Rod Knock? What now?

[ekopel]

the car: 1mzfe/gen 4/1997

Hey guys,
So after railing a bump yesterday at 80 mph, I am almost positive I got a rod knock. Symptoms - loss of power, dies, very loud clunking from engine. I have heard rod knocks before and it sounds like it is a rod knock.

so:
2 questions.

If I want to stay N/A at least for another year or two:

1: is a hybrid 3mz/1mz motor worth it? price is an issue, but if its only a couple hundred more, its worth it to me. power gains?
I need to check my heads to make sure they are fine, if so, i would only like to do bottom end work

2: I figure its a good time to do a manual swap, so im in the market for a e153 tranny if anyone has one.

I will update if it was actually a rod knock or not, and i did search on the forums for the hybrid motors - not much information. If the bottom end is that much stronger, it is well worth it to me, and especially if there is a power gain.

opinions please

also, if anyone with 3mz/1mz experience reads this, can you please pm me with the issues you may have had and if it was worth it financially and time wise.

[bigbird]

ull have to ask scweet. he did it on his camry and it went pretty good...he even supercharged it. personally id just get a low millage 1mz and e153 tranny.

[ekopel]

i cant even find any e153's.... lol...

I just dont want this to happen again, only 140k on the car.... i run it hard, so id rather put better internals in there so i don't have to worry bout this.

i dont know 100% that its a rod knock yet, but i got the car started again, and i am almost positive it is either a rod knock or valve that broke off in a cylinder.

[ekopel]

I've probably spent 8 hours researching every possible option.

I am going to stick with the 1mz for simplicity reasons and price reasons.

I am going to see if I can still use my block, if so cool, if not, ill get a new one, and this is what I will do

APR head studs
P+P Head
P+P Intake Plenums
Lower Thermostat
Tranny Oil Cooler
Test-Pipe (irrelevant to blown motor)
Exhaust Headers (custom made by me - more flow, less restrictive)
Solid Torque Strut
New Engine Mounts (Any better than OEM ones?)
Front D/S Brake rotors (irrel to blown motor)
Throttle Body coolant bypass with throttle body spacer (aluminum, CNCed at my local shop for free)
High Performance, stock compression, connecting rods, bearings, pistons and rings
If possible, I want to get some good strong HP valves if they make them
All exterior parts of the engine are going to be polished as well - for looks (valve cover, intake, exhaust manifold)
Supra MAF

Now, if I can find one:
e153 transmission
master cylinder for manual trans
stage 2 clutch kit
bushings
lightweight flywheel
shifter and pedals
resistors, connectors, misc (also to trick A/T ECU into not controlling the transmission)
shifter cables
trans mount
short shifter (gen 7 celica short shifter)
manual trans axles

so I figured 3 estimates for cost:

1: old block, hp internals - approx $500-800
2: new block, hp internals - b/w $700-1200 depending on block
3: new block, hp internals, manual trans swap - $2000

Also, if you are wondering why that seems a little on the cheap side, some of these parts I already have, and I also work for lexus and get employee discount and get 50% off at napa on everything. Not to mention, but im hoping to find a lot of parts at this huge junk yard in denver.

Even though I wont be making much more power than I have now, I will get that extra 10-20 over what I have now, and I will also have that oppurtunity for boost later on. Anything I am going to do with this next motor I will do with the intention of making it totally solid as hell so this shit doesn't happen again.

One last question: should I upgrade the fuel pump and injectors or is it totally not worth it? If i upgrade the fuel system, I'd have to do engine management also wouldn't i?

[ekopel]

nobody?

OK

so im having trouble finding rods and pistons. are the stock internals ok to run hard on? my motor blew after 140k miles...

P.S. Head comes off tomorrow, so I will find out much more about the BS of my problem.

Anyone know of any:

High Stall Torque Converters
Pistons
Rods
Valves

Performance ones of course.

[groovemasterodi]

"after railing a bump..." are you sure it wasnt a gagger and you had an auditory hallucination? j/k

[ekopel]

lofl, i wish - that would have been great though. get the car towed, come home and find out it was all in my head lol.

