92WhiteSC

Just bought a 92 SC400 from my dad and drove it home 500 miles when it overheated and shutdown. It turns out the waterpump went bad and fried the timing belt.

Had shop replace waterpump, timing belt, (and tensioners and pulleys), both distrib. caps, wires and plugs, and the serpintine belt all for $1,750 out the door. (good price or rip off?)

After doing all that it wouldn't start, low compression in a few cylinders. Shop owner said it probably had bent valves and gave me a quote of $4,000 to get it all working again. Even though it's a non-interference engine, somehow the valves got bent?

Anyway, beside fixing the current engine (odo shows 166,000), he offered a Japanese import 1uz-fe with 30-40k miles for $1,300. This is one of those deals where after 3 years all Japanese people get a new car so they export the engines. I read a bit about it here: http://www.trustmymechanic.com/japanmotor.html

The total for the engine and isntall would be $4,500. So for $500 more, I can get a newer engine (30-40k miles) put in.

I ASSUME this is a 98+ 1uz-fe with VVT-i, due to the low mileage, which would be cool for the 40+ hp, BUT, will this work in a 1992 SC400? The shop owner said he didn't know what year the engine was and had literally no info on it. Is it common to not have much info on used Japanese engine imports?

Is there a way to identify if the engine has VVT-i or not? If so, I can know it's at least a 98-2001. Through searching on the net, the latest year they built 1uz-fe was 2001, no?

If it is a VVT-i I'm hoping it will work with the 1992 SC400, but I just want to be aware of any problems or additional costs this will lead to (conversion parts?)

Please, let me know first, how to identify the year of the engine or if it is VVT-i and second, let me know if 1uz-fe with VVT-i will even work in a 1992 SC400! I need to make a decision soon to have the shop do the work. Thank you all!

PS. I've loved reading the forums. There is so much info here. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any other previous posts on this topic.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

get a new mechanic. he is taking you for a nice trip.
before doing 1800 of repairs on an overheated engine you check first to see if got damaged. first thing that should have been done was check the compression. you dont have to replace the waterpump, timing belt, dizzy's and belts only to discover that the engine is no good anyways.

putting a vvti motor into your car is not an easy task and requires the whole harness ecu n stuff. 4500 is the most ridiculous price I have ever heard for swapping a 1uz into a 1uz car though, and really its not worth it at that price. maybe if you did it yourself.

you can get a non vvti 1uz here in the US in great condition for a couple hundred bucks and drop it in. you can even get a vvti one for under a grand. there is no need to import this motor and is actually more expensive and wont be carb legal (US motor will be legal).

If you are looking to upgrade, the extra 30hp for 4k is not worth it.
pay a shop 4k to swap a 2jzgte in there and at least you will be happy with spending 4k.

SUPRMSC

iTrader: (7)

When it comes to mechanics, you should always get a second opinion from a reputable shop (even the dealership). I would suggest pulling your car out of the the shop and do a compression test and scan yourself. The tools needed to do it are available at any auto repair shop and the tests are relatively easy to do.

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

I am actually having the same problem with my 93 sc400. It cranks but wont fire, havent comp checked it yet. Anyone know off hand what the cyl should read on a comp test? 92white, does the car crank fine just not run? This is my issue right now.

StiCk3

iTrader: (5)

not worth the extra $$$ for 40+ hp. I would be *****ing at this mechanic and tell him "if you replaced all this stuff u recommended then why is the car still not running right??" Not a very good mechanic if you ask me. If he now wants to replace the engine, i would just pay for the engine and ask him to pay for install, new parts, etc. He has no idea what he's doing.

