Hey all,

I'm desperate here - blew the engine in my 1987 4Runner. Not really sure what happened - I loaned it to a friend and it blew. Some say she may have shifted wrong, others have said the oil was low - I don't know nearly enough about cars to venture my own guess.

In any case, my parents have been kind enough to loan me their <ahem> MINIVAN for the last few months while the yota has sat in their driveway (and left a big oil stain when towed there, I might add). Now they want the yota out of sight and their minivan back.

My uncle (a mechanic) seems to think I can find a used engine with low miles for $400 or less. Ha! Truth is, I can't find one for under $800. And now I'm confused - do I need a 22R or a 22R-E? How do I know?

I live in Colorado Springs. The real question is how to determine what kind of engine I need, what I should expect to pay, and what factors I should look at (mileage or compression or whatever) but any other help or pointers anyone could give would be awesome as well! Short of appealing to MTV's "Pimp My Ride" of course. Don't think I haven't considered it!

Thanks so much for your time,

Teddy

PS - I also need a new "boot" for my shifter/4WD lever - mine was leather, I think, at some point, but now its absolutely disgusting. Where in the heck do you find those things?!?

 

if the old motor is still in the truck, look at the front of the head where the oil filler cap is. it should say either 22re or 22r, there should be a placard somewhere on the firewall that may tell you also.

lee

 

Thanks, Leebee - that actually makes me feel a little silly. There it was "22R-E" staring me right in the face. My uncle kept saying 22R, so I never really questioned it. So can anyone tell me what i should look for in a used engine? Where I should look for a used engine?

Thanks!

Teddy

 

In denver there is a place called Yota Yard and they deal in truck and 4runners only.
And will warrenty the engine for 30-60 days, you want good compression and look to make sure there is not much oil coming out. It won't be to clean but don't get one with all kinds of oil on it.
Brandi