Motor Swap

[runnyrunnerton]

The time has come. Circumstances are going to force me to drive my beloved 3rd gen full time for a year or so, that being said, my somewhat leaking head gasket (white sweet smelling smoke from exhaust on startup) has to be remedied in a hurry so I can rely on this engine for another cool 100K. I also do not want to rush getting major adjustments wrong and time is going to be a factor. I need to be able to knock this out in about three days. I want to have all the parts ordered and jump in. I cannot be down for over 2 days in a stretch. I would rather die than sell this thing, so I'm looking at the repair costs in a vacuum. Do not hit me with some value of the repairs vs value of the truck crap, if you do, Ill inform the Chevy forums Ive found their idiot.


230K on the odometer. The more I research all the parts I want to eliminate from the potential failure list (Water Pump, heads, valves, oil pump, rear main etc.), the more I'm thinking re-manned motor. Unless otherwise warned, does anyone have any major issues with Oregon engine builders?

Contact Us | Oregon Engine Rebuilders - Sandy, Oregon

I think pulling the motor and throwing in a new one will be simpler than replacing all that crap a piece at a time. Am I wrong?

 

[afalex1]

I've never rebuilt or replaced a 3rd Gen motor. However, due to your tight timeline I think a rebuilt/ready to drop in engine would be the smarter choice. You will still have to swap all the accessories.

 

[KidVermicious]

I wouldn't waste money on a reman, or a Jasper, or a JDM or any of those. I'd get a complete motor from a junkyard as cheaply as you can while not buying crap (you want compression numbers!), throw it in your truck in a day, then take a month or so to rebuild your own motor the right way, throw it back in and sell the junkyard block for what you paid for it. You'll have to R/R the motor twice, but that's not that hard, and when you're done you'll have confidence in your motor instead of questioning it for the next 20k.

If you do have to go the reman route, for gosh's sake go with a local builder. ORE has an ok rep, but if there's trouble with the motor they send you the emailing back and forth and then shipping it back and forth will be a huge pain. If you buy from a local guy and run into a problem with the motor, you can take the truck to him or he can come to you and it'll be much easier all the way around.

 

[Rock_Rat]

^^^^^ yup. Complete replacement with your limited time.

 

[kolelt]

Got a JDM and no issues at all. So it all depends. What makes you think a junkyard motor won't crap out on you. Or that it's better option then JDM or rebuild ? It's honestly luck. I actually have few friends who got a 7m JDM and it ran good and one who recently purchased 1jz from JDM. Then I had friends who installed junkyard motors and it ran like new. So it's up to you. I personally prefered JDM just because I was able to go to the warehouse and pick it out. And because my friend bought motors from them.

 

[runnyrunnerton]

I'm at a loss between the difference from a local guy with little to no warranty vs a larger dealer with a warranty who has put these together a few hundred times before. In this light I would be more comfortable going with the larger dealer. It has been my experience that unless I have a smoking gun, (A screwdriver with the mechanics home address and blood type stenciled on it left in the oil pan) the ownership of a defect in a newly built motor is mine either way. At least with a larger guy, i could have some sort of paperwork and recourse.

 

[Rock_Rat]

Right down the road from you...https://orlando.craigslist.org/ptd/5490550341.html

Probably comes with a warranty and a core charge.