Help with a 5S-FE

[4DaDrift]

Old man's Camry blew a head gasket.
It was supposedly fixed by a local mechanic, who is somewhat known for performance modifications, yet sadly Alex's attention to detail was that lacking, when the car went for it's pink slip at my preferred local, he thought I had done the work.
It ran only long enough to blow another head outside the warranty period.
With the recommendation of NRMA, he went to their nearest recommended mechanic, who swapped the engine out for another second hand one.
30 days warranty and would you know it, it develops a nasty tapping/knock when cold, even more so under load, that gradually disappears as it approaches normal optimum temperature.

Thus far I've done multiple oil/filter changes with engine flushes.
At least the oil coming out now is a fluid, rather than resembling a runny porridge.
It is running smoother as well, yet still the original symptom I've been chasing is prevalent.

Flushes used include Liqui-Moly
Wynns
Nulon
Valvoline

Oils used have been various brand name minerals.
Filters are cheap $5 independent specials that are paper cores, so capture more fine sediment, yet are useless when it comes to longevity, which is not an issue, considering they're being changed from 30 minutes to a maximum of 1,500km thus far.

For good measure, 4x Valvoline injector cleaner and 2x Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner.

What I'm seeking, is suggestions/help in resolving this so the Old Man has a reliable working car after being conned/spending ridiculous sums of money.

[Dazza]

The motor has probably done a lot of Ks and has some piston wear so you can hear piston slap until it has warmed up enough for the pistons to expand a bit.

[dumbass]

I think these days if the car is over 10 or 15 years old and something bad happens to an engine its
telling u to seriously get rid of the car
I get calls all the time about fixing cars and I tell the customer the truth
and that is the car is only worth 1000 bucks so do u want to spend 2000 bucks to fix it
another thing is 90% of mechanics are crap and cheap
and 90% of people with car problems go for the cheapest option

so in the end u get a very shit car hehe

the shop that fitted the engine would have got one worth 50 bucks with a million kms on it probably from
their indian friend who drives a camry and was selling the whole car for 100 bucks
knowing it had a lot of kms on it they would have used the thickest oil in it to make it quiet enough to get it out the door

but don't feel to bad I see this every day where more money is spent than car is worth because car has been to 4 shops before it gets fixed properly

if u really want it fixed properly u go searching for a good motor and don't let the shop find a motor for u as they will find the cheapest one and charge you equivalent of the dearest one

[lexsmaz]

Hard to know what it could be, piston slap under load should be a bit better noise wise, I'm guessing it could be a cracked piston ?? either way as dumbass has said its going to cost you more money to fix it, unless its still under the 30 day warranty which I doubt it is ?? so you either pour more money into the car which is really a waste or sell it & put the money that another motor would have cost you & some more into a newer & better car ...

[4DaDrift]

Not what I was hoping to hear, yet appreciate the honesty.

Is there any way to easily confirm either a cracked piston/piston slap ?

[lexsmaz]

If you can get the noise to be at its worse & then pull a plug lead or injector lead off one at a time & work your way through all the cylinders refitting the lead or injector plug as you go & if the noise basically stops on one of the cylinders it point's to that cylinder being the one that's at fault & its up to you as to wether you then fix it or start again or get a Newer car ..

Do you mind me asking how much it cost for the motor through the NRMA guy ..

I was thinking too, do you know how long the motor has been in now & when the noise started was it still under warranty then & have you contacted the engine installer ..

[4DaDrift]

Don't mind you asking at all.
$1,500
The car was taken to a place recommended by NRMA after a roadside inspection by a roadside mechanic.
Gone back to the mechanic after he failed to reply to repeated emails, to which, he stated that the warranty was expired and none of his business.
Irrelevant that 30 days was what he stated it was after the fact, he also stated at the time of sale to the old man, it's 12 months.

Am contemplating dept fair trading, yet it's hearsay and realistically not sure of the chance of success.

[lexsmaz]

$1500 is pretty cheap for a S/hand motor supply & install, but dear if its no good though ..

If the NRMA is anything like the RACV here in Vic if you contact them & tell them you were directed to one of their repairers & explain the problem & that he ignored your emails after the problem came up I'm sure they will push the issue as they don't like bad publicity & will usually bend over back wards to look after their customers like your self ..

30 day warranty is pretty poor, at best it is usually 3 months ..

How long after you got the install did it start to go bad & how long after that did you try & contact the repairer & don't forget to tell the NRMA all those details, unless it's like months later after the install, sounds like it's probably not the case though ..

[4DaDrift]

I'd estimate about 30-60 days after.
It was around the same period of time my Father had a heart attack, so as you can appreciate, I had other matters upon my mind, so visiting a site to deal with it was not an option and why I emailed.
Apologies if I'm coming across abrupt, yet it's my grandfathers turn to be taken to hospital in the back of an ambulance
Not having a good year.

Thanks for trying to help though, I do appreciate it.

[tomvale13]

I would try to contact NRMA on his behalf, cite his health problems as the reason you are talking to them and discuss the situation.

With any luck you might get some help.

You can pick up second hand cars cheap as absolute fuck these days, if you personally know anything about cars you can find something pretty much roadworthy for under $1000.. which could be the best option at this point. I wouldn't be investing more time and effort into anything with a 5sfe after what you've described.

Just get him a second hand 4cyl camry (keep it in the Xsfe family? lol) or something cheap.