Approx price to recon a 5E-FHE ?

[markoneswift]

Hi all, I'm back on here after quite a break ( and a change in job where I'm too busy too lurk on these forums all the time lol ).

I've still got my 92 Cynos Beta, it still refuses to die so here's my question. If I really can't bear to part with it, roughtly what sort of cash would be involved in a recon of a 5e-fhe ? With me doing 0% of the work ( because I'm crap at stuff like that ).

I know some wil say "more cash than its worth, get a new car" etc but I'm dealing in the low budget hack-around-town market and if I drop $1500 on another car, it might ne just as bad ( or worse )....better the devil you know maybe.

So humour me - what might I be looking at ? Or does anyone have a 5e-fhe they want rid off ? Oh and I'm thinking recon because mine leaks oil ( not too bad ) and burns oil when cold ( clears after a minute or two ) and has nearly 300K on it now.

Cheers !

[Scottie]

oil leaks can be fixed. How bad does it smoke? I wouldn't worry about a bit of smoke on start up for a 300km old engine unless its really chugging out.

[Bling]

Fixing the oil leak would be a cheaper option What oil do you use? Might be a bit thin given the engine is "well used". Doing 0% of the work, a ballpark (rough of course) might be $2.5k. Maybe a bit more labour for removal / install. That is the ball park of a rebuild I had done. Engine needed quite a bit of work though, and that included putting the engine back together in place.

[markoneswift]

OK thanks guys, good info again as usual. I'm using 20/50 which might be a bit thick I suppose. I tried some of the 'seal fix' type additive stuff but that din't make much difference. Smoke is worse when it's full of oil and started from cold -it's a huge cloud of white / blue smoke that stinks of oil. The smoke isnt much of an issue once oil level gets to around half capacity - any suggestions why that might be ?

I suppose 2.5K might be a bit too much to consider a full on recon ( especially as the rest of the car is good but not mint), but maybe a good lower K unit might be an option -what models ran the 5e-fhe ? Cynos / Paseo, Corolla, any others ?

Are there any good parts places in Hamilton for Toyota stuff ? I went to Pick-a-part but I was a bit underwhelmed to be honest.

Cheers !

[siren676]

I picked up my 5efhe off someone on trademe who was wrecking a cynos for around $500. Wouldn't be too difficult to just get another motor

[Dell'Orto]

Depends how long you want to keep the car though, wrecker motors are a bit of a gamble. I'll suss a price for a motor recon tomorrow, but realistically $2.5k is probably not too far off

[sergei]

Harsh and cynical word of advice:
don't bother with rebuilding engine, no matter how much you value your cynos it still remains shitty cynos. It is a starlet in less practical package.
Rebuild will cost you $2000-$3000 on low end.
What will you get out of it?
Questionable quality engine (if you are using cheapest rebuilder, you will definitely not have factory spec rebuild, with quality parts and workmanship).
Flogged suspension.
Worn out gearbox.
Rust in cooling system.
Faded paint (with questionable body repair history).
Worn wheel bearings.
Worn out and faded interior.
You will still get ~$1500 for it regardless of rebuild.

If you save those $3000 and sell the cynos you can buy something more decent with half of KMs.

[Crampy]

Drive her til she dies... Then buy another one and repeat.

[rollaholic]

spongebob speaks words of wisdom.

[markoneswift]

Harsh and cynical word of advice:
don't bother with rebuilding engine, no matter how much you value your cynos it still remains shitty cynos. It is a starlet in less practical package.
Rebuild will cost you $2000-$3000 on low end.
What will you get out of it?
Questionable quality engine (if you are using cheapest rebuilder, you will definitely not have factory spec rebuild, with quality parts and workmanship).
Flogged suspension.
Worn out gearbox.
Rust in cooling system.
Faded paint (with questionable body repair history).
Worn wheel bearings.
Worn out and faded interior.
You will still get ~$1500 for it regardless of rebuild.

If you save those $3000 and sell the cynos you can buy something more decent with half of KMs.

Well when you put it like that, I can't argue with what you're saying Sergei. It's actually not THAT bad a car, the body is straight, paint is better than many I've seen, no rust in coolant ( recently flushed ), gearbox is auto and smooth / quiet. Suspension is OK, handles great although a bit of a hard ride, no noise from wheel bearings. The interior is a bit dated / faded and rattles a lot and the seats are pretty knackered though so that's one of the worst points.

I'll probably go with the option of drive it till it dies and then consider my options once that happens. In the meantime I'll try and keep it looking reasonably tidy and enjoy driving it around ( which I do, it's a blast ).

[Garreth27]

I had a 5efhe with around 250,000km on the clock, i slapped a ct9 turbo on and dropped it in my starlet. Ran fine then it started to leak oil so sold it to my flatmate. He ran the car with leaking oil for around 3yrs, just kept topping up and on a number of occassions it ran with almost no oil in it. Eventually i fixed the leaks for him and today, 4years later that engine is still running, blows a little smoke on startup and is about 60,000km overdue on its cambelt but thats it, runs great and still boosts fine.

Just keep driving it, if u lucky it may run for another 300,000km lol