Notice his location, he lives in the desert...lots of sand to clog the filters!
2005 Trailblazer getting a new engine
- Thread starter The_Eric
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Point taken
It will probably take you all of the book time. I was looking at Envoy's and Trailblazers that needed new engines as a winter project.
The front axle (if 4x4) goes THROUGH the oil pan. You have to remove both front axles and the front diff which is bolted to the oil pan to get the engine out.
Once I saw how much work it was I started looking at other vehicles... They seem like awesome SUV's but from what I read on the forums and YouTube, they are a major PITA to do major engine service on.
The front axle (if 4x4) goes THROUGH the oil pan. You have to remove both front axles and the front diff which is bolted to the oil pan to get the engine out.
Once I saw how much work it was I started looking at other vehicles... They seem like awesome SUV's but from what I read on the forums and YouTube, they are a major PITA to do major engine service on.
Same feature that consigned them to never having any appeal for the off-road crowd. Don't know if anyone has ever done a straight axle conversion on one, but it's got to be a major PITA.
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
So it begins... Book is calling for 18 hours to R&R this thing, plus the owner wants to do some other maintenance. It'll be over 20hrs before it's all said and done. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't take 18 hours to R&R?
18 hours? Is this rust free? I'd think 20hrs labor plus engine cost would sink this beast. I see that it's clean & 109kmiles but still. Ouch.
So it begins... Book is calling for 18 hours to R&R this thing, plus the owner wants to do some other maintenance. It'll be over 20hrs before it's all said and done. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't take 18 hours to R&R?
18 hours? Is this rust free? I'd think 20hrs labor plus engine cost would sink this beast. I see that it's clean & 109kmiles but still. Ouch.
My friends mom has a Trailblazer. It has 350,000 kms on it. Doesn't use a drop of oil and is quiet as can be.
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
So it begins... Book is calling for 18 hours to R&R this thing, plus the owner wants to do some other maintenance. It'll be over 20hrs before it's all said and done. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't take 18 hours to R&R?
18 hours? Is this rust free? I'd think 20hrs labor plus engine cost would sink this beast. I see that it's clean & 109kmiles but still. Ouch.
Actually I think I underbid the job. I looked it up again- maybe in another estimator, and found 20 hours to R&R the engine alone...
Anyway the fellow asked me my opinion on what to do as well. Not wanting to simply tell him that I'd fix it, I offered some thinking points. I asked him to consider: Does he still like it? Does it do what he needs of it? Is the body still in serviceable condition? When considering cost per mile driven, I had him figure repair vs. replacement of vehicle. Bottom line is this- in this case the "value" of the vehicle isn't really relevant because he is electing to keep it. Value really only comes into play when selling/trading. He can repair this vehicle which otherwise meets all his requirements for far less than replacing with a new vehicle.
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
So it begins... Book is calling for 18 hours to R&R this thing, plus the owner wants to do some other maintenance. It'll be over 20hrs before it's all said and done. Maybe I'll get lucky and it won't take 18 hours to R&R?
18 hours? Is this rust free? I'd think 20hrs labor plus engine cost would sink this beast. I see that it's clean & 109kmiles but still. Ouch.
Actually I think I underbid the job. I looked it up again- maybe in another estimator, and found 20 hours to R&R the engine alone...
Anyway the fellow asked me my opinion on what to do as well. Not wanting to simply tell him that I'd fix it, I offered some thinking points. I asked him to consider: Does he still like it? Does it do what he needs of it? Is the body still in serviceable condition? When considering cost per mile driven, I had him figure repair vs. replacement of vehicle. Bottom line is this- in this case the "value" of the vehicle isn't really relevant because he is electing to keep it. Value really only comes into play when selling/trading. He can repair this vehicle which otherwise meets all his requirements for far less than replacing with a new vehicle.
And now for some pics:
Started by taking the trans cooler lines loose at their quick connect fittings. GM actually thought ahead on this one... Pic for Merkava4 of the Jiffy Tite clip removal tool in action.
The whole radiator, fan and shroud assy out. You can see the cooler line sections and why I said they were thinking ahead.
Now things are starting to get a bit more serious... She's getting about ready to take flight. I had to take the trans cross member out and let it droop all the way down to get to the top 4 bell housing bolts. 11, yes, 11 total.
Here it is in the air- I must admit I was feeling pretty good at this point as it really didn't want to come out.
And the hole left behind...
I've actually got the new engine almost all dressed out and ready to drop back in. Waiting on a couple of parts yet.
Started by taking the trans cooler lines loose at their quick connect fittings. GM actually thought ahead on this one... Pic for Merkava4 of the Jiffy Tite clip removal tool in action.
The whole radiator, fan and shroud assy out. You can see the cooler line sections and why I said they were thinking ahead.
Now things are starting to get a bit more serious... She's getting about ready to take flight. I had to take the trans cross member out and let it droop all the way down to get to the top 4 bell housing bolts. 11, yes, 11 total.
Here it is in the air- I must admit I was feeling pretty good at this point as it really didn't want to come out.
And the hole left behind...
I've actually got the new engine almost all dressed out and ready to drop back in. Waiting on a couple of parts yet.
What are your hours looking like so far?
Who built the reman?
Who built the reman?
Nice work right there.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2022
Okay... So the project is pretty much done. Just have to vac and charge the A.C. system, change the rear diff and transmission oil. The project kinda took a turn for the unexpected when I went to replace the seals in the leaking front diff and found lots of metal paste packed in behind the seal. Called the owner and ran over the options- he wanted a re-man. No problem. Ended up using a unit from ZBAG- Zumbrota Bearing and Gear out of Zumbrota Minnesota. 2 year unlimited mileage warranty. Had to wait a few days, got side tracked and busy on other things. Finally got back to it the other day and managed to snap a few pics along the way.
