Thinking about replacing the engine in my 06 with 245k miles. Everything else checks out, but the engine needs work. Replacement engine with 98k miles will cost $3300 installed. Worth it?
What make you believe the engine needs work? Seems a bit pricey. Though not that active currently, see if @MilkyWay can connect you with a more affordable mechanic.
It should not cause that 1 NZ engines are plentiful I have several here You're welcome to one. Here in my area an engine swap or installs about $800 between 6:00 and 8:00. Add cost of engine coolant transmission fluid
What's the cost of the engine itself and can they prove the mileage You see it in the car you see the speedometer whatever how is this being done I'd be asking lots of questions a 98,000 mi 1 NZ from a Prius which it needs to be That's pretty scarce that kind of mileage I mean it is in my world anyway especially in the US It is possible but highly unlikely and how much is the engine costing you?
Mechanic is gonna remove the engine and see if it needs a complete replacement. The complete replacement is last case scenario, but very possible I’m told.
FWIW, my partner (who used to flip about a dozen Gen 2's a year as his retirement hustle) would buy 100 day warrantied junkyard engines for around $600 and had a local independent shop employee who had previously been a Toyota dealer tech install them for another $900. Those were usually less than 130k mile engines. That guy is gone, so when I began working with him we started doing our own, and while it's definitely a good bit of work, I think it's a doable project for any DIY'er with a hard floored garage and a hoist. The key is to exercise patience, take lots of pictures, label everything, and keep your fasteners organized. Between us we keep about a dozen family Gen 2's running, most of which are well over 200k miles, so before replacing an engine, I'd try everything else first. I've had success bring back out or spec compression by running successive cheap oil changes with Liqui Moly Engine Flush and dropping the oil panto first clean that out. Pulling the intake and cleaning the EGR system, along with a good fuel system and injector cleaning can't hurt. Also check your coil packs, but especially plug gaps and performance. Hot running engines seem to eat out the gaps, but on any car over 150 k miles I just consider a new set automatic. Other than that, the more obvious stuff, like PCV valve and engine air filter replacement, and maybe a coolant replacement. I'm a natural born skin flint, so it makes me break out in hives to pay anyone to do anything that I can do myself, so consider the source.
Yes I have the ganyard frame here with an electric push button hoist and pulling an engine out is really of no consequence other than time and I'm a little older than I used to be so flogging an engine in and out of a car is not as fast as it once was. So I don't mind paying my buddy uptown $800 to do it I really don't It's very rare and few and far between but other than that nobody touches my cars except the alignment guy and the guy who mounts the tires period.
Back when I started my Prius journey my mechanic and best friend happened upon a Prius that had thrown a rod but was otherwise in decent shape. We found an engine at a local salvage yard with 180k on it for $250 and we installed it with a lot of help from the threads at Prius chat. We put it in through the top rather than dropping the K frame and for 2 guy that did not know a hybrid from a sack of potatoes it all went smoothly. If you are halfway mechanically inclined and have a "cherry picker" you can do the job yourself and save a ton of money. If your current engine is shot 3,300 sounds high AF even with the 98k miles. You can find something similar for much less then call around and see what other mechanics would charge. Anyway that's my 2 cents.
