brianwinchell

So my 1994 4runner has 63,000 miles total (it spent most of it's life on island in Alaska). With 27K on the car in 1998 the head gasket blew up and the engine was replaced by toyota with a new unit. Now 35K and six years later I took the car in for a taping noise. I was told the flex plate was cracked and had it replaced for about a grand. Now a week later I heard a noise that sounded odd again but was different sounding than the flex plate. The mechanic could hear it behind the timing belt cover. After looking at the car he reported back saying the crank shaft has gone bad and that the car needs another new engine. He suggested I contact toyota and see if they will stand behing their replacement engine since they replaced it and no toyota should have the crank shaft go bad after 35K easy miles. So I called Toyota today and checked the process of getting refunded for the first engine that had not been paid for via the recall campaign on the head gasket (I sent in a couple weeks ago) and then mentioned that the engine had gone bad again. They told me the replacement engine only carried a one year warranty. I asked if they could speed up their decision on the refund for the initial engine in 1998 since my new engine of 35K had already failed, there response was that the situation was out of their hands. until the recall dept had made their decision. Is this common for a toyota engine with regular maint. to have a crank shaft go bad? Should I take it to a toyota dealership to have it looked at? I trust my mechanic and am shocked that Toyota could care less that their product has failed me once again? The car still runs fine and is driveable, but just sounds bad. How long could I run it this way? Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks Brian
brianwinchell@aol.com

HondaTec521

Maybe the thrust washers fell out ? easy fix.

My99

I'd keep at toyota. A friend of mine only got about 30 or 40K miles out of his toyota replacement engine via the headgasket recall before it threw a rod. He didn't pursue the issue, but in your case, I would. Tell them you won't be buying another toyota if something isn't done. Good luck.