After a lot of thought, I decided to get a crate motor from the dealership. At the least I have a bad head gasket. I am tired of the intermittent over heating and I don't want to get stranded on my weekend trips to the farm (200 miles round trip).

3 year unlimited mileage warranty (parts and labor) from the dealership. $5600 installed, but he said he could discount that a little after I told him that was too high of a price. I am driving a loaner Ford Fusion now, and hope to get my truck back next Tuesday or Wednesday.

And yes, it is worth it to me. I am the original owner of my truck and could not come close to replacing it for $6000.

Just needed to to vent and cry a little.

 

I would try to find a used motor with low mileage, OLD Trans is a big ticket item too. Insurance will only pay book value if totaled, so whats the book value of the truck? if it 5600 or less, rethink putting in a new motor. Just my thoughts!

 

I hear ya Rev. I plan on never getting rid of the truck and I don't want to buy into a headache with a used engine. It came down to plus or minus a couple of thousand dollars, but with the warranty (any Ford dealership) and installation and knowing my engine will be as new I decided to go for it. Hey, I am driving a "free" Fusion too! Ha!! I do appreciate your input in all the forums.

 

Actually depending on where you live for a nice 2000 you would pay 6 grand. My very good condition 99 I'm sure I could get 5 grand for it here in Utah at least. 500 grand isnt to much if you like it and all. I've wasted way more then that on cars..

 

Oh, my 2000 is as nice of a truck as I have seen. No rust and no dents with great paint. It is a head turner whenever I drive it. See my signature pic.

 

I agree, When ya have a cool truck, its hard not to spend extra on it to keep her on the road. Years back a customer of mine just had me put in a new motor in their old car. It got totaled 6 months later,and luck for them, the insurance company gave them the money (book value) for the car and the motor job too. Call your agent and find out if its covered??

 

Can't beat the Ford reman powertrain warranty, that's 3 years, unlimited mileage and it covers parts AND labor and it's backed by every dealer in the country not to mention the warranty sticks with the truck if you sell it.

-Steve

 

The warranty, which includes labor and honored at any Ford dealership was a deciding factor. I am going to make a point to drive it a lot to see just how well that motor was put together. I will be headed to the dealer weekly if there are any issues.

My original 2V 5.4 used about a quart of oil every 3500 since it was new. Hope the new motor will be better that. The dealer said they would use Motorcraft synthetic blend oil when they fill her up. I am going to continue to use Mobil 1 after that.

I always used 5W-30, but I think I will switch to 5W-20 since that is the recommended oil now.

 

A quart in 3500 is well within the normal range, and I'd recommend you use the Motorcraft blend, it's every bit as good as Mobil 1 and a lot cheaper. Make sure you use a Motorcraft or other quality filter.

 

yeah, I understand that a quart every 3500 miles is considered OK, but I compare everything to my 2001 4-runner. I run Mobil I high mileage in that too, but never add oil between changes (5500 miles). It has 200,000 miles on it.

My 1997 4-runner has 285,000 miles and I add less than a quart every 5500 miles.

Been using the Motorcraft filters from day one.