hello,

I have a 1987 toyota pickup thats needs another engine.
theres a guy i know that has a rebuilt ATK engine still in the crate. for $500. has anybody had one of these and are they good engines? is $500 a good price? thanks for the help.

jdw

I don't really know about ATKs quality, seems awhile back there were some members having less than favorable opinions on their ATK engines. $500 for the rebuilt engine is a steal especially if its a long block. If its a short block then its not as good of a deal. Does it have a tranferable warranty? You could always double check the engine prior to installation for piece of mind. By checking Im referring to cylinder hone pattern and its consistancy, bearing inserts, even torque on the rod and main caps etc.

Any more info you can give on what is there, and why seller didnt install it would be helpful.

$500 would more than cover rebuilding a short block...which I personally trust more than an assembly line rebuilder. But thats just me.

~Darin <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

the guy ordered the engine for another guy but he ended up backing out on the deal, and not buying it. so the guy has been stuck with it for two years and wants to get rid of it.
what are your thoughts about a low milege takeout at a junk yard? would it be less of a risk as far a reliability?

jdw

Junkyard 22re motors round here are $800- $1200...and they get it.

ATK longblock for $500 is a good deal

Yea, I was shocked at how pricey Austin junkyards are...

$500 is good even for a used engine so I say go for it. I've heard good and bad about ATK but remanned engines are a crapshoot anyways unless you rebuild it yourself. Just my $.02

You guys should let me build you one then.. You just can't be in a hurry..

I had an ATK motor in a Z-car. The car was sold cheap because it wasn't running right. Popped the cover and a rocker arm fell off due to misadjustment... Fixed it and no problems for 40k miles.

$500 is a steal on a reman'd motor.. You'd need to look inside it and be sure that after sitting for 2 years it's not rusted. IT should turn over by hand if you pull the plugs.

I prefer rebuilds over quantity remans... Find yourself a core motor, take it to your local machine shop with a boxload of enginebldr's parts and let them have at it.. If you're really anal, just have them do the clean up and machine work. Assemble it yourself.

LCE is now selling ATK motors so I doubt they would sacrifice their rep on some junk. Just a thought.

I had an ATK long block 22re installed my '91 4x4 regcab in Oct of '03.
It had a 3 year/30K mile warranty. Right after it passed 30K, it started leaking oil, looks like from the front timing cover. It always made (and still does make) a rattling noise if you rev it just over fast idle speed for the first 2 minutes after a cold start...sounds like timing chain but the shop that installed it swore that it wasn't the timing chain. Always has run with power and performance exactly like the old stock motor, but I'm prepared for it to explode any day.
Just my 2 cents. Cheers.

Sounds like my Jasper <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> They fixed the leak on mine, now it just burns more...

I think the timing cover leak is pretty common on reman engines, I've seen alot (including mine) where they decked the block and didn't machine the cover to match.

I went through about 3 ATKs (under warrantee) before getting one that worked. First one lasted about a month before it had oil all over. 2nd one lasted a year or so before the head let go. On the 3rd engine, I ended up putting a new Toyota head on it after the rebuilt head warped after a few weeks use. Been fine since that was all sorted out.