2TRFE Remanufactured Engines

I couldn't find a thread discussing reman blocks for the 2TRFE. Are there any?

Turns out i have a valve issue and because of other problems with the engine I decided to swap the whole lot out. 260k is not terrible!

After back and forth between re-manufactured and junk yard, I settled on a reman long block. The cost for a low mileage engine and a reman long block are about the same - $3k (Philadelphia, PA, USA) and I decided the potential warranty and known history were a better bet given the equal price.

I was 50/50 between doing it myself and paying the $1800 labour to get a shop to do it, and given my workshop is closed because of the quarantine, the decision was easier... $1800 is painful, but not as bad as trying to swap an engine in a mates garage with limited kit.

The first thing I realised is that very very few of the people who claim to re-manufacture engines actually do. Almost all of them are remanufactured by a small handful of big companies. I never could actually get to the bottom of where each engine came from, mostly because almost everyone I talked to, from most of the suppliers I called, was either really ill informed or just a plain liar. I was repeatedly told, by everyone, that they used no Chinese parts and that they did all the work themselves - I know that to be untrue so they came off the list.

In my particular case I narrowed the selection down to two sources - either Fraser Engines and Transmission or an example from Spartan/ATK who wholesale through practically everyone (you can spot their pictures once you know).

As far as I could tell, Frasers do re-manufacture the 2TRFE themselves, they certainly do have facilities to do the work. I was initially pretty keen on them, they are open about the two levels of engine they offer - one for under $3k with Chinese parts in it and one for about $3500 with OEM stuff and a six year unlimited mileage warranty. All great... except they have a lot of terrible reviews about customer service (hidden in a sea of reviews claiming not to have bought an engine yet, but reviewing them well for being great). Plus, when I called I just didn't like the guys... maybe an off day, but I got the feeling they assume their customers are idiots. They have really slick marketing, loads of texts, emails and automated 'Hi, Any questions?' stuff. They just made me feel uncomfortable, so I passed.

Out of a couple of dozen companies I talked to, I found two I thought I could deal with. I realise that selling high precision engineering to be fitted into an ageing mechanical system with major issues, in an unknown environment, by untold idiots on a budget, is a fraught business model. Even without having to deal with a skills shortage in the engineering trades. But the whole business is a seedy scam ridden mess, with too many stinky onion layers to get through before you can talk to the guy with oil on his hands. I don't know what the solution is, but the experience is rubbish.

I did try a few local engine rebuilders, they are decent guys, mostly, but don't have a whole lot of experience with Japanese engines, which is a worry. Even the guy fitting the engine for me says he fits one Japanese engine for every forty or fifty US ones.

I ended up going with what I think is an ATK block, through a very straight forward reseller that advertises blocks through Ebay. Engines Direct Distributors. They got all the easy stuff right - shipped really quick, reasonably open on the phone (though not open enough - still cagey about where the engine was re-manufactured - guess they may not know specifically?), followed up emails quickly, decent tracking, well packed.

The engine seems superficially good. All new valve train, well painted. Came with the standard gasket set, but no pan or rocker cover. It came with compression and oil pressure graphs from a bench test, all spot on OEM perfection. All the work is done in Mexico.

The engine is nearly back together, so fingers crossed it runs as well as it looks. I will report back on the performance and on the guy I got to fit it.

 

You will likely be fine.
If you did get a warranty, read it well.
A lot require that the “whole cooling system” to be replaced at time of installation.
From water pump, radiator to the hoses.

In reality you will probably be fine.
I‘m sure some where out there, there is a 2JZ builder that may take on the project.
But it’d probably cost a good bit more. But maybe worth it.

 

Bump. Interested if you ever got around to finishing the swap.

 

Yota1 will sell a reman for about 3600 heard a lot of good things about them

 

Yeh, swap went well. 35k on it now, and no issues with the engine at all. Had a few ancillary issues - chasing a sensor / electronic issue with power loss on one particular long hill. Fuel pressure was low so I replaced the pump with an upgraded one. Exhaust gasket leak, so I replaced all the studs. Steering pump died - reman one in. I replaced the cat with a cheaper Canadian one and have the usual CEL because it's not got enough palladium in it - need to invest in a better one.

Through all that the engine has been great, touch wood!! No metal at oil changes. Compression is still spot on. No weird noises. So far so good.

 

Bumping an older thread.

My 2008 2TRE-FE is in need of replacement after 380,000 trouble free miles. Low compression(s) and using 1qt @<1K miles now.

Frame was replaced within the past 2 years and is still looking great and would like to keep this vehicle.

Are there any East coast equivalents to Yota1 using mostly OEM parts? I suspect the shipping from California to the North East would be astronomical if they even have one in stock.

Ideally they would be able to install as well although that would not be a show stopper.

Thanks in advance for any help that you good folks maybe able to provide.

E

 

https://parts.toyotaofboerne.com/p/Engine-Short-Block/62994841/1140075381.html

Here’s a 2TR toyota short block. My plan is to buy one of these and swap my head, cams, timing cover, and oil pans over when the time comes. Just another option, and you don’t have to worry about the quality

 

Thanks! I have only seen the long blocks for sale (but not available) locally.
That is another option I will need to consider.

E