Hi Yotatech,

Well my beloved 2000 4runner 4 cylinder 5-speed manual toyota blew a head gasket. I have about 180k on the motor right now. I figure rather than drop $1500 on a head gasket fix, it's time to drop a new engine in my truck to give me another couple hundred thousand miles.

Please help me. Where is the best place to find a good new or re manufactured engine to fit my truck? I will have this installed by a local engine work shop because I have neither the time nor the tools to do the job myself. The shop said that if I can find something they will put it in for me. Please help steer me towards a good new engine. How much should I expect to pay? From what I've seen online, I'm looking at around $2k for a new engine and another $1k for labor.

Thanks Yotatech

Eric

 

I would recommend you keep your engine and simply change the headgasket. It's not that difficult in a 22RE engine. Much easier than replacing an engine. Besides, you never know what you are going to run into with a used engine. I went the junk root on an Accord a couple of years ago. I discovered a rod knock after installing the engine. The junk yard told me I could return it for another but it wasn't worth my time and they would not reimburse me for my labor.

 

My concern is that I will spend $1500 on the head gasket and who knows what else will go wrong with my engine soon considering I'm at 180k miles. I was more thinking about a remanufactured engine or a brand new engine. It seems like its worth it if I can do it for 3k for a new engine installed then I won't have to worry about it for another 100k miles. I plan on keeping this truck forever.

 

180k is NOTHING for a toyota engine. I have near double that on my 3.4L and it just wont die.

 

I'd keep that engine in it. A head gasket job isn't that bad. What engine you got 2.7? 180k is low miles really. I've sen the 3.4 engines with over 300k on them. My suggestion to you is buy a new head and gasket kit. I'd also suggest replacing all seals and gaskets along with all timing hardware. Basically giving you a new engine.

Or contact LcEngineering. There pricy but good. You may consider having a engine shop rebuild your engine if it's that big of a concern.

 

I had a head gasket scare (still having?) and after my limited research, I'm in nearly the exact same frame of mind: start fresh with a clean slate. I think I'd love to do a HG... on a motor I don't need to drive on Monday. But after reading THIS THREAD I'm thinking a reman or rebuilt motor would put me much more at ease.

There are some good suggestions on motors in THIS THREAD. You either have to have a local guy who is savvy in the ways of the 22RE to do the complete rebuild, or go to a reputable national guy.

 

We're is everyone getting that it's a 22R/RE engine.

2000 model vehicle doesn't have a 22 series engine guys

 

Right. It's a 2.7 L

 

I will just be pretty bummed if I spend 1500 to replace the gasket and then something else on the motor goes in a year or two and I need to swap out the engine. I mean, its not going to last forever right? So why not start fresh with a new engine now. Here's some engines I found online but they're expensive. I'd like to find something for $1500

http://www.japanengine.com/products/...&search=&page=

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-2RZ-3...-/160756158002

http://www.toyotatruckengine.com/199...-4runner-t100/

 

I do agree with getting another engine, HG jobs can backfire more ofthen then you want plus they end up costing the same or more then another engine in many cases.

I would get a used OEM engine personally. Drop it in and go. If you are gonna get a rebuilt engine, then just get yours rebuilt, at least you know it's history and you would have control over what is done.

 

Maybe this doesn't happen with the 2.7, but I hear a lot of folks grabbing junkyard 22REs and those not lasting very long. Sitting unused for a long time and unknown service history would keep me away from a used OEM motor.

My ideal would be to keep my current motor in working order for the next ~10 years while I rebuild a 22RE in my basement, a project with the boy. The boy is only 3.5 now and the mileage on the current motor is unknown, so who knows if it will work out. But if I was forced into it and something blew on my motor right now, I'd look at 22reperformance or sunwest automotive for a good long block.

 

I suppose it really depends on how well the motor was running before the gasket failed? Do you feel it's worth fixing up?

There's plenty of used auto part/salvage yards that sell used motors, some are re-manufactured. Do a search of your city or area to find a vendor.

 

I have always had better luck with OEM engines then remans.

Also got to remember that the 22re is 20+ years old where the 2.7 is half that in many cases.

 

Well today I got two quotes to rebuild my motor. Each was above 4500. Way more than I would like to go. I'm thinking about just coughing up 1500 to fix the gasket and hope for the best. It I could get a new motor installed for 3000 I'd do that but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

 

I see the trade off with the 2.7, the rebuilt prices are 1.5 to 2X cost of a 22RE. (roughly, from http://www.sunwestautomotiveengines.com/lb-toyota.html)

If I were in your shoes, I would have more hope for finding a decent used OEM that might fit your price range as mentioned above. But you might not have months to find just the right motor with a good proven maintenance history, so I don't see why your bottom-end doesn't have another 100K+ on it at least. As long as the HG is done by the book I bet you'll be happy with the end result and be able to start saving your pennies for when it finally really needs a rebuild.

 

Car-part.com

 

This^.

Like I said before, just get a used OEM motor and drop it in. Whole engines are going for between $750-1250 around here and that is more then it should be IMO.

Those rebuild prices are also WAY too high IMO. Should be able to do that for half the price, although I guess if you are not doing the work yourself then those prices are not that bad.

This is another reason I like used engines, since it is just a direct swap, most guys can do the work themselves to save a LOT of money with the purchase of an engine lift.

 

Can you find a jdm ( Japanese domestic market) engine?

They usually have around 50k miles.

 

In my mind, $2k for a brand new OEM engine that will probably go 250k+ miles is not that bad a deal.

http://www.toyotatruckengine.com/199...-4runner-t100/

I might well have considered this if my engine had died before my body got smashed last month. Now I'm not sure if the body is worth keeping...but the motor runs perfectly with 230k miles on it, so I'll probably be driving it for a while longer.

 

Okay, so let's say I do want to go with a brand new OEM engine. Is APR auto (toyotatruckengine.com) the right place to buy? The price is right, but I've found some mixed things on the web that concerns me. see this:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/apr-au...ts-prin-744607

However that seems like just a single isolated incident and who knows why that happened? Am I not way better off spending $2k on a brand new engine than having mine rebuilt at more of a cost or buying a used OEM for $1400+? I have a shop here that is quoting me around $1200 to install a new engine, so if I bought new from APR it would put the total cost of the job including shipping and installation around $3500, which seems like may be the best bet. If only I can trust that this APR Auto engine will really last for 200k+ miles, this might just be worth it.

Thoughts?