Bad problem w/ 5s-fe engine

[moocow]

Ok so I thought this would never happen to me, but I managed to F this one up big time.

An oil leak problem had really gotten bad and I ran the car on low to no oil for many thousands of miles. The final push to total mechanical failure happened when I made a long trip from NJ to Maryland and back, during July 4th weekend. A few days after I got back, a bad clank/slap sound developed and the engine shut off at a red light. I checked the oil stick and it was nothing, I knew I had totally f'ed this up.

Well a friend of mine stopped by to check it out, we tried to run a compression test, but didn't have the tool to remove the spark plugs, but he said that if the engine is at least running, as in, the crank can turn, its not completely seized, and may be repairable, depending on if its worth it or not. He said the engine would at least need a new head to start off with, but with the other parts in the engine, we won't know the full extent of the damage until we actually open it up. Like he mentioned some pretty bad piston slap, as what it sounds like. The car barely moves, it will shut off in 2nd gear.

Would anyone know a ballpark figure for how much an engine swap w/ another 5sfe would be?

If not, would it even be worth taking the engine apart and fixing all the problems? I mean if the car is gonna be junked, I mind as well attempt to open it. After running the car on no oil in the summer, I am still surprised that it didn't seize up on me, keep in mind July 4th weekend was one of the hottest weekends on record, I mean hell, the whole month was the hottest on record around the world. At least my radiator is topped off and the engine temps were fine.

[Chris Crash]

Sounds like you threw a rod....

I would just replace it, if you have the money and time. And then take yours apart and maybe salvage it.

My replacement was $1400, but I've recently found Marshall engines to be cheaper. Check napa's website.

Do NOT go to google. Most of the places you'll find are SCAMMERS. I learned this one when I was trying to get my new engine.

[moocow]

oh really I did not know that engine scam artists existed... I see how it is. I went to a site just before posting in this forum and found a V6 camry engine for $500. I thought it was too good to be true.

[Creeps228]

Umm get it checked, a rod might have gone or you spun a bearing. Your head should be fine unless piston blew up which i dont think could have happened we have NON INTERFERENCE MOTORS. And it really depends on what you want to spend on the car. But if you spun a bearing, your crank might be gone

[Chris Crash]

If you ran without oil for so long...your head is probably warped.

$500 for a rebuilt V6 is too good.

And yeah, engine scammers exist. I found a few different "businesses" running out of the same location in Texas. A few more in-depth searches of the "companies" resulted in some scary testimonials...

[moocow]

http://www.attarco.com/index.php?mai...products_id=70


This is the website that listed the V6 Camry engine. Take a look and tell me what you think of this.

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by moocow

http://www.attarco.com/index.php?mai...products_id=70


This is the website that listed the V6 Camry engine. Take a look and tell me what you think of this.

I was reading your thread and checked out the link for the engine. I noticed that the company was located in Sacramento. Well I'm in Roseville, just outside of Sacramento, and I was planning on taking my table saw blades to be re-sharpened this week, and the sharpening place is just down the street from Attarco.

So I might as well swing by and take a look in person and see what is up. If they are legit, I might be interested in getting a 1MZ-FE for me to rebuild.

I'll let you know what I find out.


.

[Chris Crash]

Ehhhhh. It's a used engine with unknown mileage and unknown history... Yeah they compression test and blah blah blah but that doesn't mean much...

could be sludge city up in there. Bearings could be bad. You never know.

I never trusted engines being shipped to me...I had to find someone local.

[73sport]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

If you ran without oil for so long...your head is probably warped.

$500 for a rebuilt V6 is too good.

And yeah, engine scammers exist. I found a few different "businesses" running out of the same location in Texas. A few more in-depth searches of the "companies" resulted in some scary testimonials...

Granted oil does a good deal of cooling, it more likely that an engine starved of oil for sustained periods is simply worn out. Example, to keep the valves, springs, tappets & camshaft alive they need oil as does the piston, wrist pin and piston skirt (all moving parts).

My point being, although I doubt the the heads are warped, the engine is likely not worth trying to rehabilitate as the whole thing has been compromised and all parts will show excessive wear beyond rebuilding specifications. So w/out throwing lots of money at it for hard parts you'll end up back here again unless its done right costing more than its worth.

- turn the crank
- resize the f'd up rods
- new pistons
- bore it
- rings
- oil pump
- blah blah blah. . . It not worth it on 2500 car that was neglected as this one was

[SexieWASD]

It's funny that you say that, because I'm doing everything you just listed, well except the rods. Mine wasn't abused though, still ran good actually, I just like that minty fresh motor feeling.

[ajkalian]

Well, I went by Attarco and I can confirm that they are a real business. The warehouse is about 10,000 sq/ft and maybe 100 engines are arranged neatly on the floor. The walls are stacked floor to ceiling with transmissions on racks. They took me back into the shop, and let me browse the engines, no problem. They confirmed that this IMZ-FE link:

http://www.attarco.com/index.php?mai...products_id=70

is indeed $675.00, with shipping being an additional charge.

All of the motors looked to be in good shape. The oil pans weren't smashed, no major dings. Although I did notice that some of the Timing Belt covers had some small cracks, and holes in them. NBD, since they told me there is no core charge, so you don't have to worry about paying freight to return your core. Since you get to keep your motor, you can swap out parts as needed.

