100 - Series Engine Failure - Help

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If you drove it like that, the piston would be in about 100 little pieces in the bottom of the oil pan. And that break made a loud bang whenever it happened.

I'd offer to pay for something, but imo they broke the engine while in their care and custody.
 
The Helicoil thing is a very profession job and needs lots of patience.
My cousin broke the sparkplug and then went to the heli coil fix. We watched many video's and saw all are cleaning the interior with vacuum and then checking it with a probe camera. But the mechanic who did his pathfinder, went straight ahead and started the truck. It started with a loud bang and now it runs, but consumes oil!

IF something got inbetween the piston and the head, there should be marks on the piston and I don't see any.
 
Here are the facts on the damages:

1- broken piston looks fresh so the engine barely ran when the piston broke, otherwise, you'll see oil, exhaust, gas deposit everywhere in the cyclinder head and major damage in the cylinder bore which you don't have.

2- minor bore damage means the engine bare turn several RPM then shut of, not 700 RPM X minutes you drove = xxx, xxxx rpm, which would shows major scoring/ damage.

Theory is they probably dropped something in there then starting the engine and heard problem so they shut down right away, which explains the fresh / untainted damaged in the piston and minor cylinder bore damage.
 
Thanks for all the replies and input, as well as some offers to help a stranger. This is a great site. I did speak with Lextech as well as Terry at Mcintosh Imports. Tough for them without putting their hands on it but the consensus opinion is the same...minus the dealers. Terry recommended Auto Tech and they have been great so I have a mechanic on my side. I know y'all love your Cruisers as I do so you can understand my pain.
My slight hesitation has been I do not want to falsely accuse especially when I do not fully understand the mechanics. But the internet is a powerful tool. Also I have apparently had different technicians working on it. The mechanic who had all the problems with the spark plug and helicoil was not the same mechanic who pulled the cylinder head and found the cracked piston. The first mechanic is out with back problems, probably not the most helpful thing when trying to install a helicoil in the #8 cylinder. The second mechanic said all he knew was that it was running when they pulled it in and that it wouldn't run after they worked on the plug and he got to it. So I have no idea how many hands have been on it. I will be speaking with the dealer tomorrow and will continue my march. I will report back in case anyone is curious how this goes, and perhaps to take one or two of you up on offer to help. Thanks again for your willingness to read my ramblings and shed some light, I have read posts here before and you guys know your stuff so who better to ask. I hope my posts in the future are about the things I actually wanted to do to the truck.
 
Good luck @rahjr1. I bought my '03 about 3 years ago with 88K miles on it so I feel your pain. I've got 125K on it now with original plugs so your post has motivated me to r&r those this weekend. We all buy these rigs because stuff like this doesn't typically happen. Reach out to @ponytl as he's put a couple of 4.7's in his LC's and may have some advice for you.
 
I can't speak to what caused the broken piston, but I can tell you for certain you didn't drive in there with a piston that has broken off at the wrist pin and has taken the entire piston skirt with it!

That is just such an incredible claim as to be laughable. As already mentioned....it is plain the break is 'fresh'.

You are being screwed over big time!
 
May be request a Regional Lexus Factory Field Engineer /Technician that usually provide support to the local dealer and have him look at you ur problem and explain what could happened? That will put the dealer on the spot where they might volunteer to rectify your problem than getting bad rap.

Sometime you have to tell them they screwup/incompetent! I had to ask for the BMW dealer's Supervisor Master Tech to come for me to show him the leaking water pump under warranty that they seem to can't verify. BMW won't pay them for warranty service if they can't prove problem.

Also seems like the first tech screw up then go on sick leave/bad back so no one can blame him, left you holding the bag.
 
Time to play hard ball. Tell them you've talked this issue over with a number of experts (aka this thread) and you're being told that there is no way in hell that you drove your rig to the dealer with broken piston. Tell them you're going to settle for nothing less than replacement engine with fewer miles than yours, with a new timing belt to boot. Assure them that this course of action is the cheapest way to fix the problem THEY caused. Assure them that the hours their mechanics, service writers and service managers spend replacing your engine will be dwarfed by the hours they will spend in depositions and courtrooms if they don't fix the problem THEY caused.

It sure sounds like your truck had the exact same symptoms as countless others (including me) who have experienced a bad ignition coil. I'd sure like to take your ignition coils and test them in a good engine to see if one of them is bad.

bpe3
 
NOPE NOPE NOPE. Call the corporate 800 service line for the manufacturer (assume it is Toyota?) and open a case. Get them involved right away. No vehicle with a piston like that moves under it's own power, much less drives at 40 MPH for any distance. They broke your motor, stand firm and make them pay for it. Corporate Ford customer service made the local Ford dealer pay for a new convertible top for my wife's Mustang when they messed it up, cost the dealership $3500 out of their pocket to make it right. Don't let these guys screw you.
 
