Potentially snapped Timing Belt

Well sheeeeeeeit you should have towed that thing to the IE and pay at least 20% less! That explains a lot on the price.

 

Ha! Sheeeeeit is right,,, a nice day at the sauna for the truck. I think the high price is because they already took out and replaced the timing belt, water pump, etc. and then put everything back together to see if it was working.

 

I've had a motor put in the car where the cost seemed high before. The way I would look at your situation is, how much could you sell the truck for as is? Is that dollar amount plus the cost of this work less than you could sell it after? Finally, is this cheaper than replacing the truck?

Knowing where you are I think the right answer is do the swap. Its painful, cheaper would be great, but it makes sense to do on a clean truck.

 

There is some dumb in this thread. The 4.7 is interference, meaning valve touch pistons you’re fawked. I’d love to talk to someone who said the engine was fine after a T Belt snapped.

Op, cut your losses. If you ain’t doing the work yourself, let it go. These first gens are getting old and are in need or work time to time. If you don’t work on your truck yourself, it’s time to move to something newer.

I’m pulling mine apart now, looks like I dodged a bullet with my belt, showing major cracks no idea when the last belt was done and I’m at 280k.

No real reason to go through Toyota for these parts. Remember you are going to replace them again in 90k. Aisin and Gates are fine. Less that $500 for all pulleys, belts and tensioner including fan clutch and mount.

 

If the OP sells it now, he'd likely lose money including the money he just spent trying to fix it. And he has nothing to show for it.

If he puts $7k into it, he's got a working low miles truck engine in a excellent truck and is probably still at the break even point.

If nothing else is wrong I'd fix it.

 

Op should post up an engine swap party and supply pizza and beer. I’ll volunteer, I’m really slow, I don’t know what I’m doing, and I have a bad attitude other than that I’m down for an engine swap!

 

@bmf4069
Hmmm....friday poll, Should @thefish712 Fish cut bait and run or have a Pizza and Beer Truck Gang Party !

 

I'm not a mechanic but this doesn't make sense to me. Am I the only one that thinks this was wrong? The first thing they should have done is verify the engine wasn't damaged. You shouldn't have to pay for this timing belt job on the damaged engine. That's their mistake.

I know this thread is probably getting overwhelming. Everyone is trying to help but throwing a lot at you, myself included.

I think most of us agree we would save the truck but I think we would all shop around for a better price. After reading this, I have less faith in the shop working on it. Start calling other shops or visiting them in person to explain your situation. The last time I towed a vehicle it was only $60. It may be worth taking it to another shop once you find one.

 

Easy for everyone to say just throw $7200 at your truck cause we all love a first gen. If it were honestly me? I wouldn't spend another $7k on mine. I'd upgrade to something newer. Take the $3-4k for yours as is and use that $10k to get started on something more up to date. OR, I would find a new motor in the $2k range and do the swap myself. Get a manual. Get all the right tools. Get a hoist. Take the hood off. Buy the pizza and beer for a couple wrenching buddies and create some memories and a working truck for more like $3500. I would spend that to save mine. It's a daunting task, but there's no alien technology in there. Just a long list of bolts and hose clamps to undo, then swap and do again. Seriously, if some of the guys I see working at shops can do it, anyone can.

 

+10 bonus points for accomplishing this inside @Tundra2 's tent of shame, er I mean tent of pain.

 

Both are acceptable descriptions.

 

Good arguments on both sides of this situation and certainly a tough decision for you. For me, I wouldn't throw $7,200 more at a 16+ year old vehicle when age/mileage takes it's toll on more than just the motor. Also, there's likely very limited (if any?) warranty on a used motor install. As much as you'd expect for the best, reality is there's still risks associated with this decision and you could have even more problems going forward. I don't know your financial situation and maybe it's not feasible, but if so, would sell this truck as is and invest in a newer model/technology...maybe a clean 2nd or 3rd gen. Tundra with a good service record and 5.7L V8 (with a timing chain ). Either way, wishing you all the best.

 

Whoa! Easy there big fella. I wasn't talking crazy here! I said he should take the $10k and invest it in something newer. Like an 06.....

 

Gotcha. I wasn't referring to your suggestion. These are my thoughts only. ..Not sure though why it's crazy?

