99 Camry CE Threw a rod

One of about 3 things causes a rod to break: sheared off big-end or rod-bearing cap studs,...very rare these days, too loose running clearances at the rod-bearing, this would be quite noisey for some time prior to failure, or a sudden total loss of oil getting to the rod-bearing. This last one is probably the cause and points to a blockage of some sort between the oil-pump pick-up screen and the rod, or an airleak on the suction side of the oil-pump,..less likely. A 2nd-hand engine which has clean internals, which can be quickly deduced by dropping its sump (oil-pan) should not cost the earth or be that hard to find, especially if you live in the States. Try checking wrecking or car-breaker yards. There'd be 100s of them :-)

Jason

Look on Ebay. There were several used engines listed for your car in the $900 to $1200 range. Figure another $400 for installation. I'd guess you could be back on the road for under $1500 if you shop around. Before I'd buy the engine off Ebay, I'd check with local wrecking yards.

Ed

In any case, if the failure is the result of oil starvation caused by sludge, it may still be covered under the extended warranty.

Toyota settles oil sludge cases Owners complain that a buildup damaged engines January 18, 2007

[snip]

"The class action settlement should make it easier for customers to receive resolve their problems, said Gary Gambel, a New Orleans lawyer heading the case for plaintiffs.

Under the settlement, customers can bring issues directly to Toyota. If they're not satisfied with Toyota's response, the customer can turn to a court-appointed third-party evaluator, who will decide what damages should be paid.

Customers do not need a lawyer or technical expert to take up their case, Gambel said. Even if the time has expired for a lawsuit to be filed, they can seek relief as long as the damages occurred within eight years of the original purchase date."

Regardless what you think about the whole engine sludge/oil-change abuse saga, only the States has such a judicial outcome. Looks like the rest of the world can whistle in the dark :-) My engine ( '96 5SFE) had its oil-pan off at some stage (something I found later), plus there is a very thin layer of black tarry substance thru the engine. From what I can deduce after 3 yrs of ownership, is that the oil was not changed often enough, as there are no new deposits.

Jason

Jason

Maybe the hotter running US EPA rated Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV) engines are only shipped to the US?

Nowadays Honda and GM use oil sensors to determine change interval, not fixed schedules. Of course, those who can afford Bosch Motronic digital engine control systems already have advanced oil sensors for some years. And I don't mean the el cheapo ones Ford had decades ago. And according to GM, modern oils easily last 12,000 miles in normal driving with no problems.

When everyone is extending oil change intervals HOWEVER, in 2004 Toyota reduced the oil change interval from 7500 miles to 5000 miles, according to their spokesperson. That tells me even the new (post

2004) Toyota sludging engines are still not up to par. Yeah, they are full of it.

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 DETROIT (AP)

[snip] Toyota Motor Corp. reduced its change interval from 7,500 miles to 5,000 in 2004 in part because it found that more drivers ran their vehicles under severe stop-and-start and short trip conditions that cause oil to deteriorate more quickly, said company spokesman Bill Kwong. [snip]

Full article at:

Jas> > Toyota settles oil sludge cases

Toyota changed the "normal service" interval from 7500 to 5000. The "special service" interval was 5000 miles but for new Toyotas, there is no "special" service interval listed. I believe Toyota US changed the normal service interval to match the special (or severe) service interval because they felt people did not understand that some seeming normal driving patterns were "severe." In Europe longer intervals are specified for the same engine which is confusing, but it is alleged that European oil specifications are tighter than the current US (API) specifications. Also in the past Toyota had 10,000 mile service intervals on some US engines.

Are you sure Honda is using an oil life indicator like GM? My Son's Honda has a strictly mileage driven indicator. It doesn't derate the mileage for cold starts, etc. - just every so many miles it says it is time to change the oil. My SO's 2007 RAV4 also has a mileage driven oil change indicator (every 5000 miles it turns on the light).

Ed

quoted text -

We had the engine checked. No oil sludge to be found =( We kept it well maintenanced and have all the records for it. For now, we're just going to let it sit undercover until we decide what to do with it. I pulled our olds out of retirement, had it made road worthy (oil change and new brakes) and am driving it for ow.