Some good advice on this page (Toyota Customer Service Complaints – Make Your Voice Heard)

The phone numbers here are invaluable...as well as giving a pretty good idea of what states fall into what region.

NATIONAL TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE HOTLINE: 800-331-4331

TOYOTA REGIONAL OFFICE PHONE NUMBERS:

Boston Office (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI) 508-339-5701
New York (NY, NJ, CT) 973-575-7600
Central Atlantic (PA, VA, WV, MD, DE) 410-760-1500
Southeast Region (NC, SC, AL, GA, FL) 954-429-2000
Cincinnati Region (MI, OH, KY, TN) 513-745-7500
Chicago Region (MN, WI, IL, IN) 630-907-0150
Kansas City Region (ND, SD, NE, KS, IA, M0) 816-891-1000
Gulf States Region (OK, TX, MS, LA, AR) 713-580-3300
Portland Region (AK, WA, OR, ID, MT) 503-493-4900
Denver Region (WY, CO, UT, NM, AZ, NV) 303-799-6776
San Francisco Region (Northern CA) 925-830-8300
LA Region (Southern CA) 949-727-2700
 
The onus is on the dealer to fix the problem they created- they know it but they may try and wriggle out of responsibility. You'll really need to stand firm on holding them accountable and to providing a reasonable remedy. Dealer owns the problem.

What is a reasonable remedy? Completely rebuilding your engine? Accepting a high mileage junkyard engine with unknown un documented history? Dealer buying your truck?

It will be hard for you to know the true damage with out independent inspection (cause you cannot trust the dealer to diagnose with out bias) cylinder may be toast from what ever fell in, crankshaft might be tweaked, for sure the head is done.

It's a complicated scenario to remedy- be patient, stick to your guns.
 
04UZJ100 said:
Yelp, Facebook, Instagram. Start commenting on your current and ongoing service saga.
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NO!

Premature and irresponsible at this juncture.


Until the matter has been discussed with the Dealer and other Entities that can help, no definitive 'position' by the Dealer has been established. Any knee-jerk reactions will only make matters worse. There is a reasonable 'process' to follow.
 
gatormark91 said:
NOPE NOPE NOPE. Call the corporate 800 service line for the manufacturer (assume it is Toyota?) and open a case. Get them involved right away. No vehicle with a piston like that moves under it's own power, much less drives at 40 MPH for any distance. They broke your motor, stand firm and make them pay for it. Corporate Ford customer service made the local Ford dealer pay for a new convertible top for my wife's Mustang when they messed it up, cost the dealership $3500 out of their pocket to make it right. Don't let these guys screw you.
Click to expand...

This is a good advice here. I had kinda similar problem with Lexus. Getting the corporate involved makes the wheel turning again. I probably burned the bridge with the local dealer, but I am fine with that.
 
flintknapper said:
NO!

Premature and irresponsible at this juncture.


Until the matter has been discussed with the Dealer and other Entities that can help, no definitive 'position' by the Dealer has been established. Any knee-jerk reactions will only make matters worse. There is a reasonable 'process' to follow.
Click to expand...
Kind of. Except the dealer has already taken a position by quoting him a price to install a higher-mileage used engine to cover an error they already (at least somebody in that shop) knows THEY made. They have ALREADY tried to screw him in hopes he'd just pay and go away. That was their first offer that they laid on the table. Admit we did no wrong, and charge the customer for everything. Not a good first step, and the public needs to know how they deal with people, which is NOT in an up-front, we-take-responsibility-for-our-actions way...

AT LEAST one mechanic knows it, and the service advisor that saw the truck drive in under it's own power knows it. whether they've bumped their admission of the facts up to the service manager is anther story, but they've already tried to cover their tracks in an unethical way.
 
flintknapper said:
NO!

Premature and irresponsible at this juncture.


Until the matter has been discussed with the Dealer and other Entities that can help, no definitive 'position' by the Dealer has been established. Any knee-jerk reactions will only make matters worse. There is a reasonable 'process' to follow.
Click to expand...
What about the attention it may receive from local news stations?

I've had more bad than good experiences at car dealers.....So has the general public.
 
I had a similar case recently on my wife's old car (non Toyota) and an independent specialist ruining the engine. Being that you had it done at a dealer you have to follow the advise to call corporate Toyota and get a case moving on this. They will probably send a road tech there to check it out as stated previously. Then it will be documented. They don't want this kind of damage on their reputation.

On a side note I am surprised they tried to fixthe plug damage with a helicoil in the first place. Most dealers around me I have seen are just part replacers and would tell you that you need a new head. Anybody hear of people using helicoils on these aluminum heads before? All helicoils I have used required you to "drill out to next size" so helicoil can be thread in. Am I missing something or did the aluminum from the drilling out go into the engine and damage it?
 
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