Gen 2.5 blew my engine, replacement engine prep question

[BOPOH]

So it's really embarrassing but after my last trip my engine started to act funny. It all started after i got stuck in water for some time, after i got out of water i cleaned out the mud and drove home, on the way engine start heating up so i stop and cleaned the radiator while doing that i check oil and it was really bad - gray color, bubbles and too much. Did oil change on the spot and everything seemed fine, until later in the night i noticed my oil pressure going up and down. Decided to keep driving as i was almost home when the engine developed a knock which quickly become very loud until something "popped" and metal scratching sound began. I pulled over to check engine, rpms were normal as well as oil pressure, but sounds was terrifying so i shut it off. It wouldn't turn over again so i called tow truck and that's when i noticed oil spot and trail with metal pieces all over the road.

Since my engine is old over 208K miles i found another one and that's where am i now - should i do complete rebuilt($$$$$), should i replace all gaskets and timing belt($$$) or just swap it over with simple timing belt($$). I'm leaning towards second option but maybe it's an over kill:


I have recently replaced spark plugs,wires and brand new rear camshaft o-rings still in plastic

What do you guys think? did i miss any parts or is it too much?

Thanks

 

[plh]

Are you talking about rebuilding the engine that is currently in the truck? Doubt that would work too well being you said there were metal and oil bits all over the road. Sounds like you ventilated the block which isn't a good thing - nor rebuildable.

 

[BOPOH]

no, i'm already getting another engine and thinking wether i should rebuild it. obviously after what happen, there is no way i'll be repairing the old one

 

[vanatee2000]

If you're getting a new motor just do the timing belt and water pump, cam seals, crank seal and rear main..throw on those new spark plugs too. Definitely make sure you do the rear main seal while the motor is out.

 

[rock_shoes]

Diesel swap!

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[BOPOH]

thank you vanatee2000 i'll order these parts. How important is to change exhaust gaskets and throttle body gasket? can i just reuse the old ones? Does anybody know what diameter is vacuum lines and how many feet will i need?

 

[rock_shoes]

How many miles on the newer engine you're swapping in? How hard of a previous life did it have? If it was a suburban grocery getter in its previous life I doubt a full rebuild would be worth the expense.

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[DirtyDC05]

That sucks man, sorry to hear. You just recently bought your truck didn't you? Always sucks when you end up with a major problem after purchasing a vehicle. Well hope your transplant goes well. Just a thought you may want to do your head gaskets while the engine is out. Cheap insurance . And valve seals while your at it. Would be much easier to do it now rather than with it in the truck. Good luck.

 

[MascotRejct]

I'm of the firm belief that if an engine is out, you might as well do what you can to it. It is so much easier to replace gaskets and seals while the engine is out of the truck.

 

[vanatee2000]

The difference in time, in my opinion, between doing headgaskets in or out of the montero is about 1.5 hours...now it's nice to save that hour and half by doing hem when the motor is out, but if you just bought a motor do you wanna drop the extra dough for head gasket kit? Also, what impact might that have on any possible warranty? When I swapped a used motor in mine I left the head gaskets alone because first it's not a common failure at specific intervals like a Subaru at 100k, or whatever else. Also, I was a little strapped for cash as the time and figured that buying the gasket kit, plus all new head bolts, then if you've got the heads off you might as well do it right and replace the valve stem seals..if you're going that far then you might as well get the heads cleaned up or polished..so all those together would have nearly doubled what I paid for the junk yard motor.. YMMV, of course but those are things to to think about

 

[Jay Ayala]

I'm of the opinion that you should fully overhaul the replacement engine. That way you won't ever have to worry about it until your odometer hits 400k


1989 Dodge Raider 3.0L
1997 Mitsubishi Montero 3.5L

 

[BOPOH]

thank you for opinions. I'm think i should do complete overhaul but i'm not sure if i'll do it right and paying someone for it is not an option at this time. Plus there is another thing, warranty on engine is 30 days so i have to make sure it works fine. My biggest worry is to remove heads, never done it so i dont even know what to look for - any signs of wear or possibly warped heads. Dont get me wrong i can take everything apart and put together, i've actually put together 3000gt engine together but i was with mechanic and it was all new/resurfaced. At this moment i got engine with 122K miles i can tell that it leaks from rear cam-shaft o-rings and also it looks like from timing belt cover. I'll post pictures later on. If anybody had engine replaced can you tell me if that's normal price - my mechanic wants $550 for doing timing belt with water pump and swapping the engines. Cheaper if i replace things myself

 

[BOPOH]

Engine is home

Some rust but overall in a good shape, my mechanic looked it over and checked oil confirmed that's the engine is in a good shape visually. I was surprised that i got ignition coils steering pump and even throttle body with it, usually they take off everything they can sell separately. Unfortunately due to weather parts coming from California scheduled to arrive only on Saturday with possible delays. Not sure where to start on the engine :smilies27




Rear cam-shaft o-rings leaking




That's driver side front part of the engine where the timing belt cover is located, i think it's leaking from front cam shaft seal

 

[BOPOH]

timing belt looks good but the hole from support bolt threw up some oil - very strange

 

[vanatee2000]

Is that 550 with or without the cost of parts? I did it in my garage with a cherry picker and the swap too a total or 15 or so hours for me but I had never swapped a montero motor and I had some issues lining things up on the reinstall since I did it alone. 550 isn't really a bad price if it truly is the timing belt, pump, and the removal and installing of the motor...something else to keep in mind is that your 30 day warranty is probably void unless you pay a proper shop to install it. My motor had a 90 day warranty, which was void if self installed.