OH NOOOOOOOOO!!

[timsamp]

After a good day of ptarmigan hunting, I was on my way home and heard a horrnedous "knocking" going on, and actually died about a mile away from the house, got it to go again and then died in the garage. Thankyou for that since its about -20 here today!! Now im on the hunt for a new engine 3AC. Im looking for something completely redone, 0 miles, or something turnkey low mileage, and someone willing to ship to Fairbanks, AK. Any recommendations?

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[dlb]

brutal. you could rebuild the one you have, or you can check your local wreckers. all the hatchback, 2wd wagon, and 4wd wagon tercels from '83-'87 (and some '88s) came with the 3A, and corollas and chevy novas of roughly the same vintage have the 4A which is a plug and play swap. it's essentially the same engine but has a displacement of 1.6 L instead of 1.5. you just need to swap every that hangs off the 3A onto the 4A, like alternator, starter, manifolds, etc. good luck.

[xirdneh]

probably a broken piston
did the engine make any tapping sounds at all before it blew

[timsamp]

Oh yeah she was knocking like a champ!

[Petros]

it is likely you can rebuild the motor. as long as it was only a failed piston, and not a thrown connecting rod. pull the head off (that can be done in about an hour or so) and taake a look at the pistons. I have twice seen failed piston skirts, engine was still running but piston was slopping around, allow lots of oil to pass throgh to exhaust. the cylinder was not even that badly scratched, the bore was worn oversizes so it had to be overbored (in fact it is the engine I have been driving for the last 7 years or so). 4 over sized pistons and rings, head gasket, new bearings if you need it, seals, and you can get it back together for about $400. You can also have the valves reground, exhaust valves replaced, and exhasut seals replaced and you will have a fresh engine. The shipping cost for an engine to AK would be about $160, not counting the work to crated it up, and buy a used engine.

all this is assuming your engine is not too badly damaged, so get it apart and see what caused the issue. My guess one piston failed.

good luck

[xirdneh]

the last broken piston engine i took apart also had a crack in the cylinder wall
probably cause the guy kept driving it
so he could get it to my house before it stopped running
he drove it about 30 miles
it made it

[timsamp]

Thanks for the advice guys, been really busy here on Ft Wainwright, and I am going to dig into her tomorrow, im praying I can get away with a rebuild kit!! How will I know for sure if my engine is a 3A or 3AC incase I need to get a new engine or rebuild kit?

[dlb]

all 3As are the same internally. the C, L, U, etc just stand for different emissions packages that came on the cars. if you still have the sticker on the underside of the hood it should tell you what package your car is. if it's born and raised in alaska, it's probably a federal.

[SynthDesign]

The pictures say more than a thousand words. 1st one that comes to mind starts with an F and ends with a K. Best of luck in your search!