Just had a rod bust its way out 3.4L

Same here.
It's these younger people that get duped into thinking the only way to buy anything is with a warranty. It's weird. You do your research and buy quality and buy used. Same thing I do for my tools, my furniture, I guess everything. Thank goodness people get rid of perfectly good stuff to geet their new whatever

 

I recently purchased a used engine with 70,000 miles from a totaled out 4Runner from LKQ https://www.lkqonline.com

With LKQ you get the VIN number and pictures of the donor vehicle. LKQ engines are warrantied. They cost more. But you get to see what you are buying.

 

He's 19, pretty responsible. It happened yesterday evening reportedly while just driving down the road. He said he was driving along, heard a loud pop, and the engine died. He said it was dripping a liquid.

When I arrived I briefly looked at it, could not tell where the oil was coming from, so I asked "where did this happen? How far back on the road?". "was it where that piece of metal is laying in the street?"


Here's what appears to be the bottom end of a rod.

 

Looks like the rod cap. Never had one of those break

 

Hondamatics.. I think they finally gave up and started buying transmissions from Borg Warner.

 

98-2005 Honda auto trans are the worst in the world.

 

They ain’t much better today

 

Their 6 speed manual is one of the best

 

It could have been neglect by the previous owner. I bought one with a knock. The previous owner had let it run hot and damaged the engine. I can see where they tried to repair the engine and gave up. I knew when I bought it that it would be headed for trouble. I just didn't know how serious it would be. I would suspect there was something going on with the previous owner that contributed to the failure.

 

These motors DO NOT just throw a rod unless there was something else that failed.
Maybe the rev limiter was not working, oil pump or something else.

You can actually rev the heck out of these motors without any problems

 

did your son notice the oil pressure indicator light before this happened?
not sure if that would light up before this happened or not
perhaps indicator light was not working?

 

I know this is upsetting. I had an unexpected engine failure occur from neglect by a previous owner that surfaced several months after I bought one car. It cost thousands to correct and to get it right.

One thing that I do, and members here have seen, when you've got to correct a bad situation, do it right so you come out better in the end. You can buy a quality used engine, then invest the time/money to put the surrounding components into top-notch condition so you will enjoy many good years of service. I've seen problems happen and people actually make the situation worse by cutting corners on the repair or replacement. Then they are forced to sell the vehicle prematurely and take a huge financial loss.

Here's a video of my replacement engine after I did the initial startup on Saturday, June 22nd. I think this one should give our family 200,000 miles of service.

https://youtu.be/14VqqPiTlTc

 

I'm with you 100% on doing it right. I'm torn between buying a used engine (that includes a bunch of additional components) or buying a fresh longblock like this:

https://spprecision.com/products/to...crate-engine-sale.html#/433-vehicle_year-2002

Really is a lot of dollar difference in the end.

 

Maybe some other members can comment. I would be interested in knowing about

"Our XP1 series has taken it a step further and we have implemented upgrades to help displaced the engines thermodynamics and increase its longevity."

 

I have a buddy who handles which parts are salvageable when they get a new vehicle in. He said they almost never get 1st gen Tacomas or 3rd gen 4Runners anymore. He helped me out a ton when I had my 2013 Taco though

 

You should look into "Toyota Engines" in Springfield Oregon. I have an engine on the way from there right now. I was told they use mainly OEM parts and the engine comes with a 3 year unlimited milage warranty. The customer service was fantastic too. It was $2000 if I keep my old engine, and $1600 if they take my old engine as a core.

 

I have a feeling it might've been previously repair that wasn't done properly

 

@dankgus where are you located? Our members may know of resources in your area.

 

I've seen a good bit of broken stuff, but can't recall seeing a cap laying in the road like that. Much more likely to be a rod out the side of the block.

So is there a hole in the oil pan that was the exit path for this?

When you pull the motor take some more pics for us. Then flip it over, pull the pan and show us how many pieces the crank is in.

I'd go the low mile used engine route.

Best of luck!

 

No idea. There are many many JDM importers. Even local. You’ll find them on the coastal ports. Long Beach, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.