Rebuilt Or Remanufactured?

[ExplorerDMB]

So, say your engine/transmission goes out and you have the option of either rebuilding your motor (by another person, not you) or getting a remanufacturered engine (i.e. Jasper), which one would you choose?

Prices:

Rebuilt - $2,000 (total time/labor/parts - removal and reinstall)
Remanufacturer - $5,000 (total time/labor/parts - removal and replace)


Is it better to spend a lot to put a band-aid on it, or spend more and get a better engine, better warranty, and better reliabilty? Now remember, most remans come with a warranty of 3/36 or something similar. Most rebuilds are "as-is" or 3 months or something similar.

Also, if you can rebuild your own engine - would you still op out for a reman or just rebuild it yourself?

-Drew

 

[dreamr]

Hmm I have mixed sentiments......

On the Xplorer if the engine/tranny take a crap (4.0 OHV/5r55e) they will get pulled and tossed in the corner along with the junk transfer case.

All will be replaced with a low mileage 5.0 from an X backed by the 4r70w and an Atlas if I can afford it/ and an unknown manual case if not.
If I can't find a low mileage drivetrain it will get a high mileage drivetrain from a 5.0 Xplorer only it will be rebuilt as a 306 and lots of porting to the heads/intake and likely all forged internals just to keep it strong. blah blah blah....I would have either Jim Greens performance or Brads custom auto do the rebuild.


For the mustang I swing a bit differently. Rebuilding it's current productiojn 5.0 as a 306 is a cheaper means of getting there. However I really just want a 351 built to my specs and a c-4 so I say remanufactured/custom here......

All in all what to do depends on what you want.....


Now with our kia if it dies throw the POS away!!!!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

After my previous experiences buying a rebuilt A4LD from the Ford dealer, and one from an independent rebuilder, I don't trust that their remanufactured unit is really remanufactured. I think it is still a rebuilt with only a soft parts rebuild. When I opened them up, they had all old parts. The dates on the parts were 86, and 87 in an 88 transmission. They saw a damaged part, and replaced it with another used part that was older (probably from a parts only unit). These guys were impossible to deal with when it came to honoring their warranties.

 

[section525]

Eventhough I have not built a motor myself... I would probably give it a whirl.

 

[BMXplorer]

Although it can make a person cringe to have to pay for the remanufactured engine that seems to have more potential to be more reliable and last longer than the rebuild. A 3-year or 36,000 mile warranty is also a plus compared to 3 months.

There's always the possibility with the rebuilt engine of eventually having sunk as much money or more into it over time than the remanufactured engine.

You might want to take into account if the vehicle this engine is going into is a daily driver or other (not sure if you specified this?) can you afford not having the vehicle in a good running condition? How long it needs to last (ideally forever) without possible repair needed in the future?



Earlier this year I fell into a similar situation with an engine in a 93 explorer (daily driver) with around 150,000 miles on it. I ended up with busted head gasket that seemed to be like a wound that appeared out thin air that kept getting worse. Also it didn't help driving it into the hot zone, increasing the problem.

After being forced to pullover due to toasting it from driving it way to hot. And unfamiliar with how an engine turns over, reacts, and sounds when it's probably got a cylinder head friction welded inside the block. In my case with all the parts that got warped from excessive heat, the remanufactured engine was the way to go. This new remanufactured engine could probably get another 150,000 miles.

Sometimes maybe it takes an experience like mine above, for one to learn... and not to happen again.

Good luck. Chris

 

[ExplorerDMB]

I have taken a few engines all the way down and then back up - it's a great learning expierence; but is just a lot of work and a LONG downtime if it's your DD. My Explorer is a DD, and if I had to replace eng or tranny I'd look into a Jasper to cut down on downtime and since I'd probably get a discount since we install those at work - it might not look too bad

-Drew

EDIT: now if my Jeep Cherokee keeps knocking a little then I may swap in something a little more...to my liking

 

[BrooklynBay]

I saw on another website an article about somebody that had a Jeep Cherokee with over 400K miles until the engine went. He was creative, and decided to put in an electric motor! It was more expensive to do this than to just rebuild the previous motor, but wanted to get away from gasoline. With the prices going up on gas, maybe this might be an option besides rebuilding the internal combustion engine.

 

[UKExploder]

{poll} Rebuild or -------

I'd have a 2.7L or bigger diesel hooked up to my transmission if my 4.0L gas engine 'blew up'.

I like the idea of the diesel clatter in a Ex, and here in the UK the Ford Maverick SUV has had a diesel engine for quite a while now. I've been thinking of switchin' over even if my 4.0L doesn't "give up the ghost" I like the diesel sound anyway. I think it's cool. Besides the fuel mileage would be a much bigger Mpg.

 

[FilLaB0NGo7]

Ford: Rebuild It
Dodge: Don't bother, buy new.

 

[mrboyle]

Personally I'd rebuild it myself if it were the engine (I'm actually planning on building one for my X sometime in the next year or so). If it were a tranny I'd swap it out for a 700R4 (oh wait......I already did that!)

 

[fischerry]

why not hit the j/y pick up motor and rebuild it your self before it flops?when it come to a tranny.i would attemp to rebuild a manual tranny but never a automatic.pop one open and look at it.

 

[DeRocha]

If my tranny were to let go I'd call up Glacier and beg and plead for him to rebuild one for me, that way I'd know it was done right the 1st time. Finding someone who takes pride in their work is hard to find; when you do you'll never forget.

As for the engine I'd have to compare the differences between reman and rebuilt in terms of quality and warranty... My fear would be to get a good deal with a good warranty only to have it break down requiring down time... I'm sure warranty work would take much longer compared to new work in a shop..

 

[catdaddy]

Tore my 4.0, V-6 down to do cyl. heads ( never went that far ), good learning exp. Now I want to get ahold of an auto tranny to open up and start a rebuild b/4 mine crap out.