Full Engine Replacement on 2002 Tacoma

I've got a full set of them and some other snappy stuff. That said I didn't buy new and even with a student discount the price is steep. I got my first three snap on ratchets, snap on test light and test leads, and that brass drift for $200 at a mechanics garage sale. Then i asked for rebuild kits for two of the ratchets and instead of rebuilds they sent rebuild kits and new updated ratchets (talk about service). So I'd argue that the better deal is buying used haha. Super easy to rebuild a snap on ratchet too, so now I've got five of them.

 

Wish I had garage sales like that around here. All I ever see are old clothes and soiled mattresses.

I want to justify myself buying that 1.5k starters set from Snap On but for the average backyard mechanic like me there's no point. Snap on is nice but having money is nice too lol

 

I rarely buy general sets of anything, tools especially. I know what I use, what I lose, what I break, and what I don't have. Those sets get to their 1.5k price by giving you a whole bunch of stuff you already have or won't use and a case that isn't the same quality as the rest of their stuff to keep it in. If you're planning on using the student discount, I'd make friends with your local snappy truck guy and buy tools you constantly find yourself using or wishing you had a different type of. Don't get any if the boutique brands for things you think you need though, most of that can be filled nicely by the midlevel and high-level products from normal places like Lowe's and HD. Also Husky box wrenches from HD are a way better deal than the ones from Lowe's. The one exception to that sets rule of mine is the Costco tool sets (Kirkland and more recently DeWalt) because they're cheap enough to buy just to fill in gaps of stuff you lose or break. I use them to keep up on sockets and have spare ratchets for when friends help me wrench or I need to loan a tool out. Nice to have a mix of 12 and 6 point sockets too, I mostly use 6 but sometimes you need a 12.

 

That's great advice. I see guys buying 5-10k Snap On toolboxes and put their Harbor Freight tools in them. Priorities... Lol!

That Kirkland set has treated me well. Costco quality has never dissapointed me. I'm fine with my Harbor Freight tools... I mean when am I ever going to need a pitman puller more than once.

 

I should mention that making friends with the snappy guy is good because part of their thing is letting you try a tool, if you like it or you don't break it then you can buy it the next time he comes by. The snap on tool boxes have put many a first year tech into enough dept to keep them out of school the next semester, in my mind you buy the box after you break an entry level one. I don't know who makes the Costco tools right now, but I can say they hold up very well over time, only ever shattered one of their ratchets and it was more my fault than theirs. When I did my swap that HF pitman puller was the only local one I could get and I returned it twice cause I broke it. But it was the only tool that worked to popping out my tie rod ends and ball joints. Hell I'll probably return it again when it is time to change the joints because I won't want to make the trip in the middle of the job. It is a poorly made tool but it does it's job well once or twice and for $15 you really can't complain as long as you can sacrifice the time to exchange it.

 

When the snappy guy did his presentation he mentioned the Blackhawk line. Still made by snap on but not in America. Kind of wondering how they hold up versus the snap on.

 

They've been doing it forever, usually made by a factory they bought rights of production to. Look up Bluepoint, also one of their brands for stuff made outside america and with a more limited warranty. Garage Journal is a great site for finding all the other brands and wholesalers of the big three (four if you're on the east coast) MAC, Snap-On, and Matco (Cornwell). They can show you how to get those quality tools that have been blemished or over produced from their shadow brands. Always like that site's quirky information.

 

Do you know the model that your engine came off of, and what year tacoma is yours?

 

I've found many a used tools from these 3 awesome manufacturers at pawn shops. If you buy used and high quality like Zane mentions, you'll likely spend the same or less and have a tool 10-100x better quality. And lots of their tools are rebuildable, like their ratchets, etc.

 

i got a 3RZ for my 2002 prerunner 2wd. not sure what model it came of.

 

Regarding low mileage motors from Japan (I lived there 4 years). Vehicles in Japan don't have "mileage" limits that remove them from the roads; rather, very strict inspection standards. The inspection is called Japanese Car Inspection (JCI). Japanese cars operate in harsh salty environments (Toyota would go broke if they had to warranty frames in Japan). Therefore, it becomes cost prohibitive as a owner to pay for/pass the inspection every two years which results in most cars being removed from the road around 10 to 12 years old. Because the Japanese do not drive that much each year, the end result is low mileage motors arriving in the US.

 

Thank you for explaining this! I've always truly wondered why the hell JDM engines show up here.

 

Too bad Toyota literally has no use for the V8s in Japan or I'd have a dual V8 Taco by now haha

 

Right now the biggest thing is I'm trying to see if I can do a self-install and not void warranties on the engine (even if they are more limited), anywhere particularly good for that? Almost all the JDM engines warranties I've seen void really easily in this regard.

 

Also is there any other important wiring/plumbing/attachments I should be adding to that list I had of hardware to replace?

 

It's a good list. Generally anything that's rubber I'd replace.

PCV valve maybe?

 

Anybody have a particularly favorite site they'd recommend getting this hardware from?

 

www.rockauto.com

 

Some stuff you should go with oem if you're putting all that work into your truck - @gunny1005 can help you find part numbers and the best deals on oem parts from the online Toyota dealer he works for.

 

Freaking heater hoses like to deform and bubble. Uh might as well do thermostat and radiator hoses. Good time to do fuel filter since it's bolted to the engine block.