Toyota Car Parts - A Series Engines

This engine has the silver cam covers with the words only written in red, hence the nickname 'red top' 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 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 engineers had skillfully optimized the power and torque from the company's relatively low-displacement engines The third-generation appeared in 1989 and was in production until 1991 The 4A-GE was first introduced in the 1983 Sprinter Trueno AE86 and the Corolla Levin AE86 sports version Also, the 4A-FE had extra power The engine was succeeded by the 3ZZ-FE, a 1·6-liter engine with VVT-i technology It is visually similar to the first-generation engine and the power output is unchanged, but the upper cam cover now featured red and black lettering 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) 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 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 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 Although both have the same displacement and are DOHC, they were optimized for different uses 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 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 During rising engine speed, a slight lurch can occur at the crossover point and an experienced driver will be able to detect the shift in performance 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 The first- and second-generation engines are very popular with racers and tuners because of the ease of modification, simple design, and lightness 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 Torque was less spread from 75 ft·lbf (101 N·m) at 2800 rpm to 89 ft·lbf (120 N·m) at 4000 rpm. The first generation 4AGE is nicknamed the 'bigport' engine because it had inlet ports of a very large cross sectional area 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 Numerous variations of the basic 4A design were produced, from SOHC 2-valve all the way to DOHC 5-valve versions. 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 The engine was used in the Toyota Corolla Sedan from 1988 to 1998 and in the 5th Generation Celica ST models from 1989 to 1993 both in North America and Europe, as well as the Camry from '87 to '91 The plus side of this design is that it improved fuel efficiency and torque, the down side is that it compromises power This raised the airspeed which caused better cylender filling and also better fuel atomisation 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 Applications:
1992 Toyota Corolla Levin, Sprinter Trueno AE101 (silver top): All GT models (GT Apex, GT-V etc)
1995 Toyota Corolla Levin, Sprinter Trueno AE111 (black top): All BZ models (BZG, BZR, BZV etc) Toyota sponsored the Champ Car Atlantic Championship from 1990 to 2005 All 4A engines have a displacement of 1·6 L (1587 cc). The 1·5 L (1452 cc) 3A was produced from 1979 through 1988. The second generation engine was produced from 1992 until 1998. 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 series began in the late 1970s with the 1A, an SOHC engine with a displacement of 1. In between, many interesting variations were produced, including one of the first 5-valve engines (the 4A) and the 170 hp (127 kW) supercharged 4A-GZE. Toyota designed this engine with fuel economy in mind. This engine revision upped the power to 138 hp (103 kW) at 7200 rpm with a torque of 110 ft·lbf (149 N·m) at 4800 RPM 5 L. Cylinder bore was enlarged from the previous 3A engines at 81 mm (3·19 in), but stroke remained the same as the 3A at 77 mm (3·03 in). 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 Much confusion exists, even among dealers, as to which models contained what equipment, especially since Toyota split the Corolla line into both RWD and FWD versions, and the GT-S designation was only well known as a Celica version at that time 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. 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. 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. Toyota models that had this engine:
Corolla AE85 (JDM)
Carina AA60The 4A was produced from 1980 through 1998. 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. 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. Cylinder bore was 76 mm (2·99 in) and stroke was 71·4 mm (2·81 in). 3° apart (compared to 50° in the G-Engines). 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) This change in the intlet ports negated the need to have the need for the earlier twin runner manifold and was replaced with a single runner manifold The second-generation 4A-GE produced from 1987 to 1989 featured larger diameter bearings for the con-rod big ends (42mm) and added four additional reinforcement ribs on the back of the engine block, for a total of seven. Additional engine modifications to extend life and the reliability included under piston cooling oil squirters, thicker connecting rods and other components. New performance parts are still available for sale even today because of its strong fan base. Also of note the pistons were changed to accept a 20mm fully floating gudgen pin unlike the 18mm pressed in pins of the earlier versions. The 1987–1998 4A-FE is the descendant of the carbureted 4A-F. 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. Toyota increased the compression ratios from 9·4:1 to 10·3:1. 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. An AE85 chassis code may be a base model Corolla, or an SR-5, with a 4A-C engine. A kit version of the 4A-GE from Toyota Racing Development was used to power Formula Atlantic cars during this period.

Visit Toyrolla's Toyota Car Parts