Tacoma 3400 rebuild price?

[computeruser]

Buddy bought a 99 Tacoma, 95k miles, but upon further inspection the engine is >200k miles and shot (blocked oil passages, etc.). Truck is clean, everything else checks out per Toyota dealer, but the engine is on its last legs. Dealer quoted a huge sum to swap a used motor in, but that's not surprising.

I know Jeep stuff and Jeep prices, but not Toyota. What kind of coin is he looking at, realistically, to rebuild a 3400?

 

[J-man]

i wouldnt rebuild - get another motor taken out of another tacoma/4runner/tundra. Heres an ebay search i found for you: Just to note tho, make sure you buy from someone with good and a quanity of feedback. Rebuilt motors never last as long as the stock built ones - sounds like your buddy had a bad swap that he wasnt aware of. Good luck.


http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=to...4+motor&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

 

[J-man]

also, the dealer is in the business of ripping people off, so i would get a motor off the link i sent you, and either set aside a weekend to drop the new one in yourself, or find a local mechanic to drop in the new one. Shouldnt be more than $700+- for them to do it - its pretty easy - ive done it a few times if you have the patience and some simple tools.

 

[OTR]

Sounds like fraud. Why did he think the truck had 95,000 miles and then has almost 200,000?

 

[computeruser]

Sounds like fraud. Why did he think the truck had 95,000 miles and then has almost 200,000?

Odometer = 95k. Rest of body and drivetrain probably have 95k. Engine, however, has a sticker indicating that the timing belt was changed in 2007, at 170k miles.

 

[109 Pretender]

That's a huge difference between what your friend thought (was told) he was getting and what he actually ended up with. If he bought it from a dealer or sales lot - he could most likely have them reimburse him for his time and efforts in this potential scam - or they could explain to the authorities why there's 120K difference in mileage. It's that simple here - your friend has evidence that conflicts hugely with the odometer. The authorities like evidence - makes it so much easier to prosecute. It is the dealer's responsibility to ensure that the mileage is documented and accurate. AND it would be their responsibility to prove they didn't mess with the odometer.

Or if he likes it a lot and wants to redo the engine or swap in a used unit - have the dealer meet him in the middle somewhere on that cost. Remember, he thought he was getting a vehicle with quite a bit of mileage left in it. He didn't...

If he bought it from an individual - well, even individuals can be prosecuted if it can be proven that they deliberately deceived the buyer - but that's very hard to do.

I hope he got it for very little so he doesn't end up burned on the deal.

I'd also agree on the engine swap in lieu of a rebuild - if the engine sticker is correct, that truck is fairly worn out all over and may end up needing more expensive work in the suspension/drivetrain areas. An engine swap will do the job much cheaper and leave some money for other things.

Good Luck!

 

[slus]

I'd be more curious about the engine being swapped out at less than 95k. Was this checked out and verified by the Toyota dealer you were speaking of? Did they look at the numbers to make sure that in fact was not the engine the truck came with? What did they come up with besides "blocked oil passages" that required a new engine, and are you sure the dealer isn't taking your buddy for a long hard ride? I'd dig in a bit deeper before shelling out for a new motor. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn a shop added an extra 1 to a timing belt service tag or switched it with the truck one bay over, or the odometer reading is incorrect in the first place.

 

[computeruser]

It was an eBay Motors buy-and-ship from across the country, which complicates things, from a practical standpoint and from a litigation standpoint. But a 2nd opinion probably couldn't hurt. It would be great to have someone else figure out that the engine is actually fine, just a bad oil pressure sensor.

First contact was made with the selling dealer and with eBay today, so we'll see how that plays out over the coming days...