Had a rebuilt 3VZE installed in my 90 pickup by Sunworst Automotive near Spokane. Paid them $4,000 for the install in addition to the cost of the fully dressed long block. Things they didn’t do or overlooked during the install: didn’t set the timing on the engine. Pushed it as far as the bracket would go. Reused the old spark plugs. Crushed the wiring harness under the engine so it melted. Reused the old thermostat (which failed within 500 miles). Reused old, cracked spark plug wires. Reused the wire from the ignition coil that wasn’t even the right part and had melted through the housing of the ignition coil. Rebuilt the clutch so badly it failed within the first 500 miles ($800 to tow it b to their shop). Lied every step of the way (they said they were late with the work because no one sells starters for this engine when Toyota still sells OEM starters. They said the reason why the transmission seized up and dumped fluids all over the street was “a bad fuel injector.” None of the fuel injectors were replaced. I could go on).

I’ve been dumping money into trying to save this truck. I’ve replaced the power steering pump, the air intake, TPS, coolant temp sensor (OEM), oxygen sensor (Denso), alternator (reman), all vacuum lines and all coolant hoses (OEM), distributor cap and rotor (OEM), spark plugs (Denso), steering stabilizer, front and rear shocks, rear bushings. The list is almost endless.

And now this. A slight thunk and the battery and brake warning indicators lit up. Looked under the hood and the pulleys are all wonky. A couple of belts slipped. Am I right in thinking the engine’s dead? What could have caused a brand new engine (2,000 miles on it) to fail like this?

 

The fan bolts could have come loose, or the water pump bracket broke.

Did the fan eat the radiator? the fan looks like its toast.

Man that shop did you a dirty.

 

I think after telling us what they did you answered your question……with that many screw ups who knows what else is going to fail. Have you talked to the shop in a brash but mature way to let them know that they suck and you want it redone??

 

Your (what RockAuto calls a) "Radiator Fan Clutch Bearing Bracket" has broken. RockAuto has them for $82-$117; apparently Toyota doesn't sell the part separately. https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/sho...rimLevel=18380

RockAuto also has the fan, but if you're not beating your rig to death in the desert you could probably get by with your old one (but for the money, why?) You don't show the radiator; when my Bracket let go I stopped as soon as I heard the noise and the radiator had very little damage (even after driving another 1 1/2 miles to the mechanic).

Yeah, it's possible Sunworst did something to causes this, but not likely. The repair will take an amateur like me a while, but no special tools are needed and you could do it in a parking lot in a pinch. Replace the belts while you're at it.

 

As a former service manager here's the best advice I can give. Keep in mind, I'm in California and you're not.

1) assemble all the paperwork you received. Paperwork when you dropped off, along with final invoice. If you have texts- print them.
2) In California we have an agency called the Bureau of Automotive Repair(BAR) I imagine WA has something similar. Go to their website and review their rules for a proper repair order. The Calif BAR has an awesome pamphlet called "Write it Right". It was required reading for all my service Advisors.
Determine what damages are directly attributed to the repair shop. Put a dollar value on each one at fair market rate. If the elapsed miles and time is very recent your case gets stronger.
3) contact the repair shop in writing, either regular mail or email, requesting they fix the problems noted. you want something you can show a judge, so phone calls won't work. Judges like to see you tried to remedy the situation with the shop prior to filing.
Assuming they decline to help, file a complaint with the state agency that governs repair shops. They'll investigate and their findings and recommendations will give you an idea how strong your case will be.
4)You might have to get your vehicle to another shop and pay for an estimate to fix all the outstanding issues.
5)with all your paperwork, including the findings of that state agency and second repair facility, go to small claims. Typically the person with the best documentation wins. At least that stage. Winning a judgement and collecting money are two very different things. You can request money for the repairs, the second shop if there is one, towing to the second shop etc. Pretty much any cost you incurred because of the poor repair.

Most repair orders are horribly written. This is mostly the fault of the shop, but consumers have a hand in it. I haven't seen your paperwork so I can't offer any opinion there. But that alone sinks most shops.

I highly recommend reading this and use the tips when working with shops in the future. It's not long, and clearly written
Write it Right

That idler pulley is a common part to replace, so it might have just failed. but if the belts were too tight that wouldn't have helped matters.
Man, after reading the laundry list, why did you continue to use them?

 

The fan did not eat the radiator, so that’s a plus. In addition to the pulley bracket failing, the coolant line running through the firewall to the heater core let go. There was a nice fountain of coolant and steam in the cab (video for entertainment value). The belts were on my short list to replace because they reused the old belts when they installed the engine. The fan clutch and fan are both new, both Aisin. The fan’s clearly shredded. Should I assume the fan clutch and water pump are gone as well?

In my defense, I chose the shop because they claimed to specialize in rebuilt Toyota engines and they were close enough (300 miles or so away) that it was feasible to have them do the install as well. That way, there was one shop responsible for all of the work, so no finger pointing. I took the truck back to them after the clutch failed because it was warranty work, and because they were closer than home when the truck died.

After I got it back I spent the better part of a month systematically walking through the truck with the FSM testing system by system, replacing anything that failed or looked questionable and noting where things were obviously incorrect or not done at all. When I had them do the work, I knew next to nothing about the truck. It would have been a very different conversation if I were picking up the truck now. There were things that I would notice immediately, like the alternator pushed to the end of the timing adjustment bracket, or the radiator hose put on backwards so it was jammed against the steering assembly, or the old spark plugs, or the old distributor cap, and so on. To give you all credit, there’s no way I could have done the work without this forum. It was invaluable with troubleshooting and with understanding how things worked. Many thanks to you all for that. It was time I hadn’t planned on devoting to the truck, but I definitely learned a lot in the process, and it was sort of fun at times. Adding upgrades like intermittent wipers, door pockets and a rear view mirror from a 4Runner were moments to celebrate (I’m in Seattle, so yeah, intermittent wipers are a big deal).

