My tragic introduction (1 Viewer)

[illidee]

Hey everyone. First time poster, long time appreciator. My name is Will and I’m the proud owner of a beautiful black over tan ‘06 LX470 with 329,000. But unfortunately as of this afternoon, after speaking with the mechanic and receiving the bad news, she will need a heart transplant. I’m kind of in shock and trying to decide what to do. Used motor? Remanufactured motor? Being the VVTI I know these can be tougher to source. I would hate to sell it as is but have to accept that may a possibility as well. I don’t really have the capability, or the tools to do this job by myself. I was quoted approximately $11k for this mechanic to put in a used engine with 50k miles. Add $1200 for a reman. Both engines would include a 6mo unlimited mileage warranty. I’m not exactly thrilled or in great financial position to throw 11-12 grand at it either.

A little background.. This all started with a misfire. Code p0301. Changed coil, plug, injectors, problem persisted and eventually catastrophic failure. No compression in the first cylinder, bad piston.

Any insights, suggestions, previous experience with this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, everyone.

 

[Fairgame]

Maybe look at breakers and see what is out there as K11 for a secondhand engine is steep? Consider rebuilding your engine and get some more quotes - the beauty is you will have a new engine

 

[jLB]

If I’m not mistaken, the VVTI 2UZ-FE was also available in the Japanese manufactured V8 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus GX470, LC/LX 100 series, and US manufactured Tundra & Sequoia. They may be more rare than the non-VVTI variant, but I suspect not impossible.

 

[excessive]

I am seeing decent 100 series examples w/ similar mileage for sale lately in the 12-15k range ( usually older model years) so it's a tough call to invest that much. These trucks are starting to come down in price, as are all used cars lately

 

[vipergrhd]

Sorry to hear about your rig, what exactly happened?
Check out Car-Part.com I found my 2UZ in Concord under 200k miles.

 

[Yukon LX]

LT-5 motor all day!! You know you want 755hp.

 

[newbielx470]

Is EV swap a viable solution? (Considering there are so many salvage Teslas in Cali.)

 

[hoser]

One in Oakland for $3200 and 6 mo warranty.

 

[Mike NXP]

Is EV swap a viable solution? (Considering there are so many salvage Teslas in Cali.)

Isn't that right up @J1000 alley? or am I confusing forum members.

 

[MongooseGA]

11-12k sounds high for a used engine swapped. Russian Alex in NC bought a whole donor truck for $3.5k and swapped the engine (and transmission! ) in to his LX.

 

[illidee]

wow, thanks for all the responses everyone.

3500 is the price of the used motor with 50k miles and 6mo warranty. The rest of the money would be in labor estimated at 4500 and all the other parts one would need to do the job like gaskets, hoses, new timing belt, etc.

Not interested in electric swap.

It’s a lot, but it is super clean, no rust, and buying another one I would have no idea what I’m getting and could end up in the same spot again. This is a tough spot also, but it’s a tough spot I’m already in.

 

[Rhetoric]

A 50k 2UZ out of a 2006 LX or LC? I would be very specific about that detail. All 2UZs are not created equal.

Even if you replaced every gasket, hose, etc. their price to swap seems outrageous.

 

[onemanarmy]

buy a $3k prius and save until you can swap the engine. you'll be tripling your mpg immedialtey....thats a good chunk to throw in motor swap fund.

won't cost you any $ for it to just sit for 6 months under a car cover.

 

[onemanarmy]

A 50k 2UZ out of a 2006 LX or LC? I would be very specific about that detail. All 2UZs are not created equal.

Even if you replaced every gasket, hose, etc. their price to swap seems outrageous.

how many hours would a shop charge to swap an engine on an older car? 3-4 days? $130 an hour plus all the unknowns, that they will pad the quote with

probably $300 just in 'shop supplies' of whatever they call it for all the disposables.

nothing is cheap anymore.

 

[kevgentile]

Post up in your local clubhouse section. You might be able to get a small group of local members to help out with a weekend group swap.
Years ago I was the resident mechanic in our local Audi group and members would hst diy weekends and treat to dinner or something.

 

[hoser]

I believe book rate for this job is about 22.5 hrs.... but we'll just call it 25 hrs. $4500/25 hrs is $180/hr for labor. Not out of line for the Bay Area. My Euro mechanic charges $195/hr. Not sure about the other $3k though.

 

[illidee]

A 50k 2UZ out of a 2006 LX or LC? I would be very specific about that detail. All 2UZs are not created equal.

Even if you replaced every gasket, hose, etc. their price to swap seems outrageous.

I’m not sure, but he did say it was a Japanese market motor.

 

[excessive]

I've pulled out / put in an engine in a 100 series, solo. Its not an easy or quick job, but it is doable with basic tools in a home garage. I am just posting this to show you that given the right tools and enough time, pretty much anyone with basic mechanic skills can do this.

 

[vipergrhd]

I believe book rate for this job is about 22.5 hrs.... but we'll just call it 25 hrs. $4500/25 hrs is $180/hr for labor. Not out of line for the Bay Area. My Euro mechanic charges $195/hr. Not sure about the other $3k though.

The $3k is for breakfast and lunch. You are right on the money for Bay Area prices for labor rate you be lucky if you find $150/hr unless you head towards Tracy or Manteca.

I’m not sure, but he did say it was a Japanese market motor.

It's a Japanese surplus engine or some other Asian country. Unless you were standing next to the vehicle when they remove the engine the mileage thing is bogus a lot of these engine are clean but no where near 50k miles. Almost non of the engine or transmission have some kind of documentation when they are packed in a container and shipped to different countries. The engine I found came out of a 2002 Seqouia with 182k miles I ran the VIN and it did match to what they advertised.

 

[MongooseGA]

The $3k is for breakfast and lunch. You are right on the money for Bay Area prices for labor rate you be lucky if you find $150/hr unless you head towards Tracy or Manteca.

It's a Japanese surplus engine or some other Asian country. Unless you were standing next to the vehicle when they remove the engine the mileage thing is bogus a lot of these engine are clean but no where near 50k miles. Almost non of the engine or transmission have some kind of documentation when they are packed in a container and shipped to different countries. The engine I found came out of a 2002 Seqouia with 182k miles I ran the VIN and it did match to what they advertised.

FYI the other trucks with the 4.7 received a lesser version of the engine. If I recall correctly, especially earlier 100s had much beefier internals.

Not that a sequoia engine wouldn't potentially work fine, but imo, I'd insist on an engine from a 100 specifically.