My 93 Toyota corolla wagon has bad compression in one valve. My mechanic suggested I could replace the engine with one with 40K miles from Japan, where he informed me that they replace them at 40K. Is that true? Why would they? For $1,500-1,800, would this be a good idea?
Thank you.
Everyone replace the engine at 40K? I’m 150% sure that’s never going to happen. For the record, the retail price should be between $100 and $250 so most of your $1400 is likely to spend for another purposes.
Take a wild guess.
Taken from Toyota Nation Forum
In Japan, to promote newer car sales, the cost of registration and other costs of older cars becomes exponentially higher as the years go by. Because of this, it’s not uncommon to see newer or lower mileage cars being sent off to the scrap heap. This is where the abundance of imported engines and parts comes from.
However, there’s a catch. From what I’ve seen, because these engines do such low mileage, some Japanese run them forever without maintainence: they never change their oil. It’s not uncommon for buyers to receive a heavily sludged up engine - complete with the same oil filter as put on at the factory. Buyer beware, examine your potential engines closely.
Anyway, after reading your clarification, I did some research and apparently it costs about $5,000 every 3-5 years to keep an old car in Japan due to mandatory inspections, where the inspection fee averages $1500 and the rest of the cost involves repairs necessary to pass inspection and if the cars do not pass inspection, the owners will have to pay a huge fee.
I guess it’s more cost effective to buy new than to keep a car a long time over there. Plus, with their excellent public transportation system, most people don’t need to own cars.
bscar, inspection fee is not that pricey. Between $150 and $1000 plus some requisite taxes(depending on the vehicle class) that would be my best guess. It has to be a Mercedes 560SEL if it costs you $5000 or so.
The real problem is, Japanese vehicles are getting more durable than they used to be, plus, their new produts are not good enough to attract the customers so that they tend to keep the car until it ceases to move, the government is trying to solve this dilemma, though.
The funny thing is… Engine specifications varies by country, not to mention the camshaft profiles/compression ratios are different from US spec. however, those engines are being operated by US spec ECU with the gasoline. You never know.
bscar is a lot closer to the truth. But its the safety inspection that costs so much money. Its not required for the first four years, but after that it is required every six months and its extremely expensive.
The bad side to these engines is that at 40k, they are worn out. I lived in Japan for three years. In three years and 40k, my engine was shot, even with good maintenance. The traffic jams there are like nothing you’ve ever seen here. In a typical day, a seven mile trip would take three hours.
For the OP, if the car is in really good shape and you want to keep it for another 100+k, get a quality remanufactured engine.
Too much Sake, Don’t you? It’s not required for first three years, after that it is required every two years. $5000 for the inspection is highly unlikely if it is Japanese vehicle.
bscar is a lot closer to the truth. But its the safety inspection that costs so much money. Its not required for the first four years, but after that it is required every six months and its extremely expensive.
The bad side to these engines is that at 40k, they are worn out. I lived in Japan for three years. In three years and 40k, my engine was shot, even with good maintenance. The traffic jams there are like nothing you’ve ever seen here. In a typical day, a seven mile trip would take three hours.
That depends.I’d say there’s no big difference between Tokyo and I-405. You wouldn’t see any traffic if you live in a rural area.
Thanks all who responded. I think I’ll donate to my favorite charity, get a good bike, use Flexcar or rent, and see what comes along.
In Japan, when a car is totaled (which doesn’t take much) selling used parts off wrecks is illegal. They MUST be scraped or exported. THAT’s where all the low mileage engines come from…
Replacing the engine in your beater would not be worth the effort…
Contrary to the previous posts, I had excellent results replacing used Japanese engines in an '80 Accord and an '87 Civic WGN 4WD.I used the old inlet parts and replaced all the seals, belts and water pump on the replacement engines. One weekend to take the old engine out; one weekend to put the new engine in.
I bought the engines from www.attarco.com
I also bought one of their rebuilt engines and installed it on an '84 Accord.
Good luck!
Captain Jack
How is the rest of the 93 Toyota wagon? Body? Electrical? Brakes? Interior? Transmission? If you took care of the rest of the car and only one valve is going, someone is going to “end-up” with this car. Is it worth a used motor? Why go for a motor from Japan? Can’t you find a Toyota motor in your region? How many miles are on the car? Sorry for the 20 questions, but that’s what I’d be thinking before I went looking for a new car payment.
Looks like someone lied to you. In Japan, selling used parts is not illegal, you can even sell a wreck with or without the title.
Looks like someone is trying to convince you that the engines shipped from Japan is low mileage - excellent condion. I don’t buy such a sales talk, though those engines mught have been overhauled by the deck crews on the way to the US.
Ignorance is bliss.