Remanufactured Engine Experiences?

I’d be inclined to talk to a local rebuilder to get their take on it. Ive been unlucky here before but I didn’t ask around for reviews either. You might get lucky, especially if they can get in there and pull yours before it grenades..

I do like the 4.7 stroker idea though, a lot, esp if it has a warranty. That would be fun!
 
I know you don't want to but you'll get a better engine dealing with a local shop that specialises in race engines and things like that. Then you can pick all your parts, you can talk to the guy building it, etc etc. Even if you just want a stock rebuild they will have all the necessary equipment and expertise.
 
I would hop on the Pirate 4x4 forums. They rip and tear all sorts of mix n match builds on there. Surely those guys will have lots to say about where to buy what , who has good stuff and who peddles junk. I got a lot of great info there when I had a grand Cherokee .
 
We got 350,000 on a Jasper 350. It's still going actually! Not sure how they do on your engine but I can say we were happy with the results. Was a short block. FYI
 
My only experience was with a Jasper remanufactured I had installed into my 1995 Escort at around 72.5K miles in around 2002 after it dropped a valve seat. That engine was still in the car, and working fine when I got rid of it last fall (2020) at around 265K miles. The Jasper engine went through two timing belts, one water pump (and even that only because I was doing a timing belt; the pump itself was fine, the timing belt tensioner went bad), a valve cover gasket and a head gasket. As far as I can tell, the only reason the head gasket went bad was because for this application Fel-Pro uses the same gasket for every US Escort ever made (pretty much) and some other non Ford product, where as the Mahle gasket is only good for a 1991-1996 Escort with the 1.9L engine and the Mahle gasket simply fit better. I also replaced a leaking oil pressure switch (really easy to do when the head is off). Engine was leaking oil and antifreeze (through rusty freeze plug) when I junked it.
 
Jasper is actually not bad. The internet does a good job of documenting the bad experiences, of course, but they are in the "more trustworthy" mass engine/trans/t-case rebuilders out there. Quite frankly, inasmuch as I love the temptation to take out the old and put in the new in the same breath, my strong recommendation is to find a local shop that will rebuild YOUR engine, if you want a rebuilt one. There are many shops that will rebuild an engine you bring to them and you'll be able to discuss upgrades and even get the boxes and receipts to prove they were installed.

Worth noting, the 4.0L is not a difficult engine to rebuild. It's ancient and simple, relatively. Probably a few YouTube videos and you're golden.
 
wildcatgoal said:
Jasper is actually not bad. The internet does a good job of documenting the bad experiences, of course, but they are in the "more trustworthy" mass engine/trans/t-case rebuilders out there. Quite frankly, inasmuch as I love the temptation to take out the old and put in the new in the same breath, my strong recommendation is to find a local shop that will rebuild YOUR engine, if you want a rebuilt one. There are many shops that will rebuild an engine you bring to them and you'll be able to discuss upgrades and even get the boxes and receipts to prove they were installed.

Worth noting, the 4.0L is not a difficult engine to rebuild. It's ancient and simple, relatively. Probably a few YouTube videos and you're golden.
Click to expand...
I concur with both themes here.

1) Jasper actually does about a bazillion rebuilds of engines/trans/diffs every year (admittedly an exaggeration) and they're likely to put out a bad one every now and then. But the vast majority of their remans are good, and they have a good warranty as well. I know the owner of a local indi auto shop and he's been using Jasper for years and he's very happy with the work they do and the warranty they stand behind. The internet does a fantastic job of blowing things out of proportion and not allowing context to be understood. Other large, well known companies also can be quite good.

2) local rebuilders are a good source as well. Not knowing where in MN the OP is, it's hard to know if he's limited in his choices or not. But they offer personalized service as well as a lot of choices, and if they have a good reputation, they are accountable in order to survive.
 
I'll apologize in advance, but I guess it is time to share (yet again) my experience with Jasper, since we're now talking about a "bad one every now and then" without any apparent first hand personal experience. This is one of the typical, yet more annoying aspects of this site... now coming from a staff member, as a bonus.

I was going to stay out of it... but no... not now.

If Jasper is too stupid to have figured out how to reliably rebuild something like a GM 5.3 at this point, then I don't know what to say. I went through 3 - 5.3 Jasper rebuilds in less than one year. The first two were defective right off the pallet, and the third (still in use) has been shedding lead like mad.

