Have you ever had to replace an engine in a car?
- Thread starter ZZman
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I had a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda sedan (NON FASTBACK) that had a 273 Commando engine with the factory 4 barrell, dual point distributor and dual exhaust. The engine had a minor problem and I replaced it with a nearly new 340 Dodge Demon engine from the salvage yard across the street. Wow that car would haul after the transplant. I had a short box 4x4 Chevrolet Silverado that blew the 400 small block. I replaced it with a salvage yard engine. I had a 73 Monte Carlo 454 that blew a valve or something and I sold it with a blown engine. I have had good luck with most vehicles and hope I never have to replace an engine again.
Do that and let me know
me too but the other way around. new old stock aspire engine was complete off ebay back in 2009? Heads off a couple times on it.
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It could be simple as a fan clutch or clogged cat.
1968 Plymouth Fury II 318. Bought a remanufactured long block from autozone & pulled the old one in my back yard.
1992 Ford Festiva replaced with Aspire engine with my very own garage lift. That was a nice tool for the job but sold the lift a few years later due to priorities.
1992 Ford Festiva replaced with Aspire engine with my very own garage lift. That was a nice tool for the job but sold the lift a few years later due to priorities.
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Put a new engine in a B5 Passat and G60-swapped my old Cabriolet.
Done more aircraft engines than I can count
Done more aircraft engines than I can count
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Yes I have. In 1977 I was using conventional pennzoil 10w-30 in a 1970 chevy nova and it
sludged up the engine so bad when we removed the valve covers it was the same shape as
the valve cover itself. Completely packed.
So, bought another engine at a salvage yard and began using havoline conventional 10w-30 and never had any more problems.
Never even attempted to clean the old sludged up engine.
sludged up the engine so bad when we removed the valve covers it was the same shape as
the valve cover itself. Completely packed.
So, bought another engine at a salvage yard and began using havoline conventional 10w-30 and never had any more problems.
Never even attempted to clean the old sludged up engine.
Yep. Done a few.
Swapped one (Olds V-8) in my college dorm parking lot.
In Massachusetts. In January. When the high was 10F.
I drank a lot of beer to stay warm.
Not sure if that strategy actually worked, but it seemed like a good idea at the time…
Swapped one (Olds V-8) in my college dorm parking lot.
In Massachusetts. In January. When the high was 10F.
I drank a lot of beer to stay warm.
Not sure if that strategy actually worked, but it seemed like a good idea at the time…
No. Knock on wood I have never even had an engine or transmission removed from the vehicle.
Did R and R on plenty of engines in other people's cars while working in various service stations and garages. Corvairs, MGs, and Triumphs all have to have engines pulled to change the clutches, needless to say I had a hand in a lot of those. Same with VW air cooled variants.
Aluminum engines today seem to all have issues (headgaskets, stretched timing chains and broken phenolic plastic tensioner guides) that seem to have increased the volume of R and R jobs by shops that want to accept them.
I think the major difference between today and yesteryear (when most engines were made from cast iron) is that getting a good engine from a salvage yard can be challenging. SB,and BB GM engines just held up well. Air cooled VWs could be rebuilt on your kitchen table (not that I ever did that, LOL) and the same with most small 4 cylinder British Leyland engines.
Lastly, the other part of this process that was easier in the past vs now was dealing with a local independent auto parts store. Today the big box AP retailers are not as easy to deal with since your are dealing with hourly employees most of the time vs that of the store owner back in the day who offered more support and care. For example all of the independent auto parts stores in the area where I grew up offered machine shop services. Lots of those small shops have since closed and it is getting harded and harder to find on to even re-surface a head.
Aluminum engines today seem to all have issues (headgaskets, stretched timing chains and broken phenolic plastic tensioner guides) that seem to have increased the volume of R and R jobs by shops that want to accept them.
I think the major difference between today and yesteryear (when most engines were made from cast iron) is that getting a good engine from a salvage yard can be challenging. SB,and BB GM engines just held up well. Air cooled VWs could be rebuilt on your kitchen table (not that I ever did that, LOL) and the same with most small 4 cylinder British Leyland engines.
Lastly, the other part of this process that was easier in the past vs now was dealing with a local independent auto parts store. Today the big box AP retailers are not as easy to deal with since your are dealing with hourly employees most of the time vs that of the store owner back in the day who offered more support and care. For example all of the independent auto parts stores in the area where I grew up offered machine shop services. Lots of those small shops have since closed and it is getting harded and harder to find on to even re-surface a head.
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Yep, replaced the engine in my Evo once when I had it because it threw a rod out cylinder 3. I was overboosting quite a bit and my neglect to get the car retuned caused it. Helped out a few others with their engine replacements in their Evos as well. The worst part of the ordeal was trying to get the engine, transmission, and transfer case all out the top of the engine, as they were designed to come out the bottom with the subframe.
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Had a 65 Pontiac Lemans that I pulled and rebuilt back in the day.
I bought a 69 Camaro off the lot in the same Era, long story short I was driving it home and it left a smoke screen everywhere when I got on it, pulled it that day and rebuilt it in my Dad's garage. To put it mildly I got took on that deal!
At 66 years old now I wouldn't deal with doing that again!
