Repair or crate motor??

[crashz]

I say crate motor, but only a Ford crate motor if it's still in the budget. I wouldn't trust a reman in truck I want to keep.

 

[94BULLITT]

I would not waste money on doing head gaskets on a engine with that high of mileage. I would either get a good low mileage engine from a salvage yard or a drop in engine from Ford. If you go with a drop in engine from Ford they will back up what they sell. The dealer will fix any problems, other companies may not. Now would be the time to put headers on it too

 

[cmyoung2]

The motor was leaking into one cylinder and into the oil. The shop found a salvage, fairly low miles, for 1/2 the crate price. Salvage motor will be pulled this week, replacing radiator and clutch while it is apart. Will also replace exhaust manifold bolts. Probably no headers, though if there was something that would really improve either performance or fuel mileage I would look at it.
Is there a market for the old motor? maybe as a core?

 

[94BULLITT]

That engine was definitely not worth repairing if coolant was in the oil. Usually the manifolds rust up on these trucks and need replaced. Headers are less than manifolds.

 

[buickanddeere]

Crate Motor, wish I had done that one time with a vehicle. Still kicking myself for wasting all that $$$ "fixing" that motor. As somebody once said, "you can't polish a T_urd".

 

[imgone52]

I had a GM engine failure and replaced it with a Jasper. I never regretted the choice and the piece of mind that came with the Jasper name was reassuring.

 

[sixdogs]

I've built a number of hot rods over the years and gradually shifted to crate engines. No muss, no fuss and no waiting along the side of the road with an obscure engine problem or diagnosing coolant in the oil. No tearing apart a finished build and no oil drips in a clean driveway. Same with tractor engines. No loss of $2,000 worth of hay about to get wet in the field while I tinker with loss of compression in a cylinder or whatever.

Yes, skill in rebuilding will head off these problems but unless you do this stuff every day, little mistakes can slip by and cause all sorts of problems. For a few extra dollars I can shift the risk to someone else, like the manufacturer, that has a great product, close tolerances and good quality control.

 

[tcreeley]

I had a high mileage engine that needed a rebuild in my pickup once. The shop said they could get a good price on a new engine. They put it in, and took parts off of my old engine - including the carb. 25,000 miles later -one cold morning -25F I left the truck warming up before leaving from work. I came out 15 minutes later and it was on fire. It got stuck on high idle and threw a rod. The oil caught fire, and the truck kept running.

Think twice before you reuse the stuff on your old engine.

 

[DK35vince]

I put a Jasper engine in my pickup several years ago, No regrets

 

[timswi]

If you have the money, I'd go with a new one or a Jasper/Summit job..Too many miles to Band-Aid.