I need a 5vz-FE. Threw a rod in my 4runner this morning.

[Man Jerk]

Threw a connecting rod in my 4runner this morning. I'm starting the search for a replacement long block. Does anyone have any experience with so called "Low Mileage JDM" engines listed on ebay or other sites? If anyone has any ideas for me I'm all ears. I might be in the market for a cheap beater too.

 

[mountainmanryan]

I've used the JDM crate motors twice. One Mitsubishi and one Honda civic motor. Swaps went smoothly. You have to get belts and temp sensors separately. The hardest part was dealing with the shipping companies. One freight carrier didn't deliver to Colorado Springs so I had to go to commerce city and pick the engine up.

 

[Bret]

Thst blows! Any idea of why it failed?

 

[Man Jerk]

Not sure yet.

I ended up buying a JDM engine. Received it on Friday. I began tearing it down to a longblock, and found water in the lower intake and in the oil pan. I'm trying to determine how bad this is. The company I bought it from wants me to put oil in the spark plug holes and make sure the engine rotates, and then do a cylinder leak down test. Per them, if the leakdown test checks out that the motor should be fine. If I decide to return the engine shipping is on me.

Can anyone give me any advice here? How bad is it that there is water in the motor?

 

[Springs505]

putting oil in the cylinders first will mask any (all but huge) piston ring leakage. It's probably a good idea to get some lubrication in there before turning the engine, but it is going to hide piston/ring sealing issues.

I think the best option would be to put oil in the pan and perform a compression test using the starter, with fresh oil in the pan. The engine may be OK after a little water, or it might not. That is a tough call without tearing it down and inspecting everything.

 

[Man Jerk]

I got some advice from a friend who is a mechanic. The advice was that a little bit of water is probably no big deal, or much of a concern at all. The water that came out of the engine was clear and not muddy.

I dumped out the water, then pulled the lower intake. I was concerned because I could see rust, or coloration on the valve stems. After the intake was removed i could reach in and wipe the valve stems and the rust color wiped right off. Next I removed the oil pan and did not see anything inside that would be cause for concern, everything still had a coating of oil. So it's all systems go at this point. Unfortunately I don't think I can install the starter until its installed, as the starter is bolted to the engine block from behind, through the bellhousing.

 

[MountainRam]

Mark I've been reading along as your adventure progresses, have you had success getting it installed yet? I'm guessing you stayed with the 3.0l 3vze, right? I am following because in September I got a 2nd gen 4runner kit. Good body, but disassembled 3vze. Learning a lot. I have only seen pictures of what the engine looks like. Its 1994
I'm working on getting the timing belt on. Sounds easy, utube video looks easy, book reads easy, but so far not on. I'll win, will take a little time.
Good luck, post up where you're at.

 

[Man Jerk]

Hi Darryl,
I've been working on a 5VZ-FE, which is in a 3rd generation 4runner (year 2000 in my case).

It's been a bit of a bear to be honest. I took a 3 day weekend and between Thursday at 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm i think I had about 30 hours into the project. I hit a wall at 2pm and just had to quit and have some quality time with the couch (oh yea, wife and kids too). I had to replace the starter. I've heard that you never really need to replace a toyota starter, just the plunger and contacts. I had accidentally ripped the terminal off of the starter and didn't think I could repair it so I ended up getting a remanufactured starter, which then turned out to be faulty. I got the new starter installed last night and it fired right up. What a relief! I had been stressing about this motor, and my assembly and when I finally got it to run it was a big relief. Still have to button things up. Reinstall Hood, check hoses and cables, reinstall the tranny inspection cover, reinstall grill, stuff like that. Hopefully it will be back together tonight and I can do some test drives. It runs really very nice. I smoked out the neighborhood when I fired it up as it had to burn off all the oil and stuff that was in the cylinders.

It was a pretty big job and I don't plan on tackling it ever again if I have my choice. A shop initially quoted me $5k for install of a used motor, and I did it for right around $2k so for $3k in savings it was well worth it.

Now I have to clean the garage

Can anyone suggest a product to get oil stains off of concrete?

Darryl, If I can be of any help please let me know. Are you still on Big Valley? We moved and are in Mountain Shadows but are still pretty close.

 

[MountainRam]

Mark, good to hear that you are nearly finished with your 4runner and it does in fact run. That is always a relief. I've always had good luck covering the oil stains with an oil absorbent, like kitty litter, for a few days or so then collecting that up followed by a detergent, dawn, simple green with hot water and a scrub brush. I'm sure others will chime in with their favorite solutions.

Yes, we still have the Big Valley Drive house, but we picked up a foreclosure near Calhan last year. I have it live able now so stay out there a lot. It has a nice large garage for the projects I get into. I now need make it more cold weather friendly so I can continue working in it this winter. Its roughly 28' x 48' and I have managed to just about fill it with lot of stuff - read crap.

The cam belt continues to not want to go on. New belts seem to be 1/2" too short. Always it seems that I have a tool I need, but it is in the other garage at the other location. Always. But I came to town last night for a dinner with friends, and now have a couple tools that I believe will help the situation. Looks like it will be nice and warm Saturday so may get it on then.

 

[Man Jerk]

It took a lot of head scratching for me too with the Timing belt. I think I had to re-do it like a half dozen times. Oh, if I could only get that time back...

With the 5VZ-FE, there is an upper idler pulley which is between and below the cam pulley's. You actually have to have this idler pulley removed, then you line up and install the belt, then install the idler pulley. Once I figured that out it was pretty easy.

 

[black95]

It's a pain to get those timing belts on. I've done a bunch of them. Best thing I learned about toyota timing belts is to line up the marks on the cam wheels to the marks on the engine- and to hell with the marks on the belt. They don't ever seen to line up correctly. The two cams and crank marks being in place are all that matters. You can work those belts on with the idler in place, just takes patience.