2002 Avalon with "dropped rod" HELP!

[Leadeye]

I've been out of touch with modern cars and it surprised me that they still use push rods. Figured everything these days was OHC.

 

[churchmouse]

I've been out of touch with modern cars and it surprised me that they still use push rods. Figured everything these days was OHC.

The push rod engines days are numbered.

 

[Leadeye]

Bending, then losing a push rod was a problem from the old days, sounds like maybe it's still around. I was surprised when the Charger's engine went to the builder that flat tappet cams were long gone and even the motor oil had been changed.

 

[churchmouse]

Bending, then losing a push rod was a problem from the old days, sounds like maybe it's still around. I was surprised when the Charger's engine went to the builder that flat tappet cams were long gone and even the motor oil had been changed.

Rollers are the way. The hydro's soak up some of the violence. The hot mechanical's sing a sweet sweet tune at full song.

 

[mmpsteve]

The dealer only offered $100 and that just seems like a rip off.

Last time I junked a car at a junkyard, they gave me $300 for it, cash. If your Avalon is in good shape other than the engine, there's lots of good parts they can make money on. I wouldn't just give it away without finding out.

.

 

[churchmouse]

Last time I junked a car at a junkyard, they gave me $300 for it, cash. If your Avalon is in good shape other than the engine, there's lots of good parts they can make money on. I wouldn't just give it away without finding out.

.

How long ago....????

Scrap prices are in the toilet right now.

Depends on the model and the miles.

 

[mmpsteve]

How long ago....????

Scrap prices are in the toilet right now.

Depends on the model and the miles.

Probably around 2014.

'96 Nissan Maxima with that sweet nissan V6 that still ran great, but needed everything from exhaust manifold back, including O2 sensors, etc ... wouldn't pass Lake County emissions ... hell, they wouldn't even test it, with the O2 codes showing. That sure was a fine revving V6. Understand y'all have the same emissions BS.

My thought about the Avalon was, being an upscale Toyota, it probably has a lot of electronic stuff, etc ... that could be worth money. Radio stuff, window switches, O2 sensors, etc ... lots of good stuff for the parts sellers. That Nissan engine had seperate coil packs for each cylinder that were worth $. Wasn't even thinking about scrap metal.

.

 

[churchmouse]

Probably around 2014.

'96 Nissan Maxima with that sweet nissan V6 that still ran great, but needed everything from exhaust manifold back, including O2 sensors, etc ... wouldn't pass Lake County emissions ... hell, they wouldn't even test it, with the O2 codes showing. That sure was a fine revving V6. Understand y'all have the same emissions BS.

My thought about the Avalon was, being an upscale Toyota, it probably has a lot of electronic stuff, etc ... that could be worth money. Radio stuff, window switches, O2 sensors, etc ... lots of good stuff for the parts sellers. That Nissan engine had seperate coil packs for each cylinder that were worth $. Wasn't even thinking about scrap metal.

.

I think that would be dependent n the yard he took it to. Pic-A-Part might be the better option as they are not a scrap salvage operation like so many others around here are.

 

[Route 45]

FYY, I got a letter from Toyota several years ago stating the warranty on the engine had been extended to 100k. A while later I got another letter from Toyota stating the warranty had been futher extended and that if I experienced any problems to contact my dealer. Just saying.

This right here is my experience with Toyota. I had a 2010 Prius that I used heavily for route driving, went from 110,000 miles to 239,000 miles in a little over 2 years. The only problem I ever had was a bad EGR valve, which I got repaired at a dealership. A couple of months later, I found out that there was an enhanced warranty that covered the EGR valve regardless of mileage. I got reimbursement from Toyota. One big reason why my 2017 Escape is soon to be history and the last American make that I will ever own for a daily driver. It currently has a rattle that the dealership somehow can't hear, but since it's past 36k miles, I'm betting their hearing would improve if I took it back in.

If I was the OP, I'd just pick up a newer Avalon with the 3.5 2GRFE engine and keep on trucking. I've got a 2009 Lexus ES with 207,000 miles on it with that 3.5 V6 and it runs like a top.

 

[wingrider1800]

I've been out of touch with modern cars and it surprised me that they still use push rods. Figured everything these days was OHC.

It is an overhead cam engine, I figure he is talking about a connecting rod.

 

[gregkl]

This right here is my experience with Toyota. I had a 2010 Prius that I used heavily for route driving, went from 110,000 miles to 239,000 miles in a little over 2 years. The only problem I ever had was a bad EGR valve, which I got repaired at a dealership. A couple of months later, I found out that there was an enhanced warranty that covered the EGR valve regardless of mileage. I got reimbursement from Toyota. One big reason why my 2017 Escape is soon to be history and the last American make that I will ever own for a daily driver. It currently has a rattle that the dealership somehow can't hear, but since it's past 36k miles, I'm betting their hearing would improve if I took it back in.

If I was the OP, I'd just pick up a newer Avalon with the 3.5 2GRFE engine and keep on trucking. I've got a 2009 Lexus ES with 207,000 miles on it with that 3.5 V6 and it runs like a top.

When Honda replaced my transmission at 130,000 miles, I was pretty impressed. It was actually the local Honda dealership that suggested I call and open a case. They were happy to do the work and Honda paid them for it.

It was a win for all of us. When she totaled the car , we looked for another Honda and ended up with a Ford Fusion. We have had that for 8 years now and it just tipped over 100K miles. I'm hoping to get 2 more years out of it but both the wife (it's her car) and I not impressed with it.

We will probably go back to Honda or Toyota when we do replace it. I prefer to stick with an American nameplate, but being in the business I just know too much about the different OEM's to make a biased decision.