of its strong fan base The third-generation appeared in 1989 and was in production until 1991 The second generation engine was produced from 1992 until 1998 The 1·5 L (1452 cc) 3A was produced from 1979 through 1988. A kit version of the 4A-GE from Toyota Racing Development was used to power Formula Atlantic cars during this period Cylinder bore was 77·5 mm (3·05 in) and stroke was 77 mm (3·03 in). This engine has the silver cam covers with the words only written in red, hence the nickname 'red top' Toyota models that have had this engine:
Toyota MR2 AW11: Mid-engine RWD
Corolla AE85/AE86 GT-S: RWD (often referred to as generic AE86 chassis group)
Corolla AE82 FX-16: FWD
Corolla AE92 GT-S: FWD
SE Sedan (North America): (RWD from 1983-87 and FWD from 1988-91)
Some Celicas The 4A-GE was first introduced in the 1983 Sprinter Trueno AE86 and the Corolla Levin AE86 sports version Even though the valve angle is closer to what is considered in some racing circles to be ideal for power (approximately 25 degrees), its other design differences and the intake which is tuned for a primary harmonic resonance at low revs means that it has about 20% less power compared to the 4A-GE. The reliability and performance of these engines has earned them a fair number of enthusiasts and a fan base as they are a popular choice for an engine swap in to other Toyota cars such as the KE70 and KP61 This engine used a modified 16-valve head and produced approximately 240 horsepower at 8400 rpm The first generation 4AGE is nicknamed the 'bigport' engine because it had inlet ports of a very large cross sectional area The second is that it employed a 'slave cam system', the camshafts being geared together and driven off one camshaft's sprocket (both camshafts' sprockets on the G-Engine are rotated by the timing belt). It was a 2-valve SOHC like the 1A and 2A. Toyota engineers had skillfully optimized the power and torque from the company's relatively low-displacement engines The second generation had a higher profile cams design in the head, the cam cover having ribs throughout its length and the injectors in the intake manifold runners. The first-generation 4A-GE which was introduced in 1983 replaced the 2T-G in most applications Production of the first-generation engine model lasted through 1987 All non-US market 4A-GEs continued to use a MAP sensor, while all of the US-market Toyota 4A-GE came with a MAF sensor It was a 2-valve SOHC design like its predecessor. The 4A-FE is basically the same as the 4A-F (introduced in the previous generation of Corollas), the most apparent difference being the fuel delivery system. The only exception was the US-market 1990-91 Geo Prizm GSi, which was equipped with the MAP The TVIS feature is maintained While the port cross section was suitable for a very highly modified engine at very high revs it caused a considerable drop in low down torque due to the decreased air speeds at those revs Power rating varies during certain generations that had the engine. This enabled the the torque curve to still be intact at lower engine speeds, allowing for better performance across the entire speed band and a broad, flat torque curve around the crossover point Toyota designed this engine with fuel economy in mind. The 4A-GE was one of the earliest inline-4 engines to have both a DOHC 16 valve configuration (four valves per cylinder, two inlet, two exhaust) and electronic fuel injection (EFI). The effect was that at lower revs where the airspeed would normally be slow, four of the eight runners were closed, this forced all the engine to draw in all its air through half the runners in the manifold Toyota designed the engine for performance; the valve angle was a relatively wide 50 degrees, which at the time was believed to be ideal for high power production. There were California-spec (3A-C), Japan-spec (3A-U), transverse (3A-L), and swirl-intake (3A-S) versions of the same basic design. This version, although from the same series and the same generation as the 4A-GE, is different from its 'brother' in terms of performance and power. It was extremely light and strong for a production engine using an all-iron block, and produced 112 hp (84 kW) at 6600 rpm and 97 ft·lbf (131N·m) of torque at 4800 rpm in the American market. Numerous variations of the basic 4A design were produced, from SOHC 2-valve all the way to DOHC 5-valve versions. 3° apart (compared to 50° in the G-Engines). The difference between the two generations of this engine can be identified by the external shape of the engine, the first generation (1987–1993) have a more rugged look, a plate on the head which read '16valve EFI', and the fuel injectors in the head. The series has cast iron engine blocks and aluminum cylinder heads. The 1·5 L (1452 cc) 1A was produced in 1978 and 1979.
Other models equipped with the 4A-GE:
Chevrolet Nova (based on Toyota AE82 chassis; 1984–1988—these 4A-GE cars were exceptionally rare)
Geo Prizm GSi (based on Toyota AE92 chassis; 1990–1992) Additional engine modifications to extend life and the reliability included under piston cooling oil squirters, thicker connecting rods and other components. The A Series engines are a family of straight-4 internal combustion engines with displacement from 1·3 L to 1·8 L produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota joint venture partner Tianjin FAW Xiali still produces 1·3 L 8A and recently restarted production of the 5A. The 1·3 L (1295 cc) 2A was produced from 1979 through 1986. Although it is to be noted that more modern high reving engines have since closed up the valve angle to 20 to 25 degrees which is now believed to be ideal for high reving engines with high power per litre. To compansate for the reduced air speed the first-generation engines included the TVIS feature, in which dual intake runners are fitted with butterfly valves that opened at approximetly 4200 RPM. The AE86 marked the end of the 4A-GE as a rear wheel drive (RWD or FR) mounted engine, alongside the RWD AE86/AE85 coupes a front wheel drive (FWD or FF) corolla (the AE82) was produced and future Corollas/Sprinters were all based around the FF layout.

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