I have an 05 SCAB. I currently have about 120K on it. Phasers will need to be replaced sooner than later, and I have the leaking passenger side manifold leak.

I have been thinking that it would be easier to change the phasers and passenger side exhaust manifold if the engine was out.

I want to buy an engine and build it out of the truck. That way, when the phasers get too bad, I can just swap it out. What would you do?

Fire away. No opinion is wrong. Let me know what errors in thinking I may have on this.

 

If you're gonna buy an engine and build, do that first, swap engines and sell your old one while it's still running good?

 

It's a thought. I guess I forgot to add in, This is my daily driver, so not having it is the big issue behind wanting to build one. But it is a good thought. Besides the exhaust it runs like a champ. The phasers are still pretty quiet.

 

While I personally haven't done it. Is swapping the motor more time consuming than a timing job? Have your new motor ready to rock-n-roll. Pick a weekend, do the swap, sell the old one, make some money back.

 

I'm having my friend pull the flat rate on both, to see what the real shop rate would be.

 

fix new engine, swap engines, fix old engine, sell for more money?

 

Yes, that would be the plan. So far finding the one to build is the issue. Man they are expensive.
Still waiting for my friend to look up the hours for the timing change vs engine swap.

 

in my case: 30 hours, but I hadn't done one before. a 90-degree air ratchet probably could have taken 4 hours off that time, and I'm not real fast about valvetrain stuff.

 

Initially he said the shop rate was something like 16 hours for the timing, oil pump and pan. So figure $1920 in labor if a shop does it. But I also need to do the passenger side exhaust manifold, someone had the thread that it was right around $600, and none of his studs were broken, so a 5 hour job. I am pretty confident that I could pull an engine and put another one in in 21 hours. The engine build itself would just be garage therapy for me. We all need a little tinker time. It helps that my garage is heated and air conditioned. I'm still waiting for him to tell me the shop time on it again. He is a super busy guy (AKA he likes money).

 

Unless you can find one from somebody doing a change out .
If they do a long block they usually get like 600 core charge but no plastic intake or starter, throttle body, alt, water pump etc.
I would really have to add it all up to see if it makes sense .
You can get a new long block for $2800 and that's improved a lot versus a used engine . I have seen guys buying a whole wrecked one out of a back yard and parting it out that worked .