Buying a Tacoma with a replaced engine?

Yea I realise every used vehicle is a gamble, replaced engine or not.

But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wonder why it needed a new engine, and whether that’s a red flag or not. I’ve seen Toyotas with 500k on the factory internals. Again my Cruiser has 233k on the unopened motor. Oh well, I guess it just had a rough life.

At the end of the day I will accept the risk and if the engine craps out next week, well that’s nobody’s fault but mine. Looks like the consensus is that it shouldn’t necessarily a deal breaker as long as I go into it with eyes wide open.

 

You're not wrong for questioning why it had its motor replaced (if it really did).

It's like I said, we all think differently and I do think some of the comments made were definitely not warranted.

With that said though, I always do like @JasonLee said and assume the worst. Always assume the worst and ask yourself if you can handle the worst? If you can, both financially and if you're mechanically inclined enough, then less to worry about.

I hope for your sake, it turns out to be a great truck for you. I don't get the way you do about vehicles, but I totally get it (when it comes to other things).

 

Yeah, definitely not unreasonable to wonder why it needed a new engine.

It's a great looking truck from the pics and I hope you have all good luck with it!

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

 

Anyway, here's some pics of the engine bay area. Couldn't see any evidence of shoddy installation or anything like that. At this point it's a go from me barring any unforeseen circumstances.

 

I did notice the top reservoir of the radiator might be getting a little brittle if I'm not mistaken. And it looks like the engine might have 120k miles or so going from the timing belt stamp. The current owner said the timing belt and water pump were changed when the motor was installed a couple years ago.

 

The radiator shroud looks like it has 'dried coolant' which is pretty common.

The plastic ends on top and below the radiator get brittle and crack, only to minimally spew coolant under pressure and mist throughout as the fan spins.

My Tacoma did that but it didn't leak enough to ever cause me to run low on coolant; simple radiator replacement which is super easy and cheap to do. Fair to say it's been done based on how old those drip stains look.

 

Man, if the frame is rust-free, fluids look good with no/minimal leaks, and it runs and drives fine, other stuff can be fixed. That engine bay looks pretty good for its age. Just make sure that anything that seems funny has a realistic explanation.

 

Look good to me.

 

Is it a good price? These things are impossible to come by as it is, so if it's a great price go for it. Or..... If you are that concerned (I would be), ask the guy if you can take it to your mechanic and ask your mechanic if it looks like the engine has been replaced.

 

Got a link to that? Id like to see mine.

 

Pay a reputable mechanic to check the computer codes, compression test, fluid quality, and complete diagnostics. Well worth the money.

 

Just an FYI if you want know if your engine is a crate engine or a engine from a junkyard check the VIN # on the front of the engine . It will have either a tag / decal of the Vin # or a stamp of the vin#

 

Only thing I would care about having checked would be compression.

But honestly if it runs smooth I’d probably just buy it before someone else does.

 

You can always buy a reman from yota1 or a junkyard and have it as backup

 

Those blow up too. What the OP needs is a therapeutic daily dose of Prozac

 

We are doing a straight trade for my 1997 Land Cruiser.

If it runs smooth and has good power I will probably just take it and run a compression test and oil analysis later. I can run for codes and check temps with my OBD2 scanner also.

 

https://www.toyota.com/owners/my-vehicle/service-history

 

When I traded my 4R for my Land Cruiser, I got a ton of parts (lift, etc) that I sold off.

Helped that I got cash on top too!

 

I'm the guy that would check vin#'s to make sure the drivetrain is numbers matching to the chassis . If an engine comes up with the wrong Vin # I will either back out of of the sale or give a substantially lower offer than what the seller is asking . This is also if the seller doesn't provide paperwork of the engine install

I hear alot of people go the junkyard route but that doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling . If I needed an engine do to a mechanical failure I would go the crate engine route or rebuilding the OEM engine before a junkyard engine