Larry
I bought a 69 Camaro off the lot in the same Era, long story short I was driving it home and it left a smoke screen everywhere when I got on it, pulled it that day and rebuilt it in my Dad's garage. To put it mildly I got took on that deal!
At 66 years old now I wouldn't deal with doing that again!
Larry
Is the 318 not one of the most reliable engines ever!?
Boring as they come but due to not being stressed in their design, lasted forever in so many Dodge/Chrysler products for a lot of years.
Story of my life!
Oh I forgot a couple. 68 scout I bought with a 266 V8 that had a broken piston. Couldn't get a piston so I put a junkyard 345 in it. Ran it another 360k until the scout body was done for. Pulled the engine and put it in a friend's scout. It's still running today.
Also a 73 international truck 393 i bought with a broken piston skirt. Bought a cheap rebuild that only lasted about 40k.
I pulled another 392 from a junkyard and rebuilt that in my garage. It's still running around Montana today
My dad had a 78 scout that he destroyed. No issues with the 304 engine but he destroyed both the front and rear differentials. Not bad luck though, he was young and stupid (runs in the family a bit) and jumped some train tracks a couple of times with it.
Someone from the dealership saw him and his brothers doing it, when he took it in with the broken diff the guy said "I wondered when you'd be in here". I think they still covered the warranty. Lol.
'65 Buick C-Body Nailhead 401 convertible overheated on a high speed Vermont trip in the 70's . Didn't notice the WP belt left town. Actually replaced a couple pistons and did a hone job. Sold the car to my friends sister. But later a few more left the party when she was doing a burnout leaving a restaurant.. Sent it off to the junker - should have rebuilt it. Good car, but rust was starting to win.
1972 Audi 100 LS. used car Oil burner. Cam sprocket fell off. VT got chewed. Maybe actually ther reverse order of event occurrence. Too bad, Nice comfy driver. great interior. Cool Inboard FRONT disc brakes. Rebuilt the head but the valve-dinged pistons left the party not soon after it was back together - on a road trip to the Catskills.
Killed a SBC 307 mock-up engine in a '74 V8 Vega project. Trans linkage stuck in second during an impromptu street race; I didn't want to loose, so I spun her to 7000. Launched a rod. Block remained intact. Removed rod and piston chunks, sawed off the big end and replaced it with new shells, used tat as a "spacer" for its companion in the crankpin. Ran the motor on 7 cyls until my Hi-Comp 327 was ready. There was and Issue with oil in the exhaust and also, exhaust in the oil.
Rebuilt a 340 Buick Skylark GS motor a couple three years ago. Old engine gone way over 100K. Cam was eaten. Complete re-machine .03 over a slightly more aggressive cam. This thing is very powerful now. Impressive torque. Fancy factory Switch-Pitch torque converter in a two-speed Super Turbine 300 trans. It drives almost like it has 4 gears. Actually better!
Sister in law lost the engine under warranty in a late model Kia Sportage. They were all going bye-bye at that time. They gave her a New Sorento loaner for almost three months. I don't know if she still has that car - I would guess yes.
Everything of mine or my wife's i the last couple decades got traded before the BANG! clunka - clunka ... clunka.
- Ken a.k.a "Al the Mechanic"
1972 Audi 100 LS. used car Oil burner. Cam sprocket fell off. VT got chewed. Maybe actually ther reverse order of event occurrence. Too bad, Nice comfy driver. great interior. Cool Inboard FRONT disc brakes. Rebuilt the head but the valve-dinged pistons left the party not soon after it was back together - on a road trip to the Catskills.
Killed a SBC 307 mock-up engine in a '74 V8 Vega project. Trans linkage stuck in second during an impromptu street race; I didn't want to loose, so I spun her to 7000. Launched a rod. Block remained intact. Removed rod and piston chunks, sawed off the big end and replaced it with new shells, used tat as a "spacer" for its companion in the crankpin. Ran the motor on 7 cyls until my Hi-Comp 327 was ready. There was and Issue with oil in the exhaust and also, exhaust in the oil.
Rebuilt a 340 Buick Skylark GS motor a couple three years ago. Old engine gone way over 100K. Cam was eaten. Complete re-machine .03 over a slightly more aggressive cam. This thing is very powerful now. Impressive torque. Fancy factory Switch-Pitch torque converter in a two-speed Super Turbine 300 trans. It drives almost like it has 4 gears. Actually better!
Sister in law lost the engine under warranty in a late model Kia Sportage. They were all going bye-bye at that time. They gave her a New Sorento loaner for almost three months. I don't know if she still has that car - I would guess yes.
Everything of mine or my wife's i the last couple decades got traded before the BANG! clunka - clunka ... clunka.
- Ken a.k.a "Al the Mechanic"
Personally, I have not, but the 390 in my sig was replaced in 1972 (121,xxx miles) with an "authorized Ford Remanufactured" long block. Not sure what failed; it ran but was burning oil at the rate of a quart per hundred miles.
I recently found the Ford warranty card in some papers my dad left me, and can remember the day it came home (new clutch and rebuilt tranny too). After 110K miles and 51 years it's kinda' tired; maybe this summer I'll "man up" and do a compression check.
I recently found the Ford warranty card in some papers my dad left me, and can remember the day it came home (new clutch and rebuilt tranny too). After 110K miles and 51 years it's kinda' tired; maybe this summer I'll "man up" and do a compression check.
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