[Pishy714]

I am looking for some wisdom from some of you experienced guys on these forums. I have a4.7L V8 "N" engine with 117k miles on it that recently was diagnosed with a blown head gasket or cracked cylinder head, they aren't sure. The mechanic found exhaust coming out of the radiator, so its one or the other.

He quoted me $1400 total to change out the gasket, but my dilemma is, should I spend this much money on this engine or spend a bit more, around 2600, and get a new, used, engine with 57k miles put in instead? I don't know wether its worth it, considering the old engine could have something else wrong that caused the gasket to fail.

Thanks for the advice!

[jeep_dude]

I would think 2600 would score you a nice new remanufactured engine. Give ATK a call - or google around, searching for reman prices. Barnettes engines has a listing of engines on their website.

[multmigs]

look on ebay there are complete reman longblocks going for under $3k shipped to your door. I hope ur estimate was for replacement of both side head gaskets and having the heads completely reworked, otherwise get a new shop. And for that cost I'd have a hard time not just buying the complete engine. THe labor to install one vs doing the heads with engine still in jeep is probably the same

[Kraxen]

$1400 is ridiculous IMHO. Do the work yourself, Head gaskets arent all that hard. I dont know how some of you can justify paying that kind of money for stuff that would only take a few hours to do yourself. Or get a buddy that knows what there doing and have them help you.

[Pishy714]

Well, they said $1400 is worst case scenario, it would only go down from there depending on how much, if any, work they would need to do on the heads.. And yeah I can find an engine here for about 1800 shipped and another 1k for labor.. I'm just afraid of how much damage had been caused or what caused it in the first place that might do it again..

And no, I don't know how to do that on an engine, I'm sure its not hard, but building it back together is the hard part for me.. Never worked in a car before, nor do I know anyone who would be able to do this for me personally.. Just wondering if its worth spending all this money on an engine this old or just throw a new one in woulda be better.

[HVACNY]

Originally Posted by Pishy714

Well, they said $1400 is worst case scenario, it would only go down from there depending on how much, if any, work they would need to do on the heads.. And yeah I can find an engine here for about 1800 shipped and another 1k for labor.. I'm just afraid of how much damage had been caused or what caused it in the first place that might do it again..

And no, I don't know how to do that on an engine, I'm sure its not hard, but building it back together is the hard part for me.. Never worked in a car before, nor do I know anyone who would be able to do this for me personally.. Just wondering if its worth spending all this money on an engine this old or just throw a new one in woulda be better.

My jeep has a mopar reman in it and it runs nice.Go for it..

[65Mustangs]

I would go with a re-man or have yours rebuilt. Check out my rebuild thread and you'll understand why... (I started with exhaust in the coolant as well).

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/...-bore-1361599/

[Cirruslydakota]

As others have said I'd pull the heads and take them to a shop to get checked out and milled. Is check the block too but with it being iron I doubt the deck needs any work. If you do the work yourself it'll be far cheaper.

[Pishy714]

I know that if I were to do it myself it would be cheaper, but I don't know how! I have no idea about almost anything in an engine.. Hell I would just start taking stuff off and never stop cause I wouldn't kno whereto lol.. I don't even think I have any tools other than a small 15 pc set lol.. Unfortunately, doing it myself is not an option.

[Pishy714]

Also - does anyone know how I could find out if my engine has a 16T crankshaft tone whl or a 32 crank sensor tone whl? Secondly, if it has a 2 or 4 plug EBX (not 100% what this is refering to to be honest - a couple of companies I have called ask about this.) Thanks for the help!

[ZeJokee]

The only way you will learn anything about engines and how to do it, is by just jumping in a doing it. Pick up a Haynes or Chilton and a FSM and dive into it.

[ChrisHager]

Originally Posted by ZeJokee

The only way you will learn anything about engines and how to do it, is by just jumping in a doing it. Pick up a Haynes or Chilton and a FSM and dive into it.

That's exactly how I learned. Plenty of free time on summer break back in high school with a Ford F250 parked because of an old, tired straight 6. I pulled that baby apart then did an engine swap on it. Shazam - master mechanic (haha, riiight)! I learned a ton, though, and am still learning as I go. Doing that first project gave me the confidence to keep turning bolts, even when I don't know exactly what I'm doing.

[Pishy714]

Originally Posted by ChrisHager

That's exactly how I learned. Plenty of free time on summer break back in high school with a Ford F250 parked because of an old, tired straight 6. I pulled that baby apart then did an engine swap on it. Shazam - master mechanic (haha, riiight)! I learned a ton, though, and am still learning as I go. Doing that first project gave me the confidence to keep turning bolts, even when I don't know exactly what I'm doing.

Unfortunately, there is a big difference between a high school kid working on his car during the months of free time during the summer and me now where my car is the way I get to and from work and the little free time I have is spent taking care of my 2 year old daughter and my wife. I can't afford to go without a car for WEEKs (while only being able to do a little work on the weekends) while not really knowing what I am doing or how to put everything back when I am done. At this point in time - doing this myself is not an option

[123ShawnTW]

Pishy I feel for you.

Maybe you could find a gearhead here on the forum near you, that wouldn't mind "helping" you, like you hold the light for him/her . . . even if they just pull the head, and slap on a new gasket . . . if that doesn't work, then you could look at a reman . . . the gasket is relatively cheap, you may find/make a new friend! This is a long weekend . . .

Don't feel bad . . . I always had a knack for wrenches and bolts & nuts . . . always taking my bicycle apart, any new toy was promptly "inspected" However, my little brother had NO interest! However, he can work the keyboard of a computer and make them do amazing things, find problems with the software, and fix it, or re-write, or make a new program to fix/replace it! He now works for FedEx on their computers, and is happy to support his local garage when he needs mechanical help.

[ChrisHager]

Originally Posted by Pishy714

Unfortunately, there is a big difference between a high school kid working on his car during the months of free time during the summer and me now where my car is the way I get to and from work and the little free time I have is spent taking care of my 2 year old daughter and my wife. I can't afford to go without a car for WEEKs (while only being able to do a little work on the weekends) while not really knowing what I am doing or how to put everything back when I am done. At this point in time - doing this myself is not an option

I realized as I was typing that that there is NO WAY I could do that these days either. I guess my comment was more saying one of the best ways to learn is to jump right in. 10 years ago, I had that kind of time. These days, I barely have time to eat, let alone learn how to rebuild an engine!

I do feel for the people who don't have the knowledge, tools, time, or space to do their own work. I also understand that there is only so much a person can do!

Hope it works out for ya!