To replace the engine or not?

[Fish N Farm]

I just put a reman engine in my TV back in Jan. at 262,000 (2008 F150 super crew 4.6) The timing chain and tensioners have been wore out for the last 20,000 miles. It has had 2 tranys since it was new. The heater core let go about a week ago and it is now new. A new one close to $50,000. An un known 10 yr old low mileage is going to have around 100,000. Yep I could lose a tranny going to get my Lotto ticket tomorrow. But I know the truck and the old dog and the LW likes where they ride.

I personally think buying a unknown 100,000 mile beater is right up there with holding a gun to your own head but, my heart is probably weaker than yours. If you like the truck go to bank and borrow enough to replace the engine and the tranny. I am not a Jasper fan that's neither here nor there. Call your Dodge dealer and tell him you ain't paying list price and see what he will sell you an engine for. I always talk cash to shops doing big jobs and that normally helps. Just tell them you need some help and are willing to pay cash.

[efi460]

The old saying "There's a butt for every seat" is important to remember here. If this is a show quality unit, and you are a mechanic with a garage,,,fix it with a good wreckyard unit. If you are not this person, sell it to one who is.
Son and I sell many "pushers" for fair money. There's always a buyer. Some of the diesels, we fix and send down the road. If there is rust, there is no value.
Good luck on the new tow rig and thanks to all of you for the stories. We love the old ones, the new ones, and especially the modernized old ones.
Our museum has 34 units, 1919 Liberty and newer.
Tow rig is 2018 Ram Tungsten Edition, 2500, with 6.7 pulling my one owner old 2012 Sabre fiver that the derecho did not put a tree through. The new Sabre went to the camper salvage auction in Denver.

[IDguy]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Yeah, but if replaces the engine, he will have $15,500 in an old truck that is worth $7500.
And then he is pretty much forced to keep it forever.........

Sunk cost should never come into a decision. It is sunk.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by IDguy

Sunk cost should never come into a decision. It is sunk.

So when do you decide to stop sinking $$$$

[SaladShooter]

Mopar had problems with the 5.7 Hemi. Son in laws truck I believe lifters failed, ending up flattening cam, killing cylinders. Pushrods were going everywhere in his engine. Dealerships claimed ignorance on what was going on. I believe it was a VVT engine. Heavier trucks, 2500's, didn't have VVT. Because of this, good used engines are difficult to find. ECM has to be re-programmer to delete VVT. This is what I remember from 4 years ago, but it's close. Son in law put about $7000 in it, sold it later because he needed a 2500.

[DAHVGER]

Sell it as is and get a new one!

[re3ver]

Try looking around before you decide what to do. My husband has a 2004 Avalanche we have been using as a tow vehicle for our Clipper 17FQS. The Avalanche has over 200,000 miles and we have been staying within 150 miles from home. I started looking for something with about 50 to 75 thousand miles and 2015 up. I found a repo at our local credit union that was just perfect. 2017 Ram Longhorn with 41,000 miles for $22,000. I had a mechanic check it out and it is perfect. The original bill of sale was in the glove compartment and what we paid was less than half the original loan.We realize that the newer truck cost more than putting a crate motor in the Avalanche, but we could also get our money back if we needed to.
That made us decide not to spend the money on the Avalanche before we started taking multi state trips. There is no canned right or wrong answer for your quandary. I am happy with our decision, but it might not be right for you.

[dlambers]

If the truck is in good shape otherwise, the numbers make it a no brainer. Just remember it is still a 16 year old truck that just has a new engine. Break the new one in right and take care of it and you should be able to get another 150k out of that rig.

[njfishing]

I keep my vehicles forever until I get to the point of no return and are faced with major expenditures like you are faced with now.

The one thing to keep in mind if going newer are all the added safety features the newer trucks have which could save your life. Blind spot monitoring, emergency breaking/collision avoidance, lane keeping etc. When I decided to move up, these were must haves for me since this is also my daily driver and I plan to keep it for a long time.

If this truck is strictly used for towing then maybe it makes sense to put the money into it to serve that single purpose. If also your daily driver the safety features are worth spending the extra money on.

[Hockeydad 1024]

I recommend a good used engine. Drive it for a season and trade.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

So when do you decide to stop sinking $$$$

You don't, you become a submarine commander underwater. And while you are down there, you can listen to Kenny Rogers on the intercom singing the lyrics of "The Gambler". All while thinking to yourself, will this sub sink and we will become part of the sea, or will it get decommission and you can live happily ever after?

[QQPEHSS]

I think it's not a good idea to repair your 2004. Newer trucks have higher towing capacities. I just parted with my 2003 Ram 1500 5.7 as it struggled to tow my 33 foot Surveyor 33RETS. I upped to a Ram 2500 6.4. 7000.00 sounds like a lot of money for that job and you still have many unknowns. My '03 needed ball joints and other odds and ends. Not knowing what your finances are, I would still advise against putting that much into your truck.

[babock]

OP made his decision already in post #76

[Bhrava]

Originally Posted by dopplebock

To all, thanks for all your views on this. Gave me and my wife a lot to think about. This was my firsrt ever truck purchase and it was purchased for the sole purpose of towing the TT. I’ve only had it two years, and while I like the truck and feel it was a fair price when I bought it, I’m not emotionally attached. I don’t have the ability to do this engine change myself, so I will have to pay my mechanic to do it. At this point we feel that it’s more than we want to spend on this truck. While it’s in great shape, it is 16 years old. I’m gonna try to get the most I can for it as is. Hoping to find someone who see’s its potential.
Now that I have some towing under my belt, I’m gonna start looking for a good deal on a 2500. That’ll give me some head room in case we opt to upsize the TT in the future. Power to you guys and gals that can take on an engine swap yourself.
Again, thanks.

