Can't afford new truck. Should I replace engine?

[cfabe]

If it were mine I'd keep running it till it dies. Do some minor tune up things to see if you can improve the gas mileage. If the oil consumption starts getting much worse see if you can find any used motor oil for free and just dump that in. Had a buddy with a F150 with a rusted out oil pan who did that for a few months until he could afford a new one.

 

[LumberjkChamp]

BTW whoever said 5-6 hrs to swap an engine is wrong.A 350K truck will have 5-6 hrs just getting the exhaust mainfold off

Ha! No kidding. I think I've spent that long on just one or two exhaust manifold bolts. But that was a Ford, Chevy's are much better to work on though.

 

[nitro]

go to basic power industries they have new long blocks (NEW, NOT REBUILT) for under two grand . put your tbi and exhaust manifolds on and you just gained 100 hp
if your 94 has a 5.7 and the 6th vin is the letter K than it only put out 150 hp

marine blocks are built much better and make gobs of power .....check it out

i've done it twice:monkey:

 

[mattmc2003]

I think 150 was more like it for the 305 TBI. The 350 (5.7) was right about 200. How would a marine engine add 100 hp? You can't mess with a tbi setup too much without giving the computer fits.

 

[nitro]

i've got one of those crap motors in my wifes 94 suburban and the 350 makes 150 according to the motor guild and chiltons and our 2.2 subaru makes the same power

as far as the tbi goes if all the sensors (knock, oil, and temp )on the block fit ,then all the others are on the intake (map,tps,egr)
the heads on the k motor are the poorest efficiency of any of the gm heads

and the mexican gm blocks since 87 are what they call lightweight blocks and cant be bored too much if at all------the heartbeat of america---made in mexico

 

[ASEMASTER]

GM crate

I think you should help bail out GM. go buy a new truck, you got good years out of the one you have now and the new ones are better now than any of the older ones.
how ever if you cant. your best buy is the brand new GM. crate motor, change all sensors,exhaust manifolds, tune up parts, belts ,have radiator recored, hoses,alt rebuilt,starter rebuilt,plus much other over looked things.
OR JUST LET IT NICKLE AND DIME YOU TO DEATH EVERYTIME IT GOES IN THE SHOP FOR THE LITTLE THINGS IT COST YOU DOUBLE AGAIN FOR LABOR AND NOW ADAYS THAT IS NOT CHEAP.

 

[clearance]

I think you should help bail out GM. go buy a new truck, you got good years out of the one you have now and the new ones are better now than any of the older ones.
how ever if you cant. your best buy is the brand new GM. crate motor, change all sensors,exhaust manifolds, tune up parts, belts ,have radiator recored, hoses,alt rebuilt,starter rebuilt,plus much other over looked things.
OR JUST LET IT NICKLE AND DIME YOU TO DEATH EVERYTIME IT GOES IN THE SHOP FOR THE LITTLE THINGS IT COST YOU DOUBLE AGAIN FOR LABOR AND NOW ADAYS THAT IS NOT CHEAP.

Better? Plastic junk, more like it. The best years are long gone (pre-'88), the straight axle frontends with manual locking hubs, the gear drive transfer cases made out of cast iron, the solid, heavy transmissions. The lever on the floor for four wheel drive, not a button hooked to God knows what. Even the heater controls, steel cables that ran to steel vents and so on and on.

 

[mattmc2003]

"Pump it up! Among the many improvements for 1996 was more power for all the gasoline engines. Now called "Vortec," the much stronger gas engine family sported the following impressive power figures: Vortec 4300 V6 — 200 horsepower, up 35 horses; Vortec 5000 V8 — 220 horsepower, up 45; Vortec 5700 V8 — 250 horsepower, up 50; Vortec 7400 — 290 horsepower, up 60."
From edmunds.com

 

[mattmc2003]

"The stock TBI HP is 210 for the 88-94 and 200 for the 95."
Fullsizechevy.com

 

[mattmc2003]

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/enginespecs.html

all the specs here

 

[ray benson]

I know payments are the devil, but the rest of the truck is probably also getting old, trans., rear ends, trucks are a dime a dozen right now and dealers can't give them away. You can buy a 2004 1/2 ton, club cab, 4x4, with a v8 motor with around 75,000 miles on it for about $11,000 or less, if you shop around. Believe me I have been on the repair marry go round before, it's nice to have something you don't have to work on all the time. If you start nickle and dime'ing, engine, trans. rear ends, brake calipers, rotor, rusted brake lines, ball joints, u joints, tie rod ends, it goes on never ending and after you spend all that money you still have an old truck with no value. Something to think about.

I'm with you on this one. 350k miles - it's wore out.

