Opinion on rebuilding

[98intrigue]

A month and a half ago, I spun a rod bearing. The motor seized and wouldn't even turn over. I finally had the car towed to a shop just over a week ago to get my car up and running again. I am on a budget (I'd like to keep it under $10k), but at the same time I'd like to do heads and cam since the motor will be open and out.

I'm at a crossroads right now. I have an opportunity to purchase an '04 motor with less than 7k miles for $7k shipped. The motor was purchased from X Vipers about a year ago for a Jeep project, but the owner ended up purchasing an SRT-10 truck motor and auto transmission, so he's selling the extra motor. By purchasing the motor, I can do the heads and cam and keep it close to $10k...but there's always a chance of spinning another rod bearing.

On the other hand, I can have my motor torn down to see the extent of the damage and rebuild it. By rebuilding , hopefully a good machine shop can help prevent another rod bearing issue...but this can lead to being a bit more than my budget, especially if I'd still like to add some aftermarket parts.

I'd like to gather some opinions from you all. I've never had to rebuild a motor, so this is new territory for me. It would be great to get some feedback from owners who have had to rebuild.

 

[AZTVR]

You do not know what you are getting at all with a used motor. Do a google search for Xvipers to see whether you can conclude that that engine would be a safe bet.

 

[Viper Specialty]

My opinion is to rebuild it. So long as a rod didnt actually let go and cause internal damage, you would be better off to rebuild it, and know what you have without question, on top of matching numbers. By purchasing a used engine, you are rolling the dice on a repeat, and no longer have matching numbers.

The upgrades you are referring to would effectively have the labor absorbed in a full rebuild, where by purchasing an engine, you will then have to pay to do the partial tear-down and rebuild. I think your budget will be exceeded in any case, 7K + Heads and Cam is already over 10K, not including labor, engine re-installation, consumables and tuning.

If we can help, let us know.

 

[Viper Grenade]

Give Will @ RSI a call. He may have a motor ready to go. Or if you wanted they can def rebuild the motor you already have. For cars in the past I would have them ship me a complete engine and we just drop it in then send them the old busted motor for a core.