ENGINE DONOR SWAP, Thought! = Smart, Don't Bother, Maybe!
 

Okay, Im approaching 100k on my 350 and i know that my car won't last forever, but i think i have an alternative way of helping myself out. Here's my thought, buy an oem used engine for the 350 (10k miles max) which is roughly 3k and have it installed whenever my engine goes bad. By bad i mean when the price starts getting to that 5k status to repair.

With that being said is there something else I'll need and what about the transmission? Will it need to be replaced or can it be rebuilt or what.

Please express your thoughts. No flaming, I'm not trying to buy another vehicle hence i have a bike and another car that I can drive during the process.

I'm trying to see if an engine swap is worth it, if its the same engine will it work with no problems, will it be an exact swap, how expensive is this job, is it simple, any other thoughts.

my logic is 5k for a new engine vs. 40k for a new lexi.........i don't want an f. if this is stupid to you, don't bother responding just click the back button on your browser please :D

I was thinking of the same thing but i'm nowhere near your mileage, I want to swap in IS-F engine if I have to swap. haha

^

Haha thats some Forza 3 ish! Would be cool if we could do an isf swap

Do a LS-7 engine ;)

an isf engine swap would be soooooo sick, but imagine the price and the modifications are a beast. they have an engine is f engine available for 7k with 100 miles

(http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...#ht_500wt_1182)

but i think the to get too pricey trying to get everything to work.

do you all think to do a 350 to 350 swap its a simple disconnect and connect? price for labor?

i'd be willing to bet that your engine won't go bad.

when cars go caput, it's usually not the engine at fault, it's usually a supporting part (fuel pump, transmission, etc.)

buying a replacement part for something that probably won't go bad is not smart.

but it would be smarter to maintain your car for as long as possible, and it will always be cheaper than buying a new car.

Swapping an engine from a different model (ie F to 350) would be extremely difficult and expensive (and possibly not physically possible).

Swapping an engine from a 350 of the same year should be incredibly easy... well, a fair bit of time to do it, but everything should work.

Swapping one from a different year, that's certainly possible, but might have a few issues based on some ECU and other minor changes.

Now, all that said...

I probably know at least a few dozen Lexus owners...many are well past 200k on the original engine and transmission. None have had to replace an engine at all (though some aren't at 200k yet). One, out of all of em, had a transmission rebuild and that's about it for drivetrain issues.

Don't borrow trouble as the saying goes.

everyone loves the LS7 but the thing is I could build an LS1/LS3 that would literally annihilate an LS7... for the same price as an LS7 crate motor.. dont get me wrong the LS7 is great but you can get more bang for you buck elsewhere

I thought for a long time about doing a motor swap or just replacing the one I had in there because I wanted to see how much N20 the 3.5 could take before it blew up haha

i was thinking of doing that would be smart. cause than you will always have a back up motor. but i think you will be fine also. lexus motor last forever. mine is like at 212k w/ original tranny. i smash on it a lot and it still running strong. just keep up with maintenance and you will be good :D. unless you squeezing like windex than why not have a back up.

No Smart
Smart (maybe) - Buy spare motor, pull apart motor, send factory parts to CP & Crower. Have better replacement parts built. Lower CR
While waiting for said parts build turbo manifolds, remove DI injection & wire up a Motec system. Fab a sheet metal intake manifold.
Parts arrive, install, motor dyno to @ 600hp on 93 octane then install in car.

Drive for about 2weeks before the tranny explodes....enjoy bliss


:egads:seems like ive done that before^

But it will be a fun 2 weeks :D.

I think that I like what HKS350 said it would be one hell of a ride while going down in the flames of glory...Lol

^^^ You can upgrade your transmission to handle all that new power :p

Why do I seriously doubt that? Oh - every Toyota/Lexus auto gearbox I've ever seen doesn't handle much more than 10% over stock torque before it starts going bad. Auto Supras always end up with a TH400 or something domestic to handle the power of the 2JZ on boost. The only "Toyota" gearbox to ever stand up to real power is the Getrag 233 (V-160) in the Supra. Everything else is pretty much lame when you start exploring the limits of power.

Also keep in mind no gearbox cares about horsepower - they only care about input torque.

The IS-F engine wouldn't fit under the hood.

I believe a new OEM IS350 motor is $16K, where do you find a used one for only $3k?