Reman, Rebuild, Blow Up?
06-23-2017, 08:08 PM
#1
Reman, Rebuild, Blow Up?
So I saw a few folks asking about 'replacing an old engine'... and not a lot of answers.
My one owner F-150 XLT '97 4.6 v2 has 285K and is going south. Head coolant leak... into number 2. Getting worse.
So believing on Reman. BUT really open to input and ideas?
Been using good Amsoil and other fine products, trans cooler has been outstanding and tranny (thank god) is running fine.
Ideas for 'manufacturer' of Reman? Any have 'favorites'? Many thanks
Rollin'
PS -is this the right forum for this question?
My one owner F-150 XLT '97 4.6 v2 has 285K and is going south. Head coolant leak... into number 2. Getting worse.
So believing on Reman. BUT really open to input and ideas?
Been using good Amsoil and other fine products, trans cooler has been outstanding and tranny (thank god) is running fine.
Ideas for 'manufacturer' of Reman? Any have 'favorites'? Many thanks
Rollin'
PS -is this the right forum for this question?
06-24-2017, 07:50 AM
#2
Hi Rollin— See my long as hell post over where you noted that I didn't get any replies for the same question.
One thing I'll add to my post over there is, I ended up with an engine that matched the age of my truck, for way less money... and as you'll see, I got lucky. But being careful and looking close, maybe I made my own luck. Good luck to you—
One thing I'll add to my post over there is, I ended up with an engine that matched the age of my truck, for way less money... and as you'll see, I got lucky. But being careful and looking close, maybe I made my own luck. Good luck to you—
06-25-2017, 07:17 AM
#4
Wow, that's frustrating. I wrote about 6 paragraphs, previewed it, then clicked "Post", then got the next page message that it won't be posted until reviewed by moderator, and that was before this one. Maybe that explains why I got no responses.
I'll try to re-write the whole thing again—
I'll try to re-write the whole thing again—
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Rollin'97 (06-26-2017)
06-25-2017, 08:26 AM
#5
I went through about two weeks of trying to figure out how good rebuilt engines are by posting questions on many forums and trying to investigate it myself. I never found anyone willing to endorse one of the large rebuilders as being reliable. Most of what I found was half-hearted, or stories about how hard it was to get a replacement if one of their engines failed. And they do seem to fail. And if they do, they will only give you $500 to pay for the labor of swapping it.
I finally decided to go a different route, and started looking for a salvaged engine that had fairly low miles. I looked at a few of them, and about the third one I looked at— I got lucky. I obviously checked things like compression and overall condition, but I also looked at things like condition of vacuum hoses, and whether things like that had been replaced when they went bad, or if they had been ignored. The engine I finally bought was already out of the wrecked truck it came from, so I was also able to smell the exhaust manifold, and swab a cloth up in there to look for deposits and smell for any burned or foul smell.
So, instead of spending $2,500 on a rebuilt engine that I felt was more or less a crap-shoot, I bought the salvaged engine for $900, with a 6 month guarantee against failure from the shop I bought it from. When I pulled the oil pan off to check in there and clean it out, I found that they guy who had it before, had been running racing oil in it, and in the end it proved to be an engine with very little wear.
Just based on my experience, I'm glad I went the way I did. My original engine was very well maintained, but this one is probably even better. It's a year newer than my truck, so I had to swap a few parts off the old one, but other than that it was a smooth replacement.
There are quite a few places to buy a salvaged engine other than a wrecking yard too. Mine came from a wrecked vehicle salvage auction, and there are at least two of those in my city. There's also private owners that are parting out a truck, but you'd want to know the reason they are parting it out.
If you decide to go this way, don't be fooled by an engine that's been power-washed or steam cleaned, and look for those small details that will tell you if the guy who had it before was maintaining it well. The one I bought was clean and neat, but hadn't been cleaned at all. It had all of the honest dust and dirt, but was otherwise just as good in appearance as my old engine was.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it.
One other thing— I think I probably paid $300 more for mine than if I had been able to buy it straight off the salvage auction. Mine had been already bought by the shop I bought it from, so I'm sure I paid an increase. I don't mind, because I got lucky with a great engine, but you might find out if the salvage auctions in your area are open to the public.
