wadge22

A few months ago I bought a 93 SC300 5 speed, and within a week it was broken down and I had it towed home. Now it's sitting in my driveway, I'm not capable of fixing it, and I would like any advice on what to do with it.

I love the idea of an SC, it's a great car and the 2JZ is a great engine, but I think I need to face the reality that I'm not a mechanic and I'm not willing to spend the kind of money a project car requires. So I'd like some advice on where to go from here.


The car had some sort of a loud ticking noise. I've convinced myself it's rod knock, but really I don't know what it is. It was bad enough that I wasn't going to drive the car till it was fixed.
Then I tried to fix it. After taking off the throttle body, intake Y pipe, and valve covers, I can't get it all back together and running again. I got the valve covers back on fine, but the tangle of vacuum hoses is too much for me to figure out, even with the diagram under the hood.

I'll add here that the car has a rebuilt title, and the paint job is bad and has been sanded down to prep it to be repainted. And I don't have a garage, so any work is being done in my gravel driveway, soon to be in the cold Cleveland winter.

So here are what I consider to be my options.

-Part it out and scrap it:
I spent 1800 on the car. It has a nice interior, HID headlights plus the originals, a set of Dayton rims with decent tires, and pretty much all the parts are good . I would hope I can get at least 1500 back out of it, and say I've learned my lesson. Who knows, maybe I'll get more out of it than I spent.
Then I guess I'll go buy a Honda Civic or something, and be sad forever.

-Sell it as is:
I don't think I could even get that 1500 this way. It doesn't run and it's got bad paint and a rebuilt title. I'd say I'm lucky if I get 1000.

-Pay to have it fixed:
Self explanatory. I haul it to a mechanic, have them reassemble it and diagnose it, and see what it will cost to get it running again. My guess is it will be at least 1000. Then I'll still need to spend at least another 1500 to figure out the paint situation, and it's still a branded title.

-Engine swap:
Buy either another 2JZ or more likely a 1JZ and put it in. A guy I work with claims he has everything we'd need to do the job at his place, but I'm really reluctant to get too involved with someone I only kinda know and have my car stuck in his garage for any length of time.
Or I take it to a shop and have them do the swap, and pay 70/hr in labor plus all the parts.
Bottom line at least 2000 if I try it with dude from work, or at least 3000 at the shop. Then I'll still need to spend at least another 1500 to figure out the paint situation, and it's still a branded title.

-Buy another SC300:
This could go one of two ways.
Buy an automatic as cheap as I can find it (in good shape), and plan on having my manual swapped in at some point. I've vowed in the past I would never buy another automatic car, but maybe if I convince myself I'll swap it to a manual someday I can live with myself. I should have all the necessary parts for the swap in my current SC, and I could probably get a decent auto for under 2000.
or
Shop for a good condition SC300 5sp. That is, after all, what I've wanted all along. Maybe I could find a better one if I have a second chance. There is one with 145k listed in my area on Craigslist for 3400 right now, although they don't provide a lot of info in the ad. Overall I wouldn't pay more than 4000. Then I keep this car as a parts car, or part it out to get some money back.

So those are my options.
I know it basically comes down to how much I want to spend, and really I don't want to spend anything. I'm a cheap bastard. But I do want a nice car for myself, and I deserve it. None of the above options are out of my price range, it's all just a matter of how much of my money I'm willing to throw away.

Anyhow, thanks for reading all this. Anyone's input would be appreciated.

ems

iTrader: (1)

find a forum friend to help take a look at your mechanic situation, and plasti dip it until you can afford a great paint job. and dont use plasti dip cans, just go to dipyourcar and get their kit.


or part it out cause i neeeeeed parts!

Kris9884

iTrader: (7)

1st, welcome to the forums. 2nd post some pictures of the car and particularly the engine bay at many angles, we can probably tell you what goes where if you're that close..

Now, being a 5 speed your in "some" luck.. All the parts needed for a manual swap will sell without a doubt, the rest of a part out will just be nickel and dime and take months to get the money out of while being snowed on and sitting in the elements..

I wouldn't worry much about the paint or title, being the year and condition it is, anyone willing to buy a car in that price range is just looking for a fixer, a daily or a beast to build and could care less about resale or the aesthetic details...

When it was running, was the ticking or knocking sound RPM specific? Would it get faster and louder as you reved it? Could you tell if the sound was coming from the top or the bottom of the motor? Was it smoking or burning? I want to try and figure out whats up with it for you since there's a possibility it could be something less severe than you expect.. Hard to say.

At this very moment, if I were you, I would have a friend or get on craigslist for someone who is handy to come check it out. If your lucky, someone here local to you will come check it out and offer an explanation.

Edit: If you give up and decide to sell, contact me....

sc315

iTrader: (1)

Post some pics please!

wadge22

Alright. It's rainy out, so no new pictures, but I'll put up the ones I posted a while back when I first signed up for the forum. That was right about when I took everything apart. I'll try and get some pics of the engine bay whenever it's dry out, and whatever else anyone wants to see.

First, here's the thread I started earlier, with some more details and a few pics of the engine bay before I messed with it much
Mechanical trouble already???

And the few pics I put in the introduce yourself thread

wadge22

And heres some pics of the vacuum hose mess I can't seem to figure out. Now I know why you should label things as you take them apart.

ems

iTrader: (1)

hard to tell but that timing looks off, can anybody here confirm this?

You and I have the same setup so if you try to re-assemble i will help to the best of my abilities.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

So many options with this, it all comes down to what you really want to do.

Buying an SC for very "cheap" and expecting it to run well or forever is a hit or miss and you really need to know these cars very well for it too be a hit. You already missed once and plan to go "cheap" again wont help.

