Piston swap

Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 PONTIAC VIBE
  • 1.8L
  • 4 CYL
  • MANUAL
  • 90,000 MILES
I have the car listed above it is the GT model. Two of the four piston are busted. Since the car is built on a Toyota engine I would like to know if I can use piston from another Toyota engine that is not a Pontiac vehicle and if so what vehicle because it is extremely difficult to find another one even or scrap where I live? Thanks
Thursday, September 28th, 2017 AT 11:06 AM

12 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,345 POSTS
You would be better off getting an entire engine to swap in. That is because the pistons, con-rods and crankshaft are balanced as a unit. You cannot just swap them with a different set because the balance difference will do damage. Also, if the pistons were broke there is a good chance the block and crank were damaged.

Where are you located? There are a lot of salvage yards that ship parts and even complete engines.
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Thursday, September 28th, 2017 AT 11:15 AM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
That is really good to know. I am unfortunately not located in the U.S. I live in Belize, Central America. Can you recommend any good salvage yards that do international shipping?
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Thursday, September 28th, 2017 AT 11:22 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,345 POSTS
That could be a problem. The Vibe is basically a Matrix, but they did change some of the external engine items and the heat/AC system. The 1.8 GT engine itself is not Toyota, it is built by Yamaha. It was used in the 2003 Vibe and Matrix and the 2000-2003 Celica.

Shipping would probably double the cost of the engine. Looking at RockAuto. Com. They show two versions of that engine. They do ship to Belize but a quick check shows that a long block alone would be close to $5,000.00! By the time it was shipped.

You might try going to car-part. Com and searching around Texas or Louisiana and see if any of the yards ship to Belize.
You might try a dealer if there is one in country, they might be able to get a better price.
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Thursday, September 28th, 2017 AT 12:02 PM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
$5,000.00 is almost the price I payed for the car. I will keep my hopes up around here and see if anything comes around. Thanks for your help. I will also try your suggestions.
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Thursday, September 28th, 2017 AT 2:29 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,364 POSTS
Please let us know what you find.

Cheers, Ken
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Friday, September 29th, 2017 AT 9:56 AM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 15,345 POSTS
That is what I expected. I would hunt around and see what you can find. Good luck. I am not sure how difficult it would be to import a complete car.
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Friday, September 29th, 2017 AT 9:58 AM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Unfortunately when I search on car-parts. Com nothing would come up. I search the areas you recommended as well. What I need now is just a single piston for my vehicle because the connecting rod were damaged. I got a good one the other day from scrap which just leaves one more.
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Saturday, September 30th, 2017 AT 4:02 PM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
This is what I actually need. The rings of two pistons were damaged. I like I mentioned I got a good one the other from scrap with only leaves on piston left and im good to go but the problem is finding a matching one in the country. Sorry for all the back and forth guys.
Image (Click to make bigger)
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Saturday, September 30th, 2017 AT 4:08 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,364 POSTS
No problem, you cannot get just a rod cap because they are matched to one another, even if you find one it wont work because the cap will be off from the rod. If I am understanding you correctly.

Please let us know.

Cheers, Ken
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Saturday, September 30th, 2017 AT 4:43 PM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Good to know. So then I will need to get the entire piston and not just the rod. Thanks
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Sunday, October 1st, 2017 AT 10:58 AM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 54,364 POSTS
Please use 2CarPros anytime, we are here to help. Please tell a friend.

Cheers, Ken
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Sunday, October 1st, 2017 AT 5:52 PM
Tiny
BENJAMIN YOUNG
  • MEMBER
  • 7 POSTS
Definitely will. You guys are awesome!
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Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017 AT 9:14 AM

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