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

swap a gte and call it a day

FuMoFFuTT

iTrader: (2)

^^ what he said.. already $1,800 on repairs could have got you a 280hp twin turbo engine buddy

stevechumo

iTrader: (5)

I have a lot of doubts on your mechanic. First, make sure the timing belt didn't break unless the water pump freezes. I opened up this SC400 water pump and I didn't see any chance that it can break or freeze. Even if that happened and the timing belt broke, the head valves shouldn't touch the pistons. I think that your mechanic didn't align the timing belt correctly when he put it on. That's why he messed up. He rips you off for $1750 for all that work. It should be around $500 for the timing job and part, and maybe $200 more for the dist caps, rotors..etc. It could be a little more if he uses OEM parts, but I doubt it. Everything above can be done within 2 hours by a good mechanic and maybe 3 for a slow mechanic. I can remove the complete SC400 engine and tranny within 3-4 hours by myself.

There's no need to rebuild the engine. $4000 on a rebuild is that you're talking about rebuilding it for hi-performance boosted engine. That's a big rip-off.

A used JDM engine will cost about $600-$700 and the labor to put it in is about $500 max. So he's close about this. But it's very rare to have a JDM engine for the SC400. Most of the JDM engines belong to the LS400, and you must reuse the SC oil sump & oil pump. They can be swapped, but there're some differences. About the VVTI swap, it can be done, but you must use that VVTI ECU along with its wiring harness. Also, there's a few wiring that he must know how to connect from the new harness to the current cluster. I'm not sure which wiring, but I know my friend had it done. The simple way is to use the engine from 92-95 and retain the existing wiring and sensors.

92WhiteSC

Thanks all for the replies.

From what I've been reading about, it sounds like a 2jz-gte swap in a sc4 will cost a lot more than it would for an sc3.

I should have clarified one thing: I'm no mechanic and I can't do any of this myself. I don't have tools or even a garage. With the prices you're all mentioning, they must be for the parts only, excluding labor a shop would charge?

Well it sounds real nice to just get a 2jz-gte, but I wouldn't even know where to look for one. I checked 2jzgte on google, but the prices there seem to be like $2,400 and then I'd have to pay for other parts and the labor.

This post has a guy saying his gte in sc4 swap cost him $9k. He had extra mods as well, so who knows what the swap by itself would cost. "With all this mods and stuff my swap cost me about 9k." AND he did all the work himself.. didn't pay a shop like I have to.

I'm not exactly an enthusiast (not enough money or know-how) like you guys.. I just want a good looking car (sc400) that will last forever (1uz-fe is supposed to do 400+k is what I've read and heard).

xxtoobsxx, sounds like the same problem, cranks won't fire.

HeisLegend

Chill on the 2jzgte for a bit.

Do you have any friends w/ a cherry picker to hoist the engine out of the bay?

If you can find someone willing to help, you'll save soooo much money.
If you get this vvti 1uz in, let us know what was needed to make the transfer over to it!!!

SUPRMSC

iTrader: (7)

I think doing an engine swap is out of the question, it will be expensive and a big feat. Chances are the motor in your car right now is fine albeit somewhat high mileage.

I'd recommend these steps:
1. Tow the car to any reputable shop that you or your friends may know. Ask specifically to have a compression test done to the car and nothing more. As long as the compression numbers are within 5-8% of each other, the motor is fine.
2. If the compression numbers are bad, ask the mechanic to add a small amount of oil to the cylinder plug that has the outlier low number and redo the test. Most mechanic shops will understand this procedure.
2a. If the compression test results are the same, it means you have a bent valve and the head will need to be re-serviced with new valve(s).
2b. If the compression test results are better, the piston rings or compression chamber walls are likely damaged, which would probably mean getting another engine would be a better option.
3. If the cause isn't found, additional troubleshooting will be required.

stevechumo

iTrader: (5)

Also, rechecking the timing is to ensure it's not off. But it should be done by another mechanic for a second judgement.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

If you just want to restore the car, I would just tow the car to a better shop, order a good engine from the junkyard straight to the shop(Im pretty sure there are some available in the classifieds right now) have them do some basic maintanence and drop it in. you could prolly do it all under 2k.

And im pretty surprised that the 1uz bit the dust from an overheating. it must have been pretty bad or the mechanic had something to do with it.
good luck.