Here is a shot of the paste in behind the output shaft seal- yuck!
I decided to take a bit different approach on installing the new engine. I can honestly say I was dreading it, given how much of a bugger it was to remove. I was pleasantly surprised! Leaving the intake and exhaust manifolds and the secondary air injection tubes off made a huge difference. Obviously I attacked it from the wrong angle when removing it... Sigh...hindsight. Anyway, less than 10 minutes, no swearing and in was nestled nicely in place with 2 bell housing bolts started. Solo.
Leaving the intake off made it much easier to attach most of the wiring harness- which I would have had to navigate through the fender well otherwise.
Other side- not much going on here.
Here it is dropped in place
Exhaust and EGR on
Skipping ahead a few steps- it is pretty much ready to fire in this photo. I put the pre-assembled condenser, radiator (new Delphi), shroud and fan in place in one shot. Then all the front dress stuff.
As an added bonus- no extra parts or fasteners!
Here she is after a pressure wash bath and a short but "spirited" test drive.
And finally- the after video of what it sounds like:
Here is a shot of the paste in behind the output shaft seal- yuck!
I decided to take a bit different approach on installing the new engine. I can honestly say I was dreading it, given how much of a bugger it was to remove. I was pleasantly surprised! Leaving the intake and exhaust manifolds and the secondary air injection tubes off made a huge difference. Obviously I attacked it from the wrong angle when removing it... Sigh...hindsight. Anyway, less than 10 minutes, no swearing and in was nestled nicely in place with 2 bell housing bolts started. Solo.
Leaving the intake off made it much easier to attach most of the wiring harness- which I would have had to navigate through the fender well otherwise.
Other side- not much going on here.
Here it is dropped in place
Exhaust and EGR on
Skipping ahead a few steps- it is pretty much ready to fire in this photo. I put the pre-assembled condenser, radiator (new Delphi), shroud and fan in place in one shot. Then all the front dress stuff.
As an added bonus- no extra parts or fasteners!
Here she is after a pressure wash bath and a short but "spirited" test drive.
And finally- the after video of what it sounds like:
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
You did an awesome job! My grandmother has an 02' Trailblazer LTZ. I put probably 4,000 miles on it a year out of its 6k yearly mileage. It's an awesome SUV, and it's been decently reliable for what these are. I put over 200 towing miles on it last weekend, did a little off-roading too, the rearend still locks up with its original diff fluid at 108k miles. Those I-6s are smooth, and have plenty of power (with the right gear ratio in the rear-end).
I'll admit that it typically takes me a bit longer, but I tend to obsess over the "minutia". Every single wire went back EXACTLY as it left the factory, in every clip. Every nut, bolt and bracket too. Fortunately people don't mind paying the extra bit for me taking my time.
To answer Colt45ws's question- my time has definitely gone over. At the point you asked, I was around 15 hours in, but that included getting the new engine prepped to go in too. I could do much better next time around for sure though. Like I said- "hind sight".
To answer Colt45ws's question- my time has definitely gone over. At the point you asked, I was around 15 hours in, but that included getting the new engine prepped to go in too. I could do much better next time around for sure though. Like I said- "hind sight".
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Whelp- it's all done. I put about 15-20 miles on it, looked it over for leaks and/or mistakes and found none. The thing runs great and is stupidly quiet.
I gave it one last bath and dropped it and the bill off at the owner's house. We are both busy people, so in the next day or two we will meet up and go over the little details of what I did and settle up.
One last thing- since this is "Bob is the OIL guy.com" fluids are:
Valvoline synthetic 75w-90 in the rear diff, AC Delco AutoTrak II in the T-case, Parts Master Dex VI (carries GM license) in the trans, Parts Master 5w-30 in the engine (for 500 miles), NAPA GL5 80w-90 in the front diff (for a couple thousand miles, then Valvoline 75w-90) and Havoline DexCool in the radiator.
I gave it one last bath and dropped it and the bill off at the owner's house. We are both busy people, so in the next day or two we will meet up and go over the little details of what I did and settle up.
One last thing- since this is "Bob is the OIL guy.com" fluids are:
Valvoline synthetic 75w-90 in the rear diff, AC Delco AutoTrak II in the T-case, Parts Master Dex VI (carries GM license) in the trans, Parts Master 5w-30 in the engine (for 500 miles), NAPA GL5 80w-90 in the front diff (for a couple thousand miles, then Valvoline 75w-90) and Havoline DexCool in the radiator.
Well done sir!
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
I'll admit that it typically takes me a bit longer, but I tend to obsess over the "minutia". Every single wire went back EXACTLY as it left the factory, in every clip. Every nut, bolt and bracket too. Fortunately people don't mind paying the extra bit for me taking my time.
To answer Colt45ws's question- my time has definitely gone over. At the point you asked, I was around 15 hours in, but that included getting the new engine prepped to go in too. I could do much better next time around for sure though. Like I said- "hind sight".
Good Job Eric, I'm the same way. I can usually tell if somebody in a hurry has done work because they don't take the time to do this. To me, it's indicative of the quality of the entire job.
I'll admit that it typically takes me a bit longer, but I tend to obsess over the "minutia". Every single wire went back EXACTLY as it left the factory, in every clip. Every nut, bolt and bracket too. Fortunately people don't mind paying the extra bit for me taking my time.
To answer Colt45ws's question- my time has definitely gone over. At the point you asked, I was around 15 hours in, but that included getting the new engine prepped to go in too. I could do much better next time around for sure though. Like I said- "hind sight".
Good Job Eric, I'm the same way. I can usually tell if somebody in a hurry has done work because they don't take the time to do this. To me, it's indicative of the quality of the entire job.
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