430k LX470 Motor Swap - Just sharing :)

[AnthraxVX]

So was changing the fan mount (because of bearings) and the fan clutch and noticed head was leaking outward a little so instead of replacing the headgasket on a 430k mile motor and spending the money on all hte parts that would accompany that, just got one with 85k on it from japan for $1200 and did all the parts like water pu mp, timing belt/bearings, front seal, rear main seal, motor mounts, tranny mount, spark plugs etc. and heres the swap

picking up motor from friends warehouse

on the engine stand

cam seals/timingbelt/bearings etc

pulling motor

 

[AnthraxVX]

empty engine bay

side by side with old one

i did have to swap upper and lower pans, as well as oil pickup tube, most likely out of a 2 wheel drive vehicle.

 

[AnthraxVX]

old mount vs new mount

some of the bolt holes were unused in previous vehicle and rusted out so i had to helicoil some for the motor mounts and a couple others

dropping in motor, pain in the ass, had hoist up top and under the car, had jack holding up trans, had chain hoist tilting the motor to get into position so i can get the dowels matched up, all that s*** under the car and i had to fit my fatass in there with it all somehow, litterally almost got stuck

 

[AnthraxVX]

and this was the end

if anyones got any questions let me know just wanted to share

 

[hickuptruck]

BEAUT!

 

[suboptimusprime]

At no point in my life have I said to myself “why repair XYZ when I can just do an engine swap instead.” Bad ass!

 

[OEMGUY0720]

Awesome job

 

[2001LC]

Fun stuff.
Very Nice shop! Tell use about it?
You said "from Japan" did you mean "made in Japan"?
What does engine VIN # tell you it was from?
The engine mount thickness is so different. Were the engine mounts from your old LX engine and the new OEM correct replacements based on VIN# (year model)?

 

[Rolocado]

That is certainly one way to tackle the timing belt change...

 

[FxFormat]

Was it hard remember where to connect all the harness and vacuum lines and stuff, did it fire up on the first try?

 

[Txagg007]

Sweet! Good for another 345k miles or so! Around how many hours did it take, and where did you source the motor?

 

[AnthraxVX]

Fun stuff.
Very Nice shop! Tell use about it?
You said "from Japan" did you mean "made in Japan"?
What does engine VIN # tell you it was from?
The engine mount thickness is so different. Were the engine mounts from your old LX engine and the new OEM correct replacements based on VIN# (year model)?

the motor was imported to florida by aanda_autoandtruck , i bought it from ebay, no vin on the motor (i dont think they put vins on these) at least i couldnt find it, the old mounts were at one point the same height, over 430k miles they got squished and also cracked the rubber and separated, and yes these are OEM mounts, not based off of vin since there was only 1 mount for the lx470 since there was only 1 engine option

 

[AnthraxVX]

Was it hard remember where to connect all the harness and vacuum lines and stuff, did it fire up on the first try?

yes it did fire up first try, i took pics of all the cabling/hoses/wiring and also i have the phsyical books Factory Service Manauls (3 books, 2 of which are thicker than the bible)

 

[AnthraxVX]

Sweet! Good for another 345k miles or so! Around how many hours did it take, and where did you source the motor?

i live in san diego, was trying my engine importers out here but they all get the 4 cyl and 6 cyl from japan, there are not many available from japan since not many people have big v8's, so i ended up getting it on ebay from aanda_autoandtruck something like that and they just imported it from japan, cost was 1200, plus 200 shipping, plus all the misc crap like timing belt, bearings, etc etc - took about a week, taking my time

 

[AnthraxVX]

That is certainly one way to tackle the timing belt change...

lol yeah, wasnt worth the effort of changing the head gasket and spend around 600 bucks in parts after all said and done, vs motor that was 1200, when all said and done though, it was about 2k after all the parts, like gaskets and misc crap i needed to replace while i was in there

 

[2001LC]

the motor was important to florida by A and A autowrecking , i bought it from ebay, no vin on the motor (i dont think they put vins on these) at least i couldnt find it, the old mounts were at one point the same height, over 430k miles they got squished and also cracked the rubber and separated, and yes these are OEM mounts, not based off of vin since there was only 1 mount for the lx470 since there was only 1 engine option

I looked back at your pictures. The VIN would have been on LH head. I see the rivet holes but no VIN plate. But if you look a t back of engine RH side just below the head. You'll see number letters cast into block. Any chance you have a picture of that?

I assume you mean A&A Autowrecking imported from Japan, then shipped to you for $200.
Engine from Japan are referred to as JDMs. These typically have low miles on them, when shipped to the USA. Is this what they said they sold you?

 

[97 AZ LC]

Just curious, how much documentation do they have for the miles on the engine? For someone to ship it here and presumably make profit at $1200 they must really be cheap in Japan.

 

[namsag]

WOW I wish I had the skills to do something like that.

 

[AnthraxVX]

I looked back at your pictures. The VIN would have been on LH head. I see the rivet holes but no VIN plate. But if you look a t back of engine RH side just below the head. You'll see number letters cast into block. Any chance you have a picture of that?
View attachment 2020318

I assume you mean A&A Autowrecking imported from Japan, then shipped to you for $200.
Engine from Japan are referred to as JDMs. These typically have low miles on them, when shipped to the USA. Is this what they said they sold you?

yeah i cant get back there :/ and i looked through all my old pics and dont have one of that part, they did say it was from japan (JDM)

 

[AnthraxVX]

Just curious, how much documentation do they have for the miles on the engine? For someone to ship it here and presumably make profit at $1200 they must really be cheap in Japan.

i have no way of knowing the real mileage, the company said they do this a lot and they label everything on the japaneses side before packaging, oiling, and pluggin everything, it was packaged good, and every hole was plugged, no idea if the miles are real but it runs perfectly, i inspected bores, everything looked good as well, ill have to do a compression test/leakdown - leakdown doesnt work when i got the motor cuz its been sitting for a while and all the carbon buildup starts to flake off and jam valve seats etc, now that ive run it for a bit i can do the test and check everything, but overall, it feels good drives perfect and is SUPER quiet