2013 road trip - new engine?

Hi Folks,

We had a catastrophic loss radiator coolant during a recent road trip as we climbed a long grade, pulled over and called a tow truck. Auto shop says that there is no compression in the cylinders and we need a new engine and radiator. (mind you the car and shop are a couple hundred miles away..).

They want 15K to replace it with a one year unlimited mile warranty. My question is what would you good folks ask the mechanic to validate the need for the new engine and also what questions can I ask to ensure that we are indeed getting everything done to ensure that the root cause has been addressed?

Yes, I do simple mechanical tasks and have personally done all of my own modifications but I not an accomplished mechanic.

 

I would not let a shop away from my home area do such an expensive repair. I would want a 2nd opinion and then if I chose to replace it, would want to have some reliable confidence in the parts and labor to do the job. Depending on your financial situation, it might be worth considering selling the 4R as-is and invest the $15,000 in a newer 4 R. A 1 year warranty is not much for $15,000. You could be right here again in 1 year. Tow it back home and start over

 

ya.. my wife and I are both thinking along the same lines as far as bringing it home goes. We do have a local shop that specializes in Subaru and Toyota (pretty much the mainstay rigs here in our little mountain community). 15K is manageable, but not worth spending if it all goes S in another year...

 

15K for a replacement 4.0!?

I wonder if this is the "we really don't want to do this job, but we also don't want to admit it" price.

If I was looking at that bill I would seriously research how much an LS swap would cost.

 

I had a $7100 rear end replacement on a '19 SR5 4Runner (technician didn't replace the drain plug on the diff=his shop picked up the tab). Had it done at a Toyota dealer (tow truck driver recommended a 100-mile tow because he didn't trust a local shop to do it). We were in SE OR/ NE Cali, way in the sticks. Took a month but came out OK. Might be worth it to have it towed somewhere else, maybe a dealer?

 

Spend the money to have it towed to someone local to you. I smell a giant ripoff.

 

+1 on get a second opinion from the local shop. Obviously don't tell them the other shop said new engine and $15k, let them figure out what's wrong with it.

The road trip shop might be thinking you're willing to take this option as a "convenient" one, since you don't have a lot of options far from home.

I'd be renting a U-Haul truck + car hauler trailer; vehicle shipping costs are pretty expensive too.

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that a one-year warranty will be useless, if it requires that you bring it back to the same shop. As previously mentioned, it does seem like the 15 K price is a nice way to tell you they don’t wanna do the job.

 

It’s important also to know if the price you are quoted, from whomever that may be, is for a crate motor (i.e. new), or a remanufactued motor, or a motor out of a wreck.

 

Quick google search shows a Crate reman 4.0 with a 5yr warranty is $5,970. Install parts (new belts hoses etc is a $350 add
on) then its just labor to remove and swap over parts and replace.
https://shop.powertrainproducts.net/product/8-9-2017-1grfe/

Assuming a high labor rate of $140/hr at 40hrs gets ya $5,600 in labor so just under 12k.
At $85/hr rate its $3500 so gets ya right under $10k.
Can get a good used engine from a place like LKQ for probably $<$2000.

 

I’ll echo and agree with the statements above.

1. Tow it home.
2. If it’s really $15k for a 4.0, then price out the LS swap. I put an LS into my grandfather’s ‘77 Chevy C20 3/4 ranch truck five months ago. It was a bit less than 15k all in (we also did other work to it like rebuild the full time 4WD txfr case, new electrical, etc.). Has been exceptional.
3. As Captain said, if you go OEM, be very clear on where the new engine is sourced.

Full failures are pretty rare on these motors. Sorry to hear it happened to you.

 

Geez, never considered an LS swap. Have people started doing that with 5th gens? I could see it being a viable option if there are pre-engineered solutions for fitting one up to a 5th gen.

The older I get, the less of a purist I’m becoming…well, at least with some vehicles. If I keep using and liking my 4runner the way I have been, I can almost see doing an LS swap when the time comes—if I can fit one right up with a kit (please don’t kick me out of the club).

 

I've actually never heard of a LS swapped 5th gen, though I think it would be an excellent option. My first instinct is to just always say LS swap, I'm a huge LS fan. I would LS swap a blender if I could, though top gear beat me to it lol.

I follow an 80 series group and the LS swap is actually fairly common in that crowd. The great thing about the LS is that it's relatively small physical size compared to its displacement, and the vast aftermarket dedicated to it. They're also very reliable and fairly efficient.

Edit: I just did a quick search on YouTube, didn't find any LS 5th gens, but a number of LS second and third gen's popped up.

 

As @Trail Runnah said, I personally haven’t ever heard of an LS in a 5th gen. I see them (or Vortec) swapped into 60 & 80 series Land Cruisers quite a bit. I have no idea if it’d be a good idea in a 5th gen 4R, but perhaps worth exploring “if” your 4.0 is really shot and you can’t get a good replacement for it.

 

Whether you fix it, or get a new one, I hope you get a good deal however you work it out.

 

Is it possible to get a new 1GRFE from Japan? All I see online are remanufactured engines.

 

I agree get Uhaul truck and trailer and drive it home or go to nearest toyota dealer

Please keep us posted.

how many miles do you have on it?

 

What part failed that led to a catastrophic loss of coolant?

 

I believe there is a fabricator somewhere out there that swapped a Tundra 5.7 into a 5th gen. Unless your going to research and install it yourself, finding a local and competent shop that has the know how and is willing to do an LS swap in a 4Runner could prove challenging.

 

https://youtu.be/3tXf6jKWF1s?si=ws2AHow3agDxcIbv

 

Hi folks,

Thanks for the many replies, I bought it new from Toyota and just hit 120K miles. It's our dedicated "out back - nasty weather" ride.

I drove down today and met with the mechanic, there is actually coolant sprayed all over the front of the engine and the crank spins freely with no compression. His take on the fact that the sensor never read hot was that if you loose all of the fluid "many sensor's won't register at all in air", (did I mention an old fashion mechanical instrument pack is now in the cards..). I thanked him for his assessment and found a local shop that is willing to do the work for me after they get a look at it. Funny thing is that my wife was driving at the time it all fell apart and her first comment was "this is starting to shift funny", followed by me asking "how's the engine temperature" and her saying.. "actually it seems to be running kinda cool". Not her car and she doesn't drive it that often so my bad on not having her pull over immediately, we didn't make it three more miles before she lost all power.

I'll put a final post on here when my local mechanic actually tears it apart and gives me the root cause, but for now I am looking at putting in a new engine with an extended warranty.

Honestly, although a V8 sounds fun, my main driver here is dependability as we spend a significant amount of time far far away from paved roads and even farther from any assistance.

All the best!