Anyone gone this route. Good or Bad, pitfalls? Complete crap shoot? Thanks Jeff

I was lucky enough to get a brand new motor that way and it was an excellent one. These motors have been imported for years and they are fairly reliable. Just do routine stuff before you install it. Timing belts and water pump, reseal the oil pump and then install the engine.

I wouldn't do it unless it's cheap. There's plenty of EA82's around you can reseal and still get 100,000+ miles out of. How many miles are you planning really? A known good EA82 completely resealed is probably cheaper and more reliable than a 20 year old JDM motor with original gaskets and all that city mileage they run over there (hence the "low mileage"). I dont' think it's a big difference, but not worth the extra cost if they're expensive.

 

First and last one I got came with bad head gaskets. "Warranty" consisted of mailing me 2 head gaskets, I told them not to bother since I don't want cheap junk gaskets of their choosing.

i thought all they had was ea82 turbo engines, unless you have a turbo set up, that would be bad

around 100k miles ago, i picked up one of these Japanese imports for i think it was around 400 bucks....it's been a while. anyways, the swap was fairly easy, me and my dad did it over a weekend. only prob, was i had to re-use my carb, the one that came on the new/used block wasn't in very good shape, and i couldn't find a new one at the time.

 

liike i said though, i've got 100k miles on it, and still going OK...though, it's soon to be swapped out for a turbo model.

Hey,

 

There are cheap parts falling out of the sky it seems...

 

If one falls on my doorstep soon, I tell you what I'll do.

 

I have an industrial Black and Decker half inch angle drill that will break your arms, if you're not carefull. And I can turn the motor at the specified rpm.

 

I'll compression test it wet/dry. I'll leak it down.

 

I'll pull the heads, because I'm doing that anyway.

 

Depending on what I see during all this will determine whether I put new rings in it.

 

It will be one data point for anyone to consider.

 

I've had nothing but good so far with JDM.

 

Doug

 

I don't have a bore scope, but that would be good to do before running any tests.

 

When the head comes off, I check for cracks.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by Quidam

Maybe its different experiences, plus that you have a lot more availability over ther from the start, but a LOT of used JDM engines get imported over here.

For us, it is often cheaper (by at least half) to buy a used JDM motor & stick it in than rebuild it (course if you can rebuild a motor yourself that could change), meaning that mostly we'll just stick a JDM motor in unopened, and if it blows, just get another one.

 

Having said that, I haven't heard that many cases of these used motors having that much drama (depends on the motor type & it's usual afflictions), and we've got as much distance to cover over here (but more between major centres).

 

It's always a case of buyer beware with anything 2nd hand, and the more checks you can get done before buying the better.

 

Personally, the last 4 cars I've owned have either had a JDM motor implanted (EA82T 85 000km until write off at 120 000km), or the whole car has been a JDM import (93 Legacy GT 70 000km til sell at 90 000km, 96 TD Toyota Caldina 65 000km til write off at 200 000km & 97 Toyota Caldina GTT 55 000km - current at 105 000km).

Hey,

 

It's done. I bought an EF-12 advertised as a 60,000 mile type. I call it Monkey Head. 6 valve.

 

Doug

Thanks for the replies. Haven't made up my mind yet on what course to take... Cheers Jeff

Thanks for the replies. Haven't made up my mind yet on what course to take... Cheers Jeff

 

Hey Jeff,

 

In my experience, what I get with JDM that's so important, is practically NO bore wear and taper. This is important for longevity.

 

Doug

Hi guys, I've had good luck with em. I've installed three over the last few rears. The 1.8 T in my 88 GL wagon is a great little engine, oil stays above 50 psi. in the summer on New Mexico interstate. One came to me all oil coked & stinkin' of bearnt oil, I called and told them I wouldn't even install it, they sent me the one thats in there now. Came complete with turbo and plumbing, wiring loom cut off ahead of the fire wall. All in all I've been pleased with the whole operation, Thanks, Steve.

 

Here's my latest JDM. I won't be here untill next year, tho.

 

Doug