Used toyota engines from Japan

[kdf788]

Hello, does anyone know about the low mileage engines that you can get from Japan? My husband worked at the Toyota Plant in Kentucky and he heard that in Japan, they get rid of their engines once that they have 40,000 miles on them and they can be purchased over here in America. My 98 Avalon, My baby, just gave up the ghost this morning without any real signs that it was having problems. My husband was driving down the road, and it just quit on him. He finally got it started enough to get it off the road. Tried to go again, and it just quit. Called a wrecker, took it to the shop and we were told it had internal engine problems. I dont understand it. There were no signs at all, that the car was having problems. It drove beautifully, no warning lights were on on the dash, wasnt burning oil, or leaking oil. So, we love the car enough to have another engine put in it. The car was in excellent shape when we bought it. Interior was perfect, no flaws on the outside, and the person that had it before us didn't smoke so there was no lingering smoke smells in the car. The car is perfect. Just wondering if anyone has heard about this engine purchase thingy from Japan.

[arabianobsession]

^I know someone who purchased a low mileage engine for their Acura Integra from Japan, back in April. They paid a mint to buy it and have it shipped here, but it came with a warranty and the car still runs great.

But I would look in your area first, or even around the States, since shipping an engine from Japan is going to cost you a lot more $$$$ than shipping around the US.

[NRecob]

Internal engine problems? They weren't more specific? Just curious, how many miles are on the car? If it were mine, I'd get another opinion first before spending $$$$ on one of those engines from Japan.

Best of luck with it.

[Jack Deth]

Originally Posted by NRecob

Internal engine problems? They weren't more specific? Just curious, how many miles are on the car? If it were mine, I'd get another opinion first before spending $$$$ on one of those engines from Japan.

Best of luck with it.

i'll second that. pay a few bucks and have it towed to another garage, preferably one that comes recommended by a friend, for a second opinion.

[Jigg007]

Ran the thing without oil? Then again you'd have an oil pressure light lit on the dash.

Originally Posted by Jack Deth

i'll second that. pay a few bucks and have it towed to another garage, preferably one that comes recommended by a friend, for a second opinion.

I support this too. Its worth the $50 to have it towed to another shop to be sure it needs $1500 job.

when me and my dad changed blown engines, he had a guy who selled them for around $700+, 4 and 6 cylinders. However those were primarily GMs and chryslers.

Also, I doubt they just pull 40,000K engines out of cars like theres nothing wrong at all.

Come to think of it, Japan is pretty small, a lot of cities. Those are probably hard 40,000 city miles. You'd be better pulling a used one domestically here. The second repair shop will be able to tell you for sure.

[GOT BOOST]

Originally Posted by kdf788

Hello, does anyone know about the low mileage engines that you can get from Japan? My husband worked at the Toyota Plant in Kentucky and he heard that in Japan, they get rid of their engines once that they have 40,000 miles on them and they can be purchased over here in America. My 98 Avalon, My baby, just gave up the ghost this morning without any real signs that it was having problems. My husband was driving down the road, and it just quit on him. He finally got it started enough to get it off the road. Tried to go again, and it just quit. Called a wrecker, took it to the shop and we were told it had internal engine problems. I dont understand it. There were no signs at all, that the car was having problems. It drove beautifully, no warning lights were on on the dash, wasnt burning oil, or leaking oil. So, we love the car enough to have another engine put in it. The car was in excellent shape when we bought it. Interior was perfect, no flaws on the outside, and the person that had it before us didn't smoke so there was no lingering smoke smells in the car. The car is perfect. Just wondering if anyone has heard about this engine purchase thingy from Japan.

I would be leery about purchasing a JDM engine. The cars are usually driven hard and bagged before they are decommissioned. The cars must meet emission testing standards every year. If they are not, they are decommissioned.

It is nice that warranties are offered, but I would more than likely spend the money getting all the gaskets replaced, etc before I went through the time and effort of dropping the engine in. These engines are usually sitting around for a good 10-15 years before they are brought over.

I would ask for specifics from the mechanics as to what “internal” engine damage they are referencing.

The issue could be something as simple as a dead battery and alternator that drained, or something more. A seized engine would not allow you to restart the car and get it off the road. That is what real internal engine damage is.

[tacosteelersman]

Possible sludge issue but IIRC check engine light will iluminate most the time sludge takes an engine. Unanimous vote for a second opinion.

[MikeinSA]

Yes, these engines do exist. I have had them replaced in both Toyotas and Nissans. A young punk in the neighborhood drained the oil from my 99 Avalon a couple of years ago when it had about 150K miles. It wiped out the engine pretty quickly before I realized what had happened. I had the engine replaced at a place here in San Antonio that specializes in these engines. It's not cheap. The total replacement with all labor ran about $3,400. I've since put about 75K on the engine. Although they replaced the timing belt when installing the new engine, they apparently used a cheap belt and it broke after about 60K miles. With a non interference engine, though, it just required replacing the belt. The car is still running great and gets about 26 miles to the gallon with primarily freeway driving.

[84Cressida]

Originally Posted by tacosteelersman

Possible sludge issue but IIRC check engine light will iluminate most the time sludge takes an engine. Unanimous vote for a second opinion.

There would also be other signs of sludge, like blue-ish smoke coming out the muffler.

I'm of the opinion that you should get the car checked out at another shop before you replace the engine. 1MZ's are reliable engines and don't just up and die and if they do die, there's usually warnings.

[American Pie]

Just wondering how this turned out. I just noticed this thread today, but if I had seen it earlier I too would have called for a second opinion from a GOOD Toyota tech before assuming it needs an engine swap.

Just a guess: How many miles does your car have on it, and did you have the timing belt changed at the appropriate interval (~90-100K miles)? If not, the symptoms you describe could be a slipped timing belt and since this is a non-interference engine no disaster would have occurred.

Let us know what happened!