Scrap or have a project myself? 96 camry w/ no compression in one cylinder

[evident]

My dad tasked me to make the final decision on whether we keep or scrap our trusted 96 Camry. He recently dumped about $1800 into this car over the last two years, to get an engine swap after the short block had a golf ball sized hole, and then got it repainted (!). This is a huge sunk cost that is making my decision tougher. needless to say, body wise and interior the car looks great. He drove it the other day and it suddenly started vibrating.
the shop it went to told us that there is no compression in a cylinder.

Looking that up indicates a blown head gasket. Doesn't seem like I would know until the engine is taken apart though, as any more diagnosing by the shop would require more cash.
Conveniently, my dad is gone for 6 months on vacation and told me to deal with it, one way or another. It's not a mission critical vehicle as no one is driving it now, and when he does return, they would be OK just driving my mom's car.

I've always enjoyed working on cars and thought about the idea of having it towed to my house, taking apart the engine, replacing the head gasket and getting the top half of the engine restored. Looking at youtube vids it's clearly an extremely time consuming job though, and it would be sitting in my garage realistically for a month or 3, with me only being able to work on it during the weekends. Is this worth doing? The car is basically worthless, but i would get some quality wrenching time, which i truly do enjoy, but it would cost me getting it towed, sending out the engine head to get cleaned up by a machine shop, new head gasket, etc, time, and space in the garage in the winter (wife's gonna be pissed her car's going to be sitting in the driveway .

 

[NutBucket]

Why does it need to go in the garage? If it's basically scrap just work on it outside.

If you're going to redo the head anyway that part can be done indoors but the whole car doesn't need to be.

 

[evident]

Why does it need to go in the garage? If it's basically scrap just work on it outside.

its going to get cold, and get dark early ( i'd probably work on it after it gets dark too). besides, the lower half of the engine would be exposed to the elements (yeah the hood can probably still be closed i suppose),

 

[olds]

Is there a warranty on the engine that was put in?

If not, I would confirm the no compression situation myself before I did anything. I assume you can do that since you are planning on working on it.

 

[PottedMeat]

i'd keep it, an secondary reliable car is always good.
i don't see anything wrong with just working on it from time to time and covering it up/closing the hood
check for milky oil or oily coolant
and yeah buy a compression tester for $25 at harbor freight

 

[evident]

Yep. I'll pick up a compression tester if/ when i'd get the car towed to my house. Could there be some deal breaker situation where something in the lower half of the engine is screwed up and i'd have to just do (yet another) engine swap? I guess thats my greatest fear, since i don't have the means nor the patience to do so.

And olds, if there was any warranty, it'd be over by now. it was picked up at a junk yard for a few hundred bucks and put in by my dad's friend, and lasted a good 10 months.

 

[olds]

Yep. I'll pick up a compression tester if/ when i'd get the car towed to my house. Could there be some deal breaker situation where something in the lower half of the engine is screwed up and i'd have to just do (yet another) engine swap? I guess thats my greatest fear, since i don't have the means nor the patience to do so.

And olds, if there was any warranty, it'd be over by now. it was picked up at a junk yard for a few hundred bucks and put in by my dad's friend, and lasted a good 10 months.

There are companies that sell low mileage engines but I don't know what they cost and I am not vouching for these companies I found on a Google search:
http://www.alltoyotaengines.com/Engines/Toyota/Toyota-Camry
http://www.bestjapaneseengines.com/engines/toyota/toyota-camry/1996

 

[Torn Mind]

AutoZone or Advance Auto should have a compression tool as a loaner.

 

[jlee]

Yep. I'll pick up a compression tester if/ when i'd get the car towed to my house. Could there be some deal breaker situation where something in the lower half of the engine is screwed up and i'd have to just do (yet another) engine swap? I guess thats my greatest fear, since i don't have the means nor the patience to do so.

And olds, if there was any warranty, it'd be over by now. it was picked up at a junk yard for a few hundred bucks and put in by my dad's friend, and lasted a good 10 months.

It's probably easier/faster to swap the engine than it is to do the head gasket in the engine bay (neither should be particularly difficult).

