RTH: Motor ruined, need replacement! 1999

[suprarx7nut]

Well, nice work lining it out. Sorry it isn't a happy surprise/quick fix.

Used engine sourcing is tough. Since someone else is covering it I'd be tempted to just get a warranty/guarantee in writing and let them do whatever they'd like. I'm sure you could improve things if you were really on top of it and spent hours upon hours sourcing it, but you might be better off just letting them handle it. Fortunately, the 2UZ is pretty darn tough and if you get one that runs well when installed I think it's unlikely it'll meet an untimely death in the near future.

 

[Gr3G]

I just recently went through an engine replacement on my Land Cruiser. I bought it with a blown head gasket and I knew it would need a new engine when I got the truck. It was relatively cheap and even with the engine replaced the money I would have in the truck would be well below any book values for the truck. I had a local mechanic that my stepdad uses for all his stuff. He's a used car whole-seller so he's always buying stuff that needs work or whatever. The difficult part for my truck was sourcing an engine. Since it's a 2007 the field of candidates was pretty small. My dilemma was deciding on going with a remanufactured engine vs a used engine with as low miles as I could find. Unfortunately the used engine avenue also opens up a ton of unknowns. How was it treated, why was it pulled, how long has it been pulled, where and how has it been stored, and so on. Then came the cost. Unfortunately I no longer have the time to do an engine swap myself so I was going to have to come to terms with having someone do the work for me. The truck sat for over a month because no one had an engine for it. None of the rebuilders had an engine and the few used ones we found were questionable at best. In the end one of the rebuilders the mechanic uses often had an engine come available. I guess one of the pluses was the engine was newly remanufactured and had not been sitting somewhere collecting dust.

When it was all said and done the remanufactured engine plus install and replacement of all the "while we are in there" components such as pulleys, fan clutch, heater tees, starter contacts, hoses, belts, and I'm sure I'm missing other things, was within a couple hundred dollars of using a used engine. The remanufactured engine came with a 4 year 100k mile parts and labor warranty. Something I wasn't going to get with a used engine. I've only put about 1000 miles on the truck since I've had it out of the shop but there are no weird noises, engine codes, leaks, or any other abnormalities.

I wouldn't be worried about using a remanufactured engine over a used one. Though different years may have better luck sourcing a good used engine. I would definitely get a documented warranty on the work performed.

 

[Blake1]

Hi there. I had exact same issue.. freezing new years eve back from skii trip after oil change on my 2001 / oil filter fell off. had it towed the 1 hr back to shop.. my indie of many years.. full responsibility.

For an old rig like that lots of used engines. .. sooooo.. they got the motor. My only condition was that I get the donor Vin for my "approval". I ran the Vin through the Toyota/Lexus Service model and carfax. I saw fresh oil changes every 3-4 K in history.. also saw car totaled via light side swipe along entire side a few months earlier. .. light damage totalling the car. I could also see the service the engine had via the Toyota records. . shop got the used engine for for around $900 bucks. Remember that the tech has to cover this out of his pay!! .. that is how the shops work. and my tech had to do the work on the weekend

To throw him a bone / make it worth the while I said .. lets do 1. timing belt 2. water pump , et.c 3. radiator 4. PS hoses 5. Motor Mounts 6. Heater T's and all hoses 4. Starter 5. alternator 5. Pulleys 6. Fan clutch .. maybe other stuff I am forgetting (I sourced all the parts) / cash on the side.

He charged me about the same for the labor as he paid for the engine (maybe a bit less / don't remember) . Result is super quiet car .., Tech who at least broke even on the event so hopefully a bit happier doing the swap on his own time.

Consider this route / with the tech who made the mistake.. I was lucky the guy who did the change is a stellar mechanic who was just rushed that day.. the shop also took the opp to go through all their QC. For around 1500 out of pocket with all the new gear .. I think I did ok .

Donor Rig was at 145K / about same as my car. .. having all records for the donor engine is helpful. Cheers and hope this helps.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Hi there. I had exact same issue.. freezing new years eve back from skii trip after oil change on my 2001 / oil filter fell off. had it towed the 1 hr back to shop.. my indie of many years.. full responsibility.

For an old rig like that lots of used engines. .. sooooo.. they got the motor. My only condition was that I get the donor Vin for my "approval". I ran the Vin through the Toyota/Lexus Service model and carfax. I saw fresh oil changes every 3-4 K in history.. also saw car totaled via light side swipe along entire side a few months earlier. .. light damage totalling the car. I could also see the service the engine had via the Toyota records. . shop got the used engine for for around $900 bucks. Remember that the tech has to cover this out of his pay!! .. that is how the shops work. and my tech had to do the work on the weekend

To throw him a bone / make it worth the while I said .. lets do 1. timing belt 2. water pump , et.c 3. radiator 4. PS hoses 5. Motor Mounts 6. Heater T's and all hoses 4. Starter 5. alternator 5. Pulleys 6. Fan clutch .. maybe other stuff I am forgetting (I sourced all the parts) / cash on the side.

He charged me about the same for the labor as he paid for the engine (maybe a bit less / don't remember) . Result is super quiet car .., Tech who at least broke even on the event so hopefully a bit happier doing the swap on his own time.

Consider this route / with the tech who made the mistake.. I was lucky the guy who did the change is a stellar mechanic who was just rushed that day.. the shop also took the opp to go through all their QC. For around 1500 out of pocket with all the new gear .. I think I did ok .

Donor Rig was at 145K / about same as my car. .. having all records for the donor engine is helpful. Cheers and hope this helps.

That's an awesome way to turn a terrible situation into a good/better one.

