Done screwing around with the old guinea pig

[Gary Allan]

Well, I went and ordered a factory reman long block for the minivan. It was about $2000. I just didn't want to spend anymore on patching it up. The coolant damage didn't mortally wound it ..but it surely shortened it's senior years I would have surely gone over 250k with this engine. Next, although it's not needed yet, is a reman trans. That's about $1200 and includes a new OEM lockup converter. Alas, poor 3.0. I knew it well The guinea pig is dead! Long live the guinea pig!!

 

[XB70]

Nothing like a couple of "organ" transplants to revive the ol' guinea pig, eh? Good luck! It sure beats

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

RIP Long live old Dodge Mini's.

 

[Master ACiD]

what happen to it?

 

[-Clayton-]

The 3.0 bottom end is pretty bulletproof. I,m pushing 260k on mine, still got plenty of power. I'm 3k into my oci and only had to add half a quart. But I got new Front seal, Cam seals, Valvecover gaskets, Oil pump, Oil pan gasket. Before that is was about a quart and 1/2 at 3k. I hope it sees 300k+ before it dies.

 

[Brikhead]

In today's world, where too many consider the automobile to be a disposable item....I say "Good For You, Gary"! After you plop in that fresh 3.0, I'm sure your time of mourning for the guinea pig will have passed. Think of it this way...once you turn 'him' in for core credit, 'he'll' be gutted, rebuilt, and crated. See? There IS an afterlife! [ April 26, 2006, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: Brikhead ]

 

[BatmanLS1]

Ahhh yes, the 3.0...Allpar has a great quote..something like: "It can handle the miles, if you can control the leaks." I think 95_carvan is proof of that.

 

[GMorg]

Gary Allen, Sounds like a lot of seal and gasket issues. That is usually my biggest problem in seasoned cars too. It is a shame that seal technology has not progressed at the same rate as much of the rest of the engine. It is a lot better than it use to be though.

 

[Winston]

Gary, Do you get new heads for that price? Didn't you put your old engine back together? What was wrong with it after reassembly?

 

[Gary Allan]

What killed it was a head gasket leak or a crack somewhere. Bar's Leak attended to it nicely ..but a bearing rumble could be heard occasionally on startup. I didn't get it under control soon enough. My refresh earlier this year was a waste. My latest repair attempt was to be fixing the crank seal. This I brought on myself with putting an extraction tube in the exhaust to evacuate the moisture from the crankcase. It worked flawlessly ..putting so much vacuum on the crankcase unvented that it sucked the crankseal in. Live and never stop learning. Anyway ..last straw was an overheat upon getting off the highway after a trip up to 75 mph. The cost was $2200 Plus $135 sales tax and $500 core charge. It includes everything except the valve cover, pan, timing cover, intake and exhaust manifold. A short block is only $1200 and heads are over $400 each. Now we're up to $2000 and cores. An additional $200 gets your heads torqued at the factory and the frontend hardware (belt, wp, tensioner, etc.) all setup and timed on the cams. So ..effectively it's wash if you factor in labor for that sorta stuff. The only thing that will retire this minivan is if it gets cracked up. I'm not going to spend $30k for a new one ..and I see no reason to buy someone elses problems. I would have liked to have scheduled this about 18 months from now (my house will be paid off then) ..but somethings just don't work out the way you like. If not for the insults to this engine, it would have gone on for many years

 

[ekpolk]

Does this mean an end to the experiments in bulk ATF disposal? Seriously though, are you doing the all the work yourself? If so, how long does it take you from parking it to driving it away?

 

[Gary Allan]

No ..I'm not doing the work. I got a professional wrench that cuts breaks for certain (his words) "projects". He and his father own a, decent, modern shop. He "fixes me up" so to speak. I dunno about my experiments The whole deal kinda makes me want to take a hiatus from dealing with fleet management for a while. It will be interesting to see how much more perceivable power the reman has.

 

[GoldenRod]

95_carvan, You mean to tell me all of that HM oil didn't cure the leaks?

 

[Drew99GT]

quote:

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Originally posted by Gary Allan: My latest repair attempt was to be fixing the crank seal. This I brought on myself with putting an extraction tube in the exhaust to evacuate the moisture from the crankcase. It worked flawlessly ..putting so much vacuum on the crankcase unvented that it sucked the crankseal in. Live and never stop learning.

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That may be one of the funniest things I've read on BITOG! Sorry to hear about the but good luck with the new mill.

 

[michaelc80]

quote:

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The guinea pig is dead! Long live the guinea pig!!

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Mmmmm...guinea pig. The other white meat.

 

[ekpolk]

Please tell me that Photoshop was involved in the creation of the last post. . .

 

[Tosh]

Yeah, I want fries with that! Mmm, that smells heavenly, Alicia. Now where did I put my glasses?

 

[Brett Miller]

The question is.....what kind of oil are you going to run in it?