Hey everyone, I am new to this posting on forums. I have read a lot of them and have found them very helpful in the past. I am writing this now because I am in need of some help. I was driving my 2008 Spec tC earlier today and had to come to a sudden stop. The car died, all the lights on the dash came on and it did not want to restart. I did get it to start, but it did not sound right AT ALL. By the time I got to the closest gas station, about three miles down the road, I had no power to speak of. Just as I turned to pull in, POP!!! I did manage to find half of a connecting rod on the ground. Had to get a trailer and get it home. Trying to find out if anyone has a good source for a used or rebuild engine. I am in Washington state, and local would be preferable. But, for the right price I can make it work.

Thank you in advance.


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I would suggest you start looking at local pick-and-pulls (junkyards) or maybe get on LKQ and see what they have that might be local.

 

What a shame. Not sure what your problem was, but if a car was overheating, you should never try and restart it. You might drive it to the point of seizure, but the real damage will come, trying to restart it
...like wiping out the bearings. With everyone, (but me) having cell phones these days, it's much cheaper to call for help, than chance blowing a motor. Sorry for your loss . I'm on the East Coast, and no help.

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Your '08 tC has a 2AZ-FE engine. Go to your search engine of choice and enter: 2AZ-FE Engine and it should pull up a lot of options. There are rebuilt and low mileage engines available. Pricing ranges from around $1k-$2.5k from what I've seen. Also check out eBay, there are quite a few on there. You should be able to find one close to your location.

These motors were used in several Toyota models over several years. So if you go to a local junkyard/pick n' pull, you don't have to limit yourself to finding only a 1st Gen tC. Luckily these motors are pretty abundant so it shouldn't be hard to find one near you.

Hope you are able to find one, let us know how it turns out...

 

Here's a quote from another post from forum member JakeAut0

This is the list of vehicles that share the 2AZ-FE engine. Mounts and accessories are likely different between models. But the long block itself should be the same.

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I had the good fortune to find a junkyard where they pulled the engine for me and set it in the back of my pickup. It was a 2AZ-FE from a wrecked '05 Rav4, and I could run the engine but not drive the car. It was $500 and fit perfectly, although an '08 might require swapping the timing chain cover. I even sold the the blown engine on CL for $225 to someone who needed parts off of it. The pick and pull yards were too competitive, and my Latin brothers has this motor out of the car and in my truck in one hour flat. In hindsight, they might have done a fine, low cost job of installing it for me. Attached is an article I wrote on the ordeal.

 

Depending upon how much work you plan on doing yourself, there's quite a lot of options. As mentioned, local pick-n-pull yards have plenty to choose from.

I use http://row52.com to set up alerts on models I want. Found newer tC with 2AR engine couple months ago. Pulled it myself for $149 and gonna use it to swap into my Corolla Wagon. Then add turbo!

 

Awesome article DannoXYZ, I appear to be in good company, lol... I can relate to pretty much everything you said.

Glad the to hear the "D" suffix engine worked out. I hadn't run across anything regarding a difference in the "D" and "E" suffix on the 2AZ-FE engines. So I'm assuming a "D" suffix long block will work then?

I'm on the hunt for an engine myself. I still don't know the condition of the one in my tC, I'll find out soon enough. I was going to just pull the belt and try to turn it over by hand... Then I saw the amount of room between the pulleys and fender well, lol. Yeah I may save that chore for after I try my new starter out...

 

I have two regrets from my 2AZ-FE engine swap: lifters and motor mounts. I knew I had two valve buckets that were too small and clattering, and worn mounts, but I was so intimidated by the job in front of me, doubtful that the swap would be successful, and tired of throwing good money after bad that I didn't do them. now I get to listen to the valves clack and the engine shimmy until I go back and make the replacements that would have been so much easier at swap time.