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Remanufactured Engines

RETYSONRETYSON Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Chevrolet
I have a 91 S10 with a 4.3L V6 approaching 200,000mi and am considering installing one of those remanufactured engines available from discount auto parts stores like Schucks, PEP BOYS, etc. The promos and warranties for these engines sound great, but the low price makes me nervous $1000 to $1500 for a complete rebuild is about 1/3 of what it would cost for a normal professional rebuild. Would like to hear from anyone who has any experience or opinion of the quality of these engines. Thanks

Comments

  • alcanalcan Member Posts: 2,550
    You get what you pay for. Many professional shops get their remans here:

    http://www.jasperengines.com/frames.html
  • vidtechvidtech Member Posts: 212
    on a 1991 with 200k on it,i would not make the investment of putting an engine into your s10.the tranny,front end,rear end and everything in between is ten years old with a ton of miles on it.it doesn't make good economic sense.
  • andre1969andre1969 Member Posts: 25,920
    ...what do you think of Jasper engines and transmissions? I've heard conflicting stories, which is probably no surprise, as you get that with any product. But the mechanic who does most of my work has a sign for them in his office, so I'd guess he has no gripe with them. But then the guy I deal with for transmission work (weird, but it's two different shops...the first place doesn't mess with 'em too much) says their junk.

    As for whether it's worth it or not, I'd say it depends. I had an '86 Monte Carlo that had 192000 miles on it when it got totaled. The suspension was still nice and firm, the steering tracked well, and the tranny was fine. The engine leaked oil around the valve cover gaskets, but that was about it. If the engine went out on it, I probably would've thrown another one in. But then again, if it had gotten worn out to the point it needed a new engine, chances are, I guess, that the tranny, suspension, etc, would be questionable, too!
  • csandstecsandste Member Posts: 1,866
    is getting a used engine from a junk yard. I got one for $350 plus another $350 to put it in including clutch. This was an old Ford Festiva, so the costs might differ, but I got another 60K for $700. Got rid of the car because the synchros were going and it needed a brake job, but probably could have squeezed another 100,000 miles out of it. In some ways, I wish I would have, like a lot of Festiva owners I was quite fond of that car.
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    yeah, I think a used engine makes sense for a ten year old truck, unless you are going to rebuild the entire driveline. 200K means that any major component could let loose at any moment.

    As for these economy rebuilds, I don't have much faith in them for the long haul. They are cutting corners somewhere.
  • bmaigebmaige Member Posts: 140
    I have seen some of these engines that have a 3 year 100,000 mile warranty on them. The thing is, often there isn't a copy of the warranty for you to read before buying the engine.

    I replaced an engine recently, and was very tempted to go with the one that had the long warranty, but the only thing the seller had was literature touting the warranty, not the warranty itself. Being the curious type, I looked for the company doing the remanufacturing on the internet, found them, and they had a complete copy of their warranty online, as well. What I found caused me to look elsewhere for an engine.

    I recommend that you read the warranty on any engine you are interested in BEFORE buying it. This particular warranty did indeed provide a long coverage period, but limited what the remanufacturer would pay in warranty repair to the price you paid for the engine. They also listed non-covered items, which included head gaskets. I went with the recommendation of a local independent mechanic that I trust explicitly, who, when I asked him about the long warranty on the other engine said, "I'd rather have a good engine than a good warranty." After I read the warranty I told him I didn't know how good the engine was, but I didn't feel the warranty was that good.
  • mrbizness1mrbizness1 Member Posts: 93
    A better solution would be to have your current motor rebuilt at a local shop, if it is just worn out and had no internal damage, you wouldn't have to be concerned about things like warped heads, cracks in the block etc.
  • gmlover1gmlover1 Member Posts: 60
    Why dose it need to be rebuilt.
  • bburton1bburton1 Member Posts: 395
    Used to live not far from Jasper IN where these engines are reman. You used to be able to get your own block reman. This was done in my day because a lot of blocks were cracked and had to be welded. If you just exchanged there was a good chance you got a welded block because some idiot ran it without water/oil and fried it.

