Hi Everyone,

I'll provide a lot of detail, but if you'd rather not read all of it, essentially I'm asking whether to rebuild (not being confident enough or having the supplies/friends who do to do it myself) or just pony up and get a new car.

I drive a 4wd 1991 yota pickup deluxe std cab with a 22re that's got close to 180k miles (replaced gage cluster a few months back so I'm not totally sure). When I bought it, it was running fine, but after about a month I realized I really got shafted (price was too good to be true). I had a checked by a mechanic in the town I bought it in, but I now think he either didn't know what he was talking about or was in kahootz with the seller in ripping me off. I change my oil and filter dead on 3000 miles or 3 months, but I really think the previous owner must have thought it ok to just refill the oil every 3000.

It ended up needing a timing chain replacement (guides broke 2 weeks after purchase), had a speedo head problem (not a big deal, I know, but finding a new gage cluster for this thing was ridiculous) and developed very quickly 2 bad oil leaks that needed fixing. Anyway, after turning a $2k purchase into a nearly $7k purchase, it was finally running well, and I took it on a roadtrip across western Canada. I also used it to move down to Colorado from Washington.

It's still running well, but I'm starting to head a distinct knock on startup maybe 1 out of every 3 times I start it. It only knocks maybe 4-6 times, but it's distinct. I took it to a mechanic today to check, and he agreed that it was a knock, somewhere near the bottom of the engine. He suggested switching to a more viscous oil like 10W-40 (I currently use 5W-30), which will help temporarily.

Anyway, I know changing the oil type is a highly temporary fix, so I'm looking into my options regarding permanently fixing the problem. To my knowledge, my options are to rebuild the engine or just buy a new car (and hope I can sell this to someone who can either repair it themselves or part it out).

My specific questions are these:
Has anyone had a similar experience? What did you do?

Any estimate on how long I have until it gets worse and I start risking throwing a rod?

If selling is the best option, do I spruce it up and sell it now (with full disclosure of the problem) hoping I can find a buyer who wants to fix it, or wait until I'm essentially just selling it for parts?

Thanks for the help!

-Dan

 

$2k for a running 4x4 isn't necessarily a bad deal... the mechanic should have checked the compression and the vacuum, but those things won't tell you if a main/rod bearing is going out.

outside of maybe cutting the oil filter open, there really isn't any way to check that, except for possibly an engine oil analysis, which would show excessive metal, and tell you what the metal particles were made of.

since you don't work on cars, it's probably best to sell it with disclosure, and roll the dice again.