Economy engine rebuild or crate motor?

[Robb]

Rondog,

Great info to know, thanks for sharing.

[rondog]

Rondog,

Great info to know, thanks for sharing.

I "think" it's a turnkey operation too, as in they'll yank and reinstall the engine as well, but don't quote me on that.

[Rabid]

Slap a set of valve stem seals on it. That will probably fix your smoking issue.

This and its easy to do.

I don't about Brian, but I had a good experience with a Jasper Remanufactured Chevy 4.3L V6. Back in 2007, when I had it done it cost about $4K for the whole job and came with a warranty. Have to go to a Jasper affiliated mechanic for the warranty, but I thought it was worth it. We sold the truck about 20K miles later and the family we sold it to was still driving it a year ago.

I know people that have 75k+ on Jasper engines and transmissions with out any problems. Anything that is remanufactured you are going to want a warrenty on though.

[sniper7]

I just did my own and it was a pretty fun experience. lucky for me my buddy owns a shop so we had plenty of space and time to work on it. I still got the heads done at a machine shop but we did the rest of it ourselves. 7500 miles on it now and running like a champ

[Ah Pook]

A puff of smoke at start up isn't a bad thing. Is it burning oil of leaking?

I'd drive it til it drops, then look at options. Maybe another truck. The little things can get expensive too. Personally, I would rather take it to a reputable rebuilder and let them have at it. That is if I was going to keep it afterwards.

Old trucks are a love hate relationship.

[Robb]

It burns oil. I just had the clutch and tranny work done about a year ago so no leaks at this point.

[brianakell]

I don't about Brian, but I had a good experience with a Jasper Remanufactured Chevy 4.3L V6. Back in 2007, when I had it done it cost about $4K for the whole job and came with a warranty. Have to go to a Jasper affiliated mechanic for the warranty, but I thought it was worth it. We sold the truck about 20K miles later and the family we sold it to was still driving it a year ago.

They tend to not blow up. Just not near as good as a one-off rebuild. theyre bored/honed so they fit together. Whereas a one-off will be bored at honed to tighter tolerance fit for the pistons provided. If OEM is 100% power rating, Jaspers run 80-90%, and one-off is at 100%. For a touch more money, you get higher quality parts, matched precisely, and will have an engine good for another 200k, that will drive like it did off the showroom floor. Jasper will drive like a 100k motor, good, but not new. I had a good friend who dealt with them for several years. He had some issues here and there, and viewed them as a budget replacement, an option, not a recommendation. Any one that was willing to spend a little more, did a better one-off rebuild, and seat of the pants was VERY noticeable between otherwise identical vehicles.

[Mtn.man]

It's a 4.3 slap a BBC crate motor in it and BAM... Lookout.