Engine's Shot: What now??

[clown baby]

Bought my first t4r in JAnuary. a 1997 4wd SR5 with about 190k miles.

Right off the bat I did:
timing belt @ some seals, $700
all fluids,
bilstein/OME suspention lift, $750
new tires. $600
Tightened valve cover gaskets and cleaned them to monitor leaks. They've not leaked through there since.

Fastforward 3k miles. oil pressure light comes on. Apparently I'm burning oil like crazy. I check the dipstick and its bone dry. Go to drain the oil in the pan and literally get one quart.... Quickly refilled it, and had some minor, intermittent noise. Since it was off and on, i just let it go, hoping things would get lubed up and correct themselves. Weird thing it it's not burning oil nearly as fast now....

Fastforward about 1k miles, the tick comes back strong. It's a clear knocking noise now. So bummed. I've had this thing less than 4 months...

Pretty sure my engines donezo. So now, my question is: What should I do??? I bought the thing for $3.2K and have put roughly 2.5K into it. Is it worth sinking more money into this thing for a new engine?

This is my DD, so I could just buy a long block and have it swapped in. I just dont know if it's worth it to pay a few grand (at least) for a new engine. At what point am I just throwing money at a sinking ship?

I know theres a place in San Mateo, CA (We Have Engines) that will sell a remanufactured 5vzfe, installed with a 3 yr warranty for under 3K, but the guy, Arley Leghorn, is all over the internet with complaints about him selling shit engines. A RockAuto longblock is 3.5 grand alone, plus whatever I'd have to pay for installation. I work too much to do the labor myself.

Suggestions?
Thanks

 

[jgue467]

Sorry to hear that!

Bummer. Ok let's get past it. I've thought about what I would do when the time comes. I'm not burying my 3GT4R. I would find a reputable rebuilder (gotta be 1 out there in CA) and get it swapped out. CA is more expensive than TX, can be done here for about 2200 total, less if you have a friend.

I would do this as long as I felt good about the tranny and most other major components. Luck and let us know what you do.

 

[t_p_g]

I'm in a similar situation...what did you end up doing? Trying to figure out if this leghorn guy is trustable or not. Thanks!

 

[foxrider56]

A Diesel swap would be badass

 

[BrianSD_42]

I wouldn't try to rebuild THAT engine.

Was there no warning? It must have had blue smoke for weeks. 4 quarts of oil didn't evaporate.

You are in San Diego area right. ..?

Personally I would look for a donor truck engine at ScrapYards. Preferably one that is still installed and starts up great. Buy an engine for $1000 or just buy the while truck like COB did.

This could take weeks to months though.

 

[Troybylt]

Any chance your rear main is dumping your oil into your transmission. (Don't know too much about the rear mains leaks other than where it's and and that it can leak.)

 

[red-runner]

Same thing happened to me. Bought in January, engine died a few months later with close to 190,000 miles.

I tried buying a rebuilt longblock. First of all, it took 5+ weeks for the engine to show up. When it arrived, it looked great, and went in without any fuss. Then it seized after 45 minutes while still on blocks.

Pulled that engine, and got a JDM engine from JDM Engine Pro in La Habra. The JDM showed up two days later fully dressed with a bunch of bonus parts, but it was filthy. We tore it down and cleaned everything thoroughly. Installed full set of Toyota gaskets, new injectors, new water pump, new timing belt. All in for the JDM it was about $2k plus some labor (my friend is a Lexus mechanic, and did the work for me at his place in Vista).

* On the rebuild. I was really upset about the time it took to arrive, and especially upset with the outcome, but they did do everything they could to make it right. They paid to have it shipped back (expected), offered to rebuild with brand new heads (not rebuilds), and ultimately cut me a check for full refund. I'd say they did right by me, and I expect their engines are usually just fine. That said, the rebuild was nearly $3k and the included gaskets were not OEM Toyota. JDM route was a "fresh" engine for $1,000 less...but no warranty.

 

[Jdog]

If I were in your shoes I would make sure the tranny and trans is in good shape, no massive filings or excess fluids. Then I would locate a donor truck and replace the engine myself. It would be cheaper and if you bought a donor truck you could replace extra parts or have spares. You should check out the classifieds section on here I have seen a few parts or parting out trucks could be worth a look.

 

[Konkordmusk]

I know theres a place in San Mateo, CA (We Have Engines) that will sell a remanufactured 5vzfe, installed with a 3 yr warranty for under 3K, but the guy, Arley Leghorn, is all over the internet with complaints about him selling shit engines. A RockAuto longblock is 3.5 grand alone, plus whatever I'd have to pay for installation. I work too much to do the labor myself.

Suggestions?
Thanks

You mentioned San Mateo. I work at a shop in San Bruno, but outside of that I would love to help you out with anything you choose to do, be it replace the engine or what have you.

 

[Supermoney]

Buy long block from somebody here parting their truck out, or a local scrap yard.

I'm sure you can get a long block for $600-800, do not buy it from a company.

Call up 1-2 buddies, buy 30 pack, and slap it in over a weekend.