New to me engine/exhaust

Hey guys,

So engine more less went to shit last August and been waiting since then for taxes to get my baby up and going again.

First question is where should I buy the engine? I see plenty on Ebay both used and rebuilt, hopefully there's some people on here that have bought either of these so I have something to go by other than the crap reviews about shipping on Ebay. I've been leaning towards getting one that was just pulled out and ready to ship so I have more money for the rest of the truck, but of course I don't want to go cheap here so I have also been looking at a bunch of rebuilt ones as well.

Second, does anyone have a parts list handy with numbers for exhaust? I'm lost on this one and can't really decide what I want. I like a deeper tone that sounds good, trying to avoid anything that sounds like my commuter Honda haha

Any and all help would be appreciated so I can get back in the truck and have some fun.

Thank you!

 

those ebay engines are engines pulled from wrecked cars and trucks in Japan, since its an island they don't go far so low miles "look" good to us but here is the problem.

since they don't go anywhere they spend most ogf there time city driving and idling so an engine saying it has 30k miles on it compared to an engine in America, you can assume that 30k miles represents what we see in an engine with double or even triple that.

now another wrinkle is these are loose engines so you cant be sure the mileage "estimates" are accurate in any way.

now im not saying don't get one but just don't think those engines are like new because of how few miles they have. they aren't a bad option, they just give you as false impression you are getting something better then it really is because of how and where it was being used.

another note is most of those engines don't have our pollution controls so manifolds and sometimes intakes and such need to be swapped over from your old motor or sourced from somewhere.

me personally I wouldn't do an ebay engine unless there was no other option because its a gamble and I hear returning one or getting relief from getting one that turned out to be bad is almost impossible plus you have to pay to ship it back which can be very pricey on freight that heavy. for the returning if something is wrong issue is why I wouldn't get one of those ebay motors from japan but if it were a place in the usa I would since you can actually go there or get legal help if there is an issue, unlike if its from outside this country.

look around for a pick-a-part or pull-a-part in or near your area and find a wrecked rear wheel drive Toyota with the engine you need. its a pure gamble with these engines because due to insurance liability reasons, most wont let you bring in gas and other stuff needed to try to start the engines since the cars are up on blocks and in various states of disassembly. but you can ask and some will let you try to start them but if not just do a compression test on the spot and see what the oil looks and smells like before you pull it and if te compression is good the engine should be good and if it turns out for some reason to have an issue you can return it for store credit or get another one. its not the best deal since there are no assurances of the mileage on it but since they only charge you $200 for an engine with the heads, you are buying it at scrap metal prices and nothing to lose but your time and labor at that price. you pull it out yourself on the spot and they have a machine to lift it out with and bring it up front to put it in the back of your truck for you (again for insurance liability reasons) and while you are there you can find other things you might need.

there is one in sparks and another one in carson city http://www.picknpull.com/locations.aspx?View=Detail&ID=70

 

You can try Car Part to source a used engine in your area. It's a database of used parts from salvage yards. Some offer 30 day warranties.

http://www.car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

 

I appreciate the input! I hear you on the fact that they have a rough 30-50k miles on them of mostly city and idling, it's always in the back of my head about the absolute headache it would be to ship anything back if something goes wrong.

Been trying to find decent rebuilds that aren't too pricey around Reno/Sacramento and still searching, with any luck I can come up on a deal since the block on my old one is good for a rebuild.

The Pick-N-Pulls out here usually don't have much Tacomas with the 3.4 and usually if they do it's stripped of anything that's worth something. Never hurts to always check, I usually have a friend that can.

 

the 4runners have the same engines, all that matters is that its a Toyota rear wheel drive and it bolts right up. unlike some parts the only thing that differs with and engine is the front wheel drive and rear wheel drive blocks are different so ANY rear wheel drive yota engine will work for you. im not sure but that should mean any of the suv are engine options for you as well, just stay away from anything that wasn't wrecked because if it wasn't wrecked then it wasn't driving and running at the time it was scrapped so anything wrecked you can be assured the engine was at least running and driving at the time.

 

Bought my 04 tacoma 4x4 with a blown motor and i purchased a complete 3.4L off of ebay from a arizona salvage yard. It came out of a totaled 03 prerunner with 69k miles. I paid $1400 with shipping. I replaced all the maintance items prior to installation. It bolted right in with no issues. About a week after i got it up and running i drove it on a 3300 mile camping trip. It didn't even burn or leak a drop of oil.

 

Same thing here. I bought a used 3.4L here in Sacramento with 86k, did all of the maintenance items, new clutch, new flywheel, new seals, valve cover gaskets, full tuneup, timing belt, water pump, tensioner, new fan bracket, new belts, etc. Bolted it into a 2000 Tacoma and it runs like a top. Mine came out of a 2000 4Runner. Just know a few of the brackets/harness clips/throttle body, etc. may be different on the donor motor.

You're going to want to stick to a 2000-2004 engine if you don't want to swap all of the exhaust manifolds. The 99 and older engines used cast iron manifolds where as the 2000 and up used stainless "headers". If you buy a JDM engine, you'll have to swap those. If you buy a Tacoma/4Runner motor, it will bolt right in and make the job even easier.