Hello. New member here! I have a 1993 ES300 5 speed with 212,000 miles and a blown motor. I bought this car 5 years ago from a dealer when it had 136,000 miles on it. I am the second owner. I had to buy this car because when I was looking at the service records before I bought it, I noticed that the original owner had the same last name as me. My last name is Bowman which is not that common. Weird huh? Anyway, two years ago, I was driving to a friends house one night and when I pulled into his driveway I noticed steam coming from under the hood. The temp guage was pegged. After the radiator cooled down, I checked the coolant level and it had lost roughly a gallon. Before that night, the radiator and resevoir stayed at the correct level but the coolant was always a nasty brown color. I did a coolant flush shortly after I bought the car 5 years ago but the coolant went from green to brown before the next oil change. Also, there was always an oil leak coming from the head gasket area on the firewall side of the engine. It was kinda hard to tell exactly where the oil was coming from though. The block was always covered with oil but the upper half of the cylinder head stayed dry so it wasn't a valve cover gasket. So after the night the engine overheated, the radiator just kept losing more and more coolant everytime I drove it. It made sense to me that one of the head gaskets was burning up because the cooling system was not obviously losing any water externally. I didn't really notice any steam coming from the exhaust though. At the time, I was doing terribly financially so I had no money or time to fix to this problem. The car had previously had the clutch replaced at 112,000 miles, so at 212000 miles I knew the clutch was almost done. I figured that it would be stupid to try and replace the head gaskets and then in 10000 miles, replace the clutch. And how was I susposed to know that the heads and block were ok? They could be cracked or burned up. I figured that it would be easiest to completey pull the engine and trans still bolted together and then replace the old engine with a lower mileage JDM engine with a new clutch and the original trans bolted together before re-installing. Anyway, I kept putting water in the radiator until eventually the engine got so hot that it seized up. So now the engine definently needs to be replaced. The engine did start back up after it cooled down and I was able to drive the car home but there has to be some serious internal engine damage from most likely a piston seizure. The rest of the car is in good condition. Everything works. There is a small rust spot on the drivers side quarter panel in front of the wheel well that is starting to bubble the paint. There are some dings and little blemishes in the paint, but it still looks good for a 20 year old car. The tires and brakes are more than 50%. The interior is nice. I really liked driving it I but was kinda getting tired of shifting gears. So here are my questions: What should I do with my car? Should I get a new engine for it and keep this car alive because it is a rare 5 speed model? Is it even worth fixing? The blue book value for this car in good running condition is only $1800. I have seen JDM 3vzfe engines on ebay for $800 shipped. I would rather not get a JDM engine because of all the things that need to be swapped according to this post: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...-fe-motor.html On ebay right now, there is a 3vzfe with 106k miles from a crashed US ES300 for $650 OBO plus shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/370574575754...witem=&vxp=mtr. I think this is my best option for a replacement engine. If I get that engine, should I replace parts like the timing belt and water pump? Did my engine really blow a head gasket and if not, what was was happening? Has this happened to any other 3vzfe's? Is there an oil passage through the engine block to cylinder head that could have been leaking oil at the head gasket onto the outside of the engine? Could oil deterioration of the head gasket cause it to burn up and then leak water outside the engine or into the cylinders? I would probably sell the car "as is" right now if somebody gave me a decent cash offer. Even if I do get the car running and driving again, I will probably try to sell it or trade it for an automatic car, preferably another ES300. They are great cars! What does everybody think I should do? I am open to any suggestions or advice! Thanks in advance. Sorry for the long post...

 

I've been thinking about this same thing. My '97 ES has 192k miles on it right now. Personally, I'm between two options: replace engine or sell it part by part.

I highly recommend that you sell it piece by piece if you do sell it. You'll get alot more that way. Each fender can probably get you $150 for example. The hood at least $300...

I guess it just depends on how you feel about the car. If you put another engine in the car, it'll last you a very long time. Do you want to drive that car for another 5years or more?

 

If it were me, I would replace the engine.
If your looking for a used engine, check out this link (it's a database of salvage yards): www.car-part.com

 

manual 3vzs are gems man.
just replace that motor and get a new clutch.

how can u get tired of shifting gears? i never get tired of it

 

KEEP THE CAR!!!! You know how rare a 5 speed is? I would love to have one. My shop specializes in toyota and lexus but ive never personaly seen a 5 speed.

 

I'm with the rest of the group, keep it, and get a new engine, it's well worth the investment for how rare that vehicle is.

 

Thanks for the motivation everybody! I decided I am going to replace the engine and get my car back on the road. There is no way I could buy a comparable car right now with the same amount of money that I will be spending on parts. Even if I drive it for another 50-75k and keep it nice, I can always sell the car but it still won't be worth very much. At least I will be keeping a rare car alive. Somebody out there would still want it no matter how many miles are on it. I will probably just drive it as long as I can. Everything isn't as tight and clean as new, but I really don't want or need a perfect car. It always had plenty of power, was comfortable, and very easy to drive. I had it up to 140mph one time and it felt like I was going 65. Yeah, its kinda old and creaky but there is no car I could buy right now for $1000 and a weekends worth of work that could match it. I will take some pictures of the car tomorrow and post them if anybody wants to see the car. The www.car-part.com database was sweet! If that database is legit, there are 9 3vzfe engines within 30 miles of me. Screw ebay! My next step was to call around but I never thought the local yards would have these engines. They were only in the Camrys and ES300s for 2 years. Maybe thats why they have them? I will try to get the lowest mileage engine I can get, but if I can get one with higher mileage (150k+) a lot cheaper, I will probably do that. What I don't want is an engine that has not been ran in 10 years with dry seals that will leak and have other non-use issues. I have a couple of more questions I need some opinions on. What brand of clutch should I buy? I don't need a super high performance clutch but I want one that is quality and will last a long time. Some of the dash needles are burning out. Can these be fixed? Thanks again everyone!

 

If I were you, will try one last thing before replacing the engine. ($80 instead of $650 engine)
Steel Seal Repairs Blown Head Gaskets.
Flush the old coolant, put in new coolant and Steelseal,
It does help me to stop losing of coolant.

 

clutch, go with a Exedy Pro-Kit. superb quality. cheap, and will handle the stock torque just fine.

 

I made some calls to the local yards today. I found a 3vzfe with 110k that is still in the car and runs good. Only 10 miles from me! The yard said the car has only been off the road for a year so I am hoping the seals and belts won't be too dried up. I am taking a look at it tomorrow. I really hope it is clean and doesn't have any major leaks. They want $650 for it. I found an Exedy OE clutch kit on ebay for $115 shipped. Does anybody think I should replace any parts on the engine before it is installed? I will probably install new spark plugs while they are easy to get to. Maybe the accesory belt. What about the water pump? If it has been sitting, the seals might start to leak. I read in my manual that I would have to remove the timing belt to replace the water pump. Do the 3vzfe water pumps ever need to be replaced? Should I replace both the pump and the timing belt before I install the engine and forget about it or drive the car for awhile and install a new belt and water pump in a couple of years or never? I am pretty sure that the timing belt on my car was original and it has 212,000 miles on it and still looks good so Im not sure what to do. I really don't want to spend more money than I have to right now. Thanks again everybody! I will keep updating...

 

It may be wise to replace the valve cover gaskets. They are cheap. And, if they start leaking later they will be a pain to change.

 

Went to check out the 110k engine today. The 110k engine was actually a 209k engine according to the odometer of the car it was in. I was kinda bummed but I found a mint 96 front bumper that matches my paint. My bumper was slightly damaged from a barn cat I ran into one night. Hopefully I can get it cheap. More updates when I find a new engine...