Yotashop 2.7 engines worth the money?

So my 2.7 took a shit on me with 165kmiles on the clock after its second head gasket...(who said they were bomb proof?)

So I'm gonna toss a new engine in there and I have boiled it down to yotashop long block with all Japanese internals. But they have the strictest warranty guidelines and a hefty 600$ core deposit.
So $2900+tax and $250 shipping and a $600 core deposits makes this one expensive engine choice what do you guys think? Anyone driving one of those engines around have any feedback for me?

JDM Engines are to different from my California 2.7 and the unknown mileage and condition along with my desire to finally have that Toyota reliability and a new 0mile engine means that's a no go for me

And the other "Chinese" clone engines floating around make me want to barf

Am I missing an option here?

 

Jesus Christ that's a lot of money for a 3RZ! Check eBay they go for way cheaper than that.

 

Yeah but yotashop for sure uses Japanese internal parts and eBay engines are 99.999% of the time the Chinese clone engine.

Iv even called some rebuil shops like engineking and they use Chinese internal parts.

I'm willing to pay extra for a full Japanese new or rebuilt engine. But is yotashop the only option for that? And would love to hear from anyone who has put one in there truck

 

Dude I bought a fresh 3.4 and the transmission for $1450 out of a fresh kill in a small collision but with a bent frame. I think that's spendy compared to the deals some people get. I'd find a JDM online or locally for less than $2k first before I got one for 3k.

 

I would honestly pass that's way too pricey. I know Marlin Crawler rebuilds transmissions, but do they rebuild engines?

 

Nope

 

sounds like you had bad luck..i know a guy who has 300k+ on a 2.7L

 

what would you do than?

It is pricey but Iv already put a lot into this truck and plan on keeping it for ever and realize that that means I will likely put more into it again.

I'll get the 600$ core charge back as long as my head isn't cracked. Shipping costs are about the same So basically 800$ difference.

I'd really be interested in any shop that rebuilds these with Japanese parts. But haven't found any others.

Any shops local to socal that can rebuild my engine with oem internals?

Oh and the engine is bored 1over, does that increase power noticeably?

 

I would look for something cheaper. Get a JDM engine for cheap and transfer all of the CA CARB emissions equipment over. You can get JDM engines for under $1,500 from importers with low mileage. You just need to swap a few things like pulleys and intakes, etc.

If money is no problem get that engine for sure, I'm just saying $3k for an engine is pricey. You can buy a whole salvage title Tacoma off Copart for that much shipped to your door.

 

Yeah bad luck and previous owner had it regeared with 5:11 and a 3" body and 3" block and spacer lift so they were probably running 36" tires

Iv heard of 3rz's going strong past 400k
And 22re's getting close to 800k

 

This 2RZ 2.4l made it to 998,000 miles. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/going-for-a-million.462561/page-3#post-13774036

 

Maybe find out why you've blown through two HGs in under 200k before you start throwing money at it because that is extremely unusual.

Is doing the HG yourself an option? It’s not the worst things to do on the planet and it might give you some better insight to the underlying issue.

 

L & R in Sante Fe Springs is the shop I'd do a rebuild with, but you'll pay another $1k on top of just going with a JDM engine. Check out

https://www.ichibanjdm.com/

If I was going to get a JDM engine I'd go with them - I was close but then I found my engine and trans from this guy in Bakersfield:

Jose: (661) 440-1812

He sells a lot of Tacomas and has a lot of parts for them.

What cylinder(s) went on your engine? Was it a warped / cracked head, block, or gasket failure?

 

I dunno, 4K doesn’t sound too bad to me if it’s rebuilt correctly but it is a ton of money. Hopefully, you get what you pay for. Good luck with it!

 

What is special about “Japanese internals” anyway? Weren’t the 3RZs made in USA?

My 2001 was made in Fremont, CA. I thought all tacoma trucks were USA made but maybe I’m wrong.

 

I think he's talking about bearings etc. Search for reviews on rebuilders and a lot of them have been found to use cheap bearings and gaskets to keep their profit margins up.

 

My 2.7 has 333k mies in it. I did a head gasket and it had a cracked head. I got a new heads and did the work myself. Understand r $600 and still running strong.

 

I bought a used 3rz from Arizona and had it shipped to Maine for around $1600 if I remember correctly. Is there something preventing you from going with a used engine vs new rebuilt?

 

$3k for a fresh engine is not rediculous. Like others have said look into why your popping headgaskets, a new head may be all that's needed. My 97 3rz has 312k on it and I just had an oil analysis done and she appears to be holding strong. Also FWIW 3rzs go for a premium around here compared to 3.4s. 5vzs can be had for a dime a dozen and it's hard to find a used 3rz for under $1k

 

Wow that jdm engine link you sent has the highest prices Iv seen so far for jdm 3rz. I wonder why? The ones Iv seen go for around $1600.

So my engine had burnt exhaust valves when I bought it so I had the head rebuilt and did the head gasket than for that. And now either the head has cracked or the gasket went I'm not 100% sure since I haven't taken it apart yet.

It started consuming coolant and having a rough idle at start up for about 5-10 seconds. Did a compression test and had had low compression on 1&3 and high compression in 4. Did a borascope and found 1,2&3 were clean almost fuel washed looking and 4 was black and wet, looked like coolant mixed with unburned fuel.
I was adding 1.5-2 liters of water to the radiator ever 60 miles. And the coolant failed a block test and finally saw bubbles in the overflow after my drive home from work
Here is cylinder #4
And here is #3 and 1&2 look the same