Went for a long awaited drive tonight
 

I haven't posted about this on the forum, but June 29th my FA20 threw a rod bearing. After a month of my car sitting at the dealer, my warranty claim was denied and I had to pay over $2k for the teardown. Lesson of the day: if you're going to modify and drive the crap out of your car, either invest in cooling (oil cooler) or don't live anywhere it gets over 70 degrees....However, this wasn't going to be the end of Nightowl; After two weeks of searching, I was able to find an engine from a totaled 86 with 81 miles on it. Within a week, a pallet arrived with a basically new FA20 and me and two friends swapped it in overnight. Mind you, this swap happened 4 days before I had to return to college 3.5 hours away. It's been a long (and expensive) journey, but it's gratifying to know that I've been with this car since day 1, and didn't give up on her even when she ceased to run. It's roads like these that make me love this car every time I drive her, and I hope that everyone here finds their own way to love what they drive. :cheers:
http://i.imgur.com/rSmTlmP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EJ5NgNv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sZUvVFY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7LHim2D.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/vBI4YGh.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/SVI31pa.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/LY8Hdgw.jpg

great job on the swap and sticking to the car!

What mods did you have when you took it in the dealer? And what did they say?

The twins are fine for hot weather though right? Only issue is cooling after mods like a s/c, no? Lately been hearing twins have issues with heat around here. I havent had issue. Drove for 6hrs round trip in 100-ish temps. No issue. (stock)



Nice to see your car running again. That must have been fun swapping an engine.

Oil cooler only matters for track days, not normal or Canyon driving.

I too am curious as to what the dealer denied your warranty on...

I am also curious. What were the mods you had? Needing an oil cooler usually is for track days or forced induction.

Anyways glad to hear you're sticking with the car! Some true dedication to do a full engine swap in a day 4 hours before college.

had stock header on, stock tune, catless front pipe and catback. Flashing back to stock didn't matter because they were able to see that the ECU had been flashed 20+ times :bonk:

The dealer basically told me that with the evidence of a tune, plus the physical evidence of rod discoloration and black box data, they wouldn't cover it because of "abuse."

Now that I've been monitoring oil temps, I'd honestly say no. Do you have an oil temp gauge/ Openflash tablet/ Torque app? Driving in traffic the oil temps stay around 210 or so which is normal. But, at any speed above 60 in 75+ degree ambient temps the oil temps climb to 220+. Start going 80+? You'll be pushing 230 degree oil temps. I can't even imagine what some guys are hitting on the track. After 230 degrees the car will start running richer to cool itself down, and at 235 degrees and higher you start running the risk of your oil breaking down and oil temps dropping dangerously low.

@MisterSheep @Packofcrows it depends completely on how you drive. If I'm just cruising along back roads (ozark mountain roads are like canyon roads, just with more tractors) my oil temps are fine. But if I'm really opening the car up and pushing it to 8/10ths or so, the oil temps will climb extremely quickly. After a 5 minute VERY spirited run at about 70 degree ambient temps, my oil hit 235 degrees....I'm running Eneos 0w-20, next spring I'm switching to 5w-30 to hopefully help with low oil pressures and heat.

Just curious, was that the only Toyota dealer in your area? A thrown rod shouldn't be the MAIN cause for denial of a factory warranty claim. If they were going to revert to the "flashed ECU" for denial, why did they need to tear it down?

Seems like you got gypped by the dealer. You should always be in contact with the customer line for the manufacturer any time your vehicle is at the dealer for warranty related repairs.

If they had taken apart the engine and found the spun rod bearing with no other issues, it would've been approved. However, there was obvious discoloration on the piston rod, which indicated that this didn't exactly happen under "normal driving conditions." That's where the "signs of abuse" came from.

Glad you got the car back together. Details on those wheels? Painted? Plastidip? I like them.

As for the oil temp discussion, this may shed some light. I have gotten wayyyyy over 230 in the canyons.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...16#post2355616

Wheels are Rustoleum Peel coat, same as plasti dip. Once I have the expendable income I'm getting them powdercoated basically the exact same color haha. Been on the car since mid july and still holding up great. Yeah if I've learned one thing it's that back when I had more expendable income I should've dropped the $600 for a decent oil cooler, it would've saved me almost $6k down the line :bonk: