Hello Broyotas. The other day my engine started acting funny on me and started making a loud banging noise. I had it towed and the mechanic told me I needed to have my engine either rebuilt or replaced because:

1) My engine had been burning oil.
2) I spun my bearings.
3) There were metal particles found in what little oil they could drain from my engine.

I don't know much about engines. I had no idea my truck was burning oil as I got the oil changed every 3k-3500k miles (and I used the 5k high mileage oil). He quoted me at $4600 to replace the motor (that's parts and labor). That was using a remanufactured motor from Jasper.

I know that the factory 22RE (EFI) shouldn't cost as much as he quoted me ($3000) and that the labor was insanely expensive ($1600). I'm looking for advice. I can't do it myself. I don't have the knowledge or parts. Another one of my buddies told me about the high performance 22RE engines from LCE Engineering for $4600 that is 175hp. That sounds awesome but that doesn't include labor. I'm just between a rock and a hard place as I love my truck and want to get it going again ASAP.

The truck is still driveable minus the loud banging noise. My mechanic said the more I drive it the worse it will get and that it may be driveable for another 1000 miles or 1 mile before it completely broke down. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

I had my motor pulled, professionally rebuilt, and reinstalled for $2,200. It would have been less, but I needed a new crank and cam. You need to contact local machine shops for pricing. They usually will have someone who will pull and reinstall the engine for them fairly cheap. $4,600 is outrageous.

 

A factory short block will run you about 2.2k and doesn't include a head, head is another 7-800. And thats assuming someone can actually find one and the website isn't just blowing smoke.

You can source one from the autoparts franchise stores for about 2k, or online for quite abit less.

If you poke around on the net you can find the mitchell flatrate for an engine swap, it'll be 10+hrs. Keep in mind this is JUST pulling one and putting in another that is all ready to be droped in, stripping the old and preparing the new engine can double that.

1600 / 20hrs = 80$/hr thats below standard shop rates.

Not that I'm trying to drum up business for this mechanic. Obviously if you're not comfortable with the estimate or whatever, shop around and don't be afraid to get a second estimate.

Don't drive it. Incase that isn't obvious. You generally need a rebuildable engine block or you won't get your core charge refunded. And you become a road hazard if it lets loose any parts in traffic. And even if you're on a country back road your mommy might miss you.

It might take you a few more motors but eventually you'll learn to check the fluids on a regular basis

 

LOL thats not even thier "good" ones, and doesn't include lots of thier optional parts.

http://www.lceperformance.com/22RE-E...-p/1002003.htm

 

I wasn't talking about the price of the LCE motor, I was talking about the price quoted for a straight pull and replacement with a Jasper (junk) engine. LCE is very proud of their stuff, and there are several horror stories on the web of people who have bought them thinking they were getting what they paid for, and having their warranty dishonored.

$1600 is way to much in labor to pull a 22re, swap components over, and reinstall. It is borderline highway robbery considering a good shop, if the motor is sitting there ready, can have the swap done in one extended day. $800-1000 is more realistic.

Having the motor rebuilt at a machine shop should run about $1,000-1,500 depending on parts selected/required.

One thing to keep in mind when purchasing a reman engine- most of the people selling reman engines are doing it as cheaply as possible. They are boring every block out and every rod out to the max the motor can take, and using the largest bearings they can. They aren't measuring each one to only take what is needed. This mean that chances are, if anything does happen to your engine after the warranty period, you will be left with an engine that could not be rebuilt again, and you would not have a usable core.

If you do plan on buying a reman engine, you had might as well drive your truck as is until it blows. If you are gonna have yours rebuilt, park it.

If you do continue driving it, go ahead and change your oil to 20w50 and buy a genuine Toyota oil filter from the local dealership, but ask for the larger capacity one. This will give you a better shot of getting a few miles out of the engine before it lets go. With shot bearings, you have little to no oil pressure, so the oil will be doing all the work.

For the love of god learn your lesson and start checking fluid levels in your vehicles.

 

Just noticed the spun bearing note. If it truly spun a bearing and the motor was squealing to high heaven, you don't have much time left on the motor regardless of what you do.

 

Update: I decided to buy a "stage 2.5" from www.22reperformance.com

The reviews of this engine have been nothing but stellar from all the research I have done. I was eventually going to buy a hi-performance 22re for my truck so I figure now is the time.

I also found a Toyota mechanic locally who is willing to do the whole swap for around $500. In fact, I met him through a friend I made on this forum (thanks Terry!). I can't wait!

P.S. Lesson learned. Check fluids!

 

find a use engine for on craigslist and drop it in . I just pulled a 3.0 with a hole in the side of the block and swapped over all the electronics and motor mounts fuel injectors etc. to a late 90s 3.0 and had it running the same day. would take half the time with a 22re. you could do a 3.4 or 2.7 swap for under 2500. if want more power

 

Hi jameser84,

Thanks for sharing your experience with replacing an engine.
May I know if you're pretty happy with the 22RE Performance engine? How much miles per gallon have you been getting with it?

I'm considering getting a remanufactured engine myself, so would appreciate your insight.

BTW, Terry is also helping me make a sensible decision.

TIA,
RAD