10psiMaxima

Wusup - if some of you may have read my previous posts.....

you may know whats up.


The guy who did the work said he put a new or 'crate' engine in the 4runner.

Where can I find the engine code or serial # so I can make sure it's NOT a new engine.

It looks the EXACT same as it did before - NOT clean, not brand new looking, not detailed or anything.


Can I find out thru the VIN?

10psiMaxima

anyone anyone?

10psiMaxima

PLEASE HELP!

rah1420

Easy, there Baba Looey.

You don't mention what kind of engine you have, but the 4cyl 2nd gen ID number is stamped into the block on the drivers's side. The V6 engine ID number is on the drivers side of the engine block also, just above the oil filter. (This is from the Haynes manual, which I had to drive home to get, since I don't tote it around with me at work.)

Of course, this won't do you much good because how are you going to prove that this was -- or wasn't -- the engine that came with your car in the first place?

Good luck.

10psiMaxima

Well, it's a '92 SR5 V6

I dunno what the orginal # is.....but the fact the engine is dirty as hell - especially the top headers makes me think he didnt switch motors

rah1420

You may be right, but how are you going to prove it?

Highland Runner

It sounds like the same engine. This is one reason I do all my own work now. I don't trust mechanics to do the right thing. Here is a trick I used to do when I took my car in for work, in case you need to again. I would mark parts to be replaced with UV sealer only visible under black light. I think you can buy clear nail polish that glows in black light. Mark everything. When you get it back see if its still there. Always ask to see or have the old parts if there is no core charge. If nothing else mark parts with a scrib.

10psiMaxima

Can a Toyota dealership tell me if it's a new engine?

Compared w/ the VIN and the engine #?

Shouldnt the mechanic have the old engine IF it were a new one???





And when a crate engine is sent....It inclues EVERYTHING right? Not just the block?

rah1420

They should have the records on when the engine was manufactured. They should have a cross-reference against the BOM for the car which has the engine serial number and VIN -- not sure how easy it is going to be to get them to give that to you.

As far as the old engine, the mechanic might say he shipped it back as a core to an engine rebuilder.

If you got a long block, it had everything that didn't bolt on, including the block and all its parts, the heads, the cams, timing belt, pan, yadda yadda yadda. A short block is pretty much just the block, pistons, and crankshaft and you have to add the heads and all the other parts.

For what you paid, you should have gotten a long block. Sounds though like they didn't use any Vaseline and you didn't even get kissed.

10psiMaxima

Throttle body too? (w/ the long block?) Cuz it looks dirty as hell...(as it did before it went into the shop)


Lol...


Ok, now I have the current engine serial #. I found it right above and to the left of the oil filter.

Is there a way I can trace that to see if it IS in fact the original motor?

Also - just by LOOKING at it..(motor, headers, etc....) is there a way to determine if it's short or long block?

rah1420

The throttle body would probably be the original one, they'd take it off of your old motor and bolt it on.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, you would need to have someone at the local 'Yota stealership institute an inquiry for you with the factory; if the factory has the bill of materials for the parts that went into this particular chassis, it might -- if you're lucky -- have a cross reference for the engine serial number of the original engine.

Whether the factory will do this for you is of course anybody's guess. Mine would be "no" but you might get lucky, who knows.

Another thing you can find out, perhaps, is the Date of Manufacture of the engine. If the DOM of the engine is later than that of the car, it would prove that it was a different engine -- but I can't think of any way of proving that an engine WASN'T put in.

Only while it's still in the crate.

Seriously, once it's in the motor mounts, I can't think of any way to say "This was a short block" or "this was a long block."

Make the mechanic produce the invoice for the engine, and the packing slip of the trucking company who delivered it. Match the bill of lading number to the invoice number, which should have the serial number of the engine they delivered to him, which should match what's in your vehicle. If it doesn't, at least you know he didn't install THAT engine in it.

(shrug) I'm out of ideas.

10psiMaxima

Rah - thanks a lot for your help....I'll find the DOM next.

But here are some pics:
The flash makes it look cleaner than it is.


This is where the mechanic DIDN'T put screws/bolts back


This is where he DIDN'T put the cruise control back:


And this is where I got the serial # from:

10psiMaxima

They in the mechanincs right?

What is BOM?

Highland Runner

From your old post it looks like you were having it rebuilt for oil starvation to the heads and cam going out. The mechanic may have only replaced a head and not the whole engine. Here is what I would look for.
New gaskets between manifolds/heads and heads/engine.
Any clamps rotated and put on hoses different than original spots?
Look at the oil pan- is there any new gasket or RTV sealant?
Was the oil new when you got the car back? New filter?
Pull a few spark plugs and look at piston tops- are they clean? Mine are dark in color.
Is the radiator fluid changed/different color (green if there was red before).
Any "wrenching" marks on bolts like motor mounts/skid plate?
Any black oil residew on the bottom of the engine or is it clean?

rah1420

They in what mechanics? I didn't get this at all.

*sigh* The factory is going to have the only internal details about how your car was put together, including a Bill of Materials (BOM) which details every bolt, every gasket, screw, subassembly and assembly. It's my guess that on this Bill of Materials for car number JTXXXXXX (whatever your VIN number is) there will be something like "3.slow liter V6 engine assembly number YYYYYYYYY" where "YYYYYYYYY" is the engine serial number.

This might be in some factory either here or in Japan, depending on where your vehicle's final assembly point was, and is going to be damn hard to get. But if there is a Bill of Materials, and on it is the engine serial number, and it matches the serial number of the engine that's in there, that's the only way you're going to prove that this mechanic did not replace your engine.

Period and BS, hail and farewell.

10psiMaxima

DAAAAAAAAAMN!

Well.....Thanks for breaking it down for me. This kinda sucks. But........thanks for all your time and efforts.