Post Long Block Replacement Experiences

Got a call from my dealer today that they’ve finished my engine swap! They got the engine on Thursday, finished the swap today, so 4 days. Unfortunately, I also brought it in to get an oil seal on the front diff replaced bc I knicked it while installing trd axles, and they’re STILL waiting on the oil seal… they’re hoping to get it this Wednesday and finish up the same day they get the part. Pretty funny to me that it’s taken more time to get an oil seal than to do a cab off engine swap. Really good experience with this dealer, dogshit experience with Toyota’s supply chain. Bright side is that the truck will sit for a couple of days before I pick it up, so any coolant leaks should be found. Will post more once I get my truck back!

 

Finally got my truck back today! Positives and negatives with my experience. I got mine done at Capo Valley Toyota.

Positives:

• Truck runs great - feels mostly the same as before.
  
• Idle seems to be a tiny bit smoother.

• Can’t speak to gas mileage yet as I’m babying the new engine for 500ish miles. So far, it’s pretty similar, maybe a bit better.
• Fresh turbos and motor!
• I didn’t have any pedal lag before while driving in normal mode, but now it seems like it’s more responsive. I could be biased since they gave me a 4R as a loaner.
  
• They reconnected all my light bars / auxbeam. Pretty stoked on that.

Negatives:

• Petty, but for documenting my experience: truck was pretty filthy when I got it back. Kept outside under trees, birds shat all over it, pollen all over. Don’t really care since my truck is white, but it didn’t give me the warm n fuzzies.
  
• While I was getting the engine swapped, I had them replace an oil seal on the front diff as mentioned above. My alignment was perfect going in. When I got the truck back, the steering wheel is cocked to the right. Conveniently, service advisor is nowhere to be found, so I’ll just get my shop to align it on Monday. Eh, whatever.
• Dealer preferred to do a cab off. I didn’t have a problem with it as long as they did their due diligence…
• Well, here’s where it gets fun. I first drove my truck home, checked all over for any leaks, loose connectors. Couldn’t find anything. Then, (admittedly this is a dumb fucking idea after getting an engine swapped), I drove out to the desert. Quick two and a half hour drive. Enjoying having my truck back. Then, I hit a dip in the road going about 45 through borrego springs, which is the speed limit through there. I’ve hit that dip many times before doing 50+ “for testing purposes”. Never had any problems. But, this time, my gas immediately goes to empty and my truck starts saying to refuel now. I pull over, turn the truck off, look underneath. Gas tank is still there! Great. Peaked at the connectors on the gas tank. All seem to be good. Pull out my Carista to scan for any codes and got this:

so on top off the fuel level sensor fault, they never cleared any codes during the engine swap I guess? The others were mostly communication faults to just about everything on the truck that got disconnected during the cab off. I’m not gonna jump to any conclusions or say how awful this is bc I could be wrong about the codes. Would love for any input on that. My guess is a loose connector on the fuel sender. But yeah, made it out to the desert fine, fuel gauge eventually came back, and tomorrow my service advisor is gonna get a fun call from me! In hindsight, should’ve listened to @DADKILL n went up to RSM Toyota. Ya live and ya learn. Probably won’t be going back to capo valley now (other than having them go through the fuel connections again on Monday). Mistakes happen. I’m safe. Truck still runs great. Just happy to have my truck back

update: I think they also punctured my brand new cv axle lol

 

Update: dealer found the loose connection on the gas tank. Fixed that. Both the axle boot and the silver passenger side axle are on back order. Dealer ordered both and will install whatever comes first.

Was really looking forward to taking my truck camping in Joshua tree on Thursday. Oh well! Here’s a pic of the torn boot. Gorilla glue did not hold lol.

 

How on earth did you spot that? Was grease seeping out?

 

Looks like the grease from it is caked right above it in the photo.

 

Tunnel vision, was just looking at the small crack.

 

Yup, as Tucson noted, it’s sprayed cv grease everywhere. There was a bubble of grease on the cut but I wiped it off for a pic. Just got a text that a part came in so either the new boot or new cv came in today - much better than the 9 day wait I had to go through to get an oil seal.

 

Thanks for the detailed account of your engine swap. I think this has been one of the least positive reports.

