I just bought it 5 months ago. I go to school across the state border and I'm only home on the weekends but with work on the weekends I really only have about a day and half free each week. I don't want to take it to a shop because of the huge cost it would turn out to be. I'm committed to fixing it though. I wish these used engines were as much as a rebuild.

 

Does it sound so bad that it's not worth fixing?

 

used 3.0's go for about 300 around here... no one wants them...
in fact, i was eying one last night to build how i want while waiting for mine to go...

 

I'm going to start calling places for a used engine and see how much they are around here. I was looking at the 3.4l swap forum but I realized that with me only being home on fridays starting in a month it would take forever to finish. So it's back to trying to get this fixed.

 

Never did anything like this so I have many questions. Where do I start on this? Compression check or start removing oil pan?

 

look around for some "you pull it" junkyards - often, if you can find an engine, you an get them for <$300, but you need to pull it out yourself (or pay them to pull it) - I think there's one near Water Gap, PA called Capitol Auto Parts, and of course there's Joe's EZPull in New Ringgold, PA (http://www.wehavecars.com/), but Joe's is usually pretty well picked over

 

Thanks so much for the reply. I am open to anything at this point and you telling me that I can get one for less than $300 relatively close sounds better than messing with the internals. Joes ezpull is about 110 miles west from me. Capitol auto parts in bangor pa (thanks google) is about 50 miles west of me. The only you-pull it by me is GI auto salvage in pine brook, nj but I think they closed down. How heavy is the 3vze? Can I bring it home in the back of a station wagon or would that kill the suspension?

 

Not sure about the weight.

Check your local craigslist, put a Wanted thread if you want.
You might find something right down the street.

I say tear it down, see what you find, and learn to wrench on it, if that is something you desire. If the motor is blown, whats the worst that can happen? It will give you some futher insight on the motor which is always good. You can consider rebuilding yours, swapping in a different one that might need to be rebuilt as well, or swapping in a 5vze which I plan on doing in the future.

Good luck
-Mike

 

I just sent "parts requests" to both.

 

im pretty sure that the 3.o weighs around 350... maybe more, but i know that its not as much as my 456lb SBC 400... and thats all cast iron...

a station wagon would be fine, but bring a tarp and a spare tire or something else to hold the motor up...

i had my motor roll across the bed of our dually when it was on a tire and had 4 ropes holding it... so just take it easy...

 

There are engines around. The price varies a lot in this area (between $300 and $1600). Just a matter of finding the right one.

 

I would love to do that but I'm limited on time. I would like to have it running in a few weeks if not then 3.4l swap is what would happen but don't get excited because it would take years at my pace. Going to school out of state doesn't leave you with any time to work on stuff. I

 

Hmm, That interesting. I don't think I could talk my pops into using his "new" forester for that though. I'll figure it out. I don't have the luxury of knowing buddies with trucks. I need to find "new" friends. lol I talked to a friend of mine and asked him for a cherry picker or engine hoist. He called a friend which has a race car and knows what he is doing. The guy said "does he know what he's doing, this kid" lol Well at least I sound like I do asking for a cherry picker and what not haha. So right now I'm on the hunt for a engine and I might get lucky and get to work on it in a shop. Otherwise it will take me a lot longer in my driveway to do it. So far taking it one step at a time. I appreciate all the help I'm getting on the board. I wouldn't be able to get nearly as far with out all the info and helpful/friendly people.

 

When I go looking for an engine how do I know if I'm getting something good? Or is it just luck? It would suck if I were to go through all this and end up with an engine just as bad or one needing a rebuild. I am willing to pay up to 500 for this engine if it works right. The headgasket issue scares me the most so I won't pay more for the engine. Plus I need to do the exhaust. It's very rusty and I bet it will fall apart when I do the swap. I replaced the muffler so far and that helped a little.

