2012 Toyota Yaris Engine Replacement

[Daedalus]

My 2012 Yaris LE threw a rod a few days ago and I am looking to do an engine replacement on it. I have very little mechanical knowledge of cars, but have watched what little videos I could find online of engine replacements on the same engine (1.5L, Vin T, 5Th Digit, 1NZFE).

Money is tight and I would like to buy either a used engine in the area or online and do the replacement myself. Is this unrealistic given the little experience I have, and how likely is it that I mess up other parts in the car? I plan on buying a hoist, and already have a set of tools and a hydraulic jack and stands. Is there anything else I am missing or need to know before attempting this?

Thank you in advance.

[mitch9521]

I'd have a shop do it if you are that inexperienced. Way too much shit to potentially mess up or ruin which could cause more downtime and even more money vs just getting a reputable shop to do it and be on the road sooner.

[Daedalus]

I'd have a shop do it if you are that inexperienced. Way too much shit to potentially mess up or ruin which could cause more downtime and even more money vs just getting a reputable shop to do it and be on the road sooner.

Alright, thank you.

[NYC-SE]

I'm interested in knowing what happened to your engine. The 1NZFE is a very reliable, understressed engine in stock form. For it to throw a rod is VERY unusual. How many miles did you have on it? Any go fast goodies on it? Oil changed on time, proper maintenance performed?

[Cletus Garfunkle]

Don't listen to anyone who says it's impossible half of them never pulled the motor out of their own car. Changing an engine is not the biggest deal in the world as long as you stay organized remember/label where bolts/connectors came from and so on and so forth. I've pulled the motor out of my 01 Echo and put a junkyard one in checking wires bolts and so on anyone can do it just ur determination/motivation. Just a quick P.S. if you have an auto trans make sure the torque converter is in and seated the whole way into the trans before trying to put the motor in. Good Luck on whichever way you go.

[sh0rtlife]

ive done alot of engine pulls n swaps..not on the yaris specificaly but hey i did an engine swap in a wrecking yard just to see if a 22r would fit in a 70s corolla...dragging it out of a truck(no lifts back the) amd using seatbelts as straps to pull it up into place by using the fenders as a "tower"...it wasnt pretty but i needed to prove it could be done..that was back in the early 90s

all said doing an engine swap is fairly easy.. its alot of "effort" and you need to have PATIENCE!!!!!

if your going to get a motor from a wrecker..and you can pull it yourself DO IT!!!!!! this is the best life lesson you can give yourself cause then you get to see how/where everything will get hung up caught up snagged and all the little things that the vids dont mention...also...keep ALL THE BOLTS!!!..spares cause inevitably youll drop something or lose something...but at the same time it means youll prep yourself with genuine hands-on..so when you pull your busted motor youll be doing it for a second time..this means when you put the wrecker unit back in..you should have a good memory of what goes where and how it all fits together

depending on where your at someone might even be willing to lend a hand

oh right important bit if you pull the wrecker engine yourself..they come out ALOT easier going DOWN not up...cause thats how the factory put em in...heck...you can do it on your own car too drop the engine, trans, and front suspension as a unit(means bleeding the brakes tho) and then slip it all back up in as a unit...youd be suprised at how many cars swap faster this way..even alot of vintage stuff..either way droping it as a unit at the wrecker then allows you a 360 deg view of everything you need to remove and lets you get your hands around everything

[Daedalus]

Don't listen to anyone who says it's impossible half of them never pulled the motor out of their own car. Changing an engine is not the biggest deal in the world as long as you stay organized remember/label where bolts/connectors came from and so on and so forth. I've pulled the motor out of my 01 Echo and put a junkyard one in checking wires bolts and so on anyone can do it just ur determination/motivation. Just a quick P.S. if you have an auto trans make sure the torque converter is in and seated the whole way into the trans before trying to put the motor in. Good Luck on whichever way you go.

Yea that's true, plus it will be good to know how to do for the future. Mechanics want to charge me $1500 for labor, and $1550 for the engine from a recycled parts place near me. I have found several on ebay for $650-$800, shipping included, from reputable sellers. Would ebay sellers be trusted? One seller is a local business in the US, another is from LKQ Online, comes from Canada. To me $1550 for that engine seems pretty steep, just want to get others' more experienced thoughts on it before I take the next step of buying the engine and doing the replacement myself.

Thanks for the note on the torque converter. Any help will go a long way for me.

[Daedalus]

ive done alot of engine pulls n swaps..not on the yaris specificaly but hey i did an engine swap in a wrecking yard just to see if a 22r would fit in a 70s corolla...dragging it out of a truck(no lifts back the) amd using seatbelts as straps to pull it up into place by using the fenders as a "tower"...it wasnt pretty but i needed to prove it could be done..that was back in the early 90s

all said doing an engine swap is fairly easy.. its alot of "effort" and you need to have PATIENCE!!!!!

if your going to get a motor from a wrecker..and you can pull it yourself DO IT!!!!!! this is the best life lesson you can give yourself cause then you get to see how/where everything will get hung up caught up snagged and all the little things that the vids dont mention...also...keep ALL THE BOLTS!!!..spares cause inevitably youll drop something or lose something...but at the same time it means youll prep yourself with genuine hands-on..so when you pull your busted motor youll be doing it for a second time..this means when you put the wrecker unit back in..you should have a good memory of what goes where and how it all fits together

depending on where your at someone might even be willing to lend a hand

oh right important bit if you pull the wrecker engine yourself..they come out ALOT easier going DOWN not up...cause thats how the factory put em in...heck...you can do it on your own car too drop the engine, trans, and front suspension as a unit(means bleeding the brakes tho) and then slip it all back up in as a unit...youd be suprised at how many cars swap faster this way..even alot of vintage stuff..either way droping it as a unit at the wrecker then allows you a 360 deg view of everything you need to remove and lets you get your hands around everything

Thanks for the response. I had originally hoped to find a local u-pull it place near me that would have the motor I needed, but unfortunately not. A recycled parts place near me doesnt have one in stock, but would charge me $1550 to pick one up from them if they ship it. Does this seem expensive to you? As I have replied to Garfunkle about the two engines I have found on ebay, one from LKQ online and another from a seller in the US, around $650-$800 with shipping included in that price, do these seem to low? How risky is it buying from online, even with warranties attached?

The video I watched, the guy pulled from up top, so I may have to do as he does since it is easier for me to follow, but if I have trouble, I may try to get it from underneath. Thanks again for the help.

[Daedalus]

I'm interested in knowing what happened to your engine. The 1NZFE is a very reliable, understressed engine in stock form. For it to throw a rod is VERY unusual. How many miles did you have on it? Any go fast goodies on it? Oil changed on time, proper maintenance performed?

I did not keep up the best with it. It had 260k miles on it. Drove around a bit stupid on it, but will make sure not to do so in the future if the engine is replaced. Everything else runs smoothly.

[WeeYari]

How the hell does the average guy get the car high enough in the air to drop the engine?

[sh0rtlife]

Yea that's true, plus it will be good to know how to do for the future. Mechanics want to charge me $1500 for labor, and $1550 for the engine from a recycled parts place near me. I have found several on ebay for $650-$800, shipping included, from reputable sellers. Would ebay sellers be trusted? One seller is a local business in the US, another is from LKQ Online, comes from Canada. To me $1550 for that engine seems pretty steep, just want to get others' more experienced thoughts on it before I take the next step of buying the engine and doing the replacement myself.

Thanks for the note on the torque converter. Any help will go a long way for me.

yes and no...you never know till you get it installed..thats the catch HOWEVER they are more reputable than any local wrecker you may have

lkq is a good source tbh..but the JDM importers are the BEST source as they are typicaly selling engines with less than 50k miles on em as the cars are basicly WORTHLESS in japan and they can rip the guts out of em stuff a container full sell em cheep and make a HUGE profit

once a car get X old and X miles on it the tax goes up and up and up in japan...thus the cars get devalued to hell....shipping aside you can pick up a 800$ yaris in japan with 60,000 KILOMETERS on it for 800-1200$ in pristine condition..RS at that.....

[sh0rtlife]

How the hell does the average guy get the car high enough in the air to drop the engine?

tall jack stands IE the only ones i trust the 3ton..the 1ton units are unstable too small a footprint and if youve never seen one fail..you should..so that youll never ever trust em again..ditto on 1ton jacks with those lil bracer arms..they like to fold over on themselves ,,,changing trans pan gasket on a 71 caddy and i had one fold on me and had a friend neer by able to hold up the car and drag me out...it was a every 1ton jack and sub 3ton jackstand i catch a friend with gets scrapped

also..typical wrecker around here has em on welded wheel stands which is PLENTY of space to pull an engine out the belly

at the wreckers ive proably pulled a dozen engines that way...2 bonus points..hood with the good side down makes a great "sled" to drag an engine with, and seat belts make GREAT chains, straps etc

[sh0rtlife]

since someone brought up the torque converter...m and ive yet to run across a single make of transmission thats different

slip the converter into the trans
while holding it as center as you can on the engine side
use your other hand to rotate slowly while pushing in

some go in real fast n easy IE the splines were in good alignment with the converter, while other(bad alignment) may take several rotations in both directions before finnaly fully seating, think of it as spinning a combination lock, your trying to get multiple clutch packs to aligne on the splines of the snout of the transmission

best way to verify fully seated is to measure from the mounting surface of the bellhousing to the flex plate bolt holes on the converter then measure the block to flex plate, you want the converter to be DEEPER than the measurement on the block side so that you un seat the converter by about 1/4-1/2 inch typicaly

[tmontague]

IMO if you have another car to drive and can handle down time with your Yaris then go ahead and DIY. You will spend a lot in tools and it won't save you much in the end. However, you will then own all the tools for future use and have gained a lot more confidence in your ability to wrench on cars.

All this said with a big caveat, if you live in the rustbelt then don't bother., have a mechanic do it. Learning to deal with seized and rusted fasteners takes time, experience, proper tools and a ton of terrible days spent in a driveway.

If you need the cat done properly and relatively quickly then have a shop do it. It isn't "hard" per say as compared to diagnosing electrical issues etc. But don't kid yourself, pulling an engine for an inexperienced wrencher is not a cake walk. If you have a friend that can help/watch who has done this before then that would be ideal.

Not to say it cannot be done, it definitely can, but many people like to make it out that is is a breeze and shops are a rip off charging you to do the swap. Problems will arise and a lack of experience makes said problems much bigger to deal with.

[mitch9521]

Thanks for the response. I had originally hoped to find a local u-pull it place near me that would have the motor I needed, but unfortunately not. A recycled parts place near me doesnt have one in stock, but would charge me $1550 to pick one up from them if they ship it. Does this seem expensive to you? As I have replied to Garfunkle about the two engines I have found on ebay, one from LKQ online and another from a seller in the US, around $650-$800 with shipping included in that price, do these seem to low? How risky is it buying from online, even with warranties attached?

The video I watched, the guy pulled from up top, so I may have to do as he does since it is easier for me to follow, but if I have trouble, I may try to get it from underneath. Thanks again for the help.

1500 bucks for a 1NZ-FE? jesus. You can get a long block from a U-pull for the price of a ham sandwich and a Rockauto magnet.

[sh0rtlife]

i know on c-list you can get jdm sub50k mile ones for 500-700$ with warrentys