Well.. this isn’t good..

Summarize ?

Original engine, blown head gasket resulting in hydro lock (you said vaporlock but I'm guessing you misspoke??)

Replacement engine. Used and/or somehow damaged in shipping, so swap to #3 was needed.

Now, many miles later, #3 has come unglued on extérnal bits with collateral damage.

Accurate?

#1 ever get a root cause on the head gasket? Takes a serious head gasket leak to hydro lock a motor.

#2 unlucky choice / event

#3 rare, but not unheard of. Lucky something absorbed some chaos and protected your hood from a dent or perforation. I had a quite similar failure in a company truck eons ago with similar destruction.

I'd say you need to dig in yourself. Unless wiring was destroyed it should be straight forward and save a bunch o bucks

Barring the DIY angle, find a quality independent shop. We have some great Toyota techs here, but a good Indy will have lower overhead and often more consistent staffing. Getting to know tech folk can be helpful, and is tough to do at most dealerships

 

That sucks dude.

Next time get one that was built in Canada!!!

 

yes that’s all accurate.

they never gave root cause for head gasket failure other than 1. Bad install 2. Defective gasket

I’m leaning the DIY way.

thanks!

 

It's not too bad a job to do yourself. And that way you have complete quality control. Likely the last person/people who touched that engine buggered the fan clutch or flange somehow. More and more frequently, Genuine Toyota parts I buy from the dealer say "Made in Mexico" on the Toyota box. So if you can find aftermarket Toyota parts that say "Made in Mexico" for much less, there's a decent chance they're the same thing.

 

That's a crazy failure... wonder if it was whacked on the way in or out of the truck and eventually broke. This should be a pretty easy DIY fix. New water pump, belt, fan and possibly radiator/shroud.

 

What truck is built in Canada??

 

This truck gets towed more than that water skiing squirrel… DIY it is.. the dealer wanted $8k 5.5 due to damage and the rest really expensive maintenance they recommend that I do myself anyway.. they have lost their damn minds!

 

Update: I found the source or the oil! Fan busted at least 1 trans line I’ve found so far and found another one that looked dry rotted. Changing all idlers and tensioner as well most of them had a little play in them and I’m already balls deep in it. So far not too bad. Also while I’m at it going to change the trans filter. Anything else I should check or change while I’m here?

 

Nice to see you're making progress. Did you change the thermostat? Rock Auto lists an Aisin thermostat for not too much.

 

yeah. I got most of my parts from rock auto but I went to the dealer for the thermostat. My buddy that’s helping me said he’s been burned before with a thermostat that wasn’t right and it was a pain in the ass. I went with a local radiator shop and thermostat from dealer. Thinking I’ll just go to oriellys for coolant and tranny fluid

 

I've been using national brand coolant and transmission fluid (Toyota-compatible, of course) for a long time with zero issues. Looking forward to the next update.

 

Toyotas are not reliable as they used to be. They are living off an old reputation. Stick to the old ones. Toyota has a cult like following and saying anything negative gets you backlash.

People blindly buy a Toyota because they assume its reliable without doing any research first. There was a reason it was nicknamed turd gen when it first came out in 2016. Awful no low end torque engine paired with a 6 speed that loves to gear hunt.