What is my bad motor worth? opinions on what route to take.....

[BOMBOVIPER93]

Hi all,

my buddy spun the #3 rod bearing on his 2004 black paxton srt-10. The car currently has 9000 miles on her and we have the motor out of the car and are trying to decide the next step. First Option....buy a motor out of a wrecked car. There are plenty out there with even less miles than the car has on it for around $7000....have any idea what he could get for the old motor should he decide to go this route. Second option.....new crank bearings rods pistons...parts list is about as expensive as a whole used motor and wait is approx 3 to 4 weeks. Third Option.....have the crank turned and new bearings...the cheapy way out. I guess the biggest question is what should we expect to get back dollar wise for the old motor if we buy a whole seperate motor and would it be enough to justify going that route. I know Arrow is probably the best way to go if rebuild is decided but I dont think the owner wants to go 10 to 12k deep on this fix...I think he is hoping more like 6k doing all the labor ourselves. Is this realistic? Any opinions or experiences would be appreciated. Me personally...I know better....I just send my car to Chuck Tators....worry free .

Thanks
Bombo

 

[KNG SNKE]

9000 miles and a spun bearing already? Wow that is not good.

 

[plumcrazy]

all depends on how far you go and how many "might as wells" you do....

get a call into greg good, DC, DLM, or A&C and talk to them about the machine work needed to do it right. id guess 6k can be done while doing it right. assuming you do all the labor. typically the engine has to come out.

rods and picstons might not be so hard to find (good used ones) but slapping bearings in it is not uncommon. see jhmills thread for a gen2 going thru this right now. im not a big fan of buying a crank,rods and pistons and not having it balanced but some have had good luck doing that. (Baz)

Mike (99rt10), paul scharf, jonB might have a good used engine for ya.

 

[01sapphirebob]

When it comes to the motor i would never go the cheap route. Could end up costing you more in the end.

 

[Viper Specialty]

When it comes to the motor i would never go the cheap route. Could end up costing you more in the end.

My thoughts exactly. Do it right, do it once. I refuse to take on "bandaid work" for that exact reason. Saving someone a few bucks will become my drama... even *IF* they instruct me to do it.

 

[Blainne]

A new short block is around 5800.00 NEW.... long as your heads are good. BUT its supercharged motor.. get the bottom end build to handle boost or you may be in the same boat again.

 

[TowDawg]

To me, you've got 2 options.
1. Buy a used motor and dump this one to someone looking to build a motor and not have their car down while they do it. I have no idea what it's worth though. Surely some of the shop guys here do.
2. Tear the current motor apart and forge the bottom end. Plum is dead on though. The "might as wells" add up big in a hurry. If you're going to have the thing torn apart anyway, forget building back to stock. Forge the bottom as a minimum so you can turn up the boost and not worry about it. Then, depending on budget, look at changing the cam and having GG do the heads.
It's just a waste to tear it all down and not at least forge the pistons and rods and key/pin the crank if you've already got a Paxton on there.

 

[Black Moon]

I just priced the parts to have my motor built to handle the paxton.$6,700 parts only included stud kit and rockers. No head work. If he's going to run stock boost then just repairing the damage would be the cheapest route. IMHO

 

[plumcrazy]

FYI.... keying a crank is MUCH better than pinning it (for SC'd applications). as long as the engine is coming apart. DLM can even key the crank while its IN the car.