 

Not necessarily. Unlike some other vehicles, the fan is not attached to the water pump. The water pump is driven by the timing belt. When the bracket broke (probably a bearing twisted in the casting) it just loosened the PS, alternator, and A/C belts.

If you didn't clobber the fan hard enough to tear up the radiator, I doubt the fan clutch took much of a hit. In general, with a failure like you show the fan is no longer driven as it starts to tip. The momentum is enough to abrade the plastic fan blades, but the fan stops turning pretty quickly.

The only FSM test for the fan clutch is "check for damage and oil leakage." http://web.archive.org/web/201411140...09waterpum.pdf If you have either of those, replace it. Does it feel wobbly? Like it's full of rocks? If not, I'd keep it.

 

To me the fan clutch looks intact and the pulley is aligned to it. Just installed a new water pump on a 22RE. The 4 bolts that hold the fan base to the water pump shaft flange also secures pulley. From,the pictures, my guess is these bolts were installed finger tight to locate the fan in place, but not properly tightened, so they eventually worked loose. They are easy to get too but not in plain sight, so could have forgotten. In 2000 miles they could have backed out/

The water pump and fan assyembly maybe fine. Just would need 4 new bolts to put it all back together. Might look wore than it is.

 

Omak90truck has a 3VZE. On the 3VZE, the fan attaches (through the pulley) to the Radiator Fan Clutch Bearing Bracket. The fan is not connected to the water pump, like it is in the 22re.

 

OK. Thanks for the clarification.

 

Now I'm a bit confused.
You were working on things under the hood a month after you got it back?
Some of the shortcomings of expectations of the repair is poor communication. And that's really the joint responsibility of both the shop and the consumer when the initial work order is being written.
If actual work documented and charged on the invoice is faulty you have a legitimate bone to pick with them. Otherwise.....

 

I took a closer look at the damage this morning. The fan clutch and the fan pulleys seem fine. It appears the bearing in the casting that holds the shaft disintegrated. The shaft was lying loose inside the casting. It also looks like the brackets holding the alternator are bent. The PS pump doesn’t have any visible damage.

Do I need to remove the timing belt cover to replace the fan bracket? If so, I would want to replace the tensioner to make sure it’s in good shape. Anything I should be aware of or check when I replace the bracket? Also, is it possible to run the engine for 30 seconds to move the truck into a much better place in the garage to work on it? It would be running off battery, it would have coolant and oil pressure, but no power steering. I hesitate to even try, but I thought I’d ask because it would be much more convenient if I could move it.


The alternator looks like it was pushed back.

 

It should be OK to run it briefly after all the drive belts have been removed.

You will have to remove the timing cover plastic to change the fan bracket and look at the timing belt tensioner.

 

Edited because I was wrong...again lol

Running with out the belts means no alternator or power steering. No fan, but the water pump still works. You can drive as far as your batter will let you, just dont let it over heat.

 

Wait, now I’m confused. I’m pretty sure the fan bracket is separate from the water pump on the 3VZE, isn’t it? I read through this post about replacing it: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ite-up-250004/ and it didn’t mention needing to touch the water pump in the process. If I do need to remove the water pump, I would need to remove the timing belt. That takes thing to an entirely different level of complexity that I wasn’t planning for.

According to the post, I have to remove the fan, shroud, clutch, pulleys, battery and air intake to make room. Then drain the coolant and remove the top radiator hose. The plug wires will need to move, the coolant inlet has to come off, then I’ll need to loosen or remove the bracket for the Power Steering pump and the timing belt cover. That should give me access to the fan bracket. A straight swap with an Aisin replacement and reassemble. I’ll need to use gasket seal on the coolant inlet, so 24 hour cure time is required for that.

Am I missing anything important?

 

Oh frick yes it is! Its been a while since ive been in one...

 

I’m in the process of removing the old fan bracket. While I was taking the belts off the engine a thought occurred to me. The AC on the truck hasn’t worked in years from the looks of the parts. When I looked at it I found multiple issues like missing components and cracked coolant lines, etc that tell me the system would need to be rebuilt to ever operate properly. That’s not something I’m working on for now, so the AC is effectively disabled already. .

That got me wondering about the ac pulley belt. Couldn I remove it for now? From what I can see, that belt only drives AC, so it shouldn’t affect anything else. It would be one less thing to worry about right now, and I might even get slightly better mileage because the drag from the ac pulley is gone. I’m guessing I would want to disable to ac idle up as well buy plugging the idle up vacuum line. Am I missing something or is it a reasonable option?

 

The AC belt can be removed without issue.
The AC idle up only functions when the AC controls tell the compressor to run, so you should have to do nothing but leave that system as it is.

 

Got everything removed and took a look at the timing belt. It’s done. Debris from the failed bearing fell down onto the crankshaft pulley and gouged the belt. So much for a quick repair.

I’ve heard it’s a good idea to change out the tensioner and the water pump when replacing the timing belt. The water pump looks new (and should be). The tensioner looks new as well, but it also got coated in metal shavings and debris. Should I play it safe and replace everything, or just do the timing belt?

 

Also, with debris falling down on the timing belt gear, should that be replaced as well? I don’t see any obvious damage, but I can’t tell if there are small fractures or not.