Trinok

Ok, so here's my truck's info:
1990 SR5 Pickup XCab
3VZE w/ approx. 250,000 miles

A few weeks ago, one of the cylinders stopped firing. It happened while I was driving. It stopped, then fired for a while, then stopped again and did this sporatically for the rest of the drive. When I started it that next morning on my way to work, the cylinder was totally dead. Not only that, massive amounts of white/blue smoke was spewwing out the exhaust pipe. I parked it and got a ride from my dad. I was pretty sad.

I posted a few weeks ago asking about this. It's been sitting in my drive way because it's been too cold to work on it. I'm guessing it's a blown head gasket or valve guides. I'm not a very skilled mechanic yet, but I have a slight idea how to fix it.

My main question to you all is, what would be more fitting for an amateur mechanic like myself? Rebuild or swap? A swap is obviously going to be more expensive, but, money is tight and I'm hoping a rebuild would be easier. My dad says not to rebuild, because 'those aluminum engines are no good.' He also says once you take them apart, the blocks are really hard to fit together again because they warp when you take all the bolts out. The engine did overheat a few times, I'm not too sure how much damage was caused by these overheatings, so I don't know if the engine is totally screwed. However, until that cylinder quit firing, the engine ran great. It was a gas guzzler, but besides that it ran good. With 250,000 miles, I'm also wondering about the transmission. If I rebuild/swap the engine, the tranny could possibly go out on me soon. So should I just throw it away!? I love this truck, and I'm sure some of you have had this situation happen to yourselves. Please shine some of your YOTA wisdom on me! Is a rebuild too hard for an 'amateur' to take on? Or am I just wasting my time on an old truck...?

Thanks guys for all and any help!
-John

Trinok

No help at all? :[

cootees

Why not swap a rebuilt motor? Thats the route I went. Downtime was a big issue for me so I bought a rebuilt 3.0 from www.orientengine.com Most people are going to tell you the swap is the best way to go and I will agree with them, however in the long run it is more exspensive and the downtime of the vehicle is longer.

As far as rebuilding it yourself... heh... ask callmej75 about that.

celica

a swap will still be the same issue with the aluminum heads. If it were me I would get a rebuilt 3.0 and drop it in. Once you change over to the 3.4 your costs will skyrocket. Also the rebuild on your current 3.0 is going to cost just as much or more than swapping in a rebuilt 3.0. you will end up having to tear everything apart, inspect it, machine it, replace it etc. If you miss something then it will be the weak link. yes you do have the possibility that not much will need replacing but with 250K on it I would just pull it and drop a new rebuilt in it. It will be way quicker and easier. just my .02

snap-on

Im also of the camp that a 3.4 swap is only for those with money to burn.

My vote, buy a rebuilt 3.0 and drop it in.

level 2 is pull your 3.0 and have it rebuilt

level 3 is rebuild it yourself, but as you discribe yourself not something i would recomend.

callmej75

I will confirm this...get a remanned one from orient engine if money is tight. I would say if you had some mechanical background and some money then I'd either say swap in a 3.4, 4.3, 302, or 350. All of these motors would give you more considerable power than the 3.0 and the gas consumption goes down. If I had it to do all over again...I'd have a 4.3 or 302 in mine. Last but not least...my opinion...take that 3.0 out and kick it over the hill! It loves money..

cootees

The next runner I get will be a project and I will do a swap. I'm really liking the 1UZFE.. mmm... of course it is costly and downtime will not be an issue do to it be a project runner.

hektikwon

This all depends on your cash. I would say go with a rebuilt 3.0 with a warranty on it. Orient is a good place for that. Rebuilding yourself without the skills is just asking for trouble. Or swap in the 3.4 like I did. If you shop around you can get some good deals on the parts or just buy a rolled rig with the 3.4. The hardest thing for me with the 3.4 swap was the money cause I have a heck of a lot of things going on now. That's why my 3.4 doesn't have headers or a supercharger on it now, I don't know the exact total but it wasn't more than $2500 for sure, closer to $2000. Then I sold a bunch of parts that I couldn't use. Now if you want the swap quick, just buy the kit from ORS, cost more but you will have all of the parts. Oh and this is the first motor swap I've done.

JEDI87

What I am doing,if I still have it is,pull the engine and take off the alt.,power steering,and a/c,take it to the machine shop,have him rebuild and put back together,go pick it up,reinstall the accessories and drop back in,down time will be about 2-3 weeks and it will cost me $2,000.Not bad.It just cost me $2,800 to rebuild my 22re.

Trinok

Hmm... $2,000 from Orient...

