Death of a 3UR (2 Viewers)

[Bryanseye]

Initial info:
2014 and 15xxxx miles. Oil level good and just hit 5k oci and was set to be changed.

Drove fine on mix of interstate and secondary roads until parked. Wife reports that as she parked it developed a rough idle just before turning off. Will not start after.

Several jump attempts later and we chalk it up to the starter issue. Replace starter and no improvement. Engine appears seized. Throw in the towel and have it towed to shop.

Cylinder 2 is done

Borescope pictures confirm the carnage inside. Can’t see the whole cylinder yet but turning the crank doesn’t move the piston so the rod is likely broken and fearing the block is gone with it.

Maybe a valve spring failure? Tear down is paused to figure out the next move. Best case, new head, piston/rod, and related parts. Likely looking at a motor swap.

Edit: Valve spring pic and back on the road report in post #94.

 

[BMThiker]

Ouch, man. That's not what I was expecting to hear when you first found out.

 

[Tex68w]

Well this is rare. Sorry to hear about your misfortune, not cool at all.

 

[IOPTURBO]

Sorry to hear that. If it were me I would prefer a swap, plenty of low mileage motors in the junk yard.

 

[DJCloz]

Are you original owner? I have bought so many used vehicles over the years and I often wonder if a previous owner/ operator may have had some serious maintenance neglect at some point in the vehicle's life that could lead to something like this far down the road? Bummer, I will be curious what the cost / sequence is to source a new or used engine if you go that route. Are 3UR used Japanese engines readily available like they are for other older Toyotas/ Hondas?

 

[Trollhole]

Lots of carnage. Really was expecting a bad engine ground. Cylinder 2 is hosed. Jarco won’t even sell reman 3ur motors. When we tried to back the piston down with the crank nut we could hear parts falling into the pan and the piston didn’t move much which means the connecting rod is done. Once the motor is out I’ll do a little more investigation and see how bad things are in the bottom but I’m pretty sure it’s all toast. Only thing I can think of is a valve spring failure. I’ve heard from a few sources it’s almost always the passenger side.

 

[Trollhole]

Few more of #2

 

[Phoenix28]

View attachment 3096496

Initial info:
2014 and 13xxxx miles. Oil level good and just hit 5k oci and was set to be changed.

Drove fine on mix of interstate and secondary roads until parked. Wife reports that as she parked it developed a rough idle just before turning off. Will not start after.

Several jump attempts later and we chalk it up to the starter issue. Replace starter and no improvement. Engine appears seized. Throw in the towel and have it towed to shop.

Cylinder 1 is done
View attachment 3096501

Borescope pictures confirm the carnage inside. Can’t see the whole cylinder yet but turning the crank doesn’t move the piston so the rod is likely broken and fearing the block is gone with it.

Maybe a valve spring failure? Tear down is paused to figure out the next move. Best case, new head, piston/rod, and related parts. Likely looking at a motor swap.

Oof! Sorry, man. I hope that doesn't hit the wallet too hard

 

[Bryanseye]

Are you original owner? I have bought so many used vehicles over the years and I often wonder if a previous owner/ operator may have had some serious maintenance neglect at some point in the vehicle's life that could lead to something like this far down the road? Bummer, I will be curious what the cost / sequence is to source a new or used engine if you go that route. Are 3UR used Japanese engines readily available like they are for other older Toyotas/ Hondas?

No, owned for 3 years. Spent that time doing regular oil changes and working through baselining of all shadetree maintenance. The oil change due this week even had a Blackstone kit ready to fill. The radiator was on the list for this year too as a preventative swap.

 

[Bryanseye]

Oof! Sorry, man. I hope that doesn't hit the wallet too hard

Can't see how it won't, but I don't know what other options I have. At least I know I have a reliable TLC shop here. This is outside my wheelhouse.

 

[cruisermatt]

Ouch.

 

[TimCFJ40]

Ouch that hurts. I'd swap in a low mileage tundra motor and keep on rocking. Mileage to engine failure follows a normally distributed bell curve, and sometimes you get the tails of the curve, even if you did the best of preventative maintenance. At least you have a good shop there.

 

[Bryanseye]

Ouch that hurts. I'd swap in a low mileage tundra motor and keep on rocking. Mileage to engine failure follows a normally distributed bell curve, and sometimes you get the tails of the curve, even if you did the best of preventative maintenance. At least you have a good shop there.

Engines seem hard to come by right now. I understand there are some swap differences with the Tundra motors (oil level sensor, and what else?) and need to look into what will/will not work.

 

[Njck22]

Engines seem hard to come by right now. I understand there are some swap differences with the Tundra motors (oil level sensor, and what else?) and need to look into what will/will not work.

I bet the ancilliary parts are fine off your toasted block.

 

[PDoyle]

Toyota 5VZ-FE 3.4 Long Block Crate Engine Sale, Remanufactured

Toyota 5VZFE 3.4 liter Long Block Engine Sale. Better than a rebuilt 3.4 Crate Engine, this OEM replacement motor is completely remanufactured with upgrades.

spprecision.com

 

[PDoyle]

These guys hit it on the head....

PROSPEED Forged 3UR Shortblock Package

PROSPEED Forged 3UR Shortblock Package In our quest to make more power in the 3UR, we ran into issues with the ever so common broken piston failure, even after finding ways to band aid the issue, we would still have failures. This all stems from the factory pistons having too tight of ring gap...

www.prospeedautosports.com

 

[Bryanseye]

Toyota 5VZ-FE 3.4 Long Block Crate Engine Sale, Remanufactured

Toyota 5VZFE 3.4 liter Long Block Engine Sale. Better than a rebuilt 3.4 Crate Engine, this OEM replacement motor is completely remanufactured with upgrades.

spprecision.com

These guys hit it on the head....

PROSPEED Forged 3UR Shortblock Package

PROSPEED Forged 3UR Shortblock Package In our quest to make more power in the 3UR, we ran into issues with the ever so common broken piston failure, even after finding ways to band aid the issue, we would still have failures. This all stems from the factory pistons having too tight of ring gap...

www.prospeedautosports.com

Cool, but that is building off my existing block/core. If it is still good, it stays in the truck and gets a new head.

 

[izzyandsue]

Damn, sorry to see that! Hope you can get the root cause worked out, you are in good hands with Marshall.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

Pure, uncut nightmare fuel. Really sorry you are having to deal with this. If you ever need any help tracking down parts, I'd be happy to assist.

 

[Moby]

Oh, I want that short block. Perfect for a Harrop blower.

Back on topic - if your block is gouged, Darton makes sleeves for the 3UR. So it could still be salvageable even if there is cylinder wall damage.