Hi guys! I'm traveling in Austin Tx back to Mexico when my truck start to run roughly after a stop when cranking I hear metal noises and turn off inmediately and towed to a very reputable truck shop.

The mechanics when they hear the noise the start to take off the spark plugs and they found Cyl # 2 with a broken spark plug. They show me with a video camera a broken valve adn they told me I have 2 alternatives:

1) Repair broken cylinder but they don't recommend that, go to complete rebuild it's preferible.

2) Buy a motor at a junkyard

They Charge $1600 for labor to install a rebuilded motor + about $150 for oil/filters/coolant/etc

A quick look at internet shows prices about $3,000 for a junkyard motor with about 6 months warranty and about 100,000 miles.

What do you suggest?

Thanks!

 

Man, that's tough luck! So sorry it happened!

You didn't say how many miles on your engine?

I'd ask them to pull the head and check to see if the affected cylinder was scored. If not get them to replace the connecting rod/piston rings and rebuild that head.

Or I would get them to install a remanufactured engine. I would not pay $3k for a used 3V engine with 100k miles on it.

 

Thanks Roadie! My truck only has 135,000 miles. In order to perform the work. You suggested. Any idea how many labor hours needed?

 

A quick look at car-part.com shows those motors going for $3k remanned and $2500 for a sub 50,000 mile. I suspect a lot of them are being replaced because of the cam phaser noise. People hear it and thing a rod is knocking and replace a perfectly fine engine.

 

I'd go with a reman for the better warranty.

 

I has been compared some near engines at car-part.com here in Astin there is a junkyard with a 38,000 miles motor from an expedition. $2300 unfortunately they only gave a 3 months warranty and for extra $90 extend to 6 months. As I plan to keep the truck I'm looking to get 2 or maybe 3 years warranty.

I will keep looking!

Thanks for your help wookie!

 

You are not going to get that kind of warranty on a used engine, if you want that long a warranty you will have to look at remans.

 

My truck it's at The Austin Diesel Specialist Shop and the mechanic there told me some junkyards offer that extended warranty with extra cost but, maybe it's better to check a remanufactured as you suggest.

Dilema:

Remanufactured the quality of the parts involved vs. Used with OEM parts but who know how was kept and used/abused!

GLC, any reputable remanufactured you may know?


Thanks!

 

Do used engines include labor in the warranty? I don't think so. If it is a bad engine you will have to pay labor to replace it again.

 

Get a quote from a Ford dealer.

 

I'm pretty sure AER is the company dad uses to sell remanned engines from the yard. They are in the Dallas area and do work for most OEMs so you know you're getting something that's correct. We used them when I had to put a new engine in my brother's S10 a while back. The motor came in a big plastic tub and had all of the updated GM had come up with applied to it. The core was put in the same tub and shipped back. The new engine ran great.

 

Thanks Wookie! I'm going to check with them before pull the trigger. I already has selected a totaled 2011 Ford Expedition engine with only 38,700 miles. The Expedition besides the crash it look just fine. I hope that expedition has a good maintenance. If AER has something convenience, I'll buy there. Thanks again for your suggest!

 

Art, like GLC says, call a Ford dealer and find out what a Ford remanufactured engine would cost. You can get a 3 year warranty with it and it's going to run you close to 3 grand for a long block. I've had them before and they run as a good as a new one. The last one I bought ran 178,000 miles without a hiccup and then I parked it because the ECM went bad.
http://www.fordparts.com/products/po...ssemblies.aspx

 

The Ford remanned engines are built by a company like AER. If a dealership can get you a good price then it's a solid option. But for me it would come down to price, warranty and​ time. If the independent shop can beat the dealer price by a good amount they are the better deal. The engine you get will be the same from either place as long as you don't go to a sketchy shop. Dad has toured the place in Dallas and saw the pallets of rebuilt engines being shipped to OEM warehouses.

 

I'd be curious how much just a head is through Ford


Did your piston have any damage on it?