Replacing engine - Camry 93 - costs/info

URBANMECH

MEMBER
1993 TOYOTA CAMRY

My car's engine lost power and died when I slowed down to negotiate a roundabout. During the trip, and prior to the breakdown, it had trouble restarting after a driver-break and the engine sounded "coarse". Additionally the acceleration was slightly enfeebled although this itself would not have been noteworthy had the car not failed. Subsequent to the breakdown the car would not immediately restart but following a 20 minute break it would restart but made very pronounced rattling noises.

Engine oil was found to be at good levels and cursory evaluation by a roadside mechanic pronounced the likely cause as [following paraphrase is inaccurate due to lack of automotive knowledge] low engine oil pressure causing some kind of bearings in the engine to not work properly causeing crankshaft (?) To do something bad. The phrase "nasty knock in engine" was also used.

==My question(s)==
1. How can I lessen the costs involved in acquiring and installing a working engine?
2. What is a good method of removing the vehicle from it's current location? I suspect hiring another vehicle and a trailer and self towing it would be cheaper than finding a towing company.
3. What scrap value can I recover in the case of choosing to "write-off" or dispose of the car?

==Car Details==
1993 Toyota Camry, Automatic, 2.2L, 4 cyl engine.
The car was last serviced about 3 months ago where it was noted that it had low engine oil pressure. The indicator lamp on the instrumentation panel would intermittently turn on when the car was stationary but turn off when the car was moving. The car behaved normally under suburban conditions but highway driving must have proven too stressful for the poor vehicle.

1 Reply

STANCOOKSJ

MEMBER
5 POSTS

One's thing for sure it will require a lot of research on your part. This is a pretty difficult question to answer because there are so many different factors, costs and services for what you want to do. If you're engine is completely damaged, and you stand a better chance of getting a replacement, you may want to look at your local used auto parts store (or used engine facilities) and look for some used engines. These are usually quite less than remanufactured or new engines, and in most cases they have a warranty. However, if the engine is slightly damaged, u may want to get another mechanic to look at it (your car is like a human body, a mechanic is the doctor, it doesn't hurt to ask for a second opinion). There may be hope to repair without spending too much. About the towing, do you have AAA or any road side assistance? If you don't ask someone who does and if they don't use theirs as often, ask them is it possible to use theirs. This will definitely save you money. These are just a few suggestions.