    If you are going to get somebody local to reman it well make sure they do lots of them. This maybe a good option if all it needs is rings and valves ground and maybe mains. I would consider going to a junk yard and pulling the whole engine and drive train. Better to pull your own as you can see what shape the vehicle was in-those things setting in the racks could be worth nada.
  • zr2randozr2rando Member Posts: 391
    We have a 95 S10 Blazer, spun a cam bearing, got damage on crank bearings at 107k miles. We bought a GM reman engine, figured we would not get a hassle from Chevrolet when we had any issues. We had issues and Chev has kept pretty busy fixing them, kept burning oil and they finally put in a 3rd engine due to 2nd engine had bad valve guides and showed a poor job of honing cylinders.
    3rd engine had to have a balance shaft installed the day the engine was installed. At this point the engine is running very well and not burning oil at all. When you get a reman engine installed and then later you have any work done , shops tend to blame the previous shop for poor work and then there may be a hassle about a warranty claim.
    It is worth the time to think ahead and have the shop that you trust to do continuing work do the install. I had an independant install the first reman and then had Chev dealer do all the warranty work, some of the work they charged for because the previous shop supposedly did bad work (independant of course denied any responsibility), Chev said they could only warranty their own work of course , Chev charges a LOT more for that work so it may come out in the wash...
  • amoralesamorales Member Posts: 196
    IMHO i have to go with "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" Pop is on 2nd engine, a recently rebuilt and bored out 350 from a '78 Z28 Camaro with 290,000 mi, orig 350 went to 477,000 mi before crank broke. His vehicle is a '74 Chevy Cheyenne long bed truck. Tranny has been maintained with twice yearly fluid/gasket changes, rear end is in good shape, front suspension has been rebuilt. This is far cheaper than purchasing a new $25,000-$35,000 Chevy truck. Rebuilding tranny or rear end will still be cheaper. Oh, POP is 82 and plans on taking his truck with him and driving it on the streets of GOLD

    Pop boasts that his truck will smoke my '00 C2500 - I DON'T THINK SO!! I beat Pop once before in 1984. We were both loaded down with 20 sheets of drywall going up a hill in San Francisco. I was driving a '83 F150 with 302-2V and
    Auto OD tranny with 3:55 gears, Pop had the 3:23 gears and 350-4V. I beat him by 1/2 a vehicle length. My 2000 C2500 is heavily modified.

    Good luck and Happy new years to all vehicle lovers
  • rmyers76rmyers76 Member Posts: 34
    I am also the owner of a 91 S10 with the 4.3L and I currently have 40k on my remanufactured engine.

    At 110k miles I was burning a quart of oil every other day (no leaks!). I decided that I wanted this truck to make 200k miles so I dropped the money on a remanufactured engine from a local engine and transmission store. I paid $1500 for the engine and $600 for the install. They guaranteed their engines for 3 yrs or 75k miles. I recently changed the spark plugs at 150k miles and everything looked great, no oil or fouling on the plugs. I figured the engine equaled about 7 car payments so I have got my money back on that investment and then some.

    If the truck had 200k already, I probably would have scrapped it. Be happy that you got 200k miles out of that engine.
  • vwracervwracer Member Posts: 90
    If the truck is running, I would look at selling the truck, taking what you would have spend on a rebuild engine, adding the two together, and buying another truck. The reason you can buy a remanufactored engine from a store (pep boys) is because of quantity. You are buying from a rebuilder that does several thousand vs. the local shop that might do 20 a year. I wouldn't even think of buying a junk yard motor. lets face it a 91 S10 won't be worth a grand in 5 more years. before you spend money on rebuilding anything, you got to look at what the car will be worth in another 6-8 years. You could end up putting more in the car then it is worth.
  • seamusthedogseamusthedog Member Posts: 21
    You can get a new engine from gmpartsdirect.com for $1939+core + approximately $350 in shipping(part # 12361243). Other than that IMHO I would find a local machine shop and have them rebuild it for me. The 4.3 is not that difficult to reman as it is just a 350 with two cylinders cut out.
This discussion has been closed.