They had three, count 'em, three IMZ-FE engines, and the guy said "take your pick". All were federal spec, so I'd have to swap out my intake manifold with all the Calif EGR crap on it, like the VSV and all that electronic stuff that supports the EGR. In fact if I were to do it, I'd swap out all the electronics from my motor, after I rebuilt one of these.

If I was in the mood for a engine to rebuild, and I had my buddy's pickup, I'd would have probably bought one of those engines. But at least I know where to go now when I'm ready.

So, I can't speak to what shape the engines will be internally, nor what shape they will be when they arrive at your door, or what the service might be/or not be. But I can say the place is for real, and they have lots of engines and transmissions. My impression of Attarco...


.

[djb2]

Shipping from the west coast will be expensive. Figure $1/lb to start, plus extra services.

There are plenty of used engines on the east coast. For what you save in shipping you can even get one with a known history. Sure, it's probably fiction, but you can pretend.

Does the engine currently run if you put oil in it? Or did something inside break?

[Frodo65]

Originally Posted by moocow

Ok so I thought this would never happen to me, but I managed to F this one up big time.

An oil leak problem had really gotten bad and I ran the car on low to no oil for many thousands of miles. The final push to total mechanical failure happened when I made a long trip from NJ to Maryland and back, during July 4th weekend. A few days after I got back, a bad clank/slap sound developed and the engine shut off at a red light. I checked the oil stick and it was nothing, I knew I had totally f'ed this up.

Well a friend of mine stopped by to check it out, we tried to run a compression test, but didn't have the tool to remove the spark plugs, but he said that if the engine is at least running, as in, the crank can turn, its not completely seized, and may be repairable, depending on if its worth it or not. He said the engine would at least need a new head to start off with, but with the other parts in the engine, we won't know the full extent of the damage until we actually open it up. Like he mentioned some pretty bad piston slap, as what it sounds like. The car barely moves, it will shut off in 2nd gear.

Would anyone know a ballpark figure for how much an engine swap w/ another 5sfe would be?

If not, would it even be worth taking the engine apart and fixing all the problems? I mean if the car is gonna be junked, I mind as well attempt to open it. After running the car on no oil in the summer, I am still surprised that it didn't seize up on me, keep in mind July 4th weekend was one of the hottest weekends on record, I mean hell, the whole month was the hottest on record around the world. At least my radiator is topped off and the engine temps were fine.

Well, main, rod, and cam bearings are most likely toast. For extended dry running, cams and crank are also likely toast. So, while rebuilding your engine is possible, it's likely to be more $$$ and grief than it's worth. Unless you're a VERY experienced DIY, going from a 4 to a 6 is going to be WAY more $$$$ than the car's worth. So, 'hot rod dreams' aside, focus on getting another 5S-FE. You have several choices:

• Wrecking yards in your area. Most will be able to pull from a regional interchange and get you a good, used engine for relatively modest $$$. Used engines should have the timing belt, water pump, cam and crank seals replaced while the engine is out - relatively cheap insurance to make sure you don't get into the drippy death spiral you just experienced.
• Parts stores like NAPA and Advance. Both offer rebuilt engines with a decent warranty. They use mostly reputable re builders, and should give your car a new lease on life.
• You could tear down your engine and see all the parts that are toast. I'd recommend doing that, as you will need to transfer at least some parts to a long-block you buy.

In any case, figure on buying new motor mounts, gaskets, hoses, etc. If the rest of the car is in decent shape, it's worth it - yes the $$$ is painful, but you will end up with a car that's good for another 100K+ miles. If the rest of the car is a rust bucket or the tranny/axles/struts/brakes is toast, then scrap-and- find another used car is a more cost-effective alternative.
As to cost - figure $400-1500 for a used engine, depending on mileage, etc. Add another $600 or so for timing set, motor mounts, hoses, gaskets and seals. You could get lucky and find a used engine with a recent timing set and seals - but don't count on it. Quality rebuild would likely be marginally more - like $1500 - $2000, with the $$$ for mounts, etc.

[SexieWASD]

what I've found for prices, keeping in mind that I am doing the labor except the machining, Is that I couldn't find a used motor, but last time I got one with 90K miles for $400, another $170 for timing set + waterpump, and I forget what I paid for sparkplugs and fluids, but not much more. Rebuilding mine this time will be around $1500 - 2k, and I could get a rebuilt motor for right around 2k as well. I choose to rebuild the motor, because although buying a reman motor would be about the same price, and a lot quicker, with rebuilding it I know what is going into the motor. I know that my motor will have only quality parts in it, Felpro gaskets, Cometic head gasket, Toga bearings, Aisin timing kit and water pump, Sealed Power (federal mogul) pistons and rings, ect... And I will know what all of the clearance specs will be and I will know that my rotating assembly has been balanced.

It's not cheaper, it's not quicker, it's not more power and it's not less trouble, it's just piece of mind.

[Fortified Souls]

To Rebuild mine was about 2K also it feels good after your done to know everything that's in the engine and that you did it yourself. I have about 7,000 miles on the new engine and its returning about 27mpg so im pretty happy.