200 Series Engine Swap Options (17 Viewers)

[rexington14]

Ever since then, I always have the worst-case scenario in mind when making a purchase decision. So if all other factors and pros/cons even out, I may take engine swap into consideration of the final decision, in case if one costs a lot more than the other (for same engine swap, because other options like LS swap may not be feasible in Cali so far). Unless the law changes and CARB goes away...

The Tundra / Sequoia engines are cheaper. Not by that much, but they are.

More importantly they are more plentiful simply due to higher sales volumes. There are stories here where there's been many many months of downtime while the owner searches for the right 200 motor. I'd assume that going with the Tundra / Sequoia there will be less downtime and many more motors available (with a good warranty from a reputable yard).

 

[gray rider]

Buy a late model (fill in the blank) from Carmax, paying a 10-15% upcharge. Spring for the extended warranty. Hug your wife everyday.....

 

[SLH350]

Would be interesting to hear your engine explosion details......

Bought what appeared to be a super clean 2011 LX570. Spotless undercarriage. Engine appeared totally dry. Ran great. Decided to forego a PPI (smart) to try and make a deal on the spot because I thought it would go quick at the price point. Drove it home no issues. Was going to have my mother in law drive it for a few weeks while she was in between cars. She gets it home after a 3 hour drive and says its leaking some oil. I think okay maybe something minor, have it towed to a reputable shop. Dude tells me its literally pissing all the oil out the back of the motor. We're thinking some sort of catastrophic rear main seal failure which seems bizarre. Open it up and someone didn't torque the torque converter bolts down well, they backed out, hit the flywheel, cracked the block. 2 weeks into owning the thing I'm down a motor.

 

[Artie]

Bought what appeared to be a super clean 2011 LX570. Spotless undercarriage. Engine appeared totally dry. Ran great. Decided to forego a PPI (smart) to try and make a deal on the spot because I thought it would go quick at the price point. Drove it home no issues. Was going to have my mother in law drive it for a few weeks while she was in between cars. She gets it home after a 3 hour drive and says its leaking some oil. I think okay maybe something minor, have it towed to a reputable shop. Dude tells me its literally pissing all the oil out the back of the motor. We're thinking some sort of catastrophic rear main seal failure which seems bizarre. Open it up and someone didn't torque the torque converter bolts down well, they backed out, hit the flywheel, cracked the block. 2 weeks into owning the thing I'm down a motor.

Would a PPI had even caught this?

 

[SLH350]

Would a PPI had even caught this?

Probably not in all honesty, such a bizarre failure point.

 

[bloc]

Probably not in all honesty, such a bizarre failure point.

Any indication of transmission replacement in the service history?

 

[SLH350]

Any indication of transmission replacement in the service history?

Nope, not even any recent transmission work. Had an alternator done like 20k ago and that was the most recent service.

 

[bloc]

Nope, not even any recent transmission work. Had an alternator done like 20k ago and that was the most recent service.

That sucks to hear. Definitely not a common failure on this platform, hence my suspicion it had been worked on.

 

[Artie]

Nope, not even any recent transmission work. Had an alternator done like 20k ago and that was the most recent service.

Tragic, I’d love to know what happened there. You seem to be handling it far better than I would.

 

[SLH350]

Tragic, I’d love to know what happened there. You seem to be handling it far better than I would.

I'm a few months into the grieving process. I couldn't even be mad at the guy that sold it to me because I genuinely think he had no idea either, we had a few conversations and I think he felt bad but ultimately there just wasn't much to be done about it. My best guess is someone did some transmission work on it before he ever bought it, didn't document it, and I was just the lucky winner of the ticking time bomb. Still on the fence about trying to swap it myself or just biting the bullet on the labor but I like this damned rig too much to just sell it as a shell.

 

[gray rider]

Similar situation here in my case. Stay tuned....

 

[SLH350]

Similar situation here in my case. Stay tuned....

Excited too see how yours works out. I just ordered a similar JDM motor with 70k on it yesterday.

 

[gray rider]

Yup. Kind of a leap of faith......but.....

 

[SLH350]

Yup. Kind of a leap of faith......but.....

The dude at Renaissance Auto in Cary who's gonna end up doing this swap for me said he's used a few of the JDM imported motors before and always had very good luck. Fingers crossed.

 

[MADUFF3]

Would a PPI had even caught this?

not likely I have done a great amount of PPIs on German vehicles and aside from indications i.e. shiny bits or something else I can see or hear it is invisible unless the trans mission bellhousing has an inspection plate which most don't anymore.. regardless of torquing they get a small bit of lock tight if the new ones don't have it already added to the threads.

 

[SLH350]

New motor is in mine, running like a champ.

 

[MissoulaMan]

I'm a few months into the grieving process. I couldn't even be mad at the guy that sold it to me because I genuinely think he had no idea either, we had a few conversations and I think he felt bad but ultimately there just wasn't much to be done about it. My best guess is someone did some transmission work on it before he ever bought it, didn't document it, and I was just the lucky winner of the ticking time bomb. Still on the fence about trying to swap it myself or just biting the bullet on the labor but I like this damned rig too much to just sell it as a shell.

