isfdude

iTrader: (11)

He is not joking as I too have seen this engine go for 1400-2000 price range. You can lookup LKQ salvage yards. Some have low mileage. They do pop up from time to time. I found an engine and transmission with 34k for $2700 cash from a 2008 is350 at a salvage yard. Also if tha last owner was using synthetic oil you made the biggest mistake of putting conventional oil in it. I have seen maybe about 20 people blow their engines that switched back to conventional oil. I'm not even joking because my cousin did this on her 2009 maxima she went and got a 40 dollar oil change and her bearings looked the same after 3 months but her car sounded great before she did the oil change but the sound got worse over time until I took the lower end appart.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

$2k shipped with warranty at 80k miles; just need to confirm if the AWD motor will be a simple replacement for that of the RWD model. I don't see why there would be any differences.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/07-08-09-10-...pWeazW&vxp=mtr

ColdFusion

iTrader: (2)

Unfortunately it looks like the chassis numbers don't match; not sure if that matters or not though.

isfdude

iTrader: (11)

I've installed an awd is350 in to a RWD is350, the engine blocks and heads are just about the same it's the it's the transmission and oil pan and intake and little parts here and there that's different.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

^Figured as much. What kind of work do you do?

isfdude

iTrader: (11)

I do everything on cars. Body work meaning replacing panels, I don't do bondo, engine work and just about anything with cars.

ColdFusion

iTrader: (2)

Well good news - the car's back! Driving the car feels almost new - the engine runs very smoothly now with no extra sounds, the low-speed "brake effect" is completely gone, and the acceleration is very smooth. Garage mechanic says to run the car under 3k RPM for the first 1k miles, just so the engine has time to get used to the new bearings.

I also replaced both the lower engine mounts (both "boots" or whatever you call them felt very loose when we inspected it) - those were ~$150 each T_T. All in all the total cost and labor was $2300 - not too bad, but if I had planned it a bit better it wouldn't have costed me those two extra hours of labor.

Needless to say, the garage owner says he'll probably never do this kind of job again. Getting the correct bearings from Lexus was a massive PITA, and the car was wasting lift space for 3 weeks...

Lesson hard learned. Time to baby the car for the rest of its life Hope this provides useful information/caution to anyone else experiencing similar symptoms/problems in the future.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Did he recommend a quick oil change after about 300-1000 miles after the repair? When you replace the oil filter, take a look for any metal particles. How much did he end up milling off of the crank to repair the damaged journal? Or did he just micropolish it?

Glad it seems to have worked out for you! Keep us updated as you put more miles on it!

ColdFusion

iTrader: (2)

I will replace it after the initial 1K for sure, then probably every 3K after that just to be ultra safe. I believe the crank actually was lucky enough to not sustain any major damage, and was simply polished.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

^Very lucky! When I spun a #4 rod bearing in my last Honda, I had to toss the crank and toss the Eagle H-beam rod. Journal was toast and the rod had severe heat damage.

isfdude

iTrader: (11)

Good to hear that's it's back on the road. I too do 3k oil changes and use nothing but Mobile 1 or Pennzoil ultra platinum synthetic motor oil.

KIS350

So glad to hear! And really not a bad price for what you now get to enjoy. And I'm sure you're enjoying it. Good stuff. You wont be disappointed.

Thanks for updating...this was like a movie that I never got to see the end of...suspense was killing me. Lol

Cheers

Keith

ColdFusion

iTrader: (2)

Haha yea it's been a harrowing adventure, just glad the car is OK now.

kaihre

im reading the thread and I have a similar sound. Only difference that I did not see someone say was the gas plays a role on when/if the sound comes on or is louder.

less Gas means louder fluttering/ Gluttering
sound and very slack acceleration..
does this still sound like a Bearing ?

ColdFusion

iTrader: (2)

Hi, more gas results in more sound. If it truly is bearings then the sound gets louder when acceleration is applied since the crankshaft is rotating faster.

BTW for an update, the car is now at 159k miles and has been performing wonderfully