Need Some Help/Advice/Opinions...
...and I guess just a sounding board. Sorry for the long post.
A little back story. Lester's Build/Fix/Maintenance/Questions Thread
The truck isn't mine, I have just been driving it and trying to maintain it. The rear-most passenger side spark plug blew the center electrode. I replaced it with a new one and had no problems for a little while.
A week or two later, the truck was being driven by the owners daughter and then it blew. Unfortunately, they didn't take it to our main mechanic (a friend of ours) and it is at a shop of blow schmo mechanic. They already pulled the heads off, at which point they said they need to replace the whole block. I haven't actually seen the truck since the incident, so I don't know what actually went wrong or what damage there actually is. I want to go and look at it and take some pics for my friend, so I can see if I really do need to replace the engine. (The guy is a dick, so we aren't sure if he is just trying to play us.) They are saying that the little electrode destroyed two of the pistons and cylinders and that it would end up being cheaper to get a new engine than to repair whatever they say is broken.
The guy is willing to eat the $500 cost to pull the heads and pay the owner what he owes to the bank for the truck (about $700). I don't want to do that. Nobody here needs to be convinced why to not throw away their Runner. But the problem is that a new engine is going to cost close to $6,000 or more (he quoted 25 hours labor-$2500 and about $3300 in parts). My friend is willing to help me put a new (to me) engine in, but it will still cost a specific amount to get a new engine. This assumes that I really do need to change it out.
I don't want to spend $3300 in parts. I have found many engines online (mostly those JDM types engines). Has anybody done this option before? I can post links to these, but there are a million of them. They are usually between $1k and $1.5k. To me a truck that is worth $6-7k and I only pay 1-1.5 is a pretty good deal. (again this assumes I have to replace the whole thing.) I can also find some for less than a grand, because the truck was in an accident. This makes me nervous though. Some of them are side impact, but still makes me skittish about it. Those are between $800-1000 (but they have miles on them). I also found a guy who can supply a bare block for $350. If I need a new block, but nothing else, I could go that route.
Can anybody comment, I'm not really sure where to go from here, other than going and seeing the actual damage.
:cheers:
_____________________________
Some Links:
Accident Trucks: $800 $900 $1,000
New Heads: Reman Heads New, bare Heads
Empty Block: Bare Block
...and I guess just a sounding board. Sorry for the long post.
A little back story. Lester's Build/Fix/Maintenance/Questions Thread
The truck isn't mine, I have just been driving it and trying to maintain it. The rear-most passenger side spark plug blew the center electrode. I replaced it with a new one and had no problems for a little while.
A week or two later, the truck was being driven by the owners daughter and then it blew. Unfortunately, they didn't take it to our main mechanic (a friend of ours) and it is at a shop of blow schmo mechanic. They already pulled the heads off, at which point they said they need to replace the whole block. I haven't actually seen the truck since the incident, so I don't know what actually went wrong or what damage there actually is. I want to go and look at it and take some pics for my friend, so I can see if I really do need to replace the engine. (The guy is a dick, so we aren't sure if he is just trying to play us.) They are saying that the little electrode destroyed two of the pistons and cylinders and that it would end up being cheaper to get a new engine than to repair whatever they say is broken.
The guy is willing to eat the $500 cost to pull the heads and pay the owner what he owes to the bank for the truck (about $700). I don't want to do that. Nobody here needs to be convinced why to not throw away their Runner. But the problem is that a new engine is going to cost close to $6,000 or more (he quoted 25 hours labor-$2500 and about $3300 in parts). My friend is willing to help me put a new (to me) engine in, but it will still cost a specific amount to get a new engine. This assumes that I really do need to change it out.
I don't want to spend $3300 in parts. I have found many engines online (mostly those JDM types engines). Has anybody done this option before? I can post links to these, but there are a million of them. They are usually between $1k and $1.5k. To me a truck that is worth $6-7k and I only pay 1-1.5 is a pretty good deal. (again this assumes I have to replace the whole thing.) I can also find some for less than a grand, because the truck was in an accident. This makes me nervous though. Some of them are side impact, but still makes me skittish about it. Those are between $800-1000 (but they have miles on them). I also found a guy who can supply a bare block for $350. If I need a new block, but nothing else, I could go that route.
Can anybody comment, I'm not really sure where to go from here, other than going and seeing the actual damage.
:cheers:
_____________________________
Some Links:
Accident Trucks: $800 $900 $1,000
New Heads: Reman Heads New, bare Heads
Empty Block: Bare Block
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