Misery loves company so here's my first post after years of simply lurking and my story of what I'm dealing with on my new-to-me 2008 Land Cruiser (145k miles):

Been dreaming of a Land Cruiser since high school (20+ years ago) when my buddy had one with great memories. Finally in financial and family position to go for one. I'm usually logical and emotionless in these situations (PhD in fire science) but desperately wanted to let emotions lead the way and didn't fully check out with a discerning eye, overlooked glaring red flags (online flagellation warranted), and the seller clearly hid things (unplugged oil pressure sensor, cleaned all the leaked oil up right before sale, etc.).

Anyway a seemingly minor leak has lead to my two months of ownership has it into three different mechanics, multiple crankshaft seals replaced, crank pulley replaced, many hours of testing from myself and mechanics, and still a major oil leak out the front when the engine is under load.

Latest diagnosis from the reputable indy mechanic, which makes sense and they actually spent the time to verify unlike the dealership, being abnormal crankshaft movement from an internal issue leading to the leak at the crank seal and only realistic fix is an engine replacement.

Best wild guess is a botched oil change or other source of overheating lead to internal engine damage.
I'm not really in the position for dealing with a long-term project (another 6 weeks before the one indy shop can get to it) and fix and may try to sell at a loss with a full disclosure of what it needs.
Any thoughts on that idea or other suggestions would be welcome. You'll probably see it up on the classifieds soon.

 

[Sandroad]

Misery loves company so here's my first post after years of simply lurking and my story of what I'm dealing with on my new-to-me 2008 Land Cruiser (145k miles):

Been dreaming of a Land Cruiser since high school (20+ years ago) when my buddy had one with great memories. Finally in financial and family position to go for one. I'm usually logical and emotionless in these situations (PhD in fire science) but desperately wanted to let emotions lead the way and didn't fully check out with a discerning eye, overlooked glaring red flags (online flagellation warranted), and the seller clearly hid things (unplugged oil pressure sensor, cleaned all the leaked oil up right before sale, etc.).

Anyway a seemingly minor leak has lead to my two months of ownership has it into three different mechanics, multiple crankshaft seals replaced, crank pulley replaced, many hours of testing from myself and mechanics, and still a major oil leak out the front when the engine is under load.

Latest diagnosis from the reputable indy mechanic, which makes sense and they actually spent the time to verify unlike the dealership, being abnormal crankshaft movement from an internal issue leading to the leak at the crank seal and only realistic fix is an engine replacement.

Best wild guess is a botched oil change or other source of overheating lead to internal engine damage.
I'm not really in the position for dealing with a long-term project (another 6 weeks before the one indy shop can get to it) and fix and may try to sell at a loss with a full disclosure of what it needs.
Any thoughts on that idea or other suggestions would be welcome. You'll probably see it up on the classifieds soon.

It’s not often a new issue comes up on Mud, but you may have one. My first response is to get it to a mechanic who knows the 5.7L really well and get yet another diagnosis. There’s probably a good place in MT or nearby and IMHO it’s worth the towing charge. I suppose its possible to have a wobbly crankshaft without any other symptoms, but it seems very odd.

 

[MissoulaMan]

It’s not often a new issue comes up on Mud, but you may have one. My first response is to get it to a mechanic who knows the 5.7L really well and get yet another diagnosis. There’s probably a good place in MT or nearby and IMHO it’s worth the towing charge. I suppose its possible to have a wobbly crankshaft without any other symptoms, but it seems very odd.

Thanks for the response! I have gotten the "this is very odd" multiple times so I guess I win?

Given it may be unique and an interesting story I suppose I'll describe in more detail. Its definitely leaking out of the crank seal or directly around it. Myself and mechanics have run it stationary and at slightly above idle for long periods (15 mins) with no leaks after thorough cleaning but then you drive around in town, and certainly much more at highway speeds, and the oil comes out profusely, enough to coat most of the underside back to the rear axle after 10 minutes.

The dealership, after the seal and crank pulley replacement, guessed it has a 'porous' or cracked timing cover that seemingly only leaks under load. That didn't really make sense and I only initially went there because you could get in right away. They also replaced the PCV valve and tested that with no abnormal back pressure. I got some reimbursement, which was nice, and the lead guy on it either got canned or quit on the spot in the middle of the multiple trips to and fro so that made things even more interesting

I'm at the best place by reputation (Toyota Master Tech) in the area and we're pretty rural beyond. There's a Land Cruiser specific place near Bozeman though they seem to focus on rebuilding older generations and maybe something in Spokane. I have been driving it minimally just for testing, to the mechanics, and minimizing RPM's. Besides the slight vibration that I assumed was just a slightly worn front end but was told is a symptom, there's no other symptoms that I can see.