Need an engine - 2.7L 3rz

Looking for an engine - like title says: 2.7L 3rz. Sons truck, got hot and it's toast. Anyone have good leads? South of Nashville, TN.

Have checked JDM and local places.....these engines aren't laying around on every corner apparently. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Are you absolutely sure that the engine is toast? I have a 2010 with the 2.7L 2TRFE; I believe that the head gasket started to leak at around 120K miles (November 2020) and after getting numerous opinions, came to the conclusion that my truck was getting up there in miles and burning a little oil. My truck needed a quart of oil roughly every 3,500 but had no other issues. My truck "went into the red" for the first time in June or July of 2022, but only stayed there for a few seconds and went back to normal levels. My fuel guage has given me inaccurate readings before, so I figured it was just the gauge cluster acting wonky, because the coolant reservoir was full and the truck didn't full-on overheat...

It did this periodically in July, August, and September of 2022 until one day in September 2022 it overheated for real. It was a hot day and I had the A/C on, and it briefly went into the red when I started it after getting gas at Wawa, but when back down. It had done this before and I thought nothing of it.

I stopped at yet another Wawa that was less than half an hour from my house to use the bathroom; I started the engine, it went almost into the red zone, and this time it stayed there. I promptly panicked and shut down the engine. My truck had like 157K miles on it at the time and never suffered any kind of mechanical failure with the engine; I had the water pump replaced at the time they did the frame replacement in November 2021, with about 140K miles on the clock, not because it needed to be replaced but because I was told water pumps tend to fail between 140K and 145K. Since the engine had to be removed from the truck for the frame replacement, I only had to pay for the water pump and not the labor...

So, I let it sit for close to any hour while weighing my options, then made the decision to limp it home with the heat cranked. The temp gauge remained at the normal level as long as I was moving, but would climb toward the danger zone if stopped at a red light or even slowed down; I got the truck home without incident, but my parents ended up having to delay a family vacation to Massachusetts because I had planned on driving my truck up (my mom ended up letting me drive her Nissan).

So, after the truck had sat overnight and cooled down, I checked the coolant levels in both the radiator and the reservoir. The radiator was not bone dry, but it seemed low; I added coolant to both the radiator and the reservoir. One thing I immediately noticed was that the heater was blowing cold, which pointed towards a faulty thermostat, but my truck had been displaying a couple other symptons that pointed towards a blown head gasket (oil in the coolant, misfire on one of the cylinders, "using oil". One symptom it did not have was coolant in the oil. There was oil in the coolant reservoir, but not the other way around.

The truck overheated on a Saturday evening, I dropped the truck at my mechanic on Monday morning, and we went to Massachusetts a short time later; I was fully expecting the head gasket to be blown, but my mechanic did a compression test and a leak down test, and neither of these pointed toward the head gasket. One of the first items checked was the thermostat, which had failed due to age and was stuck shut. The thermostat was replaced, the bypass pipe was replaced, the coolant was flushed and replaced; I got my truck back when we got home from Massachusetts, and drove it for probably two weeks without an issue.

In mid-October, I was driving home after a night with friends when I realized that the heat had suddenly stopped working. I checked the coolant levels in both the radiator and the reservoir, and found them to be acceptable, though I did top if off. The following morning, I drove about two hours north to meet a friend in Centralia, where we did some exploring. The truck performed just fine, not even running hot; I drove back down to Bucks County and my truck did the "hot flash" thing again where the temperature gauge shot into the red for a few seconds before coming back down.

I brought my truck back to my trusted mechanic, and this time the truck was displaying numerous signs of a blown head gasket. The pressure test on the radiator yielded worrysome results, and the smell of coolant was very strong at the tailpipe; I had no idea if the engine was damaged at this point, but it ran fine as long as the coolant level was topped off and monitored as needed. My options were about eight grand for a used engine out of a totaled 2011 Taco with like 50K miles, or replacing the head gasket and timing chain for about five grand; I ultimately decided on repairing the existing engine that had been with me since new rather than getting an engine that I did not know the history of.