 

Well, here are my observations so far:

1. Finding a replacement engine vs fixing the existing one. You need to get that engine out and see what the problem is. More than likely, it is repairable, and you won't need to deal with guesswork on a replacement. This will be the cheapest, and least time consuming route. Finding a replacement isn't hard, but like you are already finding out, you don't know the history of the replacement. You might think that it will be easier and less time consuming to just put a different engine it, and it would - if it were already rebuilt. You would be foolhardy to just throw a used engine into the truck, without tearing it down first.

In my case, the engine had 2 blown cylinders and a hole blown through the oil passage on the inside of the block. So I had no choice but to look for a new one. I got lucky in finding a cheap replacement, but I still had to tear it down to make sure it was all good. My replacement ended up having a spun bearing and had to be fixed. In either case, the engine needed new gaskets, and the water and oil pumps were replaced.

2. You are obviously not relying on the truck as your single mode of transportation. And, you sound like you want to keep the truck and get it running again. So, you've got all the time to get it back in shape. The question I have is, besides the engine and exhaust, is there anything else that needs attention? While the truck is down, it's a good time to take care of anything else that might need worked on.

3. You don't have a garage to work in, or some tools necessary to do the job. That one's tough. Having the right space to do the work is crucial, dealing with the weather while working on your rig will discourage you more that the work at hand (been there, done that). I don't know your housing situation, but you might be able to get by with at least one of those portable garages.

4. Going to school = lack of money. Understandable, but look at point #2. You have time. If you plan it out right, you can get all the things you need over time to get it running. Again, been there, done that.

Here is the bottom line. You need to have the ambition and desire to work on this project, if you want to get it done. The key word is project. You need to plan everything out, and take each step methodically to reach your goal. When I worked on my truck, I had no experience with rebuilding an engine. I turned wrenches on everything else, so had some mechanical knowledge. I started out by using a spreadsheet to plan out every step I would take to tear it down, repair it, and get it back together. The spreadsheet included pricing of parts, and included the pricing of different scenarios (rebuilding an engine vs buying remanned vs buying used vs buying JDM). Planning is key. Without a plan, your project will fail. Get yourself the service manual, and read the engine section. Then read it again. Read the other sections that are referenced from the engine section as well.

Saying all that, here is a word of encouragement. When you are done, you will be very proud of yourself for accomplishing what you did. You will also learn a ton about how your truck is put together, and how it runs. It's a pain in the butt sometimes, but in the end, it's all worth it.

I hope this post didn't bore you, or discourage you in any way. I'm just trying to give you a taste of my own experience.

 

one other thing to consider, and cyberman, im not trying to argue, butif you find a motor that was pulled in working condition, you could just drop it in without spending the green on a tear down... hopefully the replacement motor has nothing wrong with it, and it affords you some time to rebuild your original motor...
then you can scrap the replacement motor for money...

 

I didn't say it isn't an option, actually I had to make the same decisions. Short of doing the job correctly, everything else is a risk. It is pretty hard these days to find a good running 10 year old engine (edit: 13+ years) that is worth what the yards want to charge for it (at least in this neck of the woods). Ultimately, it comes down to the particular circumstance of the individual. He's got plenty of time to figure things out.

 

yup... i totally understand... i came from a family where you always have to have your vehicles running no matter what you have to do...
never know when your gonna need the vehicle...

 

I have a few weeks before I go back to school so if I can get it running again then that would be best. If I am going to have to spend more than $1,000 on this then I'd rather live without driving and start a 3.4l swap. The truck is the most useful vehicle at the house so it sucks not having it available. Luckily I can bum a ride to school and work. I just called one place that repsonded to my craigslist post and they want $1200 for a 3vze that supposedly has 80k miles. They are about 15 miles west of me. I'm about to start calling around to see what I can find.

 

I'm going to look at an engine at a junkyard in about an hour. It's in or out of a 4runner. Asking 400. What should I look for? How do I check it out etc. Is there somewhere on there that I can get a vin so that I can check if the head gasket recall was done on it? Any tips would help.