At this point, they refuse to do anything more, and I'm stuck with their lead shedder. Their plan is to simply stall and delay until the warranty expires, and then their problem goes away. They've wasted my time, they've wasted my shop's time with diagnosing their junk engines... and they didn't do anything more than the bare minimum of what they had to, all along the way. Absolutely no goodwill at all, considering the circumstances. None.

Since this, the owner of the shop that had to deal with this had to put an engine in their shop truck, a 5.3 as well. They didn't use a Jasper. Shocking.

Three bad rebuilds to the same customer in a year's time, is not a "bad one every now and then". Sorry, Newton.
 
its better to spend more for a better rebuild as changing an engine is more work-$$$ than a tyre change. local builders may not have the latest equipment but if they care about their reputation their work is prolly better + as noted better parts matter as well, good luck!
 
I worked for a while in industries that overhauled engines, used the overhauled engines in hard working local delivery and work trucks like ladder trucks, and of course, in the race car/marine world.

What I saw was pathetic and the failure rate under hard use was high. The fact that the low quality parts hold up is a miracle in itself. I'm 100% sure they are sourced from India or China. Whether you get a good one or not, depends on where the inclusions are in the pistons, and whether or not the donor parts (crankshaft, rods, block, heads) were in good shape to begin with. Believe it or not, anything can be an acceptable crankshaft bearing, even 100% aluminum shells....

It is absolutely no surprise the results are "all over the map". That's what happens with low quality replacement parts. Again, it really does depend on where the flaws are.

Contrast that with new cars/new engines, where the failure rate is exceedingly low.
 
zzyzzx said:
Can you upload the audio of this for our review and criticism?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I tore apart the top end investigating so it's not currently running. This is when I found silver metal dust ( not large flakes its like super fine sand texture) in the oil in the head and some larger areas in the head that have pockets where the metal could settle.
 
mrsilv04 said:
I'll apologize in advance, but I guess it is time to share (yet again) my experience with Jasper, since we're now talking about a "bad one every now and then" without any apparent first hand personal experience. This is one of the typical, yet more annoying aspects of this site... now coming from a staff member, as a bonus.

I was going to stay out of it... but no... not now.

If Jasper is too stupid to have figured out how to reliably rebuild something like a GM 5.3 at this point, then I don't know what to say. I went through 3 - 5.3 Jasper rebuilds in less than one year. The first two were defective right off the pallet, and the third (still in use) has been shedding lead like mad.

At this point, they refuse to do anything more, and I'm stuck with their lead shedder. Their plan is to simply stall and delay until the warranty expires, and then their problem goes away. They've wasted my time, they've wasted my shop's time with diagnosing their junk engines... and they didn't do anything more than the bare minimum of what they had to, all along the way. Absolutely no goodwill at all, considering the circumstances. None.

Since this, the owner of the shop that had to deal with this had to put an engine in their shop truck, a 5.3 as well. They didn't use a Jasper. Shocking.

Three bad rebuilds to the same customer in a year's time, is not a "bad one every now and then". Sorry, Newton.
Click to expand...
Thank you, this is valuable feedback and what I am looking for. Since results are all over the map, these are what I need to hear.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies.
dnewton3 said:
I concur with both themes here.

1) Jasper actually does about a bazillion rebuilds of engines/trans/diffs every year (admittedly an exaggeration) and they're likely to put out a bad one every now and then. But the vast majority of their remans are good, and they have a good warranty as well. I know the owner of a local indi auto shop and he's been using Jasper for years and he's very happy with the work they do and the warranty they stand behind. The internet does a fantastic job of blowing things out of proportion and not allowing context to be understood. Other large, well known companies also can be quite good.

2) local rebuilders are a good source as well. Not knowing where in MN the OP is, it's hard to know if he's limited in his choices or not. But they offer personalized service as well as a lot of choices, and if they have a good reputation, they are accountable in order to survive.
Click to expand...
I'm in the Minneapolis metro area. I've used a few different machine shops for head work in the past but I'm not finding much for engine rebuilders ( with good reviews...) outside of race engine builders in my area. The machine shops I've used were OK for head work but only one I'd use to build an engine. The down side to them is they are very expensive ( $400 to deck a set of Subaru heads and pressure test!) so I can't imagine what an engine build would cost.
 
I would check the Jeep forums and FB groups in your area...look for someone V8-swapping a Cherokee or Wrangler.
 
My boss’s Yukon xl’s engine was replaced with a jasper reman. I think he’s got the 6.3? I don’t recall the details, but they had to warranty within 3 weeks.
 
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