The top end of the engine was torn down, and I was amazed to learn that the cylinder head had not been warped! The head did not need to be machined, and no damage from the overheating was found. My truck no longer "uses" oil, so I switched back 0W-20 from the 10W-30 I'd been using for over a year, and my gas mileage improved greatly; I had to replace the original radiator in March 2023 because it started leaking, but I haven't had any issues otherwise in the nine months since the head gasket job was done!

I tell you this story, because I just wanted to make sure you knew your engine was nuked. It could save you a couple grand and your truck will remain "original". If the engine is in fact toast, then maybe @TnShooter can give you a lead on an engine in Tennessee.

 

I don’t have any local leads
But sunshine auto in FL has a few.
I’m sure they’ll ship.

These engines aren’t cheap anymore p.
150k miles are still getting close $2,000 or more.


https://www.sunshinestatejdm.com/toyota/tacoma-3rz-fe-motors

 

What make you think it’s bad? I thought the same thing with mine. Ended up being a couple burnt valves. I just finished a full rebuild and it runs like new again.

 

Facebook marketplace will treat you right, go to craigslist if you wanna see dealership reposts. Also check for local part outs on facebook.

 

Thanks for the responses. At a minimum, it needs a head gasket and the head checked at a machine shop. It has 220K - and we've only owned it for about 2 years. My son (who the truck belongs to) was driving it at the time. He "says" it never got to the red.......maybe just a little higher than normal......but it started misfiring, and check engine light started flashing. He was smart enough to get it parked in a nearby parking lot, and shut it off quickly. My wife has free roadside within 20 miles.....so I had it picked up and brought back to the house. OBD said misfire cyl #1. Checked the oil....clean and good (at first). Checked coolant, and it was almost bone dry - it took almost 2 gallons. Turned it over and let it run for less than 30 secs. Stumbled badly....running on only 3 cylinders.....and white smoke / coolant smell from exhaust. Bubbles in coolant, milky white oil smells like coolant. Plug #1 fouled wet / coolant smell. Not sure it gets any more obvious than that.

Best case scenario, it blew the gasket between the first 2 cylinders and immediately fouled the plug and did no damage to the head or the block. I could pull the head off.....have it checked, hope it's not cracked, warped, etc......do all the gaskets and seals.....and maybe get lucky. From what I can tell, that'll prob cost $800 - $1K. Local machine shop wants around $500.
My worry, is I could do all of that only to find that there's an issue in the bottom end......Then, I'd be pulling the whole thing anyway. There are no obvious signs of coolant leakage, cracked radiator, etc. And I don't drive the truck everyday, my 17 yr old son does. So, I'm not sure where or how long it's been losing coolant. It could have been running hot for longer than I know. So, I was leaning toward an engine. I'd really love to save the money and hassle of pulling it, I'm just not sure I wouldn't be back into it soon.

I've found a few on Marketplace $1500 -$2000 with 100K-150K miles.

A low mileage JDM is $3000 plus shipping.

I honestly didn't know these 4 bangers were in such high demand, but that is also making me want to fix this thing and not ditch it. Such a cool truck, damn shame that it got hot. Are the heater cores in these trucks prone to leaking coolant? Scratching my head on how it got so low.....

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep yall posted....

 

Also - this truck is the distributor type and a 96 year model. Can I go with the coil pack version of this engine?? I'm not sure when it changed, but some that I'm finding have coil packs. And if so - would I need a wiring harness and ECU to go with it? Anything else to be aware of?

 

Any engine guys know the answer to this?? If mine has a distributor......can I replace with a coil pack version?

 

Not without changing a bunch of wiring harnesses and the PCM with those from the coil pack version.

Not worth it IMO.

