Cracked Piston Head Options?

Did a compression test on my 1st gen Tacoma V63.4L (245k miles) and was getting 90PSI in one cylinder and 190 in the others. Inspected the piston and the head is cracked. Getting great gas mileage but the truck idles a little rough. Generally wouldn't notice anything was wrong expect for the check engine light that came on 2 months ago saying cylinder misfire. Cylinder is pitted so wondering what my options are, seems to make sense money wise to get a new vehicle as I don't have time to put an engine in myself and it would be cost prohibitive, but thought I'd get some opinions. Everything else on the truck would probably go for another 200k miles, newish frame and many other parts but have no complaints overall. Had this truck for 15 years so will be sad to see it go if I have to let it go.

 

If the cylinder is pitted there's not really any options, needs an engine.
New/rebuilt, or a used/jdm. Or part out or sell the truck.

 

Yeah, the toyota motors don't really have an aftermarket piston following since this type of thing is pretty rare, and these motors don't really drip with power.

TIme to start looking for a rolled/wrecked Tacoma for a donor motor...

 

I haven't done a ton of work myself on my truck. Recently I replaced the calipers/pads/rotors and some fluids. How challenging do you think it would be for me to change out an engine assuming I have the right lifts and equipment? Where should I go to find documentation on how to replace the engine if that's what I ended up doing?

 

Not sure on a v6 but swapping in a new 2.7 is pretty simple. Either take pictures of where everything goes or label every hose/wire you unplug and remove engine. Then reverse for install. Did it in a few hours by myself in the driveway.

 

No kidding only a few hours?! That's exiting to hear, I was thinking it would be a 20-30 hour job. How did you find another engine? Don't you have to do a air conditioning flush and a ton or other fluid changes?

 

If you have the cherry picker and and a decent collection of tools it might take 12 hrs to pull the old, transfer the accessories and put the new motor back in. You cal leave the AC compressor hooked up and tied off to the side. If exhaust bolts start to snap that adds time.
Have you considered selling her to a member... sounds like a good father son project. What part of the country are you in?

 

Even for someone only kinda technically minded (I was a only parts counter guy just outta high school at a Bobcat dealership when I swapped my first motor) it can be a weekend job with appropriate tools and equipment. And patience... don't forget lots of pictures, labels and patience

It was a 4cyl 22re motor out of an older toyota pick up and I was done start to finish in 18hr and the most technical thing I had ever done at that time was a timing belt on the 3.0l v6 toyota used to use. And that was on a buddy's 4runner a few months before my motor swap, it's actually what gave me the confidence to do my work!


Did I mention you'll need lots of patience?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2001-tacoma-3-4l-trd-part-out.615114/unread

He's selling a motor for 500

 

Alright well that's not as bad as I thought, maybe I'll swap a motor if I can do it in a weekend. I'm in New Hampshire/Massachusetts
and found a motor with 151k miles for $600 so might do that. Probably swap the timing belt and water pump out while I have the engine out. Did a quick search and didn't find any motor swap Tacoma video tutorials on YouTube like I had found for changing calipers/rotors/pads..can anyone suggest some place to look and learn from? I can always look at other vehicles but would obviously like to watch Tacoma tutorials if there are any.
Thanks everyone for the advice! My truck might like to see 500k miles after all

 

I dont think there are any nut by nut videos out that as it is pretty straight forward. If it is a 4X4 the torque convertor bolts are a bit more difficult due to limited access. If your has an oil cooler on her I would get the seals before hand and maybe the oil cooler coolant hoses... much easier the change on the ground that in the truck. Is this JDM motor or a wrecking yard motor?