2.7 Rebuild Recommendations?

One of my 2.7s, my 2003 DD, blew the head gasket this week, or more likely cracked a head since it's got 300k+ and I doubt the previous owners ever adjusted the valves.

I'm planning to do a full rebuild of the bottom end and put a new OEM head on it since this is my rust-free "forever truck." I have a couple of questions:

-What rebuild kits do folks use? Is there any consensus on who makes the best?

-Does anybody know what comes with Toyota part 11101-79266? Are the cams included? Valves? I assume I need to buy a new head gasket, intake gasket, and exhaust gasket as well - unless a rebuild kit comes with that stuff?

-If I need to or decide to have the motor bored over, does anything need to be done to the ECU to let it know the holes are bigger?

This will be my first full rebuild, so any tips on getting it done right would be appreciated!

 

LCE has been recommended by others
https://www.lceperformance.com/Master-Rebuild-Kit-2RZ-1995-2004-p/1010009.htm

 

Another option:

https://tinyurl.com/y5zf6hf5

Edit: this is 95-97. Only showing for price sanity check.

 

The point of this is that I would rather rebuild with high quality parts than take a chance on a used motor. Taking a chance on a used truck/motor is why I'm having to do this in the first place.

 

IMHO, unless you have a shop that you have worked with before for a rebuild or know a guy that you trust, the "excuse train" that comes from local re-builders is endless. It just isn't worth the money or the stress. With a decent JDM or ? it could be done and running in a day if you have the skills and tools.

 

I have a machine shop that I trust. I will do the rest of the work myself. I trust me.

This thread has nothing to do with a decision on whether to rebuild or replace. I have already made that decision. I'm interested only in answers to my questions in the original post.

 

For comparison my 1995 truck blew head gasket at 302k miles in 2011 at age of 16 years. No valve adjusted before either.



After all checking it was just a head gasket. The head was not warped and not cracked. The valve clearance was still within specs.
I did used the tact that everything was out, so I cleaned up the whole top (the EGR was the a PITA), replaced all top end gaskets and fuel filter (all OEM parts).
After the job done the truck is still running like new (now the clock shows 320k miles).

I'm writing it so you don't make assumptions just based on age, mileage and the head gasket condition. When well maintained the engine 2.7 valves are hardly ever need adjusted, and if it was never overheated most likely the head is good condition too. If oil was changed on regular schedule the bottom end will last forever too. It requires a lot of abuse to kill or even hurt this engine. I love this engine for robust built and simple design. It is not the most economical engine but because it is oversized it is going and going like this

 

I bought this truck with 300+k miles on it mostly due to the fact that it has a rust-free frame and body. I have no idea how well it was maintained by the 3 previous owners. My plan was to drive it until the motor gave out in some way (it took 7 months, 13k miles), then do a full rebuild to essentially start from scratch so that I don't have to think about it again for another 300k miles.

My other taco is '96 2.7 that I bought with 216k miles on it that now has ~350k. I adjusted the valves when I first got it, and several of the clearances were dangerously tight. Don't think I would have gotten to 350k if I had not done that valve adjustment when I did. So my experience is that these trucks can and often do have valve troubles. I have compression tested that motor both wet and dry, and signs indicate that I'm losing compression somewhere in the bottom end on that truck. So at the very least it needs rings. It's not getting them, though, because there is too much rust in the rockers for me to spend much time and effort fixing that truck.

Can't really compression test the 2003 because the head gasket is blown, but after 300k miles I would expect it to at least need rings as well no matter how well it was maintained. At that point, I might as well rebuild it and not think about it again for 10+ years.

 

Here goes the 1million miles myth

 

All it takes is a good set of tools and a willingness to replace every part, right? I'm willing to rebuild or replace pretty much everything except the cab, mostly because I don't want to rewire the whole truck if I can avoid it.

 

I think the 3RZ is about a 350k lifespan engine. Much like the 22re before it, they just don’t seem to have 500k+ in them. Mine started losing main bearings at 340-350

 

Still not bad considering the average lifespan for every other engine is 150K. If you only drive 10K or less that 35+ years.

 

Ehhh...I’d call the 5vz a 500k engine, the 1/2uz and 1ur are all legit million mile engines

 

Got the motor out last night, so we will see what I find as far as the condition of the bottom end when I tear into it this week.

Honestly, though, I can't imagine wanting to drive a 3rz for more than 350k miles anyway. The loss of power/compression due to wear and tear on the rings by that mileage makes them not that fun to drive. I've wanted to rebuild my '96 pretty badly since around the time it rolled over 300.

 

In my case time will tell - 20k miles to go? Right now it kicks ass from all diesel cars driving around the city or merging on the freeway. On a freeway where the speed limit is 87 it gets to 85mph easy (not that I do it or want to). I understand it is not a "short course truck" so I'm not pushing it to red line. I'd like to believe that my engine can go up to 500k miles at least without top to bottom rebuilt.

 

When i get to this stage on my 2rz(230k) running like the day I bought it, and my 3rz(150k) I plan on just buying a new long block for both.

 

Well, the head gasket is not showing me any smoking gun reason why cylinder 2 was filling with coolant.

For those of you questioning my suspicion that I had a cracked head due to lack of valve adjustment, this is exhibit A.

 

Hard to tell but cyl 1 gasket looks like out of shape - looks like mine. What's the deal with cyl no 4 (carbon)?

 

Yeah, I agree that #1 looks a little bent on the edge of the hole. That could have caused compression problems. But when I took the plugs out on Friday and turned the truck over, there was a geyser of coolant that shot out of the #2 hole. Nothing in this picture gives any indication of why #2 was filling with coolant. I will get the shims bagged and recover the head bolt washers this afternoon (you have to save the washers because new head bolts don't come with them and will bottom out in the holes without them) so that I can flip the head over and see if I can see any cracks.

As for the carbon, I noticed that too and am not sure. The injectors were SUPER nasty when I pulled them out, so maybe that one wasn't creating enough pressure for a complete burn. Since I'm doing a new head, new pistons, and having the bottom end machined, it probably doesn't matter. Gonna get a set of flow matched injectors from LCE when I order the rebuild kit.

 

Subbed. Good luck with the build, it'll be nice when done.