Where can I find a nice 5vz-fe and good mechanic

[Fresh727]

Interesting experiences on the JDMs..if I lived in NJ I'd make the hike to that warehouse...I checked out there website. Anyhow, I'm 2800 miles away in CA and the price for shipping $500 plus $1500 for the engine plus $800-$1200 to install is just too rich for my blood on a vehicle I paid $4k for. She is a good looking older rig. check out my pix if you have a moment. The one other donor option I'm considering was offered up by a fella here with an engine with 120k on it.
Lastly, I was turned onto a reputable Toyota place in San Diego by Brian. Machine both heads and replace gaskets both sides for $1200...I can live with that kind of gamble on a truck with 192k on it.

 

[zacattack20]

Interesting experiences on the JDMs..if I lived in NJ I'd make the hike to that warehouse...I checked out there website. Anyhow, I'm 2800 miles away in CA and the price for shipping $500 plus $1500 for the engine plus $800-$1200 to install is just too rich for my blood on a vehicle I paid $4k for. She is a good looking older rig. check out my pix if you have a moment. The one other donor option I'm considering was offered up by a fella here with an engine with 120k on it.
Lastly, I was turned onto a reputable Toyota place in San Diego by Brian. Machine both heads and replace gaskets both sides for $1200...I can live with that kind of gamble on a truck with 192k on it.

You can get jdm engines from Southern California too. Just search jdm engines Southern California and you should come up with a few places. I'm pretty sure we would have more selection here in Southern California than any where else.

 

[poleclimber63]

I'm doing the same thing....

I'm doing the same thing.... the thing is, your failure is top end--- I'd be more inclined to pull the heads and see what you're dealing with. Re-manufactured heads are $600 a piece. And you don't have to remove the engine from the truck. My problem was rod knock, hence bottom end. Out the engine comes! That's why I made the decision to go JDM (I found an engine with 45K miles for $1600). I'm doing seals, pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, TB/WP... then swapping all peripherals from my old engine... the previous post noted that many JDM parts arent the same as NA. I'm going to do it right and take my time to ensure I don't screw up. I'm doing all myself. I've got $2300 invested so far.... we shall see how it turns out! With all the reading I've done, a rebuild would cost $4k, therefore, I should be way ahead $$$ and I'll learn something.

 

[amalik]

Interesting experiences on the JDMs..if I lived in NJ I'd make the hike to that warehouse...I checked out there website. Anyhow, I'm 2800 miles away in CA and the price for shipping $500 plus $1500 for the engine plus $800-$1200 to install is just too rich for my blood on a vehicle I paid $4k for. She is a good looking older rig. check out my pix if you have a moment. The one other donor option I'm considering was offered up by a fella here with an engine with 120k on it.
Lastly, I was turned onto a reputable Toyota place in San Diego by Brian. Machine both heads and replace gaskets both sides for $1200...I can live with that kind of gamble on a truck with 192k on it.

That sounds like a good plan to me, one I'd probably take over some engine from Japan and NJ I don't know anything about.

Did this guy say anything about any other potential damage in the engine that needs repairing?

 

[Fresh727]

That was a quote over the phone with what I imagine is a best case scenario situation. If he gets in there and a head is cracked...well then I guess my wallet is off to the races!! lol

 

[Grenvilleter]

Fresh... Can you not find/know/ look for someone who knows how to tear the heads off in your driveway for a reasonable price >$200.00. Get a look at the head and cylinders and access?
That way you would know what road to take. Repair or replace.

On my former wife's corolla, it blew a HG and the general consensus was, the engine was done. There was no leakage of coolant but car only run on 2 cyl and very low compression on 2 cyl.

I hired a "portable mechanic" to come and remove the head and had a look
scraped it clean, inspected for cracks, purchased a HG and had the mechanic put it back together. The car ran fine although I should have had the valve guides done as well. Regardless, the engine lasted longer than the car body and useful life.

Now...this car was not overheated and there was no coolant leakage into the combustion chamber to potentially score the cylinder walls or bearings.

If you have a cracked head...look for another engine and get it towed someplace to do the job, unless, there is no visible damage then get yourself another rebuilt head and call the mechanic again to put it on.

Maybe though you do not want to go through the hassle of all these cost saving measures and just "pay the man".

 

[Ol'Blue]

Ok...thanks fellas...with all of the great advice floating around here, I decided to keep my beloved 99 4runner SR-5 4x4 despite the blown HG. She is otherwise mint and has all the features I ever wanted in one of these awesome vehicles. I've got alot of great OEM replacements in her too...So I am going to commit to an engine swap. I am open to having one shipped but want something of a lower mileage engine...any ideas where to find one? Also, I'm in Riverside County in Southern California. Would like to find an experienced mechanic to do the swap at a fair price. Can I get this all done for under $2k??? I know many might chuckle but I'm just asking...I'm away on a work contract for next 3 months so I have no tools, no favors to pull and on my own with this one! lol Lend me your thoughts..I'll figure out how to post some pix of my gal and while she is a wounded soldier right now...I gotta keep her running! Thanks~

Here are a few pix of her..quite stock except for the wheels which turned out nice!

Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum - Fresh727's Album: 99 4runner SR5 4x4

I will second Yotamasters. Eric and his guys are the cats A$$ when it come to Toyotas. It is that simple. It is not some sexy serve you coffee and all that crap place it is just a few die hard Toyota guys that do amazing things. You will see it when you pull in the parking lot to his shop and see the trucks they build and a brand new spanking 60k Lex. sitting right next to Eric 2nd Gen with a 5vz in it on 35's with a SAS front. See where I'm going with this. Him and James at the Truck Shop in the San Diego area were the only places I would take my 99 Limited for work.

Blue

 

[agloukhoff]

I'm doing the same thing.... the thing is, your failure is top end--- I'd be more inclined to pull the heads and see what you're dealing with. Re-manufactured heads are $600 a piece. And you don't have to remove the engine from the truck. My problem was rod knock, hence bottom end. Out the engine comes! That's why I made the decision to go JDM (I found an engine with 45K miles for $1600). I'm doing seals, pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, TB/WP... then swapping all peripherals from my old engine... the previous post noted that many JDM parts arent the same as NA. I'm going to do it right and take my time to ensure I don't screw up. I'm doing all myself. I've got $2300 invested so far.... we shall see how it turns out! With all the reading I've done, a rebuild would cost $4k, therefore, I should be way ahead $$$ and I'll learn something.

I really should just do a how to on JDMs - but you will need to keep following iirc:

Engine mounts (NEW)
Exhaust manifolds (Old)
Throttle body (depending on year it may not match your truck)
Oil Cooler and coolant lines for it (Get NEW hoses, they are a ***** to replace later)
Water pumps (4Runner have an extra fitting for the oil cooler)
ALL belt pulleys (Old)
Alternator. (Old)
Injectors? (I kept the JDM ones, but others have said that they are different)
All the wiring - none of the JDM harness that you get will work for you.

Get new seals for the following:
Exhaust mani and downpipe.
Intake manifold seals
All other seals should come with your timing belt kit.

Also if you have a manual. Get NEW flywheel bolts. Do not reuse the old ones.

I would also replace all vacuum lines, good time to do it if they are all old.

 

[poleclimber63]

Great!

I really should just do a how to on JDMs - but you will need to keep following iirc:

Engine mounts (NEW)
Exhaust manifolds (Old)
Throttle body (depending on year it may not match your truck)
Oil Cooler and coolant lines for it (Get NEW hoses, they are a ***** to replace later)
Water pumps (4Runner have an extra fitting for the oil cooler)
ALL belt pulleys (Old)
Alternator. (Old)
Injectors? (I kept the JDM ones, but others have said that they are different)
All the wiring - none of the JDM harness that you get will work for you.

Get new seals for the following:
Exhaust mani and downpipe.
Intake manifold seals
All other seals should come with your timing belt kit.

Also if you have a manual. Get NEW flywheel bolts. Do not reuse the old ones.

I would also replace all vacuum lines, good time to do it if they are all old.

I guess great minds think alike! I am doing everything you listed! The engine I now have in my garage is out of a Hilux surf= 4Runner. I may use those exhaust manifolds but I will compare and measure to make sure they're the same. I ordered all my parts online and received them yesterday... the one thing I'm also doing are the main front/rear oil seals and cam seals. Engine arrived last Weds., parts yesterday! Can't wait to get into it! Good advice on the flywheel bolts!

 

[Fresh727]

Ok...update fellas. Well you folks are just an amazing help and I appreciate it. My coworker had a Toyota mechanic in town he trusted with his 3rd gen and I decided to take some advice from folks here to get the work done right. I wanted to take it to YotaMasters or The Truck Shop but time and space were a factor that I just couldn't work into my schedule. If I had a ride like Brian's...well, I wouldn't take it anywhere else but those two places. Also...a shout out to Pat and the offer for a nice low mileage engine he tested recently...it's available guys! lol

After a decent compression test of 155-165 all around...I decided to rebuild the top end of mine. Got all OEM gaskets and both sides done with new knock sensor wiring harness. Glad the kits come with valve cover gaskets cuz mine were leaky anyhow. The whole job will be done later this week at a cost of $1200 plus whatever the knock sensor wiring harness' cost. More later...

 

[Fresh727]

Turns out the heads are cracked and not repairable which leads me to believe the bottom end could've heated up enough to be a total loss. Having bought this vehicle last year and not knowing its full history I think I am now going to err on the side of caution and put another engine in...HG best case scenario bill was $1200. Found a couple heads for $400 for a total of $1600 on this repair option ....BUT to Install a reconditioned engine with new timing belt, wp, HG and valve cover gasket with claimed 70k miles and 90 day warranty is a grand total of $2350....plus my pregnant roller skate of a rental car costs to boot! I'm going for the used engine. Hope to get a couple more years out of her when it's all done.

 

[poleclimber63]

bad news!

Sorry to hear about the heads! I'm not sure if there is anyway to determine the ultimate condition of the bottom end without removing the pan and having a look. With the 4wd, that means virtually removing the engine. Hard choice. If you can find an engine, that might be the way to go... due to the Labour and the possibility the bottom end maybe marginal...
I'm just finishing prep on my replacement engine and have ended up spending more money on replacing hoses etc. I had the valve covers off earlier in the week and was pleased to see how clean the top end was. When I finish this project, I plan on posting pics.