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Location:
melbourne,australia
Registered:
August 2002
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your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 08:53
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ive been deciding on buying a 4age motor from an importers for ages now but i just want to have an idea of how ppl have gone when they have bought an engine from an importer.
have they been in reasonable condition and had any problems been ripped off etc etc
i just dont want to buy an engine and then 5000kms down the track it blows up and i need another one (exaggeration i know but u get my drift)
would ppl say that imported engines come in decent condition
what things should i look out for etc
cheers
leafy
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Location:
Sunshine coast, QLD
Registered:
May 2004
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 09:08
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good question sir, I too would like to know this
Gavin
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Club Member
Location:
sydney
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 09:36
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what you have to remeber is this...
you are buying a used part... like any used part it comes with no gaurauntees, it could run for another 200,000kms no issue or it could blow tomorrow. Nobody that is selling it can tell you the exact history of the car , engine or owner so there is no reference point to make a edjamicated guess. Dont forget theyve also been sitting in holding yards and in containers for possibly months on end subject to various weather conditions and salt.
on the other side of the story .. theyre cheap, generally available in better specs than what you might get here in OZ and you have a 3 month warranty in most cases on the items you buy.
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Location:
sunny coast, qld
Registered:
October 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 09:37
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my engine (1jz) came from an import and it developed a tapping noise in only about 1500kms of driving however I still haven't found out what it is and it could be due to the fact that the mechanic was raping my car???
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Location:
Baulko Hillo
Registered:
April 2004
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 10:24
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As previously stated, it is a used part. Best bet is to find a place that has a good reputation and who thoroughly checks the engines they sell with leak-down and bore-scope tests.
If you were in Sydney I would recommend SSS, but seeing as you are in Melbourne, perhaps someone on here can give you the details of somewhere in your city that does these tests. You should also try to get it from somewhere that offers a 30 day warranty at least. Obviously selling crap motors with a warranty is not good business and means they are losing money by having to replace the shit motors they sell. Also, some places offer a warranty that starts only when you pick up the computer, so you can spend however long (within reason I assume) getting your engine fitted and wired up, and then go pick up the ECU so you basically have 30 days from the time you start the car as opposed to 30 days from when you pick up the engine which, in most cases wouldn't even be running in that time!
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Membership Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 11:25
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Yeah the only thing I would say is to maybe try and find out how long it has sat around. My donk sat around for ages so i did all the seals and the injectors needed to be snapped open with a 9 volt bat to start operating. In the end they needed to be cleaned as they were all gummied up otherwise I had no issues with mine.
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Location:
Canberra
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 11:33
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I bought a half cut, and had no problems. I bought an Engine package, and ho boy. The sump had apparently been changed, and they had left out the windage tray, and horror of horrors, they had also left out the oil pump pick up! Fortunately in my particular installation, I required a modified sump, and came across the absence of these parts. If it had have been used as a direct fit into a suitable car, the engine would have died within 3 minutes, due to oil starvation.It came from a place in Sydney recommended in this post.
As they all say "buyer beware"
regards Chuck.
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Location:
Newcastle NSW
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 13:53
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i got a 4AGZE and it spun a bearing within 2000K's of installation. also water pump developed a leak(i shoulda changed that anyway) i bought it from a reputable shop up in newcastle but a 30 day warranty means get it in fast so if it dies or has probs u still got time to claim the warranty
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Location:
Rosanna, Melb
Registered:
June 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 17:01
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It's luck of the draw. Although you can try to swing the odds in your favour.
My engine turned up, I wound up the boost, added extractors and bounced it off fuel cut for almost a year now and it still loves it. All I did was add coolant, oil filter and oil. So not all the stories are bad.
But shop around, deal with a place that you feel comfortable with and if in doubt keep looking. 4ages are cheap and plentiful so even if you do get a stuffed motor and no joy from the importer you're not too badly out of pocket.
Hen
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Location:
Newcastle
Registered:
July 2004
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Wed, 11 August 2004 23:56
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I got my engine (a nissan not a toyota but still...) from the same place as alainve and although it weeps a bit of oil from the front cover i've had no real dramas, the only problems have been common ones like coil packs giving up on me (regularly for a while there). Running with the boost wound up and extractor manifold etc for a few months now and it hasn't given me any troubles at all. Picking an engine from an importers is part skill and part luck, it could have come from anywhere, it could have umpteen miles on it or it could be a gem, a mate of mine bought a motor and discovered it had HKS cams, just lucky ay.
