Have you ever had to replace an engine in a car?

[Escape08]

I am in my 60s, never had experience of a "major"costly engine failure to all the vehicles I owned (past & current). I had a problematic 1985 BMW 318i (money pit). Rather than passing the problems to the buyer, I donated it to Houston PBS (non-profit) charity.

 

[ripcord]

Yep, and even twice on the same rig one time.

My brother threw a rod in a 300 six in his 70's F250. We scrounged up a used 302 to replace it and while putting it in we broke the dipstick tube. My brother, also being a dipstick at the time, stuffed a bit of rag in the hole and decided to drive it. Sure enough, he ran it out of oil in a couple of days and busted that engine. We finally found a 351W that replaced the 302 which ran great for many years.

 

[4WD]

Nope

 

[AutoMechanic]

We need one for our 2001 Jeep Cherokee. It over heats after you shut it off and shoots the radiator cap off and all the coolant boils out. Been sitting since 2014. We tried a new head and head gasket same issue. We are thinking a possible flaw in the block that may have waited to show up. Nobody could figure it out. We found a Jeep Cherokee builder and specialist and he said he has only seen that a couple times and it’s because he thinks quality control at the Toledo Ohio plant went down when the workers heard they were shutting down in 2001. He thinks they may have let some stuff go that shouldn’t have. Of course that’s only speculation but it is a possibility I believe.

 

[UncleDave]

Not with your mechanic skills but as a general failure or performance question.

We had to one time on an Olds 88 with a 3.8 engine. The intake gasket failed causing coolant into a cylinder hydrolocking it and throwing the rod thru the block.

How about you?

Sure.

Cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, mowers, boats.

 

[earlyre]

after Grandpa Died(fall 1998), I inherited his 87 Olds 98
right around the 100k mi mark, (3.8l v6) had it for...almost 3 years/40k mi...in that time:

timing belt broke, clogged oil passages, replaced with a reman Jasper block..
popped a drive band in the transaxle* ,rebuilt local trans shop
took it in to the local Goodyear for Tires, and they ran it into one of the brick pillars between the bay doors.. bent the frame, cracked the rad, etc. repaired on their dime.
(I'll take part of the blame on that, for not telling them it had "non standard equipment"... Grandpa's right leg was amputated, car had a second accelerator to the left of the brake, I guess the kid thought it was a clutch?..)
all told, when I sold the car in 2001 (for $2k), it had 140k on the odo, but around 20-30k mi on the driveline, and all new paint and body work north of the A pillar.
between my Dad and Goodyear around $10k had been put in to it. ($17,373 in 2023 dollars)

it still needed new window motors, the A/C was going out, and the windshield leaked, but...

*mild teenage parkinglot hoonage...

 

[Chris142]

We need one for our 2001 Jeep Cherokee. It over heats after you shut it off and shoots the radiator cap off and all the coolant boils out. Been sitting since 2014. We tried a new head and head gasket same issue. We are thinking a possible flaw in the block that may have waited to show up. Nobody could figure it out. We found a Jeep Cherokee builder and specialist and he said he has only seen that a couple times and it’s because he thinks quality control at the Toledo Ohio plant went down when the workers heard they were shutting down in 2001. He thinks they may have let some stuff go that shouldn’t have. Of course that’s only speculation but it is a possibility I believe.

Did you test the cooling system for hydrocarbons?

 

[AutoMechanic]

Did you test the cooling system for hydrocarbons?

Have not.

 

[redbone3]

I used to be addicted to SAAB Sonett's. I got very good at removing and installing the Ford V-4 engines. While stationed in Germany I replaced the engine in an Audi 100 and a Datsun. I replaced the head in that US spec Datsun with a German spec head. Ended up with a 13 to 1 compression ratio. I replaced several Opel engines of the 4 cylinder 16oo and 18oo cc varieties. The Opel's were very easy to work on, except for the "Vielen Ecke" bolts that were always pack with mud and oil.

 

[350Rocket]

Had to replace the 305 in my 83 Silverado 4yrs ago, rebuilt is going strong.

What finally happened to the 305? Sadly I had to trade my 83 Caprice to a body guy for some bodywork on my work truck a couple years ago. The original 305 still ran good at 240k.

 

[350Rocket]

My 70 elcamino. The 350 developed a rod knock. I had a local shop build the long block that was never right.

2.6 Mitsubishi broke a crank@44k. I put a low milage engine in it from a wreck

69 Chevelle with a 6 had the oil pump fall off the mount. This was a blessing because the 302 I rebuilt myself for it was much more fun.

The 340 duster I had dropped a valve. I had the heads heads done ,a sleeve and a piston. It dropped another valve and I threw the 340 away and rebuilt a 360 for it. Never was happy with it's performance vs the 340.

Also various dirt bikes and atv's both 2 and 4 cycle got rebuilt by me over my lifetime.

You have some bad luck!

 

[wander2039]

Replaced one in a Ford Aspire with a engine from a Festiva. The only one so far. I have had the head off the Focus twice, that seemed more difficult.

 

[ka9mnx]

Just one. In the 70's I bought 1958 Ford Wagon I6 with a rod knock for $50. It almost made it home. I pulled the same engine from a 1961 truck I had and wasn't using, totally rebuilt it and installed it. It's long gone but still my wife's favorite car. Three on the tree with overdrive!

 

[Junk]

The only engine I ever had go bad that I owned was in my wife's 99 Escort. Dropped the #4 valve seat at about 160K. I was mad too, the inside of that engine was pristine, but it messed the head and block up bad enough it wasn't worth fixing the one that was in it. Got one out of what was evidently a stick shift car, and the thrust bearing must have been way loose in it because every time you loaded the thing just right after that it would make noise. Gave that car to my mother in law, who promptly wrecked it.

 

[eljefino]

93 Saturn, bought it with a rod knocking for $95 and drove it home.

Built a motor for it, out of a DOHC bottom end, the OG pistons and head, new HG and timing set.

2004 Cavalier Ecotec, BIL roasted the timing chain. Got a 2000 model with the OHV motor and 3t40, swapped that as an assembly. Worked great!

 

[supton]

I pulled an engine to do a rear main seal, but the engine was fine. Otherwise, nope, haven't had to replace an engine (yet).

 

[Timmastertech]

Working on one at the moment, 2014 Equinox 2.4 PCV system froze, popped the rear seal. Kid ran it without oil and it spun a connecting rod bearing. Machine shop is going to put together the short block, I will do final assembly

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Yep, 4. '67 and '69 Datsun 2000s, 70 Bug, and a 2005 Colorado 5-cyl I bought with a blown engine. The Colorado was great - I found a complete new factory dressed crate engine on ebay for two grand. The others I rebuilt.

 

[350Rocket]

The only engine I ever had go bad that I owned was in my wife's 99 Escort. Dropped the #4 valve seat at about 160K. I was mad too, the inside of that engine was pristine, but it messed the head and block up bad enough it wasn't worth fixing the one that was in it. Got one out of what was evidently a stick shift car, and the thrust bearing must have been way loose in it because every time you loaded the thing just right after that it would make noise. Gave that car to my mother in law, who promptly wrecked it.

I saw that valve seat failure happen in a few of those escorts back in the day. One did it on the test drive after doing a brake job. Try explaining that to a customer.

 

[michaelluscher]

Knock on wood I haven't lost one/bought one yet
Looks nervously at xB and Camry
I've watched a few 2.4 Theta II engines unalive themselves