Dan__

Hello all,

In a nutshell, our manual transmission 2007 tC's engine died due to oil starvation, and we need a new engine. Some questions up front:

1. What do you think of JDM engines as an option?
2. In particular, would this particular engine be the proper fitment?
05-10 SCION TC 2.4L JDM 2AZ-FE 2AZ
3. Do you have any experience or knowledge about this vendor (JDM Engine Depot)?

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Background (feel free to ignore):
As most of you were already aware, some of the tC and other Toyota 4 cyclinder engines have issues with oil consumption as they age, so much so that there was a class action lawsuit and an extended warrantee granted for these engines, to the tune of 10 years or 150,000 miles.

Our car, which my daughter loves dearly, and I'm fairly fond of as well (it has TRD suspension components) was purchased 2 years ago with 70K miles. It now has 90,000. No one ever mentioned the issue with the oil consumption - not the prior owner, nor Toyota. The car has always been maintained on Mobile 1, with 5000 mile drain intervals. On the somewhat rare occasions that I've checked the oil in between bringing it in for service, I have not found it to be much low.

This time around though, with 4000 miles since the last oil change, the car stalled while I was driving and put my foot on the clutch. I let the clutch out, and it restarted. No strange dash warning lights. It did this once again a mile later, and restarted, and I decided to go straight to the mechanic (5 more minutes). However, I didn't make it that far before it stalled and wouldn't start. Towed to our mechanic who diagnosed it as seized, no engine oil. Sigh.

The car is 11 years old at what we thought was a fresh 90K miles (it's a Toyota after all), and Toyota corporate won't do a darn thing for us. We are very, very disappointed in Toyota. We did manage to get a local Toyota dealer to give us break on labor for an engine replacement ($1500), as we'll be in the market for a $40K SUV next year, and right now the Highlander would still be in contention, but my wife doesn't want to touch another Toyota if they do nothing.

We've examined a number of options including used from salvage yard, rebuilt (Jasper, Jarco), and are looking for something simple/direct replacement. A JDM engine seems like the cheapest and least mileage option.

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So any advice on replacement engines or other options? (Please see specific questions above)
Any advice for getting Toyota to do more for us?
Any other advice?

Thanks,

Dan

bbsciontc

Hey Dan. Welcome. I'm not sure how many people are going to be able to help you with this, as I'm not sure the JDM 2AZFE is any different regarding this issue. The original engine in the tC was made in Japan after all. The issue is a result of flawed piston design when the engine went through slight update in 2007. You can see this by looking at the slightly higher compression ratio in the 2007+ engines. Ideally, you would want to look for an engine that was rebuilt using the updated pistons that Toyota has been offering some customers who failed the oil consumption test. Another option is to contact a reputable engine rebuilder. I hear karking auto is a good company to deal with on rebuilds. You can try to speak to them to find out if the issue was addressed.

udelslayer

fwiw...

Dan - Going through this now. I dont think there is a "JDM" 2az-fe motor. They're all made in Japan to start with. I am in NC. I searched on car-part.com and found a salvage motor with 71k on it from a 2010 that rear ended somebody and the car deployed bags so was totaled (my car is a 2006). The motors are not cheap. I paid 2Gs for this one, but its super clean but I have seen them usually around 1200. Make sure you go with a 2008+ block imho for the updated intenals. The only visible differences I'm finding are some slight changes to the intake design, but every other sensor appears to be the same. The wiring harnesses are a little different because of some of the colors I noticed, but then again, this could just be that my 2006 harness is dirty. They cut the ecu side of the wiring, so I had to swap over my 2006. Your year has a specific feature of throttle cut, so I dont know if you're going to have to use the Tbody and intake, but swapping that over shouldnt be much of an issue.

I'd go with a good condition salvage motor over a rebuild imho unless they're using all toyota parts. After reading a bit, I dont know if I'd trust kits that dont use OEM pistons, rings, rods, etc at least. Jasper has really good quality, but you pay for it (and the warranty). Azone and Unadvanced auto both sell rebuilds at 3800 for the block, and thats not going to include any extra sensors or mumbojumbo you might get from a salvage piece. I got nearly all the sensors in my salvage block.

I'll be putting my motor into the car this weekend. I just got my Energy Suspension mounts installed this week. LMK of you have any questions since this is still fresh in my brain. PM me and I'll send you my email contact info.

Thanks
Jeremy

Dan__

Thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. I had previously read that the 2010 models had the updated internals, but it's good to know that the 2008+ models have it! (Do you happen to have a link so I can read more about it?)

Jeremy, good luck with the install. I hope it goes (went?) well.

Dan

udelslayer

Yeah. I got the motor dropped in the bay and lined up on the ES mounts. Its going together quicker than I expected. I advise you to get a serpentine belt tool (like the OEM one from amazon) and use that flat tool to remove the p/s pump without d/c the pressure lines if possible. Its messy if you did it my way, and then I had to literally track down the gasket for the banjo bolt and ended up at the dealership.

I also bought replacement coil pack clips and did those yesterday. Now I just realized the no.1 bell selector grommet/colette on the transmission side for the cable is mighty stuck on the arm.

I'll have it running by saturday.....I hope lol. I still need to order a pair of front struts. and do those too. At least its got new axles at this point.

I dont have any links to the internals changes. Its just stuff I've gleamed off the many threads and websites of people talking about their issues. I really wish I could find a catted performance header for a TC1. I'd like to install some trinkets.

rideincircles

I know I am having a similar issue for the baseline cause of why this happened. Did the low oil light ever come on?

I am adding a quart every fill up lately. I have no plans to fix anything major since I am just getting a model 3 next, but I posted a thread related to the oil consumption. Mine is a 2005 Scion TC with 215k miles. I used to add a quart every 1k miles, but since my last road trip, its been a quart every tank. My model year was not covered by the warranty, but I did check about it and was denied.

I know I need to replace the oil pan seal also, but I do not see any major leak in my driveway. It either burns it all driving, or leaks while driving.

Just noting. I am sure I would have a dead engine if my low oil light stopped working during all of this. How low oil is it when the oil light comes on also? Not sure if that is listed anywhere.

udelslayer

If the head gasket is leaking, there is a foam insulator that has been referred to as the "diaper" right behind the intake. I could imagine that thing could absorb plenty of fluid. You're probably burning too but you should have noticed the blue smoke by now.

The light is a 5psi trigger. If that comes on solid you'd know because it will sound like hell. Its a "oops, too late" light really.

btw, I got my motor running, and very few hiccups.