Would one expect to find an overhaul kit for Toyota Sienna motor?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I am not sure if this goes here in repair or in discussion. I will try it here.

Here in Mexico, I was walking home from downtown (which is actually up the hill down, downtown). An old water tanker has been torn apart for some days out in the open beside the street on a steep hill. The front fenders were off, and the radiator and motor parts also all came off. It was pretty much stripped.

The motor was all torn apart, and then it was gone completely for a few days. I would imagine it was out to a machine shop of some kind, but that is a guess.

I am guessing that old tanker is like 30 or 40 years old. Really old, but I forgot to ask for sure. They don’t give up on a good truck here without a fight.

When they had the motor torn apart, those pistons looked like dinner plates. He had parts laid all around. Some of them looked like they might be push rods, but I didn’t look very closely.

As I came walking by tonight, he started it up! And, it ran. I was impressed, and told the owner just that. No smoke and ran very smoothly. He looked very happy with his mechanic, too.

I got the impression this was a shade tree mechanic, and indeed it was near a tree… But, he actually got that thing running well.

Thinking about it, I came up with a question. I have a 2002 Toyota Sienna. In the USA, we would expect to look for a used engine if this one dies, because labor is so high.

Here, labor is much less. The question is getting parts. Would one expect to be able to obtain an overhaul kit for a Toyota? I think that is what they would call it, since that is what they call it for an Old Beetle. The components one would expect to need to correctly rebuild a motor. I realize that would be a Toyota decision, unless other companies make and sell such things, so any answer would have to be hypothetical. But, I have been wondering about this off and on for a while.

2

Www.rockauto.com has Master Rebuild Kits from $395.89, and Re-ring Kits from $186.99 for your 2002.

3

Those kits are on a case by case basis it seems. An old Ford or Chevy kit may have everything in it from oversized pistons to a reground crankshaft and at a competetive price.

For some reason it seems that a lot of smaller vehicles and Asian vehicles have a “Re-ring kit” which is rings, bearings, gaskets, and so on. Pistons, crankshafts, and so on are extras; and in many cases may be difficult to get and somewhat pricy extras.

I remember pricing out a set of oversized pistons for a Honda one time (Advance Auto if I remember correctly) and they were about 140 bucks EACH; and no rings included.

To correctly rebuild a motor can get obscenely pricy by the time pistons, possibly camshafts, oil pump, valve lifters/lash adjusters, timing belt components if applicable, and so on are figured in.
It’s also far more labor intensive than an in-car ring, bearing, and valve job labor operation.

4

Thanks, Busted Knuckles. That is exactly what I wanted to know. I had no idea if such things were sold or not.

OK, labor intensive is not an issue here, since labor is cheap. It would be a case of finding a good, careful person.

I don’t even know if it will ever be an issue. But, I was wondering for some time.

It is a totally different world when labor is cheaper than the parts.

My builder gets paid, for 8 hours of hard work, around $25 USD, to put it into perspective.

There are rumors that Mexico is planning to change the import rules so no car over 10 years can be permanently imported. If that is the case, I will be forced to buy something here and probably get rid of the 2002, since it isn’t practical to keep a car that is only driven one month a year or less.

But, referring to comments on another thread, this 2002 Sienna could well be my ‘forever’ car. A cousin has a 1976 Chevrolet pickup that he uses for heavy work in the area. They keep them running almost forever, like the old water tanker I mentioned on this thread.

5

My niece’s neighbor in Cordoba is part of a family which runs local bus service, the type I call cattle trucks. I once asked him how long those buses ran. He did not understand the question at first. When he did, the answer was pretty much until it is cut in small pieces by a train. They simply fix it, period.

6

Yes, I grew up in the third world. I think junking a car was pretty rare. Engine rebuilding was done on a routine basis. Putting a used engine would have been more expensive, add to that the unknown condition of it and nobody would touch it. Most of the time the mechanic would buy the parts separately. Rings and bearings and then the gasket set. I don’t know how involved it would be on newer engine with all the electronics and emission parts, but I guess it is more stuff to take off and put back on. Still easier than dealing with a nasty check engine light after a used engine is put in.

Even when the panels rusted out, we would just change them. The metal shops would build one close enough to OEM and you just weld it in.

7

Yep, Galant knows! Exactly what I see. A man who has done work for me late last year asked if I would loan him around $500 USD. He had an old pickup, I think from the 80’s. It broke maybe 10 years ago. His large family was young and his income small. So, he let it sit all these years.

Once the eldest girl got a job and started helping out, he went to work on it. And, he got it running.

The problem was the government paperwork. Mexico has had a tax called a tenencia. They started it in 1968 to fund the Olympics gala in Mexico City. You know what happens to temporary taxes.

It is 10% of the sale price of the car the first year, 9% the second year, down to 1% then 0%. Someone didn’t pay it off, and they must have digitalized the records. Because when he applied for a license they nailed him for the due amount.

If I described it correctly, tenencia comes out to 55% of the purchase price. The Mexican car manufacturers are putting the government under great pressure to repeal it since it drastically hampers new car sales. I have heard it has been repealed in some states, but am not sure. But, his tenencia debt was history so he owed it.

Sometimes they do install used motors. Last year, a cousin’s SIL who runs a water tanker business (a big business here in dry country) had a motor on one of his tankers blow.
Apparently, he knew a motor and its history. So, he had it installed. Based on what he borrowed, I’d say it cost close to $2000. Yes, he paid me back…

It is amazing what can be done if labor is much cheaper than the things you need. Years ago, on a Mexican forum I read about a man from California who was in the heart of Mexico when his Ford car blew a rod, I think it was. A local mechanic (?) took a rod from a totally different company’s car, and filed away for like 2 days. The owner drove that car back to the dealer in California with the modified rod. Unbelievable. The bill from the mechanic was modest. He gave the guy his set of socket wrenches as a tip, and the mechanic was ecstatic!