Rust on JDM engine Camshaft?! Was I ripped off?

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Hey everyone.

I am working on replacing my 1991 Toyota Previa Engine with a JDM replacement. Before buying, I asked the seller for pictures of the inside of the engine. At first, it looked great!



Once I actually received the engine, i noticed some grit on the camshaft lobes that wasn't coming off with the rub of my finger! It looks like rust!



I mean, the engine looks great otherwise, but you can see some more rust on the cam gears.



Guys, is this a problem, or do you think this engine will be a ok to install? I could use my old cams, but they have 200k miles on them, and they are heavily tarnished, but the engine ran before pulling. What do you guys thing? Thanks!
 
It's not on the lift part of the cam, you should probably just sand it off as gently as possible with the softest grit that works. The rust is what happens when an engine is exposed to the elements with no oil coating everything.
 
Scotch-brite would probably work better than sandpaper in this case. If using sandpaper, I'd go with something like 600 grit wetted with oil.
 
scotch-brite or real fine emery cloth, I see this everyday. Nothing but surface stuff, dont worry.

Heck that shaft may have 200k on it too, cranks, cams. rods, you name it, gets cleaned up and reused.
It is common, new pistons/rings, seals, check/replace pump.



harvey
 
Don't sweat this, I don't use Scotchbrite pads, wheels or sandpaper inside an engine it has the potential to do more harm then good even when wetted with oil.
Personally I would just wipe it down with Kroil or Liquid Wrench and a lint free cloth and forget it.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Don't sweat this, I don't use Scotchbrite pads, wheels or sandpaper inside an engine it has the potential to do more harm then good even when wetted with oil.
Personally I would just wipe it down with Kroil or Liquid Wrench and a lint free cloth and forget it.

Yep, don't sweat it. It'll come off as soon as you fire it up.
 
I've taken light rust like that off with 4500 grit and oil. Engines are still running years later with no issues.

Try a penetrating oil and cotton rag first.
 
I've used JDM engines in a few beaters and sold them about 15 years ago. One was an Isuzu pickup and the other was in a Toyota Camry. I sold the Isuzu pickup to an auto repair garage and they drove it for a few years with the same drivetrain without any problems. The JDM engines were cheap enough but I never liked the thought of having an engine with an unknown history in my own personal, keeper vehicle.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Don't sweat this, I don't use Scotchbrite pads, wheels or sandpaper inside an engine it has the potential to do more harm then good even when wetted with oil.
Personally I would just wipe it down with Kroil or Liquid Wrench and a lint free cloth and forget it.


This. It will probably wipe right off with oil.
 
Ok, well guys. I have been looking in deeper into the engine. I decided to pull the oil pan. I'm here at work and have limited tools and time, so I wasn't able to get everything else off to the oil pan completely off. There's rust on the block, crankshaft, and rods. Is this gonna be a problem? Am I really ok if I the thing tests ok with a compression test? I am planning to take it to my mechanic for a compression test, and expert opinion. I am so disappointed with this engine so far...



 
That much rust would perturb me. There's no call for any rust in a replacement motor you weren't planning on rebuilding. How are the cylinder bores?
 
Lie the previous poster said look at the bores. I would look at the piston pins also, pull the main and rod caps one at a time starting from the middle for a look see if no wear marks and or rust on the crank journals and if the bearings are okay lube them up with assy lube and rotate by hand with a socket to smear it around the whole bearing.

The rust on the iron isn't going to cause any harm, wipe as much of it as you can away with oil and a rag. If its all good I would definitely do a couple of real short OCI with new filter. I would be disappointed too but give it a close inspection before condemning it, start up is going to be critical, lots of assy lube on bearings and oil everywhere before cranking.
 
Isn't this rust due to a sea voyage with all the liquids drained . How hard would it be to get a look at the cylinders? Or do a compression test on the engine stand? Or fuhgeddaboutit. Maybe a fill with cheap oil and a short OCI. You aren't supposed to get emery dust or ALO2 near an assembled engine.
 
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Just an update guys. So I didn’t bother checking inside the bores. I really should have considering how cheap a boroscope can be, but I was too anxious to get the thing running. I don’t think the rust was severe enough to jeopardize the engine’s lifespan. The engine is running fine a year later. I did however take a simple shop towel and wd-40 and wiped it clean. I think the fact that the rust fake off I easily indicates it was just light surface rust. Here’s pic of the rust wiping off with a finger.
Post clean up pictures.



There it is sitting installed beneath the seats. Running fine. I guess the suggestion to leave it be was ok in this case. One of these days I will open it up again and inspect the lobes.
 
Isn't the deal with a JDM engine that Japanese tax old cars out of the mkt. Most cars are junked with low miles So there is zero demand for good used parts in Japan. They sound like a good deal to me. You know that the engine ran at one time. With a remanned not so much.
 
We first started getting JDI engines in around 1985, and they were in very good condition, but had been sitting for a long time. They always started up on 3 cyls or worse, it would take a while for the valves to free up. Never had an issue with one...unless the owner does what they did to the last one. Some must've given trouble...I remember one engine coming with a headgasket set, they must've been expecting a problem.
 
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