All these JDM motors are ran hard as hell. It really is a crapshoot like 2nr said. I've seen so many people install a JDM motor with a blown head gasket or rod knock already.

I havent seen anyone yet that has bought a 1JZ or 2JZ from JDM that has had a problem. 7M's are a older motor and yes the head gasket thing is a known problem. With somthing like a 7M yes I would do the top end before I dropped it in because you never know. Plus with a 7MGTE you can find one of those for like 800 bucks so with how little you paid why not do the top end.

mine ran fine, no rebuild needed, thats why i got so far ahead with my project
so easy, now its jus a matter of getting the proper electronics so i can get as much hp as i want

i bought a jdm 7mgte motors and didn't do the top end before i installed it and absolutely no problems yet and i have ran it for at least 50k to 60k miles. the only thing i had to do was put another knock sensor on it cuz it was missing and some routine maintenance along the way. but i'm very happy with mine but i've heard of some not being so lucky so you really never know honestly.

And if you never really know......, why take the chance.

I sure wouldn't buy one and drop it in straight from the box. The people doing this and not having problems are just getting lucky.

You guys thinking that the mileage is low. That's flucking hysterical.
Because they off load all of these engines. Then they proceed to tear them apart and get rid of what is visually no good.

So maybe your block has 40k something on it. But you have no idea what you are getting.

It's just not smart to put one in without going through it first.
It's not the right way to do things at all. You are just creating the probability for failure.

When you already have the engine out. Why not take a week and rebuild it.
It's just not good sense.

It's like finding a dildo and telling your wife to go ahead and use it.
Only for her to find out that it needs new batteries.

yeah i agree its a smart thing to rebuild it or at least do the headgasket before dropping it in. i got mine 2 or so years ago and i didn't know as much as i do now so if i could do it all over again i would rebuild it right away.

my uncle lives in japan,
the reason why there's so many front clips and jdm engines being sold over here its bcuz its useless to them, and financially stupid

at 30k a car motor is considered a high mileage motor in japan
they pay an extra fine, and a higher insurance for driving a high mileage motor
over there,
so the only smart thing to do considering how cheap cars are over there,
is just to get a new one,

were recycling their engines,
and ordering one and dropping them right in, and running is not jus luck
its called a "reputable shop"
a shop that has a reputation of providing excellent parts and service,

ordering one from an uknown shop and dropping it in and running,
now thats lucky,
but if it f***s up on you, you dont have anybody to blame but urself
since your the one that ordered it on the first place

now in my case, i ddnt get mine from any shop, like i said, i got family that lives there, and i get my jdm stuff, from a private source


and for the dildo thing;
i think if you find a dildo somewhere and gave it to ur wife to use
it, not having batteries is the least of her worries
there are things called Vanerial Disease, you know.

Gotta admit it was funny.

I'm not arguing with you guys.
To be honest that is the most logical argument I have heard for jdm engines right there.

My 88's previous owner dropped a JDM into it.. ran it for about 7000 km, had a rod knock, the turbo folded and then he spun the bearings. Now it has a fully rebuilt orginal motor (they just rebuilt the old 7MGTE and turbo from the car) in it with about 22k km on it. The only issue I have with the engine is that he didnt look under the hood .. so the hoses all needed to be replaced and pretty well anything rubber as they were all seemingly original (200k km on them).

Now.. if the valves didnt leak while sitting over a day or so.. it would be an excellent engine. That is my only complaint... blue smoke startup.

JDM Portland OR local source
 

Does anyone know where in Portland the shop is that imports these? My mechanic roommate says he knows there's a place here but can't remember where he saw it.

Otherwise I'll have to (groan) get one from ebay. Not the end of the world, but dang, 395$ for shipping.

Thanks for your help, other Supra owners.

Paula

1988 Supra (mine--needs heart transplant) and
1987 Supra (his--needs more than heart transplant)