I've had a 2000, 2006, and now a 2016 Tundra. All great trucks, but I certainly understand first hand all the advantages of upgrading when/if you can.

 

Just bustin' your chops. Moving to the newer platform is definitely an option. I myself may one day go big for more interior room and better towing if we start traveling with a camper. Need some room for the dogs in the cab and a better tow rig.

 

For sure, you would love the 5.7L vs. the 4.7L for towing...BIG improvement.

 

Not so much the power, I pulled a 28' 7000# camper with mine. Power was good. It's the brakes, the frame, the mass. Need a beefier rig to better handle the weight of the camper comfortably. Safely. And more interior room vs. my AC would be an upgrade.

 

I mean the extra 140hp wouldn't hurt......

 

Yeah, both my '06 Tundra and '07 4Runner 4.7L used to scream at me (4K+ high revs) when towing my 18.5' boat, but mostly on hilly terrain. Of course, that's to be expected, but I would say the 4Runner was a much "quieter scream". The 5.7L seems much more suited for the task now. I also had access cabs on both my 1st gen. Tundras and they worked well most of the time. The 2016 Crew cab is massive and I almost wished I had looked harder at the 6' bed version as I think it would have been plenty of room for me and still a size upgrade from the 1st Gen.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys, I appreciate it. I like the look and feel of the older truck and really like mine. I'm going to ask around today and get quotes from other shops. I am still confused as to why they would replace the timing belt and then find out about the engine. Does that add up at all?

 

This is the shop - LINK

Seems to have good reviews and they seem like genuinely good people. Was recommended to them by a friend in the area.

 

Honestly, no it doesn't. I'm always willing to listen to a pro, but my first inclination would have been to borrow or buy a boroscope for my phone and look inside the cylinders and see how bad things are. Understanding not everyone has the ability to do mechanical work, pulling the intake and heads might be out of the realm of possibility for you.

in any case, I would NOT have put a belt on it and tried to fire it up.

How did they know the engine was timed correctly with the cams? Bent valves make it very difficult to rotate the cams. I know this must be a daunting task, but you might want to consider taking it elsewhere.

 

Yeah, I want to shop around. Even if I have to wait for an engine that has more miles but is $1,500 less, that'd be worth it to me. The goal is to keep the truck. It's pretty much the dream machine for me and something I want to keep forever and buy a cheap daily car at another point. I'm looking around at other trucks and they're so expensive.

 

Do you have room at home to let this thing sit? And, how big is your tool box? Do you feel comfortable with pulling the intake and heads?

So far I'm not sure wether you've said if this is something you could open up and examine.

 

I have

I have room to let it sit but not the resources to fix it myself. I may ask my friend if he would want the job if I took it to his place. We'll see. He said he's found these engines for $700 before. And all he does is work on Toyotas/Lexus'

 

That doesn't sound like a bad idea. We have another member that pulled his engine and he had never done anything like that before. These engines don't blow often so I'm guessing the shop you have it at has never dealt with it. I still find it odd they told you it was probably fine first, before telling you it was ruined. Did they even send you pictures of the damage? It just doesn't seem like they really know what they are doing.

 

All you guys saying buy something newer, have you looked at used truck market in San Diego where he is at? Or Orange County, Lost Angeles, anything in Southern California?

I think the trouble here is them doing work on a motor before checking if it is damaged, thats very questionable and explains the high cost. If you signed anything for them to do that work you might be SOL. To Erik's point that would make me want to take it elsewhere, they should know better.

The second problem is with something this big, never take the first estimate. I know its tempting to just get it done but get at least 3 estimates, even if its calling to ask generically "I have an 04 Tundra 4.7 needs a running motor, how much?"

 

Waaaaaaait thats a tire shop bro! Looking over the reviews they seem very generic, nobody mentions what they had done at the shop other than "taken care of".

 

https://www.coastgeneral.com/

Looking at their website and what they offer, it somewhat resembles a place I use to frequent called “Gateway Tire and Service Center”. Still puzzled about the “let’s throw a new timing belt on this puppy, the hell with checking engine first”….especially if indeed they were told I was going 60 and the damn belt pissed a deer