JDM or Car part.com engine.

I just purchased a 2003 Toyota Tacoma with 200k on it. The Previous owner did a long road trip. Half way through the trip he did a oil change and did not tighten the oil filter on all the way. Long story short, it leaked all the oil out toasted the motor. So now I’m crossed between a 60k JDM or a 127k engine from a salvage yard with good compression, that was in a roll over. Both are $1,400. Which engine should I go with?

 

Doesn't matter. When an engine goes 1 million miles, the difference in those mileages really don't mean anything. I always had good luck with salvage yard engines, although I go pull them myself and they are $169 for a long block.

 

As already stated, mileage is not as important as condition and maintenance. The difference in mileage is relatively unimportant if you plan to keep the vehicle. I always pick the one where the seller can honestly answer my questions.

Compression is good to know, but not always the whole picture. Ask to see the inside of the oil pan, or under the valve cover. If the seller's willing to do that, you can likely assume that they've got nothing to hide.

Mark

 

yea 1400 sounds like a lot for a junkyard engine. A JDM engine MAY require more work (due somewhat to right hand drive and somtimes a new oil pan is needed). I don't know which is better.

 

The salvage yard said they didn’t do compression test since it was running good when they removed it. Also said it was making some noise in the upper part of the engine. I plan in making it my daily driver back and forth from work. So I’m in it for the long run.

 

How does the salvage yard know it has good compression if they didnt check it?
I wouldn't pay $1,400 for a motor that they say was making some noise.

 

I called them after I saw there post that it had good compression. They said they didn’t a test. So that one is out. I’m still looking.

 

JDM motor is a gamble, there’s zero proof they have 60k miles on them and probably doesn’t and no history or testing for them.
If your paying 1400.00 for any motor you should have a compression test and a carfax on the truck
it came out of.

Your best bet is finding a motor in the truck to verify the miles and hear it running with a compression test and carfax.
It’s a lot of work to remove and replace a motor or very expensive to have it done by a shop.

You Don’t want to do it again because you took a gamble on a motor with unknown conditions.

I found a motor for my truck that had 90k that was running in a rolled truck for 1500.00.
Did a carfax, checked it out and that was 140,000 miles ago and it’s running perfectly still.

 

That’s a good fine. That’s about what my budget is. I’m planning on doing it myself. I got 5 days off this week and already ordered a lot of stuff through the local Toyota dealership. So do the salvage yards keep the Vins on vehicles they came out of to do car faxes?

 

Some do, but if it’s in the truck you 100 percent what your buying and not a carfax from a different truck.

Look on Craigslist too

 

Where are you located? I found a scrapper with a rolled Tacoma with 135k miles on it and was able to hear the engine run in the truck.

For $500 they pulled it and loaded it into the bed of my truck.

 

Southern Idaho

 

update. I ended up going to the salvage yard that offered me the 127k mile engine for 14 hundo. They had one with 150 on it for $800. I said I would take it since it was on video running on their website. That’s was a 5 year old video. When I got there they couldn’t find that engine! They looked as well as let me look. I found the 127k one but not the other. So after an hr 1/2 they ended up selling me the 127k engine for $800

 

After I went through it every thing looked very clean, besides one side having oil and coolant residue on it from a rollover. I ended up buying a timing belt kit from Toy Only Swaps a oil pump and a crank shaft bolt from YotaShop, as well as gaskets and fluid from the local dealership along with a bunch more extras.

 

I also bought fuel injectors from MotorWest performance in Cali. I started to put all the new parts on. I had let a family member use my torque wrench. He told me he used it to tighten his tire lugs. So when I started to use it on my oil pump to get it to torque it snapped off the first bolt I had put in. Then I tried to remove it with a E Z out and that snapped. I did some research and saw that I might be screwed. This was after I dulled all my bits trying to remove the e z out. I check the good ole inter web and saw that I was screwed! So I went to homeDepot and found a Milwaukee bit that was a little bigger than the E z Out that broke off. I bought it for $15 dollars and Boom goes the dynamite! Removed it. Now I’m able to start assembly

 

Sounds like a win!

JDM motors are usually pretty good and I have seen them for $1000. Generally they do have low mileage because of the Shaken inspection program in Japan.

 

I would exhaust all local and nearby salvage yards before getting an E-Bay/JDM motor.

 

As long as the vehicle at the junkyard isn't there due to a bad motor it could be good. I have been burned on a junkyard motor and had all good luck with JDM motors...your mileage may vary. Dealing locally is good because you can see what you're getting and hopefully hear it run. JDM motor places were local to me.

 

Isn't the motor you bought with 127k on it the 1 that the salvage yard said had the upper end noise? If so, did you look into that noise?

 

I bought a JDM about a month ago, It in the truck and running good.