Would you guys trust a junk yard ??

I was looking carparts.com for an engine for my 2016 Tacoma and I found one with 14,000 miles they’re asking over $5000 but they don’t let me see the truck or look at the motor they told me the truck was hit from behind and rolled. They told me it runs but I’m not sure should I trust a junkyard the motor is still in the truck. It’s a 3.5L what do I guys think

 

I have bought many a part from junk yards in the past, but never anything huge like a motor. Do you know how much a new crate motor would cost? If the delta between the junk yard's price and a new one is not that huge then I would go new. However, if the delta between used and new is significant (which I assume it is or you would not be looking at a junk yard motor) then you just might have to roll the dice on a used one.

 

Check around with Engine Rebuilders. They may have a rebuilt for your core

 

5K seems steep as hell for a salvage yard. I thought that remans went for less than that.

 

Is there any warranty implied for this junk yard engine.

If yes, make sure you are covered if there is an issue post install.

If no, and you are not comfortable with a $5k potential gamble, skip it.

 

What happened to your original engine?

 

Way too much for a junk yard engine. A quick google search turned up multiple 3.5L engines for $2000 or less.

 

Even with a warranty you would not really know if there was an issue until you get it installed. If you find out there is an issue then it's a LOT of wasted time installing and then un-installing the engine just to take it back to the junk yard.

 

Does Toyota offer reman over the counter crate engines? If so I'd look into them.

Understandable the j-yard wont let you look at the truck as its most likely was crushed and shredded months ago but not letting you look at the engine is strange. The good news is that you can take the VIN number off the engine and run a CarFax report to see what the mileage is.

 

I may be wrong and I'm too tired to go outside to check my Taco but I don't think Engine numbers and VIN numbers ever match, so running a CarFax just off the engine number wouldn't be possible. I know people in the car collecting world talk (a lot) about a 'numbers matching' car but in reality that phrase has more to do with having an original motor, which generally requires looking-up the engine number to see if it corresponds with that year car or truck. Case-in-point I recently bought a '63 Datsun P/U and on the VIN tag it lists the original VIN number and the original Engine Number. The two don't match (this is a tag which was riveted to the Firewall at the factory and is original). My '67 and '73 VW's are the same as the Datsun; VIN numbers and Engine numbers never matched. Again if I'm wrong, someone feel free to correct me. Most of my experience with classic cars is with air-cooled VW's and Japanese mini trucks; maybe the Domestics did it differently.

To the OP, I think I would pass on this J/Y motor. As others have said, look to a rebuilder who offers a solid warranty and has a good reviews. FWIW I thought my '93 T100 was going to need a new engine a couple of months ago and at that time I was going to have a Jasper engine installed. YMMV

 

I've always avoided buying engines out of rolled vehicles. If the engine didn't stall or get turned off, it could have had oil starvation.