It's still surprising to me that certain dealerships are choosing the cab off approach, despite Toyota's recommended method. Based on the videos that have circulated, Toyota's cab on method seems to be much less labor intensive and prone to mistakes.

I hope they've got all their mistakes sorted out, and you can go on enjoying your truck with a new engine.

 

Thanks for starting the thread! Agreed that it was surprising to do a cab off. Even though I haven’t had the most amazing experience, the only thing wrong with the engine swap was one loose connector on the gas tank, so I’d still say they did a solid job with the swap. Just hope that the dealer/tech learned from my experience so that the next tundra/sequoia doesn’t have to go back after getting the swap done.

 

Fair enough. It's trivial, but the fact they didn't wash your truck would piss me off. It's such a minor detail that would go a long ways in keeping a customer happy.

So far, I think the worst reported mistakes have been a coolant leak due to a poorly installed hose clamp, and your loose fuel tank connector.

Not too bad at all.

 

Bumping to the top to see if there are any other recent engine swap experiences.

 

It has been 6 weeks since my nightmare began, and I just picked up my truck today.

My 22' plat had the engine failure at 40k miles while towing my racecar from Chicago to Road Atlanta. The failure occurred in Knoxville TN. I had to rent a Ram2500 to get to the track, and then a Penske moving truck to tow back to Chicago. I then had my Tundra towed from Knoxville to my local dealership for the engine replacement.

I had a corolla and then a rav4 for loaners while waiting for my truck. I am still waiting for Toyota to reimburse me for all my expenses, but the dealership I used (Pauly Toyota - Crystal Lake, IL) has treated me well IMO.

The new engine only has 7 miles on it now, and I need to tow the race car again in 3 weeks. I am planning to do an oil change the day before I need to tow. That should be at 750 miles for the new motor.

 

give yourself more time that to do a service the day before you leave, just in case something gets sideways, thats too much pressure on the day before.

just a old guy pro tip, lol.

where r u at from chi-town?

 

I currently live in Crystal Lake, and work in Cary. I haven't lived in the city for about 12 years.

 

ya, shit , your right north of me, City is too big and too many people lol, I hate going there.

 

Thanks for your report, and keep us posted.

I'm especially interested to hear about how long it takes Toyota to reimburse you for out-of-pocket expenses.

I'm also curious how they determine what loaner you get. It seems to be all over the board, with some guys getting Tundras, while others only get small cars. What if your work requires a truck? What if you're a big guy, like me, and simply don't fit in a Corolla?

 

Hello, my update on the engine replacement.

2022 Tundra Platinum
41,500 Odometer
Prior Issues - Delayed Throttle Response (Often), Seat Trim Cracks, Driver Seat Cracking/Popping

Dropped off truck at dealership 03/24/2025
Engine Replacement, Permanent Fuel Line Fix, Driver Seat Trim replaced and cracking/popping fixed.
All work completed 03/27/2025

So far truck is running great, as noted by others, truck engine running smooth, idles quiet.
As far as delayed throttle response, so far so good. First thing on a cold morning my truck ALWAYS had a delayed throttle response. It was so bad and random that I had planned to trade the truck when the 2026 Tundra's became available.

I'm very happy that it appears the delayed throttle response has disappeared. Hoping that it does not come back like it did when I did the TSB.

Oh, almost forget, Dealership offered me a Tundra as a loaner, but I opted for a 2025 Tacoma. I was shocked how incredible quick that Tacoma ran.

 

I will update if / when I get reimbursed.

This is what I received on 2/19:
_________________________________________________________________________
Dear valued guest:

We have received your request for reimbursement, and your claim is pending review.

We will make every effort to evaluate and respond to you within 30 days. If you don’t receive a response within 4 - 6 weeks, you may contact our Brand Engagement Center at (800) 331-4331. Our hours of operation are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET.

Respectfully,

Toyota Brand Engagement Center
Toyota National Headquarters

Please do not attempt to respond to this message. We cannot accept electronic replies to this e-mail.

___________________________________________________________________________________

For the loaner it was simple, the day I returned the Penske moving truck I needed a car to get to work and a corolla was all they had. A week later I was going to the UP of Michigan to do some snowmobiling, and where I park is unplowed with a few inches of snow, so I asked if they had a loaner with 4wd and more room for luggage. They had a Rav4 available, and that worked fine.

