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need some opinions

titansarrow

Active Member
Joined
August 5, 2009
Messages
91
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City, State
dayton, oh
Year, Model & Trim Level
91 explorer
so, right before i left for work a few weeks ago (gone for that long) i replaced the starter and solenoid in the truck. a few day later when i was gone, the wife called and said the truck blew up. i got it towed back, it'll start, but it pretty much gets instantly hot, and there's some fan damage. i haven't had much of a chance to do any inspections, but the head gasket has been on its way out, so that is most likely the problem.

so, i've dumped a bunch of money on this truck over the last few years. i'm looking at getting another cheapy vehicle, or getting a refurbed motor with warranty through say, o'reilly's or something. either way it's about 3k spending.

if i get the motor, i'll have pretty much rebuilt a good chunk of the truck, there is no rust, and i rebuilt the tranny a year ago. so aside from some alignment/ wheel bearing problems, i think it'd be fine.

if i get a different vehicle, the potential problems are a mystery. or, it could be fine.

what do you think??
 



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sorry to hear that. If it were mine I would replace the motor. Especially if you already have put a lot of money into it. Just would seem like a waste. And yes, There's always somewhat of a mystery when buying a used vehicle so your point there is good. How much are they charging for the new motor? Couldn't you get it done for cheaper then 3k? Well, good luck on whatever you decide.
 






i can get the full motor; ready for drop in, for about 2k, plus paying a shop to swap'em. so it would be around 3k.
 






That sounds awful high to me. I am having a local shop rebuild one of my engines. They are doing it for about $1500, granted I am installing it back in the vehicle. Its a total longblock rebuild.

I would personally keep it and fix it, but it all boils down to: Do you want something else or not? If its in good shape still, its definatly worth fixing. Especially with the other major things already done. Your not that far off from having a new truck!

I'm sure you can sell it fairly easily here on the forum though.
 






You could replace the heads for ~$200 each, plus the gaskets, (along with the lifters/pushrods while you're in there for another ~$300), plus a water pump, thermostat, and new fan for $50-80. You might need a fan clutch as well. That's still well under $1000, and would likely put the motor in better condition than it was before, assuming there weren't other issues or something else caused the overheating.

If the motor IS wasted, you can still get a running one out of a rusted Explorer, especially in the rust belt. 91-92's in good shape with ~100,000 miles but a body that's falling apart are common and usually cheap, often just a few hundred bucks if that.
 






if you call your local dismanteler you can normally get an engine for around 250-400 with a warranty and if your inclined put it in yourself i've done it on my x and my buddys its takes less than 6 hours without air tools.
 






yea my vote would be to just replace the heads, pushrods and rockers,that put you back about $500 and its not that hard of a job.the bottom ends are pretty strong,mine still had the hone marks at 160,000
 






I replaced my engine when the head gasket blew. It was only $300 for a used motor from the junkyard. A few beers and some help from friends and it was done in 2 days. Pretty easy to do.
 






I think im going to throw it up on Craig's list, maybe for $600 Idk.
 






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