Low Oil Pressure... Engine replacement?

As with any other insurance warranty periods are carefully calculated so that the device being insured will fail AFTER the warranty expires.

Which is the down side of both warranties and insurance. Of course even if they have to pay out, the insurance company has some period of time to invest your money and make a profit.

Which is why it's very unusual to find anyone who will agree to a grace period after a warranty.

i like the idea of trying to negotiate with the dealer for a discount. It's been years since I had any experience with that however way back then when my father did a lot of business with dealers they had a book with both list prices and varying discount rates for parts.

 

I wouldn't let that dealer tighten my gas cap. Look at the prices they quoted him earlier in the thread. I would get that truck out of there ASAP.

 

I'm late here (former Toyota Tech) but:
1-if no noise and minimal flakes, I'd change oil/filter and see if what pressure is (with gauge = cannot simply trust sensor).
2-if no noise and pressure low, remove pan and check out screen/pump.
3-in future, change oil by 6000 latest with synthetic.

 

@Loudog504

Any updates?

 

Yeah, spoke to Toyota today. They said since it's out of the standard and power train warranty even if they would offer assistance via goodwill I would have to pay the "majority" of the cost. That is only after I pay the $3,400 tear down and diagnostic to determine the failure. They offer no assistance with that either.

Quoted engine replacements and the best I found was $10,800 install with a 17k mile used motor.

Dealer wanted $15-16k for a 55k motor, another shop wanted $18k with a 80k mile motor lol, and a 4th shop wanted $14k for a 55k motor.

Still on the fence on what I want to do.

Leaning towards replacing it with the low mile motor for $11k.

They drained the oil out the truck and the filter and i got a few more pics.

 

I am a high school auto tech teacher. We do jobs like this. See if there are local ones in your area that would take on the job. It will save an awful lot of money!

 

Shopped around and a large part of the cost is the motor. That 17k motor was $7k alone and even high mileage motors are not much cheaper around $6k.

 

I'd go on carvana and the likes... get a quote for a "good condition" trade in... Then I'd probably take 5k off that quote and try and unload it broken for a DIY mechanic type. Not sure spending 11k on a 100k mile 6 year old tacoma is worth it.

There are people on here buying totaled Tacomas... to fix em up etc.

 

Just looked at my used part database. Yea, 5-6k. But a school will allow you to buy the engine and install it for super cheap. Total around $7k for entire job. It doesn't hurt to ask.

 

Also good advice. Try Facebook marketplace.

 

I considered selling as is. I figured I could get about 13k. Pull off the mods and sell everything I could get about another 3-4k.

Dealer offered 10k which I think they would love to have it for that price lol.

Long story short I cant afford a car note for at least 3 years. So the only options are to sell it and get some beater that will last another 3 years or replace the motor and hope for the best for another 3 years.

Finance rates are so high right now and not to mention New truck prices. Even some base model work truck new would run in the low $40k range and used prices are just crazy right now.

 

Yea I hear you. You're between a rock and a hard place... How would you even finance the 11k? Personal loan? The point being it may be the more prudent to get the cash in hand from the truck and not pay another 11k in repairs. I don't see you "fixing" it for much less than 7-8k... and that would still expose you to some sort of liability with a 6 figure mile truck that is out of warranty.

 

As to the OP, I would scour nearby salvage/wrecking yards for used engine and installation. In some areas or states some do or offer that type of service.
And you’d be surprised how good some of these guys are at this sort of thing. I mean to say they take things off and apart every day and are likely to be more reasonable if they do the work, I would also inquire on a warranty as some do offer it.

 

if it were me in your shoes, i would sell it as-is. i would not spend that much to repair a tacoma that age and mileage.

sounds like it would help to drive something else for 2-3 years, and when you are in a better position buy a used Gen3 or new/lightly used Gen4.

good luck.

 

If it were me I would remove the timing cover and take the oil pump apart. Can’t hurt anything if the engine is already trash and you could get lucky and find the metal came from the oil pump. It would also give you an opportunity to see if the timing cover leak repair was done properly or if it was the root cause of the oil pressure problem.

 

This is what I would do. For $11k you should have a solid truck for at least another 100k miles. You can't go buy anything decent for that much.

 

Yes, if it was me facing this issue I’d consider an engine replacement if the rest of the truck was in good condition. Sorry to hear OP. It could happen to anyone. I follow posts like these in the event that this unfavourable scenario landed on my lap. Good luck with your situation.

 

I would suggest the 11K. Keep it for a bit at least and then decide if you keep/sell/trade but I think that's the best move

 

any estimate on the value of the truck after you installed a used engine with modest mileage?

 

Toyota pulled the book value based on the VIN and said $25k minus the quoted repair cost of $15k and offered $10k. So if they lowball value it at $25k repaired I would think getting it fixed and running i could get that at least.