Is it ever worth it to put a remanufactured engine in a tow vehicle with 185,000 ?

[CatFan]

I don’t think heavier oil is going to help with oil getting in the cylinders. As long as you’ve got good pressure I’d stick with the spec.

[KYRANGERMAN]

If you're going to "drive it until the wheels fall off" then yeah, put in a new engine. If you're planning on getting rid of it in a couple of years, then no. Sounds like you're in the drive it until the wheels fall off camp so new engine it is. I had a 2006 Land Rover LR3 that was worth about $9K (if everything on it was in good shape) but it needed about $7K worth of work, and I was going to be getting rid of it in a couple of years so I ended up selling it and getting my current Volkswagen Touareg.

[LgMouthGambler]

Try adding a bottle of ATP-205 to the oil on the oil change. Its a pretty good gasket sealer/conditioner. Maybe help a bit. Does wonders with rear main seals that are leaking.

[berudd]

Negative on heavier oil. One of the few issues with these engines is that the DOD stuff tends to promote poor ring seal in the pistons that are shut off. That allows oil to get by them. A heavier oil will not help that. Typically, the rod and main bearings on these engines show pretty good longevity so if their clearances are within spec, you don't want a heavier oil. Or at least, it won't help anything. What's your oil pressure when your cruising down the road. I think both my 08 and 18 run around 40 psi +/-. If you are around that, stick with 5w30. A heavier oil only help to mask that your bearings are worn out.

I had the same issue in my 08 and I found it seemed a little better when I switched to Castrol GTX High Mileage. I went to it because it was on sale and noticed it seemed to use less oil after that. I have no explanation for it (and I could be full of it).

[ksubasser24]

If you keep up on everything else maintenance wise and willing to complete more exspensive repairs I would say go for it. When I worked for the railroad they would put new engines in trucks with 350,000 miles and keep repairing. Those trucks got abused and were extremely heavy with tools and all the rail gear. My dad drives semi truck and is still running a 1982 Peterbilt.

[JoshKeller]

If it was mine. Id go ahead and put a reman engine and transmission in it. As long as everything else is good id keep on running it

[Flip Flop Fisher]

ok not knowing a lot about cars what is a "crate" motor? Is it just a brand new motor from the factory?

Reman is rebuilt right

do you guys put new seats in or do anything to the interior?

[BeeNix]

I bought a GM zz4 crate engine for a '90 4x4 with a tired 350. IIRC it had roughly 170k on it when I switched. The truck was a one owner when I got it with mostly interstate miles on it. The zz4, which is probably not available now, woke that truck up in a big way. The woman that owns it now still drives it every day but the body had serious bed rust on it now.
The truck was fun to drive after I switched engines, would bark tires at the 1-2 shift. We had a '98 Trans Am at the time, but my wife preferred driving the truck most days. It was a blast in stoplight races...I think I spent around $3k for that engine back in '98.

[basscat21]

I would seriously consider it, if my Excursion need a new motor. It a unique vehicle, and love it.

[donpilot]

My motto. Carry a screwdriver at all times. When it finally dies, get out, take the license plate off and call uber.

[mohawkman]

I have an 07 GMC Yukon Dinali XL with roughly 185,000 miles on it it has been looked at by two reputable service shops and goes through about 4 quarts plus of oil between oil changes the pistons and rings appear to be worn and it’s not just the gasket that is leaking oil. Both shops have mentioned just continue to drive the truck until the engine goes (one shop says you might be able to get another 40 to 60,000 miles out of it ) I have asked is it possible that it’s just the gasket that’s leaking and can we swap that out but the shops seem to think that it’s just the overall where in tear with pistons and rings. Mechanically this truck is in super condition looks as new as a 2012 ) and has 2019 rims and tires on it -I’m not looking and getting into another vehicle with a payment so considering my options and one of them is to get a remanufactured 6.2 engine for my truck that has 100,000 mile warranty on it. Considering the cost to get a new 2021 GMC Yukon Dinali XL is $80,000 and up I figure it might be easier to just finance a engine and pay it off over 2-3 years and not have crazy truck payments. For those guys who have done a engine swap any ideas on what I might be looking at am I looking at a five to $6000 investment? Also for those guys who did an engine swap with a high mileage truck did you end up then keeping the vehicle for another hundred thousand miles? Just looking for some feedback on whether this makes sense or not?FYI I’m guessing the value of my truck right now is around $7500.....Thanks for any feedback BBC guys : )

