1998 LC100 - Needs a motor - options? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Threads
3
Messages
37
Location
Fremont, CA
Hi team - my 2UZ-FE died at ~280k miles. Massive leak in cyl6 and scoring supposedly evident on the bore. In any case - should I go for another non-vvti or put in the vvti variant? Also, any recommendations/sources for engines would be greatly appreciated!
 
Wanna replace your transmission too?
 
Very recent thread asking about swapping in a vvti motor to an older truck, you can look at that. Short of it is, sure, anything can be done with money.

Easiest would be to pull one from a similar year LC/LX/ or Tundra/Sequoia. The later takes a few mods from your old motor (oil pan, couple of brackets).
 
Wait what was the cause of that damage?
 
Not too sure - there was some shady work done on cyl6 from previous owner (using one of those spark plug sleeves). I'm assuming they drilled/tapped without removing the head. Rebuild is not an option as I can find a <150k mile engine for less than $1000. So far have two options at $700 in socal. If the VVT-i swap is reasonable enough then I thought I might do that. Just for my info - the 2uz-fe out of a pre-vvti Tundra fits with zero modifications of any kind, correct?

This was an unnecessary expenditure when I'm in the process of acquiring a nice FJ62. Eh. On the up-side, there'll be a low mileage 1998 UZJ100 for sale soon :).
 
Not too sure - there was some shady work done on cyl6 from previous owner (using one of those spark plug sleeves).
Like Twitter, I wish some things could be un-invented. This qualifies.
 
Like Twitter, I wish some things could be un-invented. This qualifies.

Couldn't agree more. Funnily enough I drove over 20k miles on it and it only started severly leaking after going up-hill at 3500-4000rpm towing a trailer for ~10min. These engines are beasts.
 
This may sound like a silly question but before I buy the actual engine I’d like to double check with you knowledgeable folk. Any Tundra 4.7 is fine so long as it’s pre 2004. Is that a correct statement?
 
This may sound like a silly question but before I buy the actual engine I’d like to double check with you knowledgeable folk. Any Tundra 4.7 is fine so long as it’s pre 2004. Is that a correct statement?

My understanding is yes, but some various brackets and the oil sump will need to be swapped
 
Last edited:
My understanding is yes, but some various brackets and the oil sumo will need to be swapped
This... there was another thread floating around about a week or so that had similar information. Basically there is lots that needs to be swapped over with the VVTI engine to make things compatible. So if you are looking for a more "plug n play" solution then you need a non-vvti, something from another LC/LX would be best as then you won't have to worry about things like possible mating issues with cross-members, motor mounts, etc. But for the most part a Pre-2003 Tundra should work just fine.
 
This... there was another thread floating around about a week or so that had similar information. Basically there is lots that needs to be swapped over with the VVTI engine to make things compatible. So if you are looking for a more "plug n play" solution then you need a non-vvti, something from another LC/LX would be best as then you won't have to worry about things like possible mating issues with cross-members, motor mounts, etc. But for the most part a Pre-2003 Tundra should work just fine.

Thank you - I'll dig around the forums a bit. I'm having my mechanic do this for me so I'd like it to be crystal clear what the differences are and what needs doing. Sourcing an LC/LX engine is nigh on impossible in SoCal. However I've found a Tundra 4.7 with ~5000mi nearby!
 
Thank you - I'll dig around the forums a bit. I'm having my mechanic do this for me so I'd like it to be crystal clear what the differences are and what needs doing. Sourcing an LC/LX engine is nigh on impossible in SoCal. However I've found a Tundra 4.7 with ~5000mi nearby!
If I had a nickel for every time an engine reseller misquoted the mileage of a pull out motor or hid some underlying damage I could quit my day job and give YotaMD away.

A take out motor might be a good option, but it's full of risk - far more than a basic rebuild would have.
 
That's like a 10+ year old motor. Make sure the miles were only to church and only by a little old lady. They will probably confirm this if you ask them.

Actually 20yr old motor. Called them up and they can't find it. Too good to be true. I've gone with a 2000 Tundra 4.7 with ~123k miles instead for $1000 delivered. Closest I could find for an LC was $2300 delivered from Texas. I'm hoping some of what I'm reading is true, i.e. that the early 4.7s in Tundras were built in Japan.

Really appreciate the traffic and knowledge in this forum by the way.
 
The first V8 produced outside of Japan was made in Alabama in 2003, according to this article:

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom