julsruls

Make sure that it was swapped and then verify something is wrong with it. Whats it doing?? Did he drive it to you? Smoking? Anything?


Have another shop verify problem and document it. What is the warranty on it? Does all it have to do is start or does it have to start and run correctly??

rancherman

I've been corresponding with Trappeur over the past couple weeks, Man I feel bad about this.
I just finished up with a head replacement on my 2.4 with a bad gasket, and immediately had 'coolant pouring out the exhaust'...


Half hour later, I found I screwed up with 1 single hose put on the wrong nipple.. Manifold vacuum doesn't like to have coolant sucked into it. (just benind the throttle body). Maybe, just maybe, this happened here!
Dude from ebay, (texas based import chain) responded to Trappeur that
'They won't honor installation charges'..
I can see their point, IF THE DANG ENGINE AT LEAST WAS GOOD TO START!
.... but. if the idiot forgot to add oil, water, decided to see what 10,000 rpm sounded like, etc!..
They promise an engine that will be good for at least 30 days. Trappeur took on good faith their written word, and had it installed..
I suppose to pay even more to actually see what is wrong FIRST is probably the only way to 'go after' one of the parties...
Pretty sure they have the little 'over heated conditions indicator buttons' on this engine... If they are burst or missing... they usually are on the back of the heads, and behind the flywheel..
Karl, in his misguided ways, did his part.. he really needs to work on his people skills!
I've offered advice to Trappeur for contacting her BBB, Georgia consumer help, Texas BBB, Consumer help, Ebay problem resolver, CC protection plan.. anyone else come up with 'free or cheap support'?? (in case nothing else can be resolved)..

dromomaniac

Sorry that life has been dealing you so much bad. Really Sorry.

The above advice is good, including matching up the serial number. Did Karl mention specific reasons that he thought the hg was bad or the block cracked?

dromomaniac

As someone else said, i sort of thought that I was the only one with this kind of luck.

Since youre already having it towed you should soon have some answers. Unfortunately, unless Karl has ripped you off somehow you are probably out that money, and might have to spend more to do another install.

Hoses are a goog point. The 3.0 has about a billion hoses on it and Karl would had the fiddle with a few of them. Make sure the shop checks these with the diagram.

Im casually shopping for a jdm 3.4, and this story is not making me feel very confident. Hopefully Alex does the right thing if it is his mistake.

Again, sorry for your bad fortune. Lets keep our fingers crossed that this works out because you will be able to resolve more minor problems with your own hands and this forum, and your truck will provide many years of service.

Trappeur54

Wow everyone....thanks for all of your help. It is so overwhelming how everyone has come out to offer all kinds of help and suggestions.

But I'm tired and spent and so consumed with this horrible ordeal on Karls part and the guy Alex on Ebay. I might as well give up as there is no hope for me. I bought a lemon (or should say my sisters loaned me the money) for 1800.00 which is no good. I paid Karl 800.00 to install the lemon. He did his job finally and put me through the ringers but finally did it right up to the last minute of my warrantee that will be out this week. I haven't even been to bed as I have been up all night trying to figure out just how to make this all work....and I can't find a way.

The company I bought the engine from on Ebay called "alnjdmautomotors" won't make this whole deal right for me. He will only help with parts and no labor. I've been working with Alex the owner.


I don't care about his rules, regulations or stipulations he has listed on his site. I bought an 1,800.00 working used direct import engine with 50,00 miles on it supposedly direct from Japan. I didn't get that but a defective engine. I want him to pickup the engine at "his cost" - not mine and credit the credit card account of my sisters account. Geesh, I wonder what Karl will now charge me to take out of my truck? What another 800.00????I wonder if he could have some sort of pity for me and help me out.....probably not.....


I called Rays Tire shop in Blue Ridge to get a quote for a leak down test as you guys have suggested to me. i was just told it wouldn't tell me what area the problem is at; only that it is leaking...which i know that. It's 100.00 plus I'd have to tow it back and forth there.


I just learned how a gasket and heads work on a vehicle from another guy at an auto parts store...see I'm learning....Karl told me Friday that when he drove the truck after he put the engine in, it drove great (and I actually heard my truck going up and down the road) but when he got back in his driveway, water was pouring out of the exhaust. So he said either a cracked block or blown head gasket. He told me to buy an intake gasket and gasket set complete with bolts. I borrowed the money from a friend and have here in my possession. I haven't given it to Karl. He did say he wished he still had his compresser gauge tool. Now I can borrow one from a friend today, but what would that say? Yes, it's leaking, but where?

Now I believe Karl's intention is to replace the gaskets for 300.00 and see if that works. But I just learned that the proper way is to take the heads off and have them pressure checked first b/4 new gaskets are put on. I just called Kay's Auto Parts in Blue Ridge and they charge 35.00 per head to do this. If the heads are no good, then it's 250.00 to 300.00 per head each to buy new. Karl never mentioned that he was going to have the heads checked as he never told me that this would be an additional cost, so I'm assuming he wasn't going to even do this. I'm sure he wasn't going to lay any money out of his pocket to do this.....Man oh man oh man...........!!!! I didn't know that once he puts a gasket on and if it doesn't work that I can't get my money back because they have to be glued on....so there is 300.00 pis......d away on that.

You know what???????I can't do this anymore with money that I don't have and I shouldn't have to lay out any money on repairing an 1800.00 engine i just bought. I already spent 2,600.00 on my little truck and have nothing but a broke engine.

I might as well throw in the towel, hope and pray and beg, beg, beg, that the Ebay guy Alex will have some sort of pity for me and rectify all of this for me.
What else can I do????? I hope my sisters won't be too upset with me buying an engine to try and fix my truck instead of buying a used one. I really thought this would have been a win win situation for me....but I guess not...wasn't meant to happen for me.

So I guess I might as well crush my little truck and make a few dollars there.


If anyone here has an old clunker truck they would like to sell for 500.00 could you let me know?. I did buy one 1 1/2 years ago, an 89 Ford Ranger from Karl (yep, stupid me.)It lasted me that amount of time. Want to really hear a laugh? This hunk of junk was all I could afford. I hope no one takes offense but it's a a real redneck kid truck....This is how I have had to drive it.....
1. Has no side mirrors....ok...I got used to that.
2. The stick shift has a bright lime green skull on it for the handle. lol
3. It only drives with the high beams but the headlights are so old and faded that when I drive with the high beams no oncoming cars can detect it as they aren't that strong.
4. It has no horn.
5. To turn on my headlights the little lever handle that you have to use for the blinker to work....well this handle is tied up close to me with a piece of plastic wrapped around the steering column to hold it in place so it doesn't move and the headlights stay on. Well a couple of months ago the the plastic broke so I keep it tied with my scarf.....laughing yet?
6. Now to get my tail lights on I have to put 2 wires together under the dash and plug them into some sort of outlet.
7. I had been putting 2 quarts of oil in it every day just to drive 20 miles to town to work every day so I have been spending more on oil than gas...

When I bought it from Karl I knew about all of these things except for the engine which he didn't tell me about but Karl said it was pretty good, good enough for what I needed it for to run around in. Actually his son living there was the owner so i trusted him (yep, wrong here.....) other than that he said it ran good.....2 days after I brought it home, the brakes went out on it and had to replace them and 2 tires. Well the truck bit the dust 2 weeks ago. Runs on 2 spark plugs and I just installed 8 brand new spark plugs in the truck a couple of months ago, but being that the truck is literally blowing oil out the engine the spark plugs stay soaked...but oh well...I got my 500.00 worth out of the truck in 1 1/2 years.

So if anyone has or knows of anyone that has a clunker truck they might want to sell, could you let me know please?

Thanks.

Trappeur

julsruls

No offense but just giving up is a silly answer to this.


You can not do anything until you have figured out what is wrong with it. Did you check if engine was even swapped?? If it was swapped then you need to find out whats wrong with it.


If your not happy with karl than stop dealing with him.


Find a local shop that does good work and send it there to get it diagnosed. Have a professional place tell you what is wrong with it. Then go from there. One step at a time.

Trappeur54

[B][/B

Good morning guys.....

You know in all honesty, I really don't think Karl would rip me off and not install the engine I bought....I really don't. He may be an uncaring and horrible horrible people skills person like Rancherman said but I really don't think he would do that to me. Why would he? Well, I could think of quite a few reason why, but I don't think so. Believe me, I side step and tread very lightly around him. It's going to be I know a problem for me to go over there and ask him to find the serial numbers behind the alternator to check...but I will....Maybe I have even knocked him too far...I don't know.....He is a person but unfortunately is lacking quite a few skills. But I really don't feel I deserved all of this and him being so sneaky, etc. etc....When I ask him questions, he should know better that this is not my field and I am so intimidated by him...I try not to be, but can't help it.

This is really a case for a man to be taking care of instead of me! Anyone want to volunteer for me? Oh well, had to throw in a laugh here, especially for myself as I really need it right now.

Have a good day everyone.

Trappeur

FGZ

Look at the S/N on the engine that is not in the truck. If Karl did the swap, the one not in the truck should be your old motor and its SN should not match the eBay product.

Here is the SN on my motor which is not the same as your motor but here is an example. Note how it is stamped into a smooth portion of the block.



Mine was on the driver's side, behind the alternator. The alternator is the thing in the bottom right of this picture, note how it has a pulley on it and a ribbed aluminum housing.



Forum members who share common interests, and care about them enough to positively contribute to the body of knowledge on a forum, are generally, typically, great folks. We're here to help. Unfortunately, we're not there in person to help, so our help is pretty limited and our advice may not be spot-on. But for what we're worth, we're here to help.


And julsrls is right - you can't give up. Buck up - you got this!

HighLux

Why are no members from Georgia stepping up here?

At least look at the truck? Talk to Karl?

Surely someone lives close to you.

Lets go Yotatech....lady in distress. 911. Sirens.

Hup hup.

I got $50 bucks if someone set up a paypal fund.

Where are your hearts?

dromomaniac

First off, the serial number is in the same place as the 22re, behind the alternator. Seems unlikely that he would attempt something so brazen, but if it does turn out that way, those are some criminal charges.

Now, about your options.

Option A "fix the Yota":

you're out $2600. You spend another $400 for another engine, but that recovers $1800 that you've spent, meaning that you've only LOST $1200. Now you have to pay for another install. Let's say that's another $1000. So, you end up spending an additional $1400 including install, but that prevents, at least, the total loss of your initial engine cost ($1800). You end up spending $4000 total and have a running truck that should be good for quite a few years. Not an ideal price, since you can buy a running Toyota 4x4 around Chattanooga for $2500 any day of the week. But, in theory, you'll have a low mileage working rig.

Option B "Crush the Yota":

Worst option. You get maybe $400 back, meaning that you're out $2200 and you still need to buy another vehicle.

Option C "Some sort of craigslist thing":

try trading the truck in its current state for a less desirable rig that runs. OR try getting more than scrap value and apply that to purchasing another rig. You might manage to get $1000 back without parting it out, but this will take time. You lose $1600 flat out.

Option D "Fix the current engine":

you wrote that you're having it towed to a shop for testing. You pay another wad of cash to have the current engine repaired. We don't know what that amount is because we don't know what's wrong. But the total cost will probably be a little more than option A.

It doesn't sounds like the supplier is forcing you to get another opinion on the truck. Therefore, I dont see the point of having it checked out at the shop. That's just more money down the drain, unless you proceed with option D.


Edit-I forgot to mention: do not pay Karl for anything else, ever.

Trappeur54

OMG..... for real....you guys, all of you are so terrific..I'm sitting here crying for real no joke at all of you! I feel like you are all my family trying to aide their little girl....oh my...thank you, thankyou, for taking the time to get me through this....

I was just getting ready to walk over to Karls when he called me. I guess I'll take a deep breath and go talk to him and tell him I need to check out the engine serial number for Alex at Ebay and figure out something to tell Karl so he is not suspicious....hmmmmm I can't look at my engine on the ground and write down any serial numbers without him thinking something funny. Ok....I'll do it.
Great pictures FG..that will help me.

Lux: You are so funny! lol.....I sure needed that good laugh

Dromo: Ok, when i get back I'm going to study and read over all your options.


I haven't taken the truck to a shop in town....need to figure out if you all think I should.

Ok, here I go to Karls.....Deep breath Trapp cause we are going to have a nice calm heart to heart with Karl.


Trappeur

FGZ

You're welcome.

And thank YOU for pronouncing it correctly - the Z is silent

Innocent Fool

1st off, REALLY sorry to hear about what you've gone through with this engine and this truck.
This sux on an epic proportion.

Having said that here's what I'm hearing: You have no vehicle and you have no cash
I've been in this position before and the only way out of it is to start looking at it yourself. There's no point in getting it towed all over creation to get other people's opinion and bleed out cash. We can give you the guidance/instructions and you can pull the wrenches. At this point you have nothing to loose.

1st thing: get the original motor back. You might need parts from it and it's worth money as scrap metal. You might as well get the money when you decide to cash it in. No reason your neighbour can't get it to your place. Put it in the yard or the back of your truck if you have to under a tarp or something.

2nd thing: Let's find out what's wrong with the truck. So far we're going on 2nd hand information...
Get the truck in your yard and answer these questions as best as you can:

- What color is the oil on the dipstick?
- What level is the oil on the dipstick?

- Is there antifreeze/coolant in the radiator
- What color is the antifreeze?

- Is the truck running? (Y/N)
No:
What happens when you try to start it?

Yes:
- Is the exhaust white when step on the gas?
- Does the exhaust smell like antifreeze?
- Are there bubbles in the Radiator when the engine is running?

We can walk you through the steps to diagnose the problem.
Once we know what the problem is then we can look at getting a solution

Trappeur54

Hi Guys,

I wanted to touch base with everyone and tell you all what happened with my visit to Karl's last night as my last post said I was going over there to have a nice cool, calm and collected chat with Karl. It went good..didn't start out good as he can be a handful with his horrible people skills but I hung in there and it ended good, well I thought so......

I have to make this message real short as I have to move my horses to another pasture right now and don't have much time. So when I come back, I'll post the details of what went on between us.

But I'll tell you the great part now so as not to keep you all in suspense.

Karl is going to fix the motor next week and have it done to roll out of his driveway to mine "Running" and do it all for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I'm giving him the clunker junker crappy Ranger I'm driving now that I had bought from him 1 1/2 years ago and he is doing all the labor for free! Now that is a deal if I must say so for myself as I was going to have it crushed for the 100 or so bucks they would give me as soon as I got my Toyota back (if I was ever going to). I can't drive it only to the horses right down the street or to Karls as that motor is shot and the whole dang truck is shot anyway.....

But I'm not out of the woods yet...This is all based on the fact that only if we find out that the head or rings are faulty and can be fixed. If it is a cracked block, man.....I understand that is a major production that I don't think I can handle to be quite honest.

So I'm not the mad woman today as I have been like yesterday and the previous 2 1/2 weeks since this whole ordeal started.

I'll answer everyones questions later when I get back..... Great questions Innocent....Am I supposed to know these answers? Oh my word! But I'll do it. I'll figure it out somehow.

Trappeur

Trappeur54

i better take a video of this.....lol i hope it doesn't come to this, but if it does, i will i guess have to do this....thankyou...trappeur

HighLux

I feel better now. Still want to punch Karl in the face....but better.


Glad things are in the works to get better. Im still watching though.

$^#@*$@& Karl.

Innocent Fool

Experiences like this can be a long and wild ride. It's times like this when I buy a lottery ticket. It can only get better from here. Glad to hear things are working out with your mechanic. Sounds like he'll take care of you from here

Good luck with the project and keep us posted

Sturmcrow

There was a post above about a fellow that accidentally had one hose in the wrong place that gave the exact same problems that your truck is having, coolant coming out of the exhaust.

Could be that Karl already found the problem and is looking to get his Ranger back for free.

Trappeur54

Well, my little visit to Karl, turned out pretty good, well, I think it did with the exception, that which is par for the course, I'm at his mercy to his time period of fixing my truck. And I even asked him if he could please get on my truck right away as I don't want to lose any jobs of mine. After all from day 1 he said he would start right away when I brought him the engine and would be done in a couple of days AND he said he needed the money and also advised he had nothing to do! He never started til 2 1/2 weeks later. I was just notified today by 1 client that since I cancelled two appointments with her, 1 last week and 1 this week as I rescheduled with her from last week because I wasn't able to get to Tennessee where she lives, so she would find another source. All because Karl promised me going on 4 weeks ago that 1 would have my truck fixed the first week I brought him the engine and he defaulted. Then my appointment this past Tuesday and today I had to cancel also because I couldn't get to work, so I lost 250.00 out of my pay.... So I had to sit home 2 days this week. Karl said he would try and fit me into his schedule which was very busy as he supposedly had 4 different people with vehicles he was going to be working on this week that had to be done and his Uncle's vehicle had to get a motor installed in (when he has 3 running vehicles)....Lets see.....how busy he was? Ummmmm well, today is Thursday and there has not been any vehicles in his driveway from any supposed customers, but I did see him working under his carport on HIS old chevelle, and I did see him working out in his yard burning trash.


