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Gen 2 camshaft markings

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by donzoh1, May 27, 2020.

  1. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    I'm putting a Gen 2 back together after buying it at auction. I found a junkyard motor for it. This motor had a number plate on it that matched the VIN of the donor car which had about 240K miles on it. One of the camshafts has some numbers near the end of a camshaft and I'm wondering whether a factory motor would have that. These are in green paint pen and I'm thinking they mean the motor or at least the cylinder head has been gone through. Any thoughts on this?
     
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Best to pass on an engine with 240k, unless they will give it away for free or next to nothing.

    Have you already searched for a used engine at : http://car-part.com/
     
  3. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    engine cost was 100 bucks, which i think is a good price. i checked cylinders 3 and 4 with pistons at the mid stroke point and they held a good amount of gas overnight so i'm hoping at least the pistons and cylinder walls are ok. but, it's a gamble...like hopefully, the motor was rebuilt or maintained really well.
     
  4. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    car-part has the motor for 350 near me and they have a 90 day guarantee while the yard i got this one from has 1 year. but, i pulled 3 motors before deciding on this one so might have gone the car-part route, assuming they test their motors.
     
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Seems like a tossup between time and money. How long did you need this engine to last?

    Which engine has the least amount of mileage?
     
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  6. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    Not sure on how much mileage they have. I'm planning to flip the car but I don't like the idea of selling something that will barely male it around the block. My goal is to wind up with something that doesn't smoke or make extra noises.
     
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    The only time I've ever seen paint pens used was in a junk yard setting.

    Were this markings inside the cover?

    Have a marking pics you can post?
    I saw a couple of engines that may have lower mileage for 225-250. Bring a jump pack and check the odometer before committing, and cross check by running the VIN at https://toyota.com/owners
     
  8. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    The paint pen markings were inside the valve cover on one of the camshafts. There were also similar paint pen markings on the outside of the cylinder head. I'm thinking these could be inventory markings from a company that rebuilds cylinder heads. I didn't see any similar marks on the engine block. I've seen junk yard employees mark engine blocks with a hammer stamp or paint pens when I've purchased them. The idea is that if I bring the block back as defective, they want to be sure it's the same block I bought.
     
  9. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Exactly what I was thinking.
     
  10. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    How did you know they held that amount of gas? Can you state how you did that?
     
  11. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    After getting all four pistons to the midpoint of cylinder travel, I put a given amount of gas in each. I think it was 500 ml but don't recall for sure. Measuring with a wood dowel in each spark plug hole, this was about 1.5 inches deep. after several hours, they each held a similar amount of fluid...maybe 1.25 inches on the dowel. The dowel needs to be dried between measurements. After this, I blew out each cylinder with compressed air and blew out the exhaust and intake ports of the cylinder head at various positions of crankshaft rotation. Also, the crankcase would need to be drained at this point before adding oil. Also, I'm not exactly sure how long the gas should remain in the cylinders.
     
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  12. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    If one cylinder holds a fluid longer than the other three, it could have a bent connecting rod. This will also show up as higher compression values on a compression test or leakdown test.
     
  13. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Could you please explain how that would work, or if there is an image that I can ponder.

    Not understanding the bent rod in relation to the increased fluid retention, or the increased compression with a bent rod.
     
  14. donzoh1

    donzoh1 Active Member

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    I learned this lesson the hard way. The car had been driven past a broken head gasket so that occasionally, coolant would migrate into the number 1 cylinder and then, if the car was started with that piston on compression, the rod was stressed and bent. The cylinder was polished on opposite sides (2 areas) to a mirror finish with normal cross hatching in other areas. The rod was deflected on the axis of the wrist pin, such that the piston was constantly held in a tilted position and the piston itself or the rings were rubbing on the cylinder walls. Probably 30 percent of the cylinder wall circumference was being gradually worn away but for awhile was better sealed than a correctly sealed cylinder wall. Several thousand miles after head gasket replacement, the rod failed and destroyed the engine block.
     
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