[groovemasterodi]

haha for sure man. Hope you get it figured out !

[ekopel]

SO,

Just an update...

Heads are off, and the motor is stripped down to the bottom end. It is indeed some kind of movement in one of the cylinders. Heads are fine, so don't see why I should replace everything.

I am thinking of buying a WHOLE brand new 1MZ this way I will have spare heads, and intakes in case my port/polish job get jacked up.. SO here is the plan!!!

3.0L 1MZFE
Keep A153E Tranny
Trans Cooler
ARP Head Studs
Port and Polish
-I+E Heads
-Lower Intake
-Upper Intake
-Throttle Body
170* Thermostat
Custom Made Exhaust Manifold
Engine Mounts
D/S Brakes + Pads
Throttle Body Spacer
Solid Torque Strut and Trans Strut
Spark Plug wires
Relocate Knock Sensors
Alignment
Grounding Kit
Full Engine Polish
SAFCII
Fuel Mods
-255lph Fuel Pump
-Jim’s Fuel Mod
-High Flow Injectors
-High Flow Fuel Filter
-Tune
-Fuel Lines
Spark Plug Wires
2001 1MZ-FE MLS Headgasket
Custom Valve Springs
Gauges
-Digital Wideband A/F
-Oil Temp
-Water Temp
-Voltage (subs)
Good quality vacuum tubing and coolant hoses
New SRI

I personally think this is a great build - solid N/A with some extra power, at a good price for what I'd get.

[aaronv94le]

;

[ekopel]

Originally Posted by aaronv94le

;

? lol

[bigbird]

Originally Posted by ekopel

3.0L 1MZFE
Keep A153E Tranny
Trans Cooler
(your gonna want to get an upgraded torque converter and valve body to use the auto properly... http://www.importperformancetrans.com/index.shtml)
ARP Head Studs
Port and Polish
-I+E Heads
-Lower Intake
-Upper Intake
-Throttle Body
170* Thermostat
Custom Made Exhaust Manifold (just get the JP headers and Y-pipe)
Engine Mounts
D/S Brakes + Pads
Throttle Body Spacer
Solid Torque Strut and Trans Strut (asg14 has these, pm him)
Spark Plug wires
Relocate Knock Sensors
Alignment
Grounding Kit
Full Engine Polish
SAFCII
Fuel Mods
-255lph Fuel Pump (depending on the engine output you may only need a 190)
-Jim’s Fuel Mod
-High Flow Injectors
-High Flow Fuel Filter
-Tune
-Fuel Lines
Spark Plug Wires
2001 1MZ-FE MLS Headgasket
Custom Valve Springs
Gauges (id want an exhaust gas temp and definatly a tranny temp gauge too)
-Digital Wideband A/F
-Oil Temp
-Water Temp
-Voltage (subs)
Good quality vacuum tubing and coolant hoses
New SRI

this is a site that at least did sell high performance factory spec parts for the 1mz
http://www.importperformanceparts.ne...ek-toyota.html

[ekopel]

Originally Posted by bigbird

this is a site that at least did sell high performance factory spec parts for the 1mz
http://www.importperformanceparts.ne...ek-toyota.html

Saw it already, took expensive...not going to be running high boost if i boost, therefore won't need lots of that stuff. I am getting a brand spanking new block too, so it is like ground zero for my camry motor (other than heads, intake, etc.)

[bigbird]

you did see my other notes from your parts post yes?

[barthmonster]

Originally Posted by ekopel

i cant even find any e153's.... lol...

I just dont want this to happen again, only 140k on the car.... i run it hard, so id rather put better internals in there so i don't have to worry bout this.

i dont know 100% that its a rod knock yet, but i got the car started again, and i am almost positive it is either a rod knock or valve that broke off in a cylinder.

Try full synthetic oil, bottom-end should be tougher than that even IF you run it hard.

Just a thought, stuff is cheap at wal-mart... I have always used Mobil 1, but just switched to Valvoline Synthetic...