Designsbyme

The story goes; “If you run into high water, simply replace all your fluids, air filter, pull the plugs and turn your engine to eject any excess water from your engine. Have a nice day.”

This is not the case for me.

You can skip the story and go right to the question at the bottom.

I bought my 95 4 Runner about 2 months ago. Three weeks ago we had some heavy rain in my area and my fiancé and I went looking for trouble. Oh, we found it. We had already driven through some high waters several times before on some of our off-roading expeditions, up to two or three feet. On the night, the night I will never forget and always regret, we saw some water from a flooded creek flowing over the street. The flood sign had indicated that the water was no deeper than two feet. “No big deal for my runner!” As we proceeded through the water it hit, I was in over my head, or in this case, over my HOOD! :wtf: The water wasn’t that deep yes, but what I didn’t account for was how fast it was moving. My headlights disappeared and my plate was ripped right off! I was able to get my front end out of the water. No water got inside. Thirty minuets later the Police and Fire Department were at my rescue. They thought I was trapped in the middle and my life was endangered. Oops! I was then pulled out by the local Police and they called a wrecker for me. Thirty minuets later the wrecker shows up, on the other side of the flood water, to make a long story short, he too drove through and also needs a new engine.

The question;

I have a hole the size of a quarter on the right side of my block. My friend and I are almost done pulling the engine and I am in the process of purchasing either a new short block, or an entire engine.

As someone who has only gone as far as changing some spark plugs and belts, I’m seeking some advice from those who have more experience in the matter.

What would you do?

A. Purchase a short block, rebuild the engine with the old parts and move on with little expense. Approximately $1,500

B. Purchase a complete, rebuilt engine from a manufacturer with a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty. Approximately $3,250

I can afford either one, but it sure is cutting into my SAS budget. Damn it.

Also, while I have the engine out, what else should I do? I’ve considered headers because it’s dang darn tight under the hood.

Thanks for taking the time to read my troubles.

MTL_4runner

BruceTS just got a new motor too....you might want to PM him and ask where he got his.
I think he got a smokin deal on it (about $1500 for complete motor with 30k) and could direct you to the source.

WSU4runner

Go with the 3.4L If you can afford $3500, you could probably afford this one.

UKMyers

Ya I would consider doing the 3.4 swap. Offroad Solutions's conversion kit is on sale right now.

Designsbyme

Any links to websites with information?

UKMyers

Here ya go

Offroad Solutions

Someone who's done it

Some more reading

An old thread with pics

oly884

3.4 for sale

Supra motor

replacement engine

That last link is the company that I bought my engine after I blew mine up. I've put 10,000 miles on it and it's been good to me. If you just want a replacement engine, go for this one, I've had no problems than just normal engine stuff that needs to be replaced.

Designsbyme

Wow, getting a little expensive now. Keep in mind, this is not insurance money. This is money coming out of my pocket.

PoBoy

Yeah...3.4 swap is real expensive. Just rebuild it, swap a 3.0 in it, or sell it to me.

WSU4runner

$1500 for the 3.4 seems like a really good deal.

Designsbyme

I wish I could sell and get a new one. But I still owe $7,000 for it.

Designsbyme

That is a great deal. And I am so close to buying it. But they have yet to respond to me with mileage and such.

I really like the idea of having a 100,000 mile warranty too.
And, I’d like to have some extra cash left over for the solid axle swap.

RedRunner_87

Here's another thread on it.https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/i-blew-up-my-motor-24796/

He bought is motor from, http://www.nippon-motors.com/index.htm.

Hope that helps a little.

toy283

If you can find a 5yr/100K warranty on a rebuild, I'd go for that. Most OEM's don't offer that on new.

Designsbyme

Yeah I know. I've spent the past two weeks trying to find the perfect engine. I almost bought a complete engine off of ebay for $2,500. It supposedly had less than 30,000 miles on it. But the deal just didn’t feel right so I backed down. After some more research and a ton of calls, I found a place that sells remanufactured engines with that crazy warranty, AND THEIR LOCAL! While it’s going to cost me about $1,000 more, I think the peace of mind will be worth it. Now the problem is, getting it in and getting it to work. We’ll see!

My baby as she patiently awaits my return. I’ll never hurt you again. I’ll be home soon darling!

Stay tuned as I will be photo documenting the entire process.

MTL_4runner

Too bad it is so difficult to swap in the 3.4L because they are much cheaper to get that the 3.0L ones.
.....and you will be adding HP in the process.

Designsbyme

I’ve noticed that. Why is that? I looked into it, and it requires a whole host of new problems that, as an individual with no mechanical experience, I don’t think I could handle. Not to mention the $1,600 swap kit mentioned earlier. I need my car to run, it’s my daily driver and I travel all the time. I had it for 6 weeks and in that time I had already done 2 oil changes!

I could prolly come up with the extra cash for the swap, but I would have to barrow, and I wouldn’t have the peace of mind the warranty gives me. Alas, it will never end.

She ran very well once.

MTL_4runner

Here is basically what is entailled:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...5&pagenumber=1

Guy did a great job of detailing the process.
I do think it is a bit much for a first time endeavor, esp for a daily driver.

BruceTS

water=BAD

I really feel for you, I've been there.....

Designsbyme

Yeah, I read your thread today. I hope my repair goes as smoothly as yours did.
But I'm no wrencher. And torque wrench, what is that?

Just kidding, I have a book! lol.