Ok! it finally happend. My 97 SR5 engine died after only 155K. The prior owner neglected the truck. Can anyone advise me on what is best; Should I buy a remanufacture engine? or is it cheaper to rebuild mine? How much am i looking at spending on a remanufacture engine? Any advise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'd go for a reman. I would also assume the previous owner never changed the axle, t-case or transmission fluid. I'd give it a fresh motor and fresh fluids to start the second half of it's life.

Good luck!

You should check out "Jasper Engines" -- as they do a lot of rebuilds. I can't vouch for their quality, though, as I have heard great and awful things about them (pretty much like any other company, huh?).

They do a lot of heavy truck/diesels -- but also offer remanufactured engines for passenger cars. From what I understand, they have a good warranty and the prices are fair. For a vehicle that is 10+ years old and otherwise decent, dropping two or three grand for a 'new' powerplant might not be such a bad idea when new vehicle prices are considered.

After a new engine, throw on an "Earl Jive" paint job and you're good to go.
:awais:

P.S. Good luck to you!!

The bill that went to the stealers insurance company for the rebuilt short block, installed, was around $5000. After it was all said and done on the Cherokee for a rebuilt motor, close to the same.

When the dealer put a new engine in my 4runner they had the cost down as $2500 I think. That was for a brand new one. I didn't have to pay for it because my engine died because they forgot to tighten the oil drain plug after an oil change so I don't know if that was only what the dealer had to pay for the engine or the retail price.

I would be wary of going with a remanufactured engine. Oftentimes if there is an engine failure, you will have to argue (and prove) that that the failure was due to an improper rebuild. Read the small print carefully on the warranty they provide. For this reason, I only use reputable machine shops for my rebuilds.

I suggest you go to your local Toyota dealer and ask them what about their experiences with remanufactured engines. They might even be able to suggest a good local machine shop.

Cliffnotes: I'd go with junkyard motor.

I had to go though the great joys of engine replacment on my 4th gen 4Runner read the fun HERE!. I initially planned on rebuilding the engine but found that there was too much internal damage to make rebuilding the engine cost effective (even though I was doing all of the work myself). Fortunately, someone on the site posted anwww.car-part.com to find engines in my area. I did have problems where the first engine turned out to be no good (crank damaged in wreck) but the junk yard replaced the engine. I was looking for 4th gen motor so I was able to find motors with very few miles. The first motor (the one with the bent crank) had only 7k miles. I wouldn't expect to find so few miles on a 3rd gen motor but you should excellent link for finding parts through 'junk yards'. I used the still be able to find out the milage on the motor. Also, I included in my posting a total cost for the engine replacement. I paid $2250 for the motor. The total cost was around $2700. It also took me around 4 months total because I did the work myself, I was looking to rebuild the motor rather than replacing, I didn't have the service manuals when I started, and the first replacement motor had the bent crank.

I've gotten 30k miles out of the replacement motor and it runs great. It required more work to install my own junkyard motor but I could not have done it much cheaper. I also am happy with the results. I wouldn't have done a cheap job.

I read your story. That is quite an ordeal you went through.

I wouldn't have blamed your wife too much. My 4 Runner was never run after the oil light came on and the engine had to be replaced. It didn't have as much damage as yours did but it was still not fixable.

BTW I have a Ducati as well..

HI i am looking for a rebuild, used or new engine for a 2004 Toyota 4 Runner 2WD 6 Cylinders U 4.0L FI DOHC can you help me