Thanks everyone for the info and advice. To clarify, the problem just happened one morning and I tried multiple times to start it, but it was pretty much locked. I guess too much coolant in it to turn it over. That's why my mechanic friend said you don't really know if anything else was bent inside. He said coolant can do some damage even just by trying to start it like that.
After towing it to the garage, they got it running (don't know how) and then diagnosed the issue. I drove it home (1/4 mile) and it seemed OK but white smoke coming out exhaust. i didn't really hammer on it or anything, i just wanted to make it home.
I want to keep this truck for many more years. It's my daily driver right now, but I work from home, so I only put about 7k a year on the truck. It has 143k miles on it and i have some mods done (OME lift, bigger tires, other small mods). But I was just getting ready to put some money into having my mechanic friend go over the whole truck and repair replace anything rusting, etc.
I also had a leak in rear axle seals, that has been worked on 4 times now (first 3 times same garage tried to fix, they nicked the axle the first time, but never told me) dealer finally told me on the 4th time fixing it, but it is slow leaking again, so i will probably need a new right side axle to finally fix the leak.
I'd like to replace the front/rear bumpers and put a set of sliders on. Projects that i was going to do in spring when the snow is gone.
So i was leaning towards the engine swap so that i have a decent shot at getting a bunch of years out of the truck.
My friend is going to do the labor for 800-1000 if i go the engine swap route.
Would i need to replace the water pump and timing belt while its out of the truck, or is that overkill on these JDM engines?
Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it!
Couple things:
The test they did is called a block test. When that test is positive, it means there's exhaust particles in your coolant, and it's diagnostic of a blown head gasket.
The reason your truck wasn't starting is because at least one cylinder was full of coolant, due to the blown head gasket. Coolant is a liquid and doesn't compress the way air does, so the starter didn't have the oomph to push your piston through a full cycle. The mechanic fixed it temporarily by pulling the spark plugs and turning the engine over, blowing the coolant out the empty hole, then putting the spark plugs back and starting the truck so you could drive home.
The white smoke when you drove home coming out your exhaust was steam and smoke from the burning coolant.
If you never actually started the truck while the cylinders were full of coolant, you probably didn't bend a rod or do any other damage to the lower end, but you won't know that for sure unless you take the motor apart and look. I suggest you don't try and start it again without pulling the plugs and blowing that coolant out first, and after you do you should top off your coolant and don't drive very far or you'll run out of coolant and overheat and then you WILL need a complete rebuild or new engine for sure.
Replacing a head gasket is not hard, but it is a labor intensive job, and it gets worse if the top of the block or the bottom of the cylinder heads is pitted or out of true, because that means machine work. The mechanic is going to suggest to you that you buy a reman motor and let him put it in, because it's less work for him and less money for you. On the flip side, if you were to do the work yourself, it will cost you MUCH less than replacing the entire motor. Your call.
If you do choose to buy a used motor and have your mechanic install it, I think you should absolutely ask the him about doing things like new plugs and coils, replacing the timing belt/wp, etc. All those things are very easy to do while the motor is out of the truck.
Anyway, you seemed a little lost about some of the terminology, hope I could fill in some of the blanks.
