Csosz74 Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Hey everyone, my boss was driving to LAX, when lost coolant, the car stopped and had to be towed to a repair shop nearby. The mechanic said he was driving without coolant for a long time, the engine has been severely overheated. Probably thermostat, water pump, radiator failure, he does not know. He says the compression is 25 in the cylinders. He suggests to change the engine. My question: is it usually better the swap the engine then repair? He gave an estimate for $6000 with labor, new engine tune up, change misc. parts which need to be replaced (obviously the radiator, maybe some tubes, etc). The 'new' engine has 45000 miles in it, or at least that's what they say. I guess that's a very good price. Thanks, best regards A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRK Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 So the mechanic knows that the engine is destroyed, and yet is unable to find or diagnose the coolant loss? Big alarm bells. He's apparently able to find and remove the spark plugs to do a compression test. He should have done a wet test - added oil - and re-tested the compression. If it comes up, install the plugs, and add coolant and fire the engine up. Then, and only then, would one be able to condemn the engine. Lexus does not supply oversize pistons, just stock pistons and rings. If the engine is truly badly damaged, then installing a good used one is the way to go - except that it should be installed by a competent mechanic. There are cases of fraudulent people repairing engines they condemn and then representing the engine as new or replaced. It's quite profitable for them. He needs to make the case a bit better for $6k. And your boss should visit the shop during the job to see the engine out of the car and the "new" one as well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landar Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Yeah, lots of red flags with this mechanic. Time to seek a second mechanic's opinion before proceeding with a replacement engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csosz74 Posted December 24, 2010 Author Share Posted December 24, 2010 Ok, here is an update. There was no overheating, but there was smoke coming into the cabin from under. The car has been towed to another mechanic. It turned out the timing belt broke. He took the engine apart and put it together, everything's fine, except cylinder number 1-3-7 has misfire at higher RPM. So they are working on that now, but other than that, the engine is strong as before. And he paid around 2500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRK Posted December 24, 2010 Share Posted December 24, 2010 That's good news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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