 

As far as cab on vs cab off, six of one half dozen of the other. Our local dealer also sells Ford and of course on Fords cab off repairs are a every day thing. They told me they found cab off replacement for them is actually quicker, easier...

 

Interesting. I just don't get it, though.

This guy does a good job of explaining how to do a cab on engine swap. With the exception of the 2 wheel well cover plates, every engine bolt and disconnect would be the same for cab on or off. But the cab off would require many additional steps, more labor, and more potential mistakes. I have to believe that's why Toyota's step by step instructions are cab on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvL3CVY8Ts

 

They claim to have done it both ways, they prefer cab off (I think it's just a Ford thing myself...) He told me the wire harness on the passenger side along with the transmission cooler line routing give them problems doing cab on. You are correct as in preventing fit and finish issues as well as creating potential rattles

 

So as soon as I saw that that phase 2 was open, I got my truck scheduled for its engine replacement on March 10th at Findlay Toyota in Flagstaff AZ. Engine arrived last Tuesday 25th and the truck went under the knife Wednesday morning. I got a call Thursday afternoon that it was all done and would be ready to pick up Friday morning.
Got it back 9 a.m. today. It had had about a 35-mile test drive as I had zeroed the Odo when I dropped it off. Been for a drive today of about a 100 miles part highway and part in town and took it all really steady.
So far so good . Chatting with the service director when I picked it up, he told me that they have 4 mechanics certified to do the replacement and are doing 2 trucks per week and rotating the techs. They leave the cab on for all that they do. I was told that they are getting more proficient with each one they do. On the invoice they billed for 13.6 hours.
I had a 2025 Tacoma for the 2 days. A nice truck but I prefer the Tundra.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, and keep us posted with future updates.

 

Follow up on my follow up (and very off topic) - Toyota wasn’t able to get a new axle in time for my camping trip, but they volunteered to let me off-road a loaner, which I was impressed by. I declined and borrowed my dad’s F250 overland rig instead:

the dealer ended up fixing all of the issues they caused so I gotta give em props for that. Brand new axle instead of just replacing the boot, dad picked it up and met me out in the desert. Had a great time whippin a 9,000 lb truck through some soft sand and may have been convinced to get a go fast camper now, lol. My service advisor was really sorry to not get it back in time, which I appreciate.

 

2022 Toyota Tundra SR5 CrewMax TRD OffRoad with 33k miles… no issues minus the standard rattle, wind noise.

Dealership ordered a new engine back in January. It was just installed last week taking only 2 days.

The dealership washed the outside somewhat and did not detail the inside. I have the lovely burning smell from the engine. I looked at the engine there is still dirt on parts of it. They are trying to charge me for all the engine coolant and gaskets. I am thinking that the dealership lied to me and only replaced it with a short block.

The engine is running rough. The alignment on truck is off and pulls to the right. Turning is harder than it was before the repair. The transmission shifts are rougher than pre repair. I have call into Brand Engagement. I am afraid that I will just get the run around from City Motor Toyota in Great Falls.

We will see.

 

Well that sucks. There's no way you should be paying for anything.

They do re-use certain parts from your old engine when they do the long block swap. Exactly what parts of your engine are dirty?

 

Rough running engine does not sound normal for the long blocks either. You need to get Toyota Corporate involved if your truck was part of the recall.

 

I got to look at it late the night that I got it back from the dealership. It looks like it is mostly just the electrical harness and is dirt on the fuel rail on the fuel rail but it could be transfer from other parts of the engine bay and the beauty cover. The rest of it looks new so my fear that they just gave me a short block might be wrong. I will confirm with them tomorrow.

I am hoping to get Toyota to pay for the alignment. I am hoping eventually to put a slight lift kit and larger tires so I eventually get an alignment for larger tires looking 34” or 35” on 17” rims. It will have to wait for me to pay off our kitchen expansion.

 

The first day that I had it back it was pretty rough idling. As I have driven it a little more, it seems that it is starting to smooth out. I have read that some engine break ins will have some rough idling as the pistons and rings seat and wear off the imperfections in the parts. Just trying not to drive it too much till I can get the alignment fixed.

 

Your transmission will have to re-learn after the engine swap. Mine was rough and clunky for about 100 miles and now it’s smooth as silk.