Engine is Dead...

[Jay eS Iye]

well the 93 Camry that I had bought for 400 bucks, great body, couple little dings but nothing too bad... found the catch on it...
the car wasn't running but I figured it was a fuel problem but didn't have time to look for it so i took it into a shop... turns out the in it was horribly bad and there is absolutely no compression at all in cylinder number one, like zero compression. the shop said that if there was a little compression they would go into it more, but they are saying the engine is dead. my guess is the person that ad it before ran it into the dirt and killed the engine, causing it to need to be towed. Well, they are telling me its gonna be $2500 for a new engine to be put in and that is way out of my price league, especially since I just put in a brand new platinum battery, wires, and spark plugs and I'm saving up for a bigger inverstment (diamond ring to be exact)...
so i'm wondering how much a new(er) engine would cost me (i'm in College Station, TX) and how hard of a job would it be for me to change it out myself. I have some motor skills, I did a rebuild on my old 91 civic I used to have. Its a 93 LE, so I'm guessing its the 5SFE, don't know for sure, and its auto. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Pineapple]

You can take it apart and see how bad the bore is and see if you can rebuild it.
Try to find low milage engine from junkyrad or used engine seller.

[Jay eS Iye]

yeah i plan on starting with the valve cover and working down, maybe i'll see some bad valves or something, the thing is I just have to find somewhere to do the work since i live in the dorms...

[Jay eS Iye]

does anyone have anything? i'm needing to get home for christmas but nothing to go on at the moment but hopes and dreams

[deekay140]

your better off finding a boneyard motor and just replace the whole thing.

[MadDawg]

did you try looking for engines on ebay? is this I4 or v6?

[Luckynumber5]

Take the head off it may be a blown head gasket, if it is you may be able to get it up and running! i would suggest you have a shop rebuild the head, its not easy working on toyota valves unless you know what you are doing and have a few special tools, the valve springs are smaller and require a special toyota spring compressor, having a shop rebuild the head shouldnt cost too much, $2-$350, be sure you shop around and find a place that does imports, you dont have to rebuild the head but i would suggest it, if the head gasket blew the head may be warped, a shop can remachine this and fix it, all for less than a new engine and its simpler to do

[Jay eS Iye]

but with a blown head gasket i would still have a little compression right? not zero? i'll have them check it out, it may be it, or i was thinkin a valve could be completely blown, i dunno

[SmokingTires]

Zero compression would require both your piston rings to be warn and your valves to be damaged. Which like you said, could very well be dirt. A valve job and some new rings should set you straight. A new head gasket should be put on whenever you remove the heads

Also check the valve train (Springs, retainers, etc) for any damage that may have occured to them. You may have lost a retained, and that would cause the valve to not seal correctly.

[jhbhatia]

chat on houston-imports.com; i know of shops in houston, buy your way up north..unless you want to get it towed here...

[Jay eS Iye]

how hard is it to change out a Cmary engine? And exactally what engine do I have, its a 4cyl 93 LE. and i've never had to do the rings before, just changed them when i did a rebuild, but how do I tell if they are bad? I don't know when I'm going to have any time to work on this so i'll probably have to sell it for money towards another car or something. Does anyone know about how much I could expect for this, again its an 93 LE 4cyl, very good condition other than the engine

[Pineapple]

5S-FE, not hard to swap just take time and tools. A high torque impact gun and engine lift is a must. Find local junkyard and get another engine.

[95camguy]

you could try using car-part.com. i just checked and found about 20 motors(4cyl) for sale in texas using this site. they range from $450 to over $1000. definetly faster and easier than doing a rebuild. some even come with warranty. good luck!!!