I finally decided to go a different route, and started looking for a salvaged engine that had fairly low miles. I looked at a few of them, and about the third one I looked at— I got lucky. I obviously checked things like compression and overall condition, but I also looked at things like condition of vacuum hoses, and whether things like that had been replaced when they went bad, or if they had been ignored. The engine I finally bought was already out of the wrecked truck it came from, so I was also able to smell the exhaust manifold, and swab a cloth up in there to look for deposits and smell for any burned or foul smell.
So, instead of spending $2,500 on a rebuilt engine that I felt was more or less a crap-shoot, I bought the salvaged engine for $900, with a 6 month guarantee against failure from the shop I bought it from. When I pulled the oil pan off to check in there and clean it out, I found that they guy who had it before, had been running racing oil in it, and in the end it proved to be an engine with very little wear.
Just based on my experience, I'm glad I went the way I did. My original engine was very well maintained, but this one is probably even better. It's a year newer than my truck, so I had to swap a few parts off the old one, but other than that it was a smooth replacement.
There are quite a few places to buy a salvaged engine other than a wrecking yard too. Mine came from a wrecked vehicle salvage auction, and there are at least two of those in my city. There's also private owners that are parting out a truck, but you'd want to know the reason they are parting it out.
If you decide to go this way, don't be fooled by an engine that's been power-washed or steam cleaned, and look for those small details that will tell you if the guy who had it before was maintaining it well. The one I bought was clean and neat, but hadn't been cleaned at all. It had all of the honest dust and dirt, but was otherwise just as good in appearance as my old engine was.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it.
One other thing— I think I probably paid $300 more for mine than if I had been able to buy it straight off the salvage auction. Mine had been already bought by the shop I bought it from, so I'm sure I paid an increase. I don't mind, because I got lucky with a great engine, but you might find out if the salvage auctions in your area are open to the public.
06-26-2017, 09:38 AM
#6
Trials of Keeping the Old Truck
Raincheck... thanks for the update.
I wife bought my '97 F-150 XLT while I was still in an orthopedic home bed recovering from being hit by a drunk driver... while riding two wheels and not four!
The truck is, well, 'part of the family' and have really taken care of her although we've done a lot of work together. My pickup is for 'work' and so I've hauled 4x8s, 2x4s, etc... (not professionally). Just always reliable. Now it has a cylinder that is drinking a bit of coolant (from the block) and my trusted mechanic is suggesting a "reman" ... at 285K I guess I've done well.
Will keep you informed. I live in the boonies so not a lot of "high population" perks but I do have a good mechanic and so we'll see what comes up. I was leaning towards "Jasper". Still looking. Thanks again!!
I wife bought my '97 F-150 XLT while I was still in an orthopedic home bed recovering from being hit by a drunk driver... while riding two wheels and not four!
The truck is, well, 'part of the family' and have really taken care of her although we've done a lot of work together. My pickup is for 'work' and so I've hauled 4x8s, 2x4s, etc... (not professionally). Just always reliable. Now it has a cylinder that is drinking a bit of coolant (from the block) and my trusted mechanic is suggesting a "reman" ... at 285K I guess I've done well.
Will keep you informed. I live in the boonies so not a lot of "high population" perks but I do have a good mechanic and so we'll see what comes up. I was leaning towards "Jasper". Still looking. Thanks again!!
06-26-2017, 10:53 AM
#7
My truck has 200K, and I ended up with a 120K engine that I can't tell from a 50K engine. So I ended up with at least a 100K youth injection for my great truck.
I live in the high mountain boonies of Colorado too, but if you've got a good mechanic you should be able to access the salvage auctions somehow.
I do know how you feel about putting an essentially "new" engine into your valued truck. All I can say is I'm glad I ended up with the one I did with $1600 more dollars in my pocket to invest in my great old truck.
Gook Luck Rollin'!
I live in the high mountain boonies of Colorado too, but if you've got a good mechanic you should be able to access the salvage auctions somehow.
I do know how you feel about putting an essentially "new" engine into your valued truck. All I can say is I'm glad I ended up with the one I did with $1600 more dollars in my pocket to invest in my great old truck.
Gook Luck Rollin'!
