Swapping engine

[happycloud]

Hi all,

So I threw a rod in my 87 4wd :( A mechanic quoted me $1500 in labor and 5 days to swap engines (that I provide). I am fairly mechanically comfortable and would like to do it myself. Reading online everything appears straightforward however I am a bit concerned at the timeline the guy gave. If it takes a pro 5 days... what am I looking at? Any amateurs try this in a 4wd? I see long blocks online for $1600-1900 so trying to save here.

On another note - this van is relatively new to me - I noticed that the transmission (it's an auto with manual hubs) sometimes lags/pauses before it engages into first. Is this a minor issue - perhaps a fluid change and topping or a sign of a bigger problem that might indicate this van may not be worth doing all this to? I am sort of torn between keeping and scrapping at this point.

Thanks for any suggestions and input!

[timsrv]

Hi & welcome to TVT! I'm moving this thread to the regular technical discussion area because swapping engines isn't 4wd specific. If all your hoses and misc parts were in good condition, the engine can be swapped in about 5 hrs (I've done it before). The problem with 30 year old vehicles, especially ones that have higher than normal temps in the engine compartments (like these vans), it's almost never that you can just do an engine swap. If you take the time to do all the little things that should be done, then you'll be looking at 15 hrs easy (maybe more). These engines can be removed through the passenger door via a standard cherry picker, or they can be dropped out through the bottom. Unless you have a lift, I'd recommend taking it out through the PS door.

Personally, I've had less than great experiences with remanufactured engines. I've had much better results and found it more rewarding to tear down and do the work myself. If your old engine had any kind of catastrophic failure (throwing a rod qualifies), then I would start fresh with a core engine. Another advantage with reworking a core is being able to take your time reworking it, then being able to do the swap in 1 weekend. This way everything is fresh in your mind and nuts and bolts are much less likely to get lost. If you're able to find an engine with 150k or less miles, it's been my experience that you can sometimes get by without any machine work. Last one I did only needed rings, bearings, gaskets and a lot of cleaning. Of course I also replaced all the hoses, motor mounts, tune-up parts, etc. Here's a few links to threads where similar work is being done. Tim

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?2041-Blew-the-rear-main-oil-seal!-Engine-Overhaul

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?634-Some-pictures-of-my-weekend-project

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?149-Yotamog-s-4y-engine-swap

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/showthread.php?354-replacing-engine-need-help

There are more, just use the search feature in the upper right hand corner of each forum page.

In my blogs I detail an engine rebuilding procedure. The blogs are a little different than the regular forum. Here's a link to my 1st blog entry.

https://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/entry.php?27-Tim-s-RV-van-blog

The real meat & potatoes starts on entry #2. To jump from entry to entry (in order), scroll down to the bottom of each entry and hit the "next" button. This can be easy to miss because it's placed between the blog entry and the comments at the bottom. Enjoy :)>:. Tim

[NWVanner]

Hello!

Back in Nov/Dec, I did an engine swap on my 85 2wd van. I've swapped engines on a few cars before, but this is my first Toyota van and bought the van with water in the oil and decided to just swap the engine. Learned a lot from the whole ordeal. Somewhat intimidating at first because of all the hoses...overall not bad. One thing I can tell you is that it took longer than I thought because of the learning and cost more than I thought because you might as well replace stuff while the engine's out. Took a good month and a half (almost two!) for me including waitin' on parts. Nice thing is...since I've done it once...if I have to do it again...it'll take half the time! Worked out well...I've been driving the van daily since Jan.

Using car-part.com, I was fortunate to find a good complete 3Y used engine sitting on a shelf at a small salvage yard. The engine I grabbed had everything but the starter and used the best from both engines for the van.

Looks like you're in Arizona...I did a search and looks like there's a few engines in AZ (Phoenix and Thatcher).


Do you have pictures of your van? We like pictures. :)


Brent

[ninz30]

Where in AZ are you located?