scrap, rebuild, or new motor?

Cadaverous

Cadaverous

New member
I have the opportunity to purchase a 1993 toyota 4runner for about $300 dollars.

The good about it:

Straight, clean exterior, clean interior, no rips or tears in seats, one small dash crack. 4 wheel drive, v6

The bad: engine knock due to owners inability to put oil in it, automatic transmission, (maybe thats just bad to me) and 280k miles.

So I am trying to figure out whether this is a good buy, its a friend of mine, she didn't put oil in it and now the engine knocks pretty bad, so she parked it and got a new car.

I am thinking it would bring a small profit if I can get it fixed as the motor seems to be the only thing wrong with it. My best mates dad will be fronting the capital.

Here are my main questions.


1.) Is it better to rebuild or buy a new/rebuilt motor? i've read a few threads with links to a site where they rebuild motors and 3.0 v6 I think they sell for 1200 if i'm correct, I need to look again.

2.) How hard is it to pull a motor on these 4runners? (I've done, timing belts, oil pans, and just about everything else short of pulling the motor in my BMW and subaru. I have hoist, and all the other tools I should need) Helpful links would be great to build threads, or how to's and what not.

3.) What is the value of the truck after its done? I don't want to do it if in the end I'm going to sell it for a loss. I've looked on craigslist and comparable trucks in my area are for sale for about 4k. But again, asking price isn't selling price.

4.) do you have any helpful links or searches I should do to gain the knowledge I need before tackling this project?

I appreciate it and I can elaborate on any details that may be needed.
 
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Rebuilt motor is in the $750 to $1250 range. If you do all the labor your self you may be able to make $500 or more as long as everything goes to plan. With 280k miles you may get $2000-$3000 is going price here in washington.
 
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4runnerBrett said:
Rebuilt motor is in the $750 to $1250 range. If you do all the labor your self you may be able to make $500 or so bucks. With 280k miles you may get $2000-$3000 is going price here in washington.
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You're saying a rebuilt motor? or rebuilding the motor? I can do all the labor myself.
 
How much would u pay for a base motor to rebuild?? Throw in a little more and take a chance with the junkyard motor. What harm could that do? I flip cars all the time on clist and that approach hasn't failed me yet
 
Converting a 3.0 vehicle to a 4cyl seems pointless due to the amount of work. Might as well throw a 3.4 in it like suggested if you are to engine swap.
 
Driftinfc said:
Buy it, if u don't wanna rebuild then scrap it and make $50 profit
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I would never go this route--too much to mess with for such a tiny profit. If you're not making at least a few hundred, I wouldn't bother. When flipping a vehicle, you have to be smart about it, and think of your time as money, too. Plus, if you choose to resell instead of scrapping, you need to think of the time you'll have to wait while your money is tied up in the rig, and all your labor as paid time, too. I had a buddy who liked picking up stuff like this, doing a little work on them, and was happy to make a couple hundred or so--until I got him to figure in all his labor and such, and he found he often only made enough legitimate profit to have a nice dinner out. Not worth it for that.
 
SilentYoda3 said:
save yourself the trouble and throw a 3.4L in it.
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It seems like more work then I want to do, if I was keeping it long term for myself I think the 3.4 would be worth it. But there is the extra cost of the motor, and getting everything covered. I'm really looking for cheapest posible way to get a good strong running motor in there.
 
BucknutBob said:
I would never go this route--too much to mess with for such a tiny profit. If you're not making at least a few hundred, I wouldn't bother. When flipping a vehicle, you have to be smart about it, and think of your time as money, too. Plus, if you choose to resell instead of scrapping, you need to think of the time you'll have to wait while your money is tied up in the rig, and all your labor as paid time, too. I had a buddy who liked picking up stuff like this, doing a little work on them, and was happy to make a couple hundred or so--until I got him to figure in all his labor and such, and he found he often only made enough legitimate profit to have a nice dinner out. Not worth it for that.
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For me on this one, its not about making a profit for me. I have 80's bmw that I DD and I'm wanting to do a motor swap on that, but don't have the time to let it sit. This is more of a learning experience for me, not so much a money maker. But I'm thinking with the market where I live (a 1992 with 300k recently selling for $3400) there is room to make money.

As far as the capital goes, I have a mate who is putting up the money, even if he makes $200 bucks he will be happy as i'm doing the work.
 
I got my rebuilt 3VZ-E long block from JapanEngines.com for $1700 and I am happy with it so far.
The Toyota 3VZ-E is the one Japanese engine that I would never buy used unless I just needed it for a good rebuildable core. I would at least install all new gaskets, especially the head gaskets, before installing a used unit.
 
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