well, all that work and we're hearing bottom end engine noise out of our little es250 motor. it's always the thing you don't have a spare for... we've got the extra trans in storage but no extra motor!!!

it's not really bad... failure isn't exactly imminent but now we know it's not gonna see the 100k more miles we were hoping for. we're gonna take care of it and run it till it dies then... and when that happens i guess it's jdm engine time.

cripes...

 

JDM motor has no EGR, but good luck with the repairs.

 

Aw crap. That sucks. I'm so sorry to hear that.

But your mindset needs to be the mindset for all other ES afficianados -
DO NOT TOSS THE ES after the engine dies!!! Throw in the ~$500 JDM engine! Several folks just don't realize they can have a new heart in this car for much less than a "new" used car.

I wish you could record this "bottom end noise" and school the rest of us on what that sounds like so we'll know.

 

My mom has a 91 camry that was knocking like a trick or treater (hmmmm must be that time of the year) but we got lucky as it woud come and go... I suspected carbon so I ran some water in the intake and it never came back... I hope you can be so lucky...

 

unfortunately he broke out the stethoscope and everything and damn if it isn't the bottom end.... at first we suspected the trans which was fine by us, we've got the other one and all. we even have a pair of good heads too but no use for those here.

i suppose we could tear it down and do a complete rebuild NOW and maybe, possibly save it... but it's just not feasible.

yep, we'll buy a cheap used motor and do a total rebuild when the current engine sounds like it's approaching the end.

slooooooow has a great point: people tend to treat cars as disposable! of course there are a bunch of factors involved here, but in many circumstances it's cheaper to replace the engine than buy a new car. but if you're looking for an excuse

 

lol, the love for an ES is unique, most other cars owners just treat their machines like tools. However, we have a connection with these beings, they really do become our second soul.
This is the only reason i keep putting down $60 on tail lights(Im on my third ebay one.... this tail light project is f$#&ing killing my wallet..)

Ever tried Seafoam on the engine?

 

Careful with seafoam, u might plug up an injector like i did

Sorry to hear about ur engine problem. Is there any performance engines swappable into the es250?

 

seafoam is a top end cleaner, from what we can tell that's not the problem.

it sounds like a very, very light version of the rod bearing noise the original engine had. we'll toss another 2vz-fe into it... now that he's had it apart he knows it inside out anyway. it won't be hard, just time and money consuming.

 

struck by an idea tonight... we've got two spare cylinder heads... we're gonna rebuild everything anyway... why not just buy a short block?!

far cheaper than a full engine, plus there are 2 places with 3 blocks in inventory within a reasonable drive. all JDM engines we've seen up for sale are 1vz's anyway, they're only 2.0L.

hhhMMMmmmmmm!

 

preliminary expenses anticipated
block: 250
heads: free, the heads from the old engine were good and we kept them
machining for block and heads (includes pressure testing heads, testing integrity of block, new piston heads/rings to match bore): 800
oem rebuild gasket set: 350
oil pump: 120
engine stand (don't have full shop anymore ) 50

brand new engine: 1570 + any unexpected expenses along the way. not bad for buying ourselves another couple hundred thousand miles.

 

^Sounds good but if you want i'll sell you my es250 motor with 40k on it for half that.

 

we thought about it Choas- but even at half that, shipping from NY would probably make the price difference negligible. might as well go for it and go for brand new.

plus, building an engine is fun.

 

**** it the 2vz-fe is weak anyway. be the first person to do a JDM 3vz-fe swap on it.
physically it should fit... They share mounting positions and transmission bellhousings. You'd just need a 3vz-fe ECU and wiring harness.

 

Exactly what I thought, and failed to type last night when I first read this thread.
When (if) I get an ES250, and when that engine failed I was pondering a 3VZ transplant (someone, Choas maybe, suggested this in my "ES250ness" thread).

The only issue is the ~$500 for the JDM 3VZ from Tiger____ (can't remember their complete name).

 

we talked about that too Pheonix don't know why but hubs doesn't want a 3vz.