 

[Biker Dude]

The best years are long gone (pre-'88), the straight axle frontends with manual locking hubs, the gear drive transfer cases made out of cast iron, the solid, heavy transmissions. The lever on the floor for four wheel drive, not a button hooked to God knows what. Even the heater controls, steel cables that ran to steel vents and so on and on.

Amen to that! I love the old chevys, cheap and durable. My wood hauler is an 85 3/4 ton and my plow truck is an 85 full size Blazer. Both are great at what they do.

 

[fishercat]

Amen!

Better? Plastic junk, more like it. The best years are long gone (pre-'88), the straight axle frontends with manual locking hubs, the gear drive transfer cases made out of cast iron, the solid, heavy transmissions. The lever on the floor for four wheel drive, not a button hooked to God knows what. Even the heater controls, steel cables that ran to steel vents and so on and on.

couldn't agree more! you can't keep a trans,fuel pump,or alternator in the new ones. don't even get me started on the mexican and chinese brakes.

trucks are trucks,if you want comfy and plush,buy a damn car!

 

[fishercat]

oh,you mean the one with the plastic intake plenum?

"Pump it up! Among the many improvements for 1996 was more power for all the gasoline engines. Now called "Vortec," the much stronger gas engine family sported the following impressive power figures: Vortec 4300 V6 — 200 horsepower, up 35 horses; Vortec 5000 V8 — 220 horsepower, up 45; Vortec 5700 V8 — 250 horsepower, up 50; Vortec 7400 — 290 horsepower, up 60."
From edmunds.com

with the cocktail straw injectors that leak and crap out faster than plug wires on the old ones?

i will admit,that 5.3 did rip when it ran.

 

[fastmopar1k]

It's too bad you don't live nearby, I have a nice TBI 350 in a 91 RX-7 I would sell for $500. I do agree that replacing an engine is way cheaper than buying a new truck and it sounds like the rest of the drivetrain is in good shape. I would replace the engine if it needed it.

Did you buy that car in somerset???

 

[pelhamjeff]

I just put a Jasper 350 in my 90 chevy 1500. Mine had cracked heads (I bought it that way). Jasper puts out a quality product. I'm not quite to the first oil change yet and I think it's gonna be a great engine. Cost a little over $1700 for the engine, plus I opted for the installation kit, which has filters, ignition parts, etc. About Richard's estimate of 4-6 hours, I'll say this: I started on the job on a Saturday morning about 10:30 and was driving it at midnight. I am a German car mechanic and the truck is a 2-wheel drive. So 5 hours seems a little optomistic to me. Maybe Richard is just one of those really fast dealer techs!

 

[John D]

I just put a Jasper 350 in my 90 chevy 1500. Mine had cracked heads (I bought it that way). Jasper puts out a quality product. I'm not quite to the first oil change yet and I think it's gonna be a great engine. Cost a little over $1700 for the engine, plus I opted for the installation kit, which has filters, ignition parts, etc. About Richard's estimate of 4-6 hours, I'll say this: I started on the job on a Saturday morning about 10:30 and was driving it at midnight. I am a German car mechanic and the truck is a 2-wheel drive. So 5 hours seems a little optomistic to me. Maybe Richard is just one of those really fast dealer techs!

Im not trying to say the jasper is not a good deal,but I think light duty remanufactured engines days are numbered. Why buy a reman,when you can buy a brand new Gm crate engine for the same price?

 

[pelhamjeff]

Im not trying to say the jasper is not a good deal,but I think light duty remanufactured engines days are numbered. Why buy a reman,when you can buy a brand new Gm crate engine for the same price?

It's been several months ago, but when I realized my heads were cracked, I priced a long block from the local Chevy dealer, and they wanted a couple hundred dollars more than Jasper, plus their warranty was not as comprehensive. The GM crate engines are also remanufactured, aren't they?

 

[maul ratt]

What engine oil?

The advice so far has been great! I should be able to get through the winter with my current engine. I was wondering what weight oil I should use in a 350,000 mile engine? I've been using the Valvoline 10w-40 "high mileage" synthethic oil. Should I go with a different oil? Maybe just the cheapest oil possible?

 

[Keith F]

I was in a similar situation. I have a '86 GMC 6000 truck powered by a small block/allison 4 sp auto. Original engine must have had a block problem, kept on blowing head gaskets. Note a small block leads a very rough life in this truck, 9,900 lbs empty and rated for 20,000 lb loaded. Chassis has a 16' fontain dump bed.

Replaced engine last month with a new GM long block "260 hp", edelbrock manifold/600 cfm 4 bbl carb and MSD streetfire distributer. Longblock was just under $1,700.00 delivered/no core charge from JEGS.

Everything went together without a hitch, carb was spot on as delivered.

Runs great so far (~500 miles hauling wood and gravel) and sounds great too. Looked into rebuiling original engine but I believe a new longblock is a better value, and easier too.