Bad news for this celica.., didn't make it to the 1000 mile mark... Options

[Jaws4God]

Well the engine didn't make it to the 1000 mile mark after my friend and I rebuilt it.. It sounds like something happened with the bearings again.... mostly likely because we didn't machine down the crank or consider putting oversized bearings in it...

so now i'm trying to figure out what to do... I am VERY low on money and may have my parents help pay so not sure what the best option would be.. I'd love to have a 3sgte but i'm not a racer and my friend really thinks that'd be a waste of money... but now I just want to get this thing running like new.. no more of this partially fix it so it still makes noises and worries me every time i drive it... so wondering what you all honestly think..

If you can, please let me know how much you all paid for swaps or engine installs if you took them to a shop.. since my friend now has a full time job and wouldn't be able to help me do this work...

Thank you everyone :-)

[scothaniel]

It all depends on how much you want to spend and how long you can wait until having the car back.

Swap out with another 5S - pretty cheap, done quickly.

Have your current motor rebuilt right - anywhere from $800 - $1500 and you have a warrantied motor that'll definately last a while. You could even swap out the pistons with lower comp and run a small turbo without changing too much.

To swap over to a 3SGTE, now your talking about replacing engine mounts, exhaust system, wiring, cooling lines - not just a motor. $3000 easy. Plus, like all used motor, you dont have any guarentee that it will last a year. And unless you get a motor from a fellow member or friend, you dont know anything about the engines history true history. I always recommend this - if your spending that kinda cash to do a swap, take the motor in to be checked out replace all the gaskets.