jazzmammal

Ok, brand new member here who came over from the dark side, lol. I'm a 25 year Mercedes guy but my lady has the Lexus. Anything you want to know about older Benz's, I'm your guy but I know squat about Lexus. I think her Is300 is a nice car, it's a 5 spd, fun to drive, not as fast as my CLK430 but still fun. We're in Los Angeles.

This is another sad Jiffy Lube story. In spite of my advice she had them do the oil and filter and they failed to tighten the filter properly and all the oil leaked out so last Friday on Santa Monica Blvd right before Memorial Day the lights all came on, the engine started making noises and she's trapped in the traffic jam from hell. When she could finally pull over the engine was toast. Jiffy Lube is checking out the car now. Her car only has 55K miles on it because I drive her pretty much everywhere and her car stays parked so the question is whether to get a used engine or a rebuilt one. Trying to find a used low mileage engine that's over 10 years old is practically impossible and even if a yard says it's low mileage it's impossible to guarantee it anyway. The chief mechanic at Lexology which is where it is now is telling me you're much better off getting a good used high mileage factory engine than a rebuilt because of all the differences in rebuild kits and the skill of the rebuilder. He also says that Toyota straight 6 is the best engine they've ever made.

What do you guys think and does anyone in the LA area have an engine, what should the cost be or other suggestions? I'm told most likely their insurance will spring for a used engine swap but not for a more expensive rebuild. If I think the rebuild is better, we'll do it anyway and then sue them in small claims so does anyone know of a good Toyota rebuilder around here?

Bob

mrbananas

iTrader: (1)

First of all Bob Shady lube should pay for the motor swap and if that is the case just rebuild it! if not there is a lot of junkyards in CA especially around Alpha St in Irwindale! Most likely you will find one over there!

tonynca

iTrader: (2)

Why is Jiffylube allowed to do business? Anywho, I think you should rebuild since you're a mechanic. It's a much better guarantee than if you were to get a high mileage and end up needing a rebuild down the line. Depends how long you want to keep the car for.

jazzmammal

There's plenty of yards in Wilmington/Harbor City too.

This is my question. As I mentioned, Lexology's head mechanic seems to think we would be better off with a stock factory used engine rather than a rebuild. He thinks rebuilds are a big gamble. At first thought it seems a rebuild should be better but I don't know, that's why I'm asking. I did talk to my Benz guy who does some work on other makes but it's mostly German cars and he told me it would be about $3500-$4000 to rebuild and install it assuming the engine is rebuildable and it may not be. That means finding a rebuild company and just buying one off the shelf and then installing it. I suspect that would run the cost to maybe 5 grand. Don't know yet if ****** Lube will pay that much or not and then we get to fight them in court.

I did find some websites where they list the engines that are available now and every one of them have over 175,000 miles. That doesn't sound too good when the car only has 55K and yeah, she loves it and wants to keep it.

Also, what about the JDM engines? They claim they're all low mileage like 30-40K because of strict inspections and costs in Japan. Anybody have any info about that?

Bob

ais300c

I would go rebuild. A lot of quality companies who do rebuild usually upgrade any parts that on factory motors were not the best. Im a manager at a shop and I will only do rebuilds. better warranty better equipment. but thats just me my man.

jazzmammal

Good point. I see you're in Florida but what do you think the price should be for just the engine?

Bob

mrbananas

iTrader: (1)

Wilmington/Harbor City yards are nothing compare to Irwindale...just saying.... There is Bone yard in Wilmington that has a lot of Lexus parts other than that Irwindale is the place to be!! Anyways for being a business such as Jiffy lube they should have insurance to cover their A$$ so I would go rebuild route!! Also I always past by Lexology in Redondo Bch and wonder what it is.... What is it anyways?? If they are a shop cant they just rebuilt one for you??

jazzmammal

Lexology is just a small indy Lexus shop with 4 service bays and parking for 5 or 6 cars. They say they're the only indy shop in the South Bay that is certified by Lexus to do hybrid work. They've done some service work on her car over the years but obviously not the oil change. (Yeah, I know, what can I say, did she save $20?) All I know is some numb nut kid is not getting close to my CLK. Other than that I don't know them.

I spoke to my Benz guy again this morning and he agrees, compared to even a good used engine, a rebuild is the way to go if she's keeping the car for several years. He doesn't understand why the mechanic over there thinks a good used GE engine is somehow better than a rebuild.

So, does any of you Lexus pros in So Cal know of a good rebuild company and the approximate cost and maybe some tips as to what to look out for?

Bob

jazzmammal

To followup, I'm still waiting to hear back from Jiffy Lube. Doesn't anybody here know what a rebuilt engine shoud cost? I can't find anything on the internet probably because retuilds are all handled through shops so it's part of a wholesale network not accessable to the general public. It would be nice to have some idea though.

Bob

ais300c

I would say my price would be around 3-4 grand. so I mean jiffy lube should take care of it but I mean I work at Tires Plus so if you have a good shop to take it to then you can ask them where to order one lol

Endika

Have you thought about going to a dealership instead? jiffy lube should over all costs might as well have them pay as much as possible

solow97

iTrader: (1)

I was searching my local Craigslist and found this
O mile spare street/race long block

Built motor and head to handle well over 1000hp. The motor was built with the street in mind, over 9lbs taken off the crank by knife edge and cryo treating. This motor has just been sitting for about a year and I don't foresee me needing it anytime soon. Again full long block with all the right parts to hold serious power, over 9k to build the same. My loss your gain truly

2jz block
Fully machined .020 over
Cp race pistons 8:5:1
Total seal rings
Knife edge crank
Crower rods
New OEM water and oil pump
New OEM head gasket and engine seal kit

Head was built by Dover cyl head
Bc valves
New bc seals,
Bc springs
Custom water passage and block off plate

4900 picked up
Location: Fort Walton beach
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

A rebuild can cost as little as $2500 parts and labor, or as much as you want to spend...

I am a fan of the rebuild in many scenarios, but to be honest, if it was ran without oil, you will most likely need a new crank or the existing one turned, which I'm not a huge fan of and at the same time, its hard to say what damage occurred to the valvetrain up top as well...

If this was my car, I'd source a complete reman engine from a builder you trust. All sorts of options out there, just one nationwide example would be Jasper. I am sure they have a reman engine available for you with a warranty, which is something that would be nice for those just in case questions...

jazzmammal

That's a good thought and I am going to get a price from them but I can guarantee Jiffy's insurance company is going to have the attitude "used car, used engine". Highly unlikely they'll spring for something more than that but I can be pretty persuasive so we'll see.

The thing is we're all assuming they will pay for it but they may not. Every owners manual for any car says the same thing about the oil warning light and/or oil pressure gauge. The light comes on you must shut down the engine to avoid serious damage. They could simply show that to a judge and say this isn't our fault, she should have shut it off immediately rather than drive it another five blocks in heavy traffic to a gas station. We're responsible for a new oil filter and another oil change, that's it. The right judge might agree. I have good arguments against that but still, it's a gamble.

As to the other comment "get one from a builder you trust" I don't know a one of them so who am I supposed to trust? I'll check on Jasper.

Everyone here including a couple of friends of mine think a rebuild is better than a good used engine. That begs the question of why Lexology's chief mechanic feels a used engine is better than a rebuilt. I've also talked to several other people who use Lexology and they're all happy and one guy has been using them for over 10 years and knows that mechanic very well. He tells me I should follow his advice.

Here's where he is at. $2,978 for a used engine installed. He then strongly recommends to add a new clutch, new timing belt and water pump. That makes sense to me so to add that stuff brings the total to $4,500. There could be a few other things he might recommend once he gets into it. He says Jiffy Lube would pay for the used engine but not the other things because those are regular maintenance items and that makes sense too.

Say a rebuild costs 4 grand by itself from an independent and I suspect it's closer to 5 or 7 grand from Lexus. Then 15 hours labor to install it but I know there's more labor because it's just a long block. Might be 17-20 hours for a long block. Everything has to come off the other engine and be put on the rebuild plus we would still need the clutch for about 5 bills. So that's about 2,500 plus the cost of the long block. I assume a rebuild would have a new timing belt and water pump. So we're looking at 1,500 difference out of pocket for a used engine and assuming all they pay is the 3 grand then another 3-5 for a rebuild depending. She says she's planning on keeping it but that's a lot for an 11 year old car. It's her final decision.

Thanks for the info and if anyone has something else to add please do so. Their insurance company is supposed to call me tomorrow so I'll let you all know what happens.

Bob

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

The downside of a rebuilt engine, especially in your case, is that there has most likely been major damage done to key components, such as the engine block, crank and perhaps valvetrain as well... All of this stuff can be measured, resurfaced, etc, but that may not be as reliable as it was from the factory... I understand the concern Lexology has about rebuilding your engine... A used engine is a crapshoot, always, who knows what the prior owner did with maintenance on it. I sourced a used shortblock for my engine rebuild and it was evident the prior owner used crappy oil and/or went beyond service intervals as there was caked oil all inside the upper oil pan. The crank was in good shape though, which was my main concern, and I was replacing bearings anyways... That being said, even neglected, the 2JZ is a pretty robust engine and is hard to hurt, so a lower mileage used engine would probably be acceptable. $1500 for timing belt, water pump and clutch sounds expensive, in fact, it sounds like they would be charging you full price additional labor for all of it, even though the motor and trans will already be out of the car and labor price should be reduced accordingly...

A quick search on Car-part.com reveals some relatively low mileage engines for your car for $700-$1000... another $1000 in labor probably... It's a shame ya don't have some enthusiast buddies... If you were close to me, I'd offer to do any of the above for significantly less money...