Dealer said my engine is toast. Options?

I've been having problems with my Tundra ever since I got back from Korea. (It sat for a year and no one drove it/started it).

I had mud daubers in the timing belt covers make the belt jump 5 teeth. Dealer said they needed to change the tensioner and the belt, but no internal damage had been caused.

Then about 800 miles later I started getting a random misfire. Took it back and they said that it was my number #5 coil. I had them order the part and I swapped it out myself.

About 60 miles later, (today) I'm on my way to Lowe's and the truck starts sounding like marbles are rolling around in the intake. I lose power and it won't fire back up. While I'm trying to start it, a plume of white smoke comes out from the exhaust. I sit there and just wait for the tow truck to arrive.

Dealership just called me and said that I need a new motor.
The service advisor said that they aren't too sure what went wrong right now, and it'll cost more to tear down the motor and find where things went wrong.

He said that they can order a motor from LKQ but that it only comes with a 90 day warranty and that it's $5000 alone. Gave me a quote for parts + labor of $7530.

I don't have that kinda money sitting around right now. I'd have to put it on a credit card, but just wondering what my other options are.. If I'm spending $5K for a motor, should I try to get a reman'd one? Should I just buy once/cry once? I don't have the tools and the experience to swap the motor myself.

For reference, it's a 2007, 4.7L 2UZFE. just hit 191K miles. I just wanna cry.

 

If you can get a free/cheap quote from somewhere else, I'd do that. Sounds like a blown head gasket, but hard to say. 4.7s are cheap to come by, you could get one off eBay for probably $1000 or less and have someone swap it in, or the other alternative is fix whatever is wrong but you need a more thorough inspection. If they cant even theorize on what is wrong, I have a hard time believing they inspected or tested anything. A compression and blow by test alone should snuff out most problems or indicate where the problems are. If it's something like new heads or head gaskets that is a fairly quick and (relatively) cheap fix. If the bottom end is messed up, I'd probably get a new engine but they should be able to tell if it's the top or the bottom. I'd start with an independent shop, and within an hour they should have it narrowed down pretty well to the issue.

 

Dealers aren’t looking out for you, they’re looking at the easiest way to fix the problem.
highly recommend a second opinion!

 

I'm gonna post a link to this in the first gen section. I realize that your truck is a 2nd gen being a 2007, but there's a LOT of knowledge about the VVTI 4.7L there.

I have no idea how to help you personally...

 

Good call, Thanks man.

I'm going to have the vehicle towed to a different shop. I was stationed in Japan with the owner of it. He said it sounds like it threw timing. But I just had the timing belt done by the dealer less than a thousand miles ago. We'll see

 

Spend a few bux on a bore scope and peer into the spark plug holes. If you see fraesh metal on yonder pistons then you should source a used engine.

If ye see normal pistons then it's probably cheaper to fix the engine you has.

 

My buddy with the shop said it sounds like it jumped timing. He said he'll have his guys scope it tomorrow. I told him the timing belt had just been changed at the dealer less than a thousand miles ago and he said that they would be very thorough with their documentation.

I really don't want to go to war with the local dealership. I just want my truck fixed.

 

2UZ-FE is an interference engine, even though some people like to argue it, I'm happy to share proof.

That means, if your timing ever breaks or gets too wack, guess what? Almost impossible to avoid catastrophic damage to the internals.

Is 5 tooth jump enough? We've seen less from 2UZ-FE guys on the 1st Gen forum, like @thefish712 (link to thread), I think? It may've actually been someone else, who gunned it at an interstate on-ramp, jumped two teeth, and had a "like rattling marbles" moment.

That said, "like rattling marbles" plus "white puff of smoke" doesn't sound like a simple failed head gasket to me. @Musicmasterd12 is right: Dealership isn't looking out for you, they're looking to get billable hours in, and concatenate as many together as they can to generate revenue; they stay alive on labor charges, not parts. @hagrid has great advice, and in add'n to bore scope, do a compression test, and pop those valve covers off to look for more evidence of failure while turning the engine over manually, not with a key.

Sounds like you found a trusted shop to look into the work and do what most dealerships won't be willing to do - investigate the problem. Let us know what they find.

 

Well, I had the truck towed from the dealership to my buddies shop and he just sent me some photos. It's looking like I'm going to need a new engine. I have no clue how this happens. #3 spark plug snapped off, damaged the hell out of the piston. In the photo of the piston, the arrows are pointing to two HOLES.

In the video where they are rotating the motor, you can see the literal rod THROUGH the piston. I'm so screwed


Link to the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gMIA7viqQoj9oMQ4-R0_fXxpYcRJeM4j/view?usp=share_link

 

That sucker looks like it was sheared off there.

 

Oh my God. Those look like denso plugs too. Where'd you/they get them?

 

I ordered them in March of 21 through McGeorge Toyota and installed them the following month. Even used a torque wrench.

 

I don't think a spark plug did that. Looks like a valve decided to dance on the piston and took the plug with it.

Regardless, find a used 2UZ (there are ones for $600 on ebay) and get it swapped, you can probably have it running with a weekend of wrenching.

 

That makes more sense. I am definitely not seeing any motors on ebay that cheap though.

 

Guess it depends where you live. Also look on facebook and craigslist. My friend picked up a 2UZ for $300 in San Diego a few months ago. Sequoia, Tundra, Land Cruiser, 4Runner, tons of stuff came with the 2UZ. I'd think all you'd need to find is a VVTi (newer) one and could just swap parts around from your current engine for anything that wasn't an identical match, but I'm sure someone will confirm that.

 

Yeah, I've been looking at 2006+ motors as that is when they began with the VVTi if I recall correctly. Haven't found anything quite as cheap as what you posted. Most of it has been $2500+. I'm going to keep looking though!

 

If it's coming from a Tundra, you'd need 2005 or newer to stay with VVTI. The earlier 2UZs do not have that, and don't have the limp mode from the air injection stuff.

 

I've been planning on going with a Hewitt Tech bypass for awhile now. If the motor has to be swapped I figure we can go ahead and replace the starter and do the bypass/removal of most SAIS components while the engine is out. Like I said, buy once, cry once.

 

Agreed.

I'll add that if this catastrophe was timing related then all of yon pistons would've suffered the same fate... provided the new timing index was maintained after the first cataclysm.