go for it... but please tell us that you are having your brake lines checked and replaced if necessary from rust out

you can easily kill someone with the rusty GM brake lines issue on older vehicles

[Jeff La]

Here's what two of my nephews did. Put a can of seafoam in the oil and run it for 15/20 minutes circulating it, then change oil and filter. Use some cheap oil, fill also adding a can of seafoam again. Run this through for about 100-200 miles and do another oil change. Watch your oil level and when it's about 2 quarts low and seafoam drive a few miles and change oil. Didn't take either to do more than this and get back to normal oil use. They did both buy an AFM disabler.

[buster502]

i would use Castrol GTX High Mileage oil,then i would find out the latest model 5.3 and year that i could use and call LQK and get the price on a low mileage rear end wrecked suv that will inter change,and buy it or call and get a price on complete crate eng from gm with warranty,and see the price difference and go from there,look on feabay you can buy some low mileage engines for a decent price,make sure you get a price for a shop to do the swap,they can get you a discount from lqk

[Basseditor]

I had my '89 Ford engine rebuilt in a custom shop. It was surprisingly cost effective. It had 200,000 miles on it when we rebuilt it in the mid-90s. I paid less than a junk yard pull out (did that on a Tahoe). I gave the Ford to my son in early 2002. He drove it for a few years and sold it to his buddy in 2005. That guys still drives it 15 years later, but the paint is shot. I'll do the rebuild by a good shop if/when my current Ford needs it.

[Neighbor]

ok not knowing a lot about cars what is a "crate" motor? Is it just a brand new motor from the factory?
Yes brand new motor shipped in a wooden cratre to the dealer for installation
Reman is rebuilt right
Correct. reman = re-manufactured
do you guys put new seats in or do anything to the interior?

nope. one piece at a time

To the OP: I had a 2008 Chevy suburban. The engine started drinking oil about 180,000. At 200k I replaced the engine with an OEM crate motor. A bit cheaper than reman from NAPA. Put another 180,000 on second motor before selling it.

[kry29]

A good compression and leak down test should tell you for sure if it's the rings. I would also try the seafoam or restore before I did the crate motor. Get the afm disabler to, that could be where a lot of the oil is going.
The biggest thing is can you go without the vehicle? If you drive it till it pops then you will have to wait to get it fixed. If you need it back fast you can get the motor ordered and whatever parts and schedule the shop to switch it over. A few days vs possibly a few weeks without the vehicle

[wildturkey]

If everything else is mechanically sound, no problem at all.

[CatFan]

I had my '89 Ford engine rebuilt in a custom shop. It was surprisingly cost effective. It had 200,000 miles on it when we rebuilt it in the mid-90s. I paid less than a junk yard pull out (did that on a Tahoe). I gave the Ford to my son in early 2002. He drove it for a few years and sold it to his buddy in 2005. That guys still drives it 15 years later, but the paint is shot. I'll do the rebuild by a good shop if/when my current Ford needs it.

Finding a shop that will rebuild a motor is a rare thing anymore. Only really special motors are rebuilt nowadays. Rare blocks or wanting to keep a vehicle original are about the only cases it’s done anymore. Factory rebuilds are cheaper and have better warranties.

[frogfish202]

I just did a crate engine and tranny in my 07 with 200k

[creekchub]

How much with labor ?