Negative. I was not able to get the VIN. My shop tried and I also tried. It’s a thing for sure. There were a few donors we were evaluating and none were attached to a VIN.
200 Series 2013 Engine Replacement - Urgent!! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Shabzy35
- Start date
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gray rider
SILVER Star
It seems to be industry wide that no VIN's are associated with donor engines. Seems odd....
bought my replacement engine off ebay. The vin was provided as well as pics of the damaged lx570. Noteworthy is the vin is not to be found anywhere on the engine. There is a sticker on the driver side head that contains a code that can then be matched to the info found in dealer daily (get friendly with your dealership parts guy or I can try to help) you will need the vin of the donor vehicle to start the research process and then the engine can be verified to the vin in this program. Hope that info helps.
In my experience, the higher volume recyclers that buy more valuable vehicles tear down the vehicles and shelve the parts (LKQ). This is easier to manage than the old school yard of picked over vehicles waiting for someone to order xxx part to pull it. It also increases throughput of dismantling, but parts get quickly disassociated from the vehicles, and the remaining shells get crushed and sold for scrap quickly. Record keeping seems minimal, so it's easier just to say "we don't have the VIN" than to track that for all of the more valuable components.
On the dark side, I suppose there is some stream of stolen vehicles that get parted out where the VIN would be incriminating...
On the dark side, I suppose there is some stream of stolen vehicles that get parted out where the VIN would be incriminating...
gray rider
SILVER Star
Good info!
if i was putting a b16 into my honda no biggie
but from what i read we only can use the lc/lx motor and not the tundra or sequoia when our 200 bricks
dismantlers are less trustworthy than used car dealers
how is a 200 owner supposed to know if they are getting the right motor ?
gray rider
SILVER Star
^^^ this is the worrisome part......
honestly speaking- i feel for you. 2 engines replaced in a 200 isnt common.
I dont know your situation- but is it possible for you to dump the truck and pick up a 16+ ?
I'd suggest dumping it as well and start looking for another. The immense cash outlay for a new engine in one of these isn't worth the time, stress, money, or risk.
gray rider
SILVER Star
I think I may have an offer from a mudder of $15,000. That is getting close to my "know when to fold'em" zone....
But if I swap in a decent engine then this truck is stellar and meets all of my wants for the next 4-6 years or more......
But if I swap in a decent engine then this truck is stellar and meets all of my wants for the next 4-6 years or more......
Maybe. Maybe not. If you can't even get the VIN how do you know the engine service history?
Insist on the vin. Having the vin when I bought my engine was paramount in ensuring the donor vehicle had a legit 45k on it. I was able to trace the history and verify that the engine I got absolutely came from the vehicle it was advertised to have come from.
gray rider
SILVER Star
The time and stress is manageable.
The money = risk and is a rather unknown entity if the VIN is unavailable
I saw that offer, and I think it's fair. If someone buys it and does the work themselves they get a decent deal. If they paid full rate for an engine replacement, they probably come out even with the actual value. Pre-facelift 200s are dropping in value right now, and decent post facelift 200s are starting to come down too.
Had a similar experience when I replaced my highlander transmission from ebay bought transmission. They were showing the vehicle from which it was pulled, its mileage, how bad the damage was and sometime the insurance report of the damages as well.
is this decisively proven? that if tundra engines are used, they dont work?
i have seen other threads on the forum discussing this as a possiblity, but no concrete info posted anywhere.
I am pretty sure 200 engine swap is common (given all the wild things middle eastern friends do on their 200), I guess its not posted on the forum of this tribal knowledge.
i keep reading tundra doesnt work
i dont know more than whats been posted
i spend a lot of time in Saudi (dammam). none of our 200 friends have motor swapped
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Keep in mind a rig with a history of a replaced engine (and in this case 2 replaced engines) is never going to fetch the value of one that hasn't had this type of work done to it
gray rider
SILVER Star
because he is your neighbor in the great tar heel state
