I wasn't sure whether to put this in the engine swap board or here, but I suppose this question could apply to engines in general.

It's starting to seem hard to come across a 3.4l engine with less than 140,000miles. I was wondering if the high mileage really mattered since I plan on rebuilding it anyway.

Without machine work, does rebuilding the engine..kinda...take alot of those miles off?
I'm not sure how to word the question perfectly.

I wasn't having any luck searching, either.

Thanks for any input.

 

A properly rebuilt engine is considered to have zero miles on it, so yes, it does "take the miles off". When searching for an engine to rebuild the mileage typically isn't a consideration unless of course the engine is blown in which case the engine block may have significant damage. If the high mileage engine is running it's probably a pretty good candidate for a rebuild.

However there is a good chance you will have to do machine work to rebuild it.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Depends upon the level of wear, which isn't directly tied to mileage. If the cylinders and crank journals aren't worn, you might be able to get by with running a glaze breaker down the holes and just replacing rings, bearing, gaskets and seals. However, if the cylinders are worn, tapered, or gouged, a glaze breaker and rings won't fix that, ditto with gouged crank journals and new bearings.

With regard to miles and wear, you could have, for example, an engine with 200k miles that got regular oil changes with synthetic oil, regular filter changes, never abused, that would basically be new with a timing set change. On the other hand, you could have a 50k engine that just had K-Mart oil added when it got low, was regularly over-rev'd, had the air filter removed, and otherwise abused and neglected that would need a complete overhaul with full machining required just to make it serviceable.

 

That's not looking good for the swap, then.
I can get a running 3.4l but if it needs machine work..I don't think that's something I could afford.

Simply rebuilding it, replacing parts though...I could afford..
..over some time, at least.

So I suppose it's a matter of luck in my situation on how worn the engine is.

 

Consider swapping to a 305 then. I cant give mine away and it runs great. If you want to drive out to my house and grab my L03, be my guest!

 

Machine work may not be as expensive as you're thinking. For example, I just put a newly rebuilt 355 in my brother's 1973 Corvette. After buying the core, machine work, new rings, bearings, seals, timing set, and oil pump, we had just over $500 in the engine.
Granted, I got the core for cheap. It needed minimal machine work, was already bored .030 over, and didn't have to replace anything I didn't mention above.
Rebuilding an engine can be done on a budget if you're patient. Just make sure you do spend the money for quality replacement parts or you're asking for trouble.

Dave

 

That'd be amazing. Only, since my car doesn't work I have trouble getting anywhere that's 15minutes away, even.
Also..if I did bite the bullet and do the v6-v8 swap I'd go for a 5.7litre..
but man..still, it's a great offer and I appreciate it, anyway.

 

Lol I didnt expect you to come get it (It's still free to the first taker) but I was just illustrating a point.

305s are a dime a dozen and they're absolutely worthless. You can grab one for next to nothing because everyone wants to go to a 350. Well, if you're short of money, a 305 is a great option. And going from a 305 to a 350 later is a piece of cake.

 

if your swapping a V8 in, go for a 350. skip the 305. I have one, it runs great, but i want a 350 or 383 in there. you'd be a lot happier :-)

 

Lol I think the focus skipped from the fact that I'm swapping in a v6 :P

Being unemployed at the moment I can only do research but this was an important question that needed answering.

I'll either simply be satisfied with the v6 after the swap or OVER TIME start upgrading things to handle the v8 and then EVENTUALLY do the "big swap".
For now I just need a running car but I don't want to half-*** it so I figure I might as well rebuild it before I put it in.

Another question about the rebuilding is..what if it's an engine that's seized up?
If it doesn't matter if it is or not before the rebuild, then this may open my options up to maybe getting a $120 engine from a pull it yourself place.

I'm hoping to get everything done before 7months from now. I'm hoping it won't take more than 3months but no matter how much I read I still don't feel I know what I'm getting into...so...there's no telling how long it'll take or how many things I'll run into.

Thanks all

ETA: I wonder how much more it'd cost me to just give the engine to someone and ask them to rebuild it? I'd rather not and I'd rather do as much as possible on my own but I'm curious, still.

 

You might be better off using your engine for a core and picking up a reman shortblock from parts store.
Also, if your V6 block needs boring it's not worth the money for new pistons.
You wind up spending $600 for a rebuilt V6 that isn't worth $100 (remember, you can't even give a good used 305 away)
The best thing to do is pull it down to the short block, measure the bores, if it doesn't need to be bored, scuff the cylinders, put rings, bearings, gaskets in it, get the heads worked and go.
BTW, I wouldn't buy a siezed motor for rebuild unless it was "rare" and it was going to get a complete rebuild (ie:boring and new everything but block).

 

As I've gotten older I have begun weighing the option of physically assaulting people that do this. Verbal abuse just doesn't seem to be enough anymore.
Without question, one of the most cruel things to do to an engine...