An engine swap is when one engine is removed and another engine is installed in its place in the vehicle. More often the reason for the swap is when Toyota engines suffer irreparable damage. There are many times, especially on an older vehicle when it is less expensive to swap an engine than it is to attempt a repair on the damaged engine. In other cases, a larger displacement engine will be installed to improve the performance of the car, in cases like this there may be the need for modifications to the engine mounting.
Although it is preferable to swap a complete engine for a damaged one, there may be financial considerations that come into play. In most cases, when an engine lets go, it is the block that is damaged. If this is the case, then replacing just the short block is an attractive solution. A short block is the engine block itself, with a crankshaft, pistons, connecting rods and piston rings. When engines for Toyota are replaced in this fashion, the heads and all the other fuel and electrical equipment is salvaged from the original engine and re-used.
A short block as described consists of the block and the lower rotating assembly. As the engine is being rebuilt, the heads are re-used and depending on their condition, the cam may or may not be replaced with a new one. Gaskets of course need replacing but manifolds; water pump etc can all be reused.
A long block on the other hand consists of the short block components, plus the cam, lifters, timing chain and gears as well as heads. As the long block is a more complete engine, it takes considerably less time and effort to get the engine back in the car and the car running again. Although a long block is more expensive, when you consider that there is no expense for machining the heads or replacing the cam and timing gear, it may turn out to be the least costly solution.
By replacing a worn out Toyota engine, the life of the vehicle can be greatly extended. If the car is reasonably new and still mortgaged, it may be cheaper to replace a blown engine than to pay off on a car that does not run.
Engine World USA on Youtube – Used Toyota engines from Japan