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Location:
Baulko Hillo
Registered:
April 2004
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Thu, 12 August 2004 00:56
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| ChuckLandwehr wrote on Wed, 11 August 2004 21:33 |
I bought a half cut, and had no problems. I bought an Engine package, and ho boy. The sump had apparently been changed, and they had left out the windage tray, and horror of horrors, they had also left out the oil pump pick up! Fortunately in my particular installation, I required a modified sump, and came across the absence of these parts. If it had have been used as a direct fit into a suitable car, the engine would have died within 3 minutes, due to oil starvation.It came from a place in Sydney recommended in this post.
As they all say "buyer beware"
regards Chuck.
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Location:
Sydney
Registered:
December 2003
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Thu, 12 August 2004 03:14
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A number of years ago I got an AE82 GT front cut (4AGE) from a place in Greenacre, Sydney. Swapped the whole lot into my car. Replaced cam seals and rear main oil seal (MUST use genuine Toyota OK!!)
Never had an ounce of trouble with it (apart from the replaced non-genuine rear main oil seal). Engine has since done about 200,000, ontop of the original 120,000 (total over 300000km on it). Bit tappety now at high revs, but still going strong.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Perth, Western Australia
Registered:
December 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Thu, 12 August 2004 03:29
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My standard checklist for inspection is:
1: look for broken parts and missing parts.
2: open the oil filler cap and look for cleanliness internally, and cleanliness externally - leaking oil will always stain other parts.
3: Rotate test - does it spin overwith some hint of compression, if not it's only good for parts in my opinion!
4: Compression test cold - are they even and good figures? If not even figures, you can basically guarantee the engine has been sitting for a while.
5: Run test (if possible) - from cold to hot, looking for noise, smoke, vibration, ...
6: Compression test when hot there will always be a diffenrence in cold and hot figures, thought the less the difference the better the motor.
Clint
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Location:
melbourne,australia
Registered:
August 2002
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Thu, 12 August 2004 07:25
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kool thanks for the responses at least im gettin an idea of what it could turn out to be like
having said that whats a good price or the going price of a 100kw 4age from an importer. i went to one place near my house and the guy was trying to tell me that they sell them for 1800 and im like is that the 100kw one and hes like no the normal one.. i dunno how much he knew about what he was talking about but safe to say i dont think i will get one from there
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Location:
Melbourne
Registered:
July 2004
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Fri, 13 August 2004 02:22
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Bought a bare RWD 4ag from Toyspares in Bayswater without any real drama. Later bought a front cut AE82 for wife's car. A few bits that were missing were promised within a week. Meanwhile months later, still waiting and got them elsewhere. Not interested once money had changed hands. Also, strangely, saw motor running. When it arrived and in car wouldn't start. Why? Dizzy was 180 degree out. Now how would that happen? Cambelt turned out to have a bad cut but always intended to change that anyway.
I wouldn't go there unless unable to source elsewhere. Had bought a few components over time uneventfully.
Mind you, this was a few years ago now.
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Location:
wollongong NSW
Registered:
August 2003
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Re: your experience with buying import motors
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Fri, 13 August 2004 11:08
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| ChuckLandwehr wrote on Wed, 11 August 2004 21:33 |
I bought a half cut, and had no problems. I bought an Engine package, and ho boy. The sump had apparently been changed, and they had left out the windage tray, and horror of horrors, they had also left out the oil pump pick up! Fortunately in my particular installation, I required a modified sump, and came across the absence of these parts. If it had have been used as a direct fit into a suitable car, the engine would have died within 3 minutes, due to oil starvation.It came from a place in Sydney recommended in this post.
As they all say "buyer beware"
regards Chuck.
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yes a friend also had problems with a motor from a certain importers located in sydney,(giraween if i remeber correct) but the guy was alright about it and fixed everything up cos my mate threatened to go the fair trading dep.
when we went lookin for the motor they were like all we have is these and as soon as my mate found the reprt sheet showing that compression was down on some cylinders and suffering an oil leak the guy practically came runnin over and said we have more over here including this half cut
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