Remanufactured or used engine

[IxHolyFordxI]

Hello everyone im in need of some advice. so my 1998 ford explorer 4x4 v6 sohc 4.0L is having some problems...well first off it started to blow white smoke and water out the tail pipe...milky stuff under the oil cap but not in the dip stick...it never overheated though (blown Head Gasket??) well now it doesnt do any of that...the truck has loss of power and low mpg...the engine rattles(timing chain guide??) im contemplating opening it up and fixing it ...but if its what i think it will come out to over $1000 in cost and i dont know what else i might find when i open it up ...i want to know if you should maybe get a used engine or remanufactured engine????if anyone has any related experience to this situation or engine choices please help...and if you have resources to a well know place that sells good engines for a descent price...thanks please help..

 

[asafley]

I went with a reman 4.0L SOHC engine from Jasper for my '97. I have put over 10000 miles in less than 6 months and so far so good. I believe I spent a little over 4 grand for the engine. To me I believe I did the right thing, since I plan to keep my truck for several more years because there is nothing else wrong and it is absolutely pristine. I did consider a used engine but at the time it would have been a used engine with >100K miles and it was a SOHC. I don't know if I would trust a used SOHC engine in the long run... maybe if I was going to sell the truck. I also considered swapping in a V8 but I was in a time constraint since it was my only vehicle and needed to go to work and school. But if I had the time, I would have went with a V8 and rebuilt it myself, especially since others have done it.