 

[3_puppies]

It’s toast. Where’s the best place to get a replacement? Any tips for picking a junkyard motor?

there is this guy who has 1 or 2 100 series parts rigs in MT.
as this isn't classifieds, PM if interested.

 

[nitteo]

Hi there. I had exact same issue.. freezing new years eve back from skii trip after oil change on my 2001 / oil filter fell off. had it towed the 1 hr back to shop.. my indie of many years.. full responsibility.

For an old rig like that lots of used engines. .. sooooo.. they got the motor. My only condition was that I get the donor Vin for my "approval". I ran the Vin through the Toyota/Lexus Service model and carfax. I saw fresh oil changes every 3-4 K in history.. also saw car totaled via light side swipe along entire side a few months earlier. .. light damage totalling the car. I could also see the service the engine had via the Toyota records. . shop got the used engine for for around $900 bucks. Remember that the tech has to cover this out of his pay!! .. that is how the shops work. and my tech had to do the work on the weekend

To throw him a bone / make it worth the while I said .. lets do 1. timing belt 2. water pump , et.c 3. radiator 4. PS hoses 5. Motor Mounts 6. Heater T's and all hoses 4. Starter 5. alternator 5. Pulleys 6. Fan clutch .. maybe other stuff I am forgetting (I sourced all the parts) / cash on the side.

He charged me about the same for the labor as he paid for the engine (maybe a bit less / don't remember) . Result is super quiet car .., Tech who at least broke even on the event so hopefully a bit happier doing the swap on his own time.

Consider this route / with the tech who made the mistake.. I was lucky the guy who did the change is a stellar mechanic who was just rushed that day.. the shop also took the opp to go through all their QC. For around 1500 out of pocket with all the new gear .. I think I did ok .

Donor Rig was at 145K / about same as my car. .. having all records for the donor engine is helpful. Cheers and hope this helps.

very fair on both sides.

thats great how you handled it. mechanics are human too and are working to make a living like the rest of us.

i am still going through a mistake a mechanic did to my truck and i dont harbor any bad feelings. just lesson learned to make sure i take my cruiser to a known cruiser shop IF i ever want someone other than me doing the work.

 

[Eicca]

there is this guy who has 1 or 2 100 series parts rigs in MT.
as this isn't classifieds, PM if interested.

PM sent.

 

[e9999]

well, at least the shop is stepping up to the plate. They should, but these days it's not a given. Good for them. And for you.

It's not unreasonable for the shop to want to source the engine if they will warranty it (they should). It's also not unreasonable for you to expect an engine that is at least as good (mileage and more) as the one you had.
I suppose you could source the engine yourself and have them put it in, but they would then likely and reasonably not offer any warranty beyond the labor they provided.

 

[ponytl]

I have done many of these (engine swaps) one of the easiest engines to exchage ever... you can check some of my old threads but just about ANY 4.7 in that year range will work... tundra, sequoia, 4runner, ect... you will need your oil pan, exhaust manifolds, engine mounts, oilfilter housing... these engines can usually be found with 80k miles for less than $1k delivered... (only buy one where you can pull the carfax on the vin) only buy from a salt free area... for me and i'm slow it's a 5 out of 10 bananna job... allow 2 days... I do it alone with a forklift... remove hood struts and tie hood back... do a timing chain water pump rack bushings while the engine is out... all in all it's a simple deal... any local decent mechanic should be able to do it with ease.... I know guys who paid less than $1k labor some far less... a good guy with a little help could have it in and out in a day...

 

[batcon]

This is why I do my own oil changes.

 

[97 AZ LC]

I do it alone with a forklift...

Reminds me of an old Dave Barry DIY tutorial on "how to move the foundation of your home". The first step was "get your bulldozer".

 

[Eicca]

This is why I do my own oil changes.

Yeah, I did all the work on the family cars when I lived close to keep this kind of crap from happening....

 

[Blake1]

I am doing my oil changes again .. also good reminder on steering rack bushings .. I did those too. I think only after markets are available .. not oem

 

[Eicca]

UPDATE: It smells like the mechanic is trying to get out of doing the engine replacement. He keeps telling us it’s not worth it on a vehicle this old. He keeps offering to buy us another one, but obviously we can’t get an equivalent condition one for the price he insists on. He said the engine would be in two weeks ago but apparently still hasn’t ordered it. We asked about getting the timing belt on the new engine changed, and he said he was planning on it, but that it’ll be $600 for just the parts. He’s being difficult to contact. We’re worried that this could go south.

Also, it turns out the oil change that happened the week before the leak wasn’t even asked for! My mom had the oil done just two months prior and never requested it during the service visit. They did it for some reason, and a week later it blew up.

 

[2001LC]

You fulfilled your legal obligation to allow shop that messed up a chance to correct it.

 

[saucebox]

Dammit man, hoped it would go better for you and your mom.

 

[Eicca]

Dammit man, hoped it would go better for you and your mom.

Yeeeaaaahhhhh... I mean, it’s not over yet so hopefully once the guy actually starts the work it’ll be a quick ordeal.

And if I wasn’t in Boise I’d say just buy the motor for me and I’ll swap it myself.

 

[J1000]

Just started reading this thread and already my suspicions are confirmed. They probably were going to tell you they swapped in a replacement engine but actually do nothing since it still ran. Now that you are wiser they are backtracking.

 

[Eicca]

My mom got the car back today. She says it sounds just as good as it used to, and appears to drive normally.

It doesn’t sound like it took the shop very long to do the swap. I figured that was an easy task compared to others. It’s the easiest engine I’ve ever wrenched on...

What I find questionable is the mechanic saying the timing belt in the old engine was super frayed and worn out. I looked at it myself while doing the diagnostics. The belt looked totally fine. We had it changed a few years ago if I remember right.

Oh well.