 

I had a 3RZ 2.7 in my 99 prerunner before 1UZ swap, one day a long time ago had a oil leak behind the coil pack bracket, i removed the coil pack and found that the plug for the distributor hole was leaking, hint hint. You may be able to convert a distributorless back to one with a distributor providing there is a drive gear in the head/cam for it, others on here would know this way better than me, might be worth investigating. There is a site on FB called 1st gen tacoma part out and salvage, lots of prospects there, good luck with your search.
R/
Andy

 

@Allex95 might have an answer as he too replaced his engine with a JDM variant and ran a distro on his original

 

Thanks for the input, that's helpful.

I found one not too far from me - and I'm considering pulling the trigger. It's the distributor type so I wouldn't have to worry about any conversion - and it came from the same year / model. I wouldn't need the bell housing or other misc - and I think I can get the engine and ECU for around $1500-$1800

Here's the link: Thoughts?

 

I sold mine last fall for $1000 cash, it had 236,000 miles on it, no harness or ECU, all accessories were there, 20yrs of maintenance documentation, and pics of compression checks while engine was warm and still in truck. I looked at the add, would like to see maintenance documentation on engine, the milage is sure low which is good, this is where you have to go look at it and use your own judgement and size up the situation this engine is coming from and make the call.

 

Thanks - that is helpful. I'm not sure I'll get maintenance records from the seller. It'll basically be taking someones word for it. Says he "heard" the truck run before pulling it. No misses, smoke etc. I think that's the most I'll get. I also just found out the seller pulled it a year ago. I could probably talk him down to 1K. I'm still waffling honestly. Makes me go back to thinking maybe I should pull the head and have a machine shop look at it. At least I've owned this one for a few years and know its had oil changes, etc.

 

You will spend a little more money if you do a complete rebuild, but you will know exactly what you have. I did a complete rebuild and went ahead did the clutch kit while I had it apart and I’m in it for under 2K.
I would look that engine over really well and pull valve cover if the seller will let you.

 

To get rid of a distributor system, new harness, new head( cam sensor needed), pair of coil packs.
New type mass air flow sensor and associated air box and intake tube.......

So with a donor truck that would be feasible.


https://karking.com/listing/rebuilt-95-96-toyota-tacoma-4wd-4cyl-2-7l-3rz-engine/

 

Expensive. For that you could have yours professionally rebuilt nearly twice

 

Thanks all. I actually passed on the engine, and started taking it apart last night. I'll get the head off, and make a decision at that point. I hope to know more once I get in there as to what kind of shape it's in. Really appreciate all the input - I'm sure I'll have questions along the way. I'll try to document and report back - maybe help someone else down the road.

 

Fairly painless process removing the cylinder head. FSM was helpful, as were a few youtube videos. Most difficult part was the downtube exhaust, and the crossover egr pipe. Lots of patience and PB Blaster. On the egr, I could only get 3 of the 4 bolts to break loose. The 4th one (where it connects to the exhaust manifold) I could never get to budge. It was already rounded off a bit, maybe a PO had tried and failed. I ended up taking the manifold out with the egr still attached......I just had to "snake" it out between the firewall and the engine.....which wasn't too bad honestly. I think I'll just leave well enough alone, and re-install the same way.

I did pull the radiator and shroud....for easier access. The FSM doesn't call for that, but I found it to be well worth the time. I went slow and labeled everything really well, with lots of pics for re-installation. Whole thing took Saturday most of the day, and Sunday til 11 am or so. I dropped the head at the machine shop yesterday - they said 2 weeks. Fingers crossed no cracks. In the meantime, I greased the pistons / cylinder walls really well. (I'm hoping they don't start to rust). I figured the grease would help, and may even cover the black with plastic sheeting. It was easy to see where the gasket blew - right near cyl #1, hence the misfire code that showed up.

Anyhow - not much of a detailed explanation, but that's where I am at this point. Pics below. Thanks again for the help - I'll report back in a few weeks when I hear back on the head.

 

I just dropped my engine back in a couple weekends ago after being out of the truck since December. Thankfully I took a lot of pictures. I should have labeled them a little better like you did. Let me know if you need any pictures or can’t figure out where something went.