I work on a lot of Honda cars, and one thing that is common is getting low mileage imported engines from Japan (30-50K miles), it's a nice alternative to a full engine rebuild or replacement. I thought maybe since this is technically a Mazda engine that there would be some available, but I'm not seeing any. Another option seems to be a new crate engine from Ford. Have any of you bought one of these, or is there a better option out there? The car itself is in great condition, just the engine is worn out.

 

There is/was a law in Japan that required a very intense and expensive inspection of all(?) vehicles at ~50,000 km mileage range. Many vehicles were consigned to the scrap yard rather than invest the Yen into an older vehicle. That said, I do not think the Mazda Tribute was imported into Japan in large numbers. Their auto market is one of the most 'closed' in the world. The only vehicles that seem to get imported to Japan are the expensive luxury vehicles.
If I were doing your task, I'd be considering other vehicles that took the same engine. I think the Focus and perhaps the Fiesta used the 2.0 Zetec. You likely would have more luck finding one of them with low miles as it seems the Escape/Mariner/Tributes get the miles piled on.
tom

 

Yes that is why I can get Honda/Nissan/etc... engines from Japan. I figured Mazda was Japanese so they sold cars there also, didn't know they were technically an "import."

Would you recommend any places to get a rebuild/remanufactured engine? I think for still sells full replacement engines, which is probably expensive but then again a new engine is a lot cheaper than a whole new car.

 

I would be looking for a local independent garage that had a good reputation and would stand behind their work. Getting an engine in a box is not a bad idea, but you will pay a premium, IMO, because some parts will be replaced in all of their engines even if the original parts were within spec.
The hardest thing to do is adjust the valve clearances because of the design. There is no screw to turn, you must exchange different thickness 'bucket' cam followers to adjust, and FoMoCo is the only source.
tom

 

Many good engine choices out there . Grooms and Jasper come to mind . Both have good warranty . Ford rebuild is another option , not sure who does their work now , Hesco use to .

 

I've rebuilt my far share of engines, and certainly don't mind, but for this case it's a daily driver so there can't be any down time. That is why I'm willing to pay the price for a crate engine to just drop in. My biggest concern is getting a good quality one, with a good warranty.

I looked up Jasper, and it says they only sell to certified installers. So that is a no go. Then Grooms, doesn't list anything for Ford Escape or Mazda Tribute.

The Ford remanufactured engines are about $4000 for a complete engine from the dealer. Which isn't horrible, but I need to call Monday and see if they are still available.

 

I sell a lot of Jasper products , and others . A close shop with good reps , would be a good source . The selling point is the warranty .
If you save $500 doing it yourself , have you gained anything ?
If looking for cheep , get a salvage yard unit .

 

$500 to remove, swap over all parts, install new engine, replace any external parts that are worn. That's not gonna happen. More likely $1000+ unless you got some low rate garage doing it

I'm a mechanic (or was), but I'm finishing my Mechanical Engineering degree. So it's not like it's someone doing this in their backyard, who doesn't know what they are doing. I would rather do it myself and have it done right away, and not pushed to the back burner like most shops will do.

Whoever said I wanted something cheap? I want a new engine with a good warranty that I can swap in without too much down time. I don't mind the Ford OEM cost, assuming they have some available.

 

I would add that some places such as NAPA have their own shops. They sell re-man units, as do Advance, Kragen, Autozone, PepBoys, and whoever else I have not named.
You might get one that has a strong warranty from one of those sources and have a local shop you patronize do the work. You could likely set things up ahead of time, and schedule the work after the engine arrived. I would think scheduling on a Friday would be best, as that would allow for a Saturday to take care of in-explicable things that always happen.
tom

added: FoMoCo contracts[at least used to] with several companies to supply their re-man engines. They do not do them in-house to my knowledge. I expect they specify what parts are definitely replaced and those allowed to be re-used.
If you can find out who is the local or nearest FoMoCo source, you might get a better price with the non-Ford labeled unit, perhaps via one of the above stores. I'm not in the business, but I would expect that there are large-ish companies that dominate an area for re-man business, with possibly a few smaller competitors. As they say, shop around.