I just took my car into the dealership to take care of an overheating problem and they say I'm going to need a new motor. Just wondering what my choices are price wise. They want 4400 for an engine. So I just wanted to see what the most economical option would be or if any of you would be able to help me with this. I'm a poor college student so anything on the cheaper side would help. I have a motorcycle to get me around now, but need to get it running again. It's an '89 RS that had 250,000 miles on it.

Thanks,
Mike

 

hey, mike.. i just bought a short block 355 from United engine. it was 600$ since i didnt have a core. i believe they do have long blocks, should be about 850$.. if you have a TBI V8 already, everything will swap over.. talk to Dyno Don, he has his own shop and is VERY helpfull to us all.

 

do some reaserch. don will tell you and i will tell you, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. united motor is trash. my firend got ripped, and i almost did to. i was about to buy a motor from them and i did my research. A LOT of people have had problems with them. you may have got lucky...

by the way, to make sure we are talking about the same people, im talking about united motor in compton, ca that runs their ad in the recycle.

 

there are at least 2 people on this board selling their engine. That is probably your best $$/hp option right there. The cheapest reasonable option would be $1800 for the new TBI engine with about 230 net HP at the crank. Install is extra.

 

A. Welcome to the boards.
B. Get your car out of the dealer as fast as you can: Did they tell you exactly what was wrong with the engine, or did they just say your "johnson rod" was broken or something? They might be trying to screw ya.
C. As mentioned above, look around. I'm sure that you have a budget. You have a very interesting situation here, if u were willing to spend 4400 at the dealer for the engine...then u have a lot of room to work with.
D. Talk to Dyno Don about your situation. He's in O.C. Great guy. Real helpful, extremely fair.
Good luck, Efrain.

 

um i got mine in orange, not compton.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I did already take it out of the dealer. There's no way I can afford the 4400 they wanted. I would need something more in the 1500-2000 range at the most. I'm not too worried about it being really fast though, cuz that's why I have my gixxer for. Just something that will last awhile and still have the umph for getting on the freeway.

 

Are you planning to install the engine yourself or have a shop do it? You can find an engine in your price range, but then factor in the cost of installation if you have a shop do the work.

That's why the dealership is so high. They're including labor and I'd guess that's close to half of the $4400 you were quoted.

Scoggin Dickey Chevrolet shows this on their web site:
GM Goodwrench Engines -> 5.0L V8 Engines
Part - #12518296
Name - 1988-93 GM Vehicles 5.0/305 GM Goodwrench Crate Engine
Price - $1,634.61
Warranty - 36 Month / 50,000 Mile

http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...tart&catid=123

They are in Texas, but I'm sure you can find a local dealer/source that would be around the same price.

 

I bought my engine from United Engine a few years ago and it is still going strong.

 

I think the "club price" from Power Chevrolet in Valencia is about the same as the Scoggin Dickey price plus shipping.