Maybe this is crazy

I'd like to buy a 4.0 motor to practice taking apart and to learn how to work on them. I have no confidence in pulling my motor apart but a junk motor would build my confidence in working on. Is it realistic to find a motor for between 500- 800 to tinker with.tia

 

Good luck trying to find one for that price. You're probably better off finding a blown or damaged engine to test with. Unless you pull one in a junkyard yourself, you'll probably be searching for awhile.

 

Gotta be plenty of early 4.0 motors in the junkyard, you may even try asking for one that is known to be shot.

 

In my area, you can not find a single Tacoma in a junkyard. These things are like gems. The only model I've seen in my local yard is a 95 4Runner that has like 350k on the clock. It's crazy.

 

That's definitely crazy.

$800 won't get you a running engine. Or an engine that can run with tinkering.

I'd find a small block Chevy for $100 instead, or a VW air cooled. Tinker cheap, you will be investing far more than engine purchase alone if you ever want it to make noise. Particularly one that's ECM driven with electronic injection fuckery.