Good plan. Not being able to do it yourself, it's not worth the cost. If you were able to DIY, a VEGE shortblock from Summit would be the way to go, they come with a 3 year warranty and range from $3K to $5K depending on the application. The quote you were given was way on the high side too for an engine swap, must have a high hour labor rate. If the body is rust free and the suspension still tight, you might fond someone who could tackle an engine swap and get a few grand for it.

[hazmat456]

You can get a used 5.7 for about 500- 1000. The truck would be worth the same as installing a 5000 jasper engine.
Nobody will give you more money for the truck because it has a rebuilt engine in it. If anything it will be worth less than if it had the original running engine in it. I personally would not even look at a vehicle with a replacement engine, it screams lack of proper maintenance, even if that was not the actual case.
You could then trade it on a newer model. But either way you have to fix it or just write it off. And scrape metal prices around here are about 35 a ton. That translates to 105 for your truck

[aircommuter]

Originally Posted by hazmat456

You can get a used 5.7 for about 500- 1000. The truck would be worth the same as installing a 5000 jasper engine.
Nobody will give you more money for the truck because it has a rebuilt engine in it. If anything it will be worth less than if it had the original running engine in it. I personally would not even look at a vehicle with a replacement engine, it screams lack of proper maintenance, even if that was not the actual case.
You could then trade it on a newer model. But either way you have to fix it or just write it off. And scrape metal prices around here are about 35 a ton. That translates to 105 for your truck

I think that is the way to go if he could get a used engine put in cheap enough then trade it for the 2500 truck.
It is worth a lot more than scrap metal prices, parting out can be fairly profitable but he would have to sell it to someone who does that as he doesn’t do that type of work.

[moose074]

Not sure when some of you got your last engine swap. I believe it was around 2008 when my father in law had his done. He had just retired from being a mechanic for almost 50 years. I was working 12-14 hours a day oilfield. So he had local dealership do the swap, total out the door for new 454 was $10k

[Qwkynuf]

Originally Posted by moose074

Not sure when some of you got your last engine swap. I believe it was around 2008 when my father in law had his done. He had just retired from being a mechanic for almost 50 years. I was working 12-14 hours a day oilfield. So he had local dealership do the swap, total out the door for new 454 was $10k

I'd do it for 10 grand, and I don't even LIKE working on cars anymore!


Back in the early '80s I was working in an automotive machine shop. We performed all services relating to rebuilding engines, and would return parts to you anywhere from ready to assemble, all the way to a running, dyno'd engine.

We charged $125 to assemble a standard American V-8 ($250 if you brought it to us in a box!), and I would say that easily half of our customers thought that was an outrageous price.

Our boss had a friend who had his own machine shop, and he would often come by to use equipment that he didn't have in his own shop. One day I was talking to him and the subject of engine assembly came up. "I *hate* it" he said. "I hate it so much, I charge $750 to do it." I said "If you hate it that much, what do you do if someone pays you the 750???" "I *love* it - but just that once."

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by moose074

Not sure when some of you got your last engine swap. I believe it was around 2008 when my father in law had his done. He had just retired from being a mechanic for almost 50 years. I was working 12-14 hours a day oilfield. So he had local dealership do the swap, total out the door for new 454 was $10k

Maybe you need to do some more research yourself. And who does an engine swap with a new (not rebuilt) motor?
The last engine I did was four years ago and a swap from a six cylinder to a complete rebuilt 350 4 bolt main crate engine that matched up to my bell housing. Even had intake, carb, dist, plugs, and wires. My total cost was $2495 (Speedway motors or March Perf, I think) plus $150 for a radiator swap, and about the same for ceramic headers. I did get a quote for a mechanic friend to do the work, and the labor was about $2500.
So total was a little more than $5k. And if you went with a long block, in the OPs case, it would be about $1700 plus labor.
So 10k is way out there where I'm from. Especially that long ago.

[Qwkynuf]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Maybe you need to do some more research yourself. And who does an engine swap with a new (not rebuilt) motor?
The last engine I did was four years ago and a swap from a six cylinder to a complete rebuilt 350 4 bolt main crate engine that matched up to my bell housing. Even had intake, carb, dist, plugs, and wires. My total cost was $2495 (Speedway motors or March Perf, I think) plus $150 for a radiator swap, and about the same for ceramic headers. I did get a quote for a mechanic friend to do the work, and the labor was about $2500.
So total was a little more than $5k. And if you went with a long block, in the OPs case, it would be about $1700 plus labor.
So 10k is way out there where I'm from. Especially that long ago.

I had that thought too. I just checked, and I could order a rebuilt engine from Jeg's for my 2003 F150 for about $3,000 + $500-ish core. I figure it would take me two full days to swap it out by myself, and *maybe* $500 in supplies, so 3500 after I get my core back. I don't have a lift, so it would (should) take me longer than someone who has access to a full shop.

It would take a huge amount of labor cost to drive that up to seven grand, or ten. 20 hours at $175 per hour? Yeah, no. Not paying that.