2012 tundra 5.7

Hello. Was wondering if anyone could help out. I have 155k miles on a 2012 5.7. This was my 1st Tundra. I didn't want it. Wife insisted. Had it about 2 years now. Found it with 111k miles for about $15k. Its a basic model 2 wheel drive. I use for my business. I am 44 years old and its rare if I drive over 65 mph as I'm always pulling a small tandem axle enclosed trailer (14 ft V nose) maybe 5,000 lbs. Could that kill the engine. Last week it started running horrible. Low compression at around 100 on 7 cylinders and 60 on number 5. I had learned to like this truck a lot and now I'm being told I need to replace the engine. Bad news is I still owe about $9k on this truck so replacing engine and fixing is probable. As much as people say these engines are so well built i just can't grasp that the engine is toast. Yes since I have had I change the oil and filter every 5k miles with full synthetic. And I plan to bring it somewhere else for a second opinion but I checked the compression also myself and he wasn't lying. Guess it could be trash in valve seats or bent valve, bad lifters who knows. But to figure all that out will cost me a lot of money I'm sure. Not sure its even worth spending that money when it could be put towards another engine.

I definitely don't want a used engine with over 100k on it. I can't afford to keep replacing engines every 40k miles. What's the best reman to use? Is there any that are better than others? I'd prefer put a new engine but heard they are really pricey.

 

Sorry for your troubles. Tundra's are pretty bulletproof but everything fails eventually. Most people get over 170k.

Welcome to the forum. Sorry its on bad circumstances.

 

Well I am pretty sure its just a burnt exhaust valve in cylinder 5. Anyone have an idea what it costs for a valve job. Or has anyone had to have this done Rough? Rough ball park figure on high end. Should still be cheaper than swapping the motor I'd think.

 

Welcome

 

Welcome from Ohio

 

Welcome from So Cal

 

It’s not common but it does happen, look into valve spring failures.

Welcome

 

Welcome! Hope to hear it's an easy fix.

 

Hello & Welcome from Middle Tennessee!!!

 

I really hate to hear about your Tundra troubles. Do you know how well your truck was maintained before you got it? It is rare to see these issues on Tundras, but even more rare for it to happen on Tundras that have been well-maintained since new. I really hope you find a relatively inexpensive way to get it all fixed, and I hope you stick around to tell us what you did with it. Welcome from LA (Lower Alabama)!

 

Out of all the used trucks we looked at in the $15,000 range and over 100,000 miles it had the cleaner carfax, no wrecks, all service, etc. When we first started test driving some around Baton Rouge we noticed the engines to be noisy similar to a diesel engine. But after some research in forums and blogs I learned that pretty much all of the 5.7 sound like that.

The service records could be false or the wrong kind of oil could have been used. But it ran great, plenty of power, no leaks, everything but the 2 yellow park lights were working. Now that I think of it the headlights were pointed down all the way which made me think it had been wrecked and not reported but there is an adjustment knob on the dashboard for that. Could of been moved by the detailer.

We purchased it from a large dealership in Katy Texas. It was a trade in I'm sure. Had right at 110,900 miles. We did get it at a lower price than I had seen on others but it was a basic model, (work truck) technically. As reputable as Toyota is i figured I'd easily get another 90k-100k out if it if I maintain it correctly.
I literally had a new set of AT tires installed the day before this all started.
I will scope it Monday or so and see if the damage is limited to only a burnt valve. Will try and post pics for you guys. Then I have to figure out who I want to do the work and I'm sure I will have all the valves changed but should I have both heads pulled and checked or just 1? If it's affordable I may get both done. It should be cheaper to do both at same time as opposed to one now and one later but just depends how much the first one will cost.

Will update soon.

 

But yes I am very thorough in the research I do before purchasing a vehicle. Something I've been doing for the past 10 years or so. I am not totally down though I still have my 2018 Ram Tradesman 4×4. Just can't pull as much with V6. (Bought before I started a business) The tundra still runs and drives. Just not enough power to pull anything. So I been playing musical trucks a lot which isn't easy to move a crap ton of tools around.

 

My truck is finally fixed and as soon as I picked it up from the shop today the AC no longer works. Oddly I had all the symptoms of a burnt valve or a dead cylinder and it was a few broken wires deep inside the wire harness that miraculously fixed all the misfire issues. I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one with wire harness issues with all the blogs I've read about misfires. I'm baffled by it all. In fact I told the other mechanics that looked at it what the solution was and they said " There is no way" . It took the mechanic 7- 8 weeks to find the problem but he did find it. Just hope what he fixed didn't mess up the AC as it worked great when I dropped it off. He also told that where he found the bad wiring is alarming as there is no way anyone could have pushed on it or even gotten to it. So I will more than likely trade this in as soon as I get the AC fixed and I may move up to a diesel. I'm considering another Tundra but not likely.