Engine swap advice 1MZFE

[RNMCGUIRE]

I'm looking for advice on my engine swap decision. I bought a nice clean 1 owner 95 Camry for the wife last summer only to find out soon after it was sludged up really bad. I've been running synthetic oil with hopes of cleaning the motor up but I had some oil pressure probs and notice some tiny metal flakes in the pan last oil change. The thing sounds like marbles are rolling around inside during cold start-up and it burns oil pretty bad. I'm considering just replacing the engine with a JDM motor. I've priced one online for just under $1000 shipped. My local shop which I trust quoted me another $1000 for installation. Does this seem like a decent price for replacement and does anyone have experience with these import toyota engines? Thanks for any info provided!

[Chris Crash]

That's not bad. You could do it cheaper if you go to a junkyard and pull the engine yourself, usually around $600.

[carsrus]

Whats the condition of the car? 2000 is a good chunk of change to put into a 95, thats around 2/3 of what its worth.

1000 for the install seems kind of high, 700$ or so is more reasonable.

If you have the means and space to do a part out you can probably make back at least 1500$ and come out on top. If your located in a small town its gonna be hard though.

[AlmightyCamry777]

I did a used japanese engine swap years ago, on a nissan 200 sx. I would not do it again. The engine was in good enough shape and had good compression (if they dont test it right in front of you, ask them to) but these are JAPANESE engines. How could they be different, you may ask? I counted several differences and these were just the ones that interfered with the swap.

The instake manifold ports on the new-to-me engine were round, the ones on my old manifold were oval. The lower radiator pipe coming out of the engine was angled up at 30 degrees or so and the old one was straight. The pipe interfered with installing the intake manifold - it wouldn't go on and had to be sweated out with heat and replaced with the one from the old engine. I eventually wound up having the nightmare flat-bedded back to the people who sold the engine to me and they finished instaling it. It all cost about $1200 in 2003 dollars.

The engine ran ok when at speed- but it never idled right after the engine was swapped out. I knew it wouldn't pass smog, so when i got the dmv notice in the mail "SMOG CHECK REQUIRED" i promptly traded it in on my present Camry (2002 V6). The dealer offered me $250 for the nissan i said "SOLD"; because i wasn't about to deal with an unsmoggable nightmare.

The only way i could recommend an engine swap would be if the engine shop had a good reputation, had been in the same location at least 10 years, and the replacement engine was exactly like the old one.

[RNMCGUIRE]

Originally Posted by carsrus

Whats the condition of the car? 2000 is a good chunk of change to put into a 95, thats around 2/3 of what its worth.

1000 for the install seems kind of high, 700$ or so is more reasonable.

If you have the means and space to do a part out you can probably make back at least 1500$ and come out on top. If your located in a small town its gonna be hard though.

The car is really in great shape. It has nice paint with no rust, all power, good transmission and the A/C is great. I put brand new tires and a battery in this past fall. I paid $4000 for the car last summer and I would hate to scrap the car and lose that money. At this point I would rather have $6000 in a car that will last a long time than to throw away 4K. My wife and I really enjoy driving the car and it doesn't look like a 1995 model in my opinion. I just need to proceed with caution cause I don't want to throw good money after bad. I did find a couple junk yard engines for $400 today but I've heard horror stories about them. You have no idea what you're getting. Sure they have a 90 day warranty but that doesn't help with labor you just paid to install a bad engine. Here's a pic the

[RNMCGUIRE]

Here's what I found under the valve cover

[dem2757]

damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

if youre set on the new engine....try seafoaming the oil. it wouldnt hurt or add to what damage is done

[MCV2O]

Run the engine on Diesel Oil. The extra detergents will help break down the sludge. It will clean everything (seals) so keep checking for leaks.

Change it a few times at 500 mile intervals (and filter)... then extend the drain. Keep using Diesel Oil until you are happy that it's clean enough to use your synthetic stuff.

[carsrus]

Holy crap thats bad. If you have time and want to milk the engine for all its worth just do one of these,

You Tube

You Tube

Be agressive and then drop the pan and change the pickup. You dont need to take the cams out. After cleaning just run 15w40 oil. The clean up will take a solid full day and $100 but im sure youll be able to run it for a while longer. Check main bearings when you have the pan out.