If you have time to wait on parts to arrive I have found amayama.com to be cheaper even with shipping for most parts. It does require some extra planning on your part to make sure you are ordering everything you need, but worst case scenario you forget a part or two and have to hit up your local Toyota dealer.
Rebuilt, remanufactured, or JDM engine?
- Thread starter dirteater4
- Start date
If you have time to wait on parts to arrive I have found amayama.com to be cheaper even with shipping for most parts. It does require some extra planning on your part to make sure you are ordering everything you need, but worst case scenario you forget a part or two and have to hit up your local Toyota dealer.
octanejunkie
Elite Member
Amayama has canceled as many orders for me as they have delivered. Unpredictable with delays, it's like gambling for parts.
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I've never had any problems with them in the 10 plus orders I've made from them.
EDIT: Amayama has even been able to get parts that I couldn't find stateside or partsouq or megazip
Looks like I'm in a similar situation. 1999 limited with compression of 90 psi on cylinder #6. No coolant loss and "wet" test didnt raise the psi, so I suspect its a burnt/stuck/cracked valve.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for reasonably priced rebuilt heads? Also those who have gone the rebuilt head route was it worth it?
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for reasonably priced rebuilt heads? Also those who have gone the rebuilt head route was it worth it?
Romeo1
Member
There is more than one pricing tier. I forget what it’s called. It’s essentially the price they sell to other shops or individuals they have good relationships with. I get this “wholesale “ from my local shop.
Try to develop that relationship. It’s super nice having access to that parts information and pricing.
Unfortunately, depending on how cool the shop is, that may not even be possible. I really lucked out having such a great dealer near me.
Romeo1
Member
Depending on your skill and your access to a good machine shop (which honestly is the biggest challenge) I’d say compression test it hot and cold. You can also test the head gasket to see if it’s leaking. Not the best test, because many times it’s temperature related, but sometimes you can isolate your final diagnosis that way.
Some of these tests require tools which guys may not have, Or the knowledge to use. But if you’re willing to learn it’s certainly possible. You have access to some great resources, manuals, and even people on this site. Mtbtim’s videos are an incredible resource also.
I would vote to go through my engine and rebuild it versus buying an unknown used engine to me. That direction is obviously not for everyone and it takes a little bit of time.
You may find that it’s simply just a head gasket, and the rest of the engine is just fine. Replace the head gasket as needed would be my suggestion if that is what’s wrong.
I’m a huge fan of having multiple vehicles around for this reason alone. When a vehicle goes down, it’s not a big deal if you have a back up.
Some of these tests require tools which guys may not have, Or the knowledge to use. But if you’re willing to learn it’s certainly possible. You have access to some great resources, manuals, and even people on this site. Mtbtim’s videos are an incredible resource also.
I would vote to go through my engine and rebuild it versus buying an unknown used engine to me. That direction is obviously not for everyone and it takes a little bit of time.
You may find that it’s simply just a head gasket, and the rest of the engine is just fine. Replace the head gasket as needed would be my suggestion if that is what’s wrong.
I’m a huge fan of having multiple vehicles around for this reason alone. When a vehicle goes down, it’s not a big deal if you have a back up.
dirteater4
New member
Okay, I went remanufactured head route from cylinder heads international in TX. Thank you to everyone that pushed me that route. Neither of my heads were cracked once I got in there to replace the head gaskets. But I figured it was cheap(ish) insurance to get me another 250k miles. Replaced all the gaskets and bolts with OEM. New fuel injectors from motor west. Coils and wires are OEM with less than 10k miles. Same with the spark plugs. Got everything back together yesterday and got it fired up. Idles great and no strange noises. But, it wont rev without hesitation. I let it warm up long enough to throw a code. P0170, lean bank one. So I'm likely chasing a vacuum leak. Did the brake fluid spraying trick around all the visible vacuum lines and got no response from the engine. Any other ideas before I start taking the intake plenums off and digging deeper?
phattyduck
Elite Member
There's a few around the back of the manifold that aren't obvious visually. Start there before pulling things apart.
-Charlie
-Charlie
dirteater4
New member
Line running from the fuel pressure regulator had a tiny crack. Replaced it. Also found 2 bolts that were not tight. Cleaned MAF sensor with correct MAF cleaning spray. Retorqued everything and restarted. It will rev now! But, hesitates (almost like a gasp) when first hitting the throttle, revs freely after that. Throws the same lean code after getting warm.
Ok similar problem here. 190,000 miles on my ‘99 and it recently started running rough but it hasn’t lit the check engine light. Injectors were replaced with a set from Motorwest when I did a tuneup a year and a half ago (approx 15,000 miles ago). First mechanic I took the vehicle to narrowed it down to the 6th cyl but they were thinking either the injector or the injector connector were bad. 2nd mechanic I took it to did a compression test and said it looked ok for a vehicle of that age. Then they did an air pressure test on cyl 6 and said it’s losing about 15%, so they thought I should replace the head. I’m curious about anyone’s experience with the ones from Cylinder Heads International, or if there are good aftermarket ones. This is a project that’s beyond my abilities and I’ll have to pay to have it done.
Or is it best at this point to replace the engine rather than spending the money to bandaid it by replacing the head?
Or is it best at this point to replace the engine rather than spending the money to bandaid it by replacing the head?
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octanejunkie
Elite Member
If I'm buying cylinder heads in the future, that's the outfit I'm buying them from. $400 a head plus $50 shipping with free core return label included. No brainer.
Compression loss is usually either from head gasket leak, burnt valve, cracked head, or cylinder damage - the latter being the most unlikely and expensive to fix. A lot of guys just swap the engine for a low mileage JDM, which will cost you between $2,500 and 3 Grand for the motor and then usually around $2,000 for labor.
If you watch Timmy's videos, you can do the head swap yourself, it's not the end of the world, and a lot easier than an entire engine change. But that's just my opinion.
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