How did you guys send them your old engine? Throw it on a pallet and shrink rap that bastard? lol Did they want just the block, none of the acc.? And how much does shipping an engine cost? I'll try and find a buckled Yota here in Colorado that has a decent engine if I can. The jacked up thing about my situation is I'm still paying off this Yota, so... keeping it is ideal. I owe about $2,000 on it still. So, a new engine is not impossible, but, I'm starting college in spring so money is going to be getting tight. But I also need a ride by then, so, I need to get her back running SOON! :[ And my engine I have now, only 1 cylinder isn't firing, how hard would it be just to get that cylinder firing again, even if it's for a couple of months? Like I said, before this, the engine ran great, so maybe I can still squeeze a little out of it. The only reason I don't drive it now is because all the smoke that spews out the exhaust. callmej75: Yeah, I already found out it loves money when I first bought it. I'm willing to give it a couple hundred more if I can get it running for a little bit longer. But, if a dead cylinder is a sign of sure death, please set me straight. :[

Trinok

BTW: Anyone here in Denver know of any place with good engines? Or have one yourself? I know there's some Coloradan 4x4ers on here... hook it up!

callmej75

I think Orient includes shipping in the price of the motor and they ship you the new motor...you take it off the pallet and put your old one on there and call them and say you are shipping it back and if I'm correct they send a carrier out to pick it up. Just gotta have a business address to send it to to avoid extra charges because they need a way of unloading the new and loading the old one. In other words if you have a business with a forklift or some kind of hoist to get it off then you won't be hit with the extra charges. Just go to their website and read their shipping info.

celica

If you are blowing smoke and you say inly one cylinder isn't firing - what do you mean - no spark? is you head gasket toast? if the whole engine hasn't cratered then you might be able to fix it.

callmej75

yeh specify...no compression on one cylinder? it overheated? sounds like rings and headgasket went

cootees

Thats exactly right. They do give you all the gaskets and for the new motor. You use all of your accessories. Basically it is just a long block that you get from them. They ship you the motor. You put your motor back on the pallet and they pay for the shipping back to them.

As far as fixing it... it could be different things wrong with it. Did you do a compression test on it? If it was overheating before then there is a chance that you may even have warped or cracked head.

Trinok

No I haven't done a compression test.

Well, it was overheating this summer, not often, only a few times. I wasn't sure if it was the thermostat trippin' or my water pump was dead/leaking. Actually, whenever I would let the truck idle, it would start to overheat, the night that cylinder died, I got pulled over and left the truck idling, it probably overheated like a mofo, I probably didn't notice because they busted out a K9 and I was scared of them finding my buds lol (which they did). The first couple of times I started it after the cylinder died, it sounded like an object was in the engine. I would turn it over and the engine would halt like it was catching on something. Now when I start it, it doesn't do that, like that piece fell down or something. Maybe a blown valve? Either way, all other 5 cylinders are fine, just that 1 is dead. The spark cable to that cylinder had a lot of that green corrosion crap on it too if that means anything. But now, it starts up fine, 5 cylinders fire, but GOBS of smoke make it more illegal than drunk driving lol.

Sorry I'm not the greatest at explaining this to you guys. I only know so much. Is there a way to tell if the head gasket is blown by simply looking at the engine? It looks like a little bit of oil is oozing out the side of the dead cylinder.

callmej75

Well first thing ya could do is pull the dipstick and see if it looks milky. Second, have your anti freeze tested for a blown head gasket if its not evident in the oil. Most mechanic shops can do that simple test. But gobs of smoke is telling me your rings are shot on that one cylinder and the head gasket is gone too. Rip the motor out and start tearing it apart and check everything.

Trinok

Thanks j75 ;] Will do. All your advice is invaluable! ;D Milky huh... will check that, and I'm gonna start rippin' her apart today I think. I'm gonna take a crapload of pictures though. The last time I replaced something on the engine (the fuel pulsation dampener), I didn't mark where everything was supposed to reconnect to, so I had a hell of a time reconnecting all the vacuum hoses and stuff lol. I still have one hose that's disconnected, I couldn't find anywhere to connect it. :|

Thanks everyone for all the help.

One other thing. The smoke from the exhaust smells really sweet... coolant I'm sure...

mt_goat

Talk to Mike @ ORS, they do 3.4 swaps and do a lot of business with the salvage yards in the Denver area, so he might know of some or even have one: http://www.offroadsolutions.com/meetthestaff.htm

I'm probably going to be selling a 93 3VZ-E with auto tranny and ECU with 115,000 miles on it because I'm swapping in a 3.4 engine soon, but I'm in Oklahoma City area and it might be a month or 2 before I pull the engine out.

My engine had the head gaskets and timing belt replaced @ about 53,000 miles by a dealer and has had nothing but synthetic oil since the break-in period was finished in 1993. I changed the oil every 3000 miles and have complete service records since the truck was new. I plan on doing a compression check before I pull the engine but it seems to be running great with no signs of problems. It is due (mileage wise) for a new timing belt and water pump.

cootees

I would suggest doing a compression test on it before you start disassembling the motor. This will give you a better idea of what it could be.

With the way you have been talking about it overheating you should definately have your heads checked out. I have seen so many aluminum heads that looked completely fine from the viewers eyes but were slightly warped or had a hairline crack.