Rebuild or used

[Toyotalicious]

Hi, i have been having trouble with my engine. I have a 92 pu, with a 22re. I guess the people i bought it from hardly changed the oil, so it burns oil, and it has a low compression on the 4th piston. Before this summer i had the head rebuilt, the head gastket went bad, i guess the previous owners over heated it as well. So it was running fine until now, it's surges when it's heating up, and it's idling, and once in a while it stutters when i accelerate. Oh yeah, and i've also been hearing somekind of rattling (usually between 1 and 3 thousand rpms) when i push the gas pedal about halfway. So anyway, on top of the idle problem, the radiator keeps pushing the coolant into the coolant resevoir, and it's been over filling it. I would have to fill the radiator everyday. Someone took a look at it and said that there is air going into cooling system, and that it could be the headgasket!!

So here are my options: should i buy a used engine, there is this place that has one for $750 with 90K miles on it, or one between 30 to 50K for like $1500, I don't know about their condition or how well they've been maintenaced. Or, i can get my engine rebuilt, I have cousins and uncles in orange county that are excellent mechanics, they probably won't charge me that much, if anything, for labor, i would just pay for the parts and stuff. But someone told me that if i get my engine rebuilt, that i won't be happy with it and it won't last me long, unless i use toyota parts. Is this true?

What do you guys think i should do, what would be the best thing to do that won't be too expensive. Thanks.

[4x4banger]

If it was me, I would buy a rebuilt engine. Those prices for used engines sound outragous, plus rebuilding yours would be a pain, not to menion spendy. For one your crank journals and cylinder bores are probably scarred due to lack of oil changes, and those will have to be machined. Your head probably blew another head gasket because when it overheated the head warped, or there may be an internal crack. And a rebuild kit costs a pretty penny as well. I know you can buy a rebuilt engine for less than $1,500. They are good as new and usually come with a warranty. That's what i would do.

[bikeguy18974]

i went with buying a rebuilt engine. I didn't go with the big names like atk or jasper because i heard of too many varying opinions. I got mine from a small local place. My mechanic said it was one of the better jobs he had seen and he had done about 10 replacements (he worked for 15 years for a toyota dealer).

I would try to ask around your area about a good rebuilder, also check with the better business bureau. My engine came with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty and so far (about 10k miles) hasn't given me any trouble. I paid $999 for it.