2018 Tacoma TRD sport 102,000m blown engine

In my 32 years as ford engine mechanic, never seen an overheat cause severe catastrophic internal bearing, piston, or any metal parts that would been imploded causing metal debris through the engine / oil system to get sucked up into oil filter pleats....
Lots of questions need to be answered, but your statement is a reach......

 

How are you reading engine oil temperatures?
IIRC, the V6 doesn't have an engine oil temp-sending unit.

 

More likely in severe overheating, blown head gasket, crack cylinder head, cracked engine block, engine oil white, oil looks like chocolate ice cream.

 

Lets wait for the outcome, if we ever in fact get updates to the end of the saga....
If I were him & theres no red flags that the writer, manager, tech, shop foreman can easily make him aware of prior to authorizing any teardown....
theres no reason to not push forward with the teardown, its normal warranty protocol....
In order for the tech to get toyota to authorize an engine replacement, need to be torn down to determine cause, extent of damage, what's needed to be replaced to repairs, toyota evaluates cost cap & if repair exceeds a set limit or if damage is extensive, Mr Tacotuesday gets a nice rebuilt long block....
Win!!!!
Do some maint while theyre in there, hoses, belts, etc.....
Have a nice day...

 

Hope this pans out for TTT, & I hope he has a good update soon too for us! Now seeing stories like this with low miles makes me kinda gun shy/edgy you know, I just recently bought a 2023 3.5l and I just turned 19.5k on her…..

 

2017 122,000 miles says

 

There are so many variables here . It wasn’t bought new by the OP. Who knows what the first owner did
Even though it was bought at a dealer you never really truly know. Something could have happened that compromised something, and 85 k later they item failed . Was the truck tuned ? Did the oil filter leak from an oil change and the dealer put everything back and told the first owner everything was fine ?
Again who knows

 

Yeah, I’m feeling ….ditto!

 

Update:


What Happened:

My engine failed due to what the dealership confirmed was a manufacturing defect. The he had their lead mechanic and Toyota Warranty sent separate inspectors:

They said the piston on Cylinder 4 stiffened up and started rubbing against the engine block, leading to failure.

I have always been meticulous with maintenance, so this wasn't due to neglect no overheating, no oil starvation, and regular service was done on time (had to send them 42 scanned pages of receipts)


Warranty Coverage & Repairs:

The repair is fully covered under warranty.

Instead of replacing the entire engine, the dealership is doing an on-site rebuild with a new engine block and necessary internal components.

Big issue: I have no ETA on parts, so I don't know how long it’ll be without my truck.


Questions I Have:

1.Possible Causes? Since the dealership confirmed it was a manufacturing defect and not maintenance-related, what could cause a piston to seize like this?

2.What Maintenance Should I Do Now?Since the engine is already out, I asked the mechanic what else might be worth replacing while labor is low. Heres what I’m considering:

Cooling System: Water Pump, Thermostat, Radiator Hoses

Engine Accessories: Serpentine Belt, Tensioner, Motor Mounts

Seals: Rear Main Seal, Exhaust Manifold Gaskets

Transmission & Drivetrain: U-Joints, Transmission Mounts

Fuel System: Injectors, Fuel Rail Cleaning

Exhaust System: Inspect and replace anything needed

Anything else worth doing while it’s apart?

3.Any Advice on Dealing with Delays?
I don't have an ETA on parts. Has anyone dealt with this before? Should I push the dealership for a loaner?


Any insight would be appreciated!

 

The piston “stiffened up”? Must be a Toyota technical term. Curious what the manufacturing defect was, and how this caused the failure.

As for other repairs/replacements, maybe that rear coolant pipe. Toyota may not be too keen on other misc (customer requested) repairs, unless recommended by the tech. IDK

 

Im also curious what this mean exactly, but that’s what written on the report I have access to. I’m trying to figure out if they will let me speak to the tech directly.

I’m going to pay out of pocket for extra services that I mentioned above. To hopefully future proof my truck for another 100k

 

yeah, if it’s possible I would do the same things ….I'm just weirded out about the whole (stiffened)/ seized up piston thing at 100k that basically thrashed the cylinder wall. It’s good though the dealership is fixn it sucks on no e.t.a though. Keep up the updates though I’m deff watching this one…

 

It just so happens, that I speak bullshitees, so I can translate for you: "we don't know, but cylinder 4 is bad"

 

It means: wrist pin bushing failed. If it's bad enough, it will break the connecting rod at the small end. Might have happened if the connecting rod was initially installed backward.

 

Just a little tidbit of info; Toyota does not sell long block assemblies and has to pretty much be pieced together. I hope the Hell you get a good tech to assemble the engine!

 

I guess there’s only one tech in my area that can do this and the dealership that I towed it to had guy with the right skills & experience. But yeah that is a concern that I have. I’m praying

 

good thing its covered, that's a relief. i wonder what the cost of a new motor is, versus a rebuild, versus finding a used one to drop in

 

As others have mentioned, “new motor” isn’t really a thing. You can get a short block for 3500, heads for $1200 a piece, cams, valves, followers, etc, but there is nothing to buy to make it all new. So I guess the cost of new would be the sum of all the parts you’d want to be new. Used motors with reasonable mileage seem to be around 3-6K. Rebuilt motor isn’t really a thing, unless say you replaced the block but kept the heads or something like that. Most reused parts are reused as is, if they need any amount of fixing they are usually replaced.

 

I would wonder if a wrist pin retainer failed to keep the wrist pin in place.