Monday evening I went over and we had a decent conversation. Oh, it started out a little rough with him belittling me but I got through it.....I guess I should have known that you should never order or buy any engine from anyone without testing it first. Supposedly I was an idiot for buying on Ebay in the first place per Karl when I could have gone to a junk yard and bought something in person because per Karl, in junk yards you can hear the engines run before they leave the place.....And I was also advised by Karl that a japaneze direct import is not that....meaning when I told him that these engines come over the water...he laughed and said that they may come over the water, but generally being that they are made in japan, they do come over the water to the u.s. but then they are sold when they hit the U.S. and then companies such as where I bought my engine from buy the the engines from wrecked cars here in the U.S. and not Japan. NOW, IS THAT TRUE?


As far as bringing my truck to an auto shop in town to have a leak down test done.....I did not do. Karl said he knows what he is doing as he has been doing this for 30 years now and knows how to fix the engine without these tests. I asked him why would he replace the gaskets without bringing the gasket and heads to an auto machinest where they pressure test these things first. He said he was in fact bringing these pieces there to be done and why do I need to know all the details as it wasn't important that I know it. hmmmmmm...real nice fella here.

Then he told me that should they find the head is cracked, the machine shop would try and fix it first if it was at all possible. And if not, I would need to buy a new head which runs 150 to 200 a head new if I could even find one he said. I then stopped him and said that I do NOT want any head repaired as that is labor which I would have to pay for as the Ebay guy will not be responsible for any labor costs but they would help out and buy the parts of what was needed. And being that I've already got 1,800.00 spent on the purchase of an engine which is supposed to be a running engine with good parts on it, there is no way I want a a repair job done. I told Karl to make sure to tell the shop not to try and repair as I want a NEW head and then the Ebay guy, Alex would be paying for it, and not me. So now hopefully I have another cost covered where I wouldn't have to sink money into.


I also told him about what happened to Rancherman with putting a wrong hose in a wrong area by accident and his reaction was that he is not an idot and that he always checks to make sure he has done all correctly. So that didn't go over to well in me asking to maybe he could see if that might have happened to him?


So as it stands, I was told to leave everything up to him and stop worrying and being concerned about the truck as he knows what to do and he is pretty much sure its a gasket or head as he said generally if there was a cracked head it would be due to overheating and would know when he pulls the gaskets and heads off as he would be able to tell to see where it was rusty.


I did not look for a serial number as we walked outside as my original engine was in the bed of the truck and it was very obvious that the new one was in the truck and he would have questioned me why I would need it and like I said, I truly believe it was not switched.

He actually showed me when he turned the key of how the truck turned over immediately and it did. He did tell me that the engine was skipping but that is all I know.


And as we stood talking, I told him as soon as I get my truck back (if I ever do) that I'm going to crush the Ranger as it is really shot and get whatever 100.00 or 150.00 I could make off of it and then he said that he would do me a favor being that I was strapped for money, he would do the labor for free in exchange for the Ranger which he already had some type of engine he would put into it. I couldn't believe he said this....I was so happy.


So if all goes well, and hoping that it is only a blown gasket or head and not a cracked block this is what I will have in my truck....

1. 1,800.00 for new engine.
2. 800.00 paid to Karl for labor
3. 35.00 to pressure test the head and gasket
4. Maybe some more oil and antifreeze
5. Free labor to do all the new work
6. I bought 6 quarts of oil and a filter..can't remember what it cost
7. Antifreeze I bought can't remember what it was

I already spend 265.00 on new gaskets that I just gave to Karl that Alex at Ebay will credit my sisters credit car.

If I need a new head, that should fall under a new part and Alex pay for that.

I'm not out of the woods just yet, but I hope to God, this will be the end for me. We shall see.

So now I sit and wait till Karl decides when he wants to do this work while I wait patiently with no vehicle, having clients of mine getting aggravated at me not being able to get my work done for them or losing another job while he is doing other work for people who have running vehicles. Last night I left a message for Karl I would greatly appreciate it if he could possibly work on my truck and have someone else wait a bit till he got me done as I'm in a very bad predicament and hope he could understand and oblige me.

So as he told me, next week, he will have me done and rolling.

Trappeur

FGZ

Sorry to keep harping on this, but do you think he DID swap the eBay JDM engine or not?

Swapping the motor is what you paid him $800 for, not doing a headgasket on your old motor. But if he does a HG on your old motor and gets it running for $800 I'd say you're golden, because then you have an $1800 JDM engine you can sell.

I think you're saying that it looks really obvious that he did in fact swap the motor, I'm just making sure I'm reading right.