Thanks man, just dropped it at the shop today, we'll see what they say when they tear into in. Hoping for the best, expecting the worst of course. I maintain the whole rig pretty damn well, All my fluids are fresh, and I live in the CA valley, so rust isn't an issue for me here. Hoping I can keep her running for years to come

Yup I'm aware at best-case scenerio I'll not have a vehicle for a couple weeks. I have access to my folks vehicles to use and am setting up a rental for the mean time. Don't really want to go thru the headache of buying a beater for a short time, though it could be an option if I need. I probably will end up doing a u-haul truck or something to move

Yup, exactly what I'm doing. I brought it there just cause they could get me in the same day, I thought since it was AAA they'd be real mechanics... nope. Bringing it down to the Made in Japan shop, I've been there before and they do good work. Waiting to hear back on what they found.

Yeah, I just couldn't see how a guess could justify a new motor. Even if I do need a rebuild, I gotta know for sure before I drop that kind of cash.

New motor would be cool though...

Thanks for your input. Totally agree with what you said about diagnosis being shady. The shop just wants my money they don't give a shit about me or my vehicle.

I maintain the 4R pretty damn well, I'm not worried about bushings or bearings, I'll just take those as they come. I would like to attempt the motor swap myself, but realistically I don't have the space or time to do that right now. As far as sourcing motors, I found a couple good yards in my area that have good used options. But at this point, if I do have to swap it, I'm leaning towards a rebuilt one so I don't have to worry about my motor for a few years.

A lot of folks would get a car to drive for a year while they fix up the 4R, but in my case, not doing the work myself, I might as well just have the shop fix it and I'll drive a rental in the meantime. Buying and selling cars can be a headache (or I've just had headaches with it), so I'd rather not go thru the hassle. Hoping to get good news from the second-opinion shop today, but expecting bad news. Fingers crossed

Update: got a call back from the shop that actually looked at the motor, and they said it's best to do a swap. So at this point I'm looking at rebuilt engines.

Side note - with a new motor I'd be comfortable installing the TRD supercharger. Anyone know a good place to source these? Looking online, all I can seem to find is the new Magnussen supercharger and I don't want to drop $4k.

$4k is quite cheap for a brand new supercharger system... look at prices for other applications.

Used older style (MP62 instead of TVS1320) are likely still going for like $3k unless they are beat up and in poor condition.

-Charlie

Update: got two different options for rebuilt motors. Jasper or ATK.

Jasper is more well-known, been around longer. It's about $800 more than ATK installed.

ATK has a better warranty (4 year, unlimited mile, no-fault, vs Jasper's 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty).

The guys at the shop install lots of motors from both compainies, and the guy I talked to said he has an ATK motor in his Tahoe.

I can't find many reviews for ATK online, does anybody have experience with them?

Another update:

went with the Jasper.

I have some noise from the front of the engine that sounds a lot like belt squeal. I poured some water on the belts, but the sound did not go away.

Does anyone know of any other tests I can run to diagnose the sound? I have a stethoscope and checked the alternator as well as the PS pump, didn't hear anything weird going on there. Any help is appreciated, I'd rather just fix it at home than take it back to the shop and not have my 4R for another day or two.

Not a lot of interest in this post, but I'll give another update. The belt squeal I was hearing was the PS pump being installed slightly out of line. Fixed that, and the engine runs great.

I can't speak to the longevity of the Jasper yet - I only have 1,000 miles on it, but all seems great so far. Kind of a pricy option, but I envision myself keeping the 4R for.... a long time.

Perhaps late but might help someone - here's a great rebuilder out of Riverbank CA. Yota1 I got a transmission from them - silky smooth.

5VZ 3.4L Rebuilt Toyota Engine (Complete) - Yota1 Performance, Inc.

They also sells heads (right & left are the same) and transmissions + other stuff.

Yep, he could have gotten a much better engine from Yota1 Performance. I sort of doubt that Jasper engine will last very long.

Only issue there is looks like they are 6-7 months out from what their website says.

Would have loved to go the Yota1 route, but I don't have another vehicle so waiting 6 months was kinda out of the question for me. The Jasper comes with a 3 year parts + labor warranty, and the shop I went to (Made in Japan) has installed dozens and have only had one come back.

So, yes. Could have gotten a better one if I had another car to drive around for a while. But at least I'm back on the road now!