 

[evident]

It's probably easier/faster to swap the engine than it is to do the head gasket in the engine bay (neither should be particularly difficult).

can you explain? it just seems like it would take a crap ton of space and hassle for me to do that. and what if the new engine is a dud? Not that replacing the head gasket wouldnt be a huge hassle, but at least the upper part of the engine could be serviced as well.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Unless you already have all the tools and knowledge I wouldn't bother. If you are going to work on a basket case make it something fun.

 

[jlee]

can you explain? it just seems like it would take a crap ton of space and hassle for me to do that. and what if the new engine is a dud? Not that replacing the head gasket wouldnt be a huge hassle, but at least the upper part of the engine could be serviced as well.

Engine replacement:

Disconnect wiring harness, coolant lines, fuel lines, exhaust - either unbolt from transmission or pull axles so the trans can come out too
Put engine on crane, disconnect motor mounts, remove engine

Installation is reverse of removal

Head gasket:

Pull the entire top end of the engine apart/off (plug wires, distributor, valve cover, manifolds - depending on the engine, you may have to uninstall the cams to remove the head)
Clean the block/head, likely send head out for machine work (valve job, check for flatness, etc)
Replace head gasket, reinstall head and everything else you had to take off to get there, preferably with new gaskets on everything you took apart, making sure all cam shims/spacers are in their original locations
Install timing belt and set timing

Doing a head gasket is likely to be the cheaper option, unless you have a source for $200 engines.

 

[evident]

Unless you already have all the tools and knowledge I wouldn't bother. If you are going to work on a basket case make it something fun.

Sure, i wish this was a Supra or a sc300 that i can do a fun swap into, but hey this is what I have. I didn't ask for it but its right in front of me. All of my knowledge is going to be message boards, youtube, and the official service manual.

Jlee, thanks.
Everything you said about what i had to do seems to be accurate according to the youtube vids. I think cost is the sensitive thing for me. I don't want to spend more money than i have to on something w/o too much value (besides sentimental and practicality). the only way i can justify any of this is by it being a relatively cheap learning experience on an extra car. I would think that the engine would run much better once it's cleaned as well hopefully. that's just my train of thought.

 

[jlee]

You can get a complete gasket set on RockAuto for $42-$97 - add head bolts for about 10 bucks and you have a pretty cheap experiment/experience.

 

[RLGL]

to diagnose the problem a Leak down tester will give more information than a compression tester

 

[evident]

What else can a leak down tester tell me before opening it up?

 

[master_shake_]

What else can a leak down tester tell me before opening it up?

where the compression is going.

put the cylinder on tdc and hook up the leak tester.

it'll only go 4 places.

tailpipe, intake, coolant, crankcase.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

All of my knowledge is going to be message boards, youtube, and the official service manual.

Which can be a bit of a crap shoot. First you really need to properly diagnose the problem.

check for milky oil or oily coolant

Have you done this step yet?

 

[DrDoug]

Wet/dry compression test, fast & easy. Take an initial compression reading on all cylinders (dry). For the wet test, squirt about a teaspoon of engine oil in each cylinder and take another reading. If compression goes up from the dry reading, rings/head gasket. If not, valve(s).

 

[HarryLui]

Gone for 6 months for vacation? Where did he go? Mars?

I'm for selling it for $500.

 

[evident]

Gone for 6 months for vacation? Where did he go? Mars?

I'm for selling it for $500.

Ha! Parents are going to hawaii and staying w/ my brother for the winter.

 

[gorcorps]

Tear it apart

If it's not important to anybody and has no value, then you can't do anything to it that makes it much worse. Learn something, come to terms with the fact that you'll most likely not get it 100% fixed but at least have a worthwhile "hobby" for the next few months trying to get it fixed.

 

[Gardener]

Since you don't know the history of the replacement engine, I'd dump it.

However if you have the tools, the time, the desire to wrench/learn something, and like cleaning parts and labeling things as you disassemble, go buy a genuine Toyota shop manual and have fun.

 

[OverVolt]

The 96 Camry is a great car honestly. I'd fix it.

 

[Torn Mind]

Tear it apart

If it's not important to anybody and has no value, then you can't do anything to it that makes it much worse. Learn something, come to terms with the fact that you'll most likely not get it 100% fixed but at least have a worthwhile "hobby" for the next few months trying to get it fixed.

The manual is free on this turboninjas site.