Having a rebuilt title and those ebay tails should of been a red-flag.
You can be a "cheap bastard" and nothing wrong with that but just make better choices. Lol

I vote to use it as a parts car, drive that cool Toyota truck in the 5th pick and save for a nicer condition SC with some service history.

2nd option is I would sell as is and save for a nice condition SC and or buy a beater untill then.

3rd option is find a SC that runs well and swap 5spd to that SC. (If 5spd is what you really want and got the time and know how, you already couldnt put back together what you took apart...Yikes! .)

Last option would be a part out, it can be very time consuming and winter is around the corner not sure where you at but its still in the lower 90s in Texas. Lol

Of course my options are only if you know, without a doubt, its not FIXABLE.

Let us know what you decide to do.

wadge22

Hey, thanks all for the input so far.


Kris9884:
The ticking was RPM specific. Faster and louder as I revved, definitely got pretty loud when it was up past around 2500. I had thought it sounded like it came from the top end, but I don't have total confidence in that any more. I tried using a long screwdriver like a stethoscope and didn't really get any solid sounds from the cam covers or anything up top when I listened in on them. No smoking, no burning. No CEL. It did sound more like a tick or "clack" than a knock. Wish I had taken video with sound before I started pulling everything apart. But I did have some people listen and they agreed it sounded severe.


Joey-E:
Yeah, I know it was a bad decision. A friend from the vintage Mercedes world likes to say the most expensive thing is a cheap Mercedes. I guess this is kinda like that.
Didn't know they were eBay tails. That wasn't something I looked into.
Yes, the truck is my daily driver. As a matter of fact, it has some minor issues I should really be focusing on first. Fortunately that motor is more in line with my mechanical skills. Been doing all the work on that and Corollas and such for a long time now. I just didn't quite know what I was getting into with a more sophisticated car.
Your options are pretty much in line with what I've been thinking. If I buy an auto and do the trans swap, I'll probably pay to have the swap done, tho I know that won't come cheap. I won't live with an automatic, I know that.
As for whether it's fixable, I don't know without a doubt, but I've decided without a doubt I can't seem to fix it. So even if it is fixable I'm thinking I'd be throwing good money after bad to pay to have it fixed.
I'm in Cleveland/Akron. I hate any heat, so I don't envy your 90s. But yeah, snow and cold makes for bad working on cars in driveways.


ems:
I think the timing is okay. That was one thing I was trying to determine when I diagnosed it, and I settled on that that wasn't the problem. Not to say I couldn't be wrong.
Thanks for the offer of help, I'll let you know if I make a serious try at putting it back together. I build up confidence reading online, but every time I go out there it all becomes so confusing I give up.


Anyone have any thoughts on this idea? If I take all the actual rubber vacuum lines off (marking everything that is still attached) and try and put it back together from there, maybe it will be easier to figure out what's what.
I think my big issue right now is everything is cris-crossing and in my way. Maybe if I get all the individual parts re-mounted I'll be able to find out where the lines run after that.
Or is that just digging the hole deeper?

turbodremz

iTrader: (18)

First off those are not ebay taillights, those are the factory 92-94. Now the headlights are ebay for sure. Second, Plasitdip is not UV rated, however Eastwood now makes a similar product to Plastidip that is UV protected so it wont fade.

On to the major issue, you can find a stock decent mileage 2JZGE for pretty cheap. You have the accessories already, so just get a complete longblock minus a/c compressor, alt, etc. Change the timing belt and water pump and swap the engine. The 2JZ is a very simple mechanical engine, and if you can work on the 22R/RE in your pick up you can work on the 2JZ no problem.

If the vacuum lines are a concern, do an EGR delete and use an o2 sensor simulator or do the diy to ditch the cel. Doing the EGR delete will take you from having a gazzilion vacuum lines to 3 or 5, I dont recall for sure.

But, reason I suggest just swapping is the unclarity of the issue you were having before. Tossing money and time at an engine that obviously had some sort of mechanical mishap isnt worth it when you dont know for sure what/where the problem is. Sure you can take it to a machine shop and have it cleaned/honed/bored/new bearings/etc., but by that time you have spent 4x the cost of a used long block that might be a simple bolt in affair. Key is to not let the 2JZ overwhelm you, just look at it as a 6cyl dual cam 22R.

Also on the note of the timing being off in the pics, it does look correct when you look at the cam marks through all the pics. The camera angle plays games with those marks in the pictures.

I would get my hands on a hoist, loosen the motor mounts, trans mount (after draining all the fluids of course), drop the driveshaft, remove a/c compressor from the brackets, pull the hood off (probably do this first, Im out of order) and start disconnecting the engine harness and trans plugs. Yank it out, swap the trans to a new(used) 2jz long block, sort out vacuum lines while everything is out or do the EGR delete and pee on the useless vac lines. Drop it back in the car and have your car back. Could easily be done in a weekend taking your time.

ems

iTrader: (1)

Take a tube and put it towards the rear of the engine back by the bell housing and listen in to it, thats how i found the clacking of my flywheel bolts being loose. It was RPM specific and also thought it was top end. even a mechanic buddy of mine thought it was top end. Im not saying you have the same issue, but that tube (i used a piece of pex water pipe i had laying around) navigated me around the engine to better locate the area.

And My van has been plasti dipped black for 2 years with no fading. Yet true it is a temporary solution to a paint job

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

Oops ment the Headlights not tails were e-bay.

You know what I ment. It was late at night when i posted, give me a break Lol

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

Wadge22: If your confident enough you should seriously consider buying the Factory Work Shop Manual which will give you step by step instructions on putting it back together.