[bacardi]

Looking at affordable used engines. Found a few including a 2006 which obviously wasn't for a seville. Would it work with a 2000 and what years will work?

 

[ryannel2003]

Whats wrong with the original motor? I know you said the HG's were gone so if it were me I would repair the motor using Jake's studs and get all the seals and other parts fixed and drive it till the wheels fell off. While used motors seem like a good deal, putting a new used engine in with old electronics and other systems don't turn out so well most of the time. N* are extremely picky, and there is a possibility a used motor will end up with a HG problem down the road as well.

 

[bacardi]

Interesting. It's the HG. Looks like even on the cheap end, It's about a $600-$700 in parts. My mechanic isn't thrilled about having to drill and tap. He's a friend of mine and will charge me $600 to do both heads. Thought process is if I can find a later model lower mileage engine, it will ultimately last longer. I'm finding a few for under $1500, my mechanic is saying he'll charge me $450 for the engine swap.

 

[ryannel2003]

I'm not the know it all Northstar guy around here, but from what I've seen most engine swaps do not end up well. It really all depends on what you want to get out of the car. However if it were me I would just keep the original motor and get the headgasket replaced.

My headgaskets went at 54k miles and they replace those, timeserted the motor, re-did all the seals, new motor mount, and quite a few other things. I've put another 16k on the motor and haven't experienced any trouble with the car since then.

 

[AJxtcman]

2000 to 2005 will work

 

[Ranger]

So you are at about $2000 for a used motor installed OR $600 for Jakes stud kit plus $600 labor ($1200). Sounds like an easy decision to me.

 

[bacardi]

Thanks everyone

So you are at about $2000 for a used motor installed OR $600 for Jakes stud kit plus $600 labor ($1200). Sounds like an easy decision to me.

I bought the car non-running, so I don't know what shape the stock engine is in. I just realized something that's going to drastically going to change the price of labor, you have to remove the engine to drill the block, correct? He's going to do this on the side in his driveway; prob doesn't even have the equipment to do it...

 

[ryannel2003]

Yup all twenty holes have to be timeserted, which requires the motor to be taken out of the car; normal cost at dealer would be around $3500. Most dealerships also do the water pumps, seals, motor mounts, etc. which would come out to around $5k for a complete overhaul. That's what was done to mine.

Jake does the whole shebang for around $1500 (+/-) and can also do other things for half or 3/4ths the cost the Caddy dealer would charge.

 

[bacardi]

Aren't the 2003+ significantly better then the 2000s in the leaking HG dept? Besides the headgaskets and inserts/studs, what else is needed for parts? Couldn't find it searching, I'm sure there's a post out there if someone wouldn't mind posting...

 

[ryannel2003]

In 2003 they changed the size and type of bolt used (I believe one similar to what GM uses in the LS1) and so far very few failures have happened. However, the older these cars get the more failures you see pop up. Two years ago the '97-'99's were failing every day while the 2000-2003's had little to few problems. It seems that once these cars hit about 8 years old, they tend to start giving the owners problems.

 

[Ranger]

Yeah, I kind of figured that he had no idea what he was getting into for that price.

I bought the car non-running, so I don't know what shape the stock engine is in.

The rest of the engine is fine. The HG is the weak link. You'll find that the factory cross hatch hone marks will still be in the cylinder walls. Bearings and timing chains will last virtually forever.

 

[bacardi]

Yeah, I basically bought the car thinking it'd be a traditional HG replacement, lol. Appears my buddy is going to "contract" a lift. Going to cost more like $1K in labor alone. On craigslist today I found a 2004 N* who claims they have paperwork to prove the mileage of 66K for $1400/OBO meaning I could potentially pick it up for $1200. It's about 300 miles away and I do have a SUV. I could then SELL 2000 longblock, probably get $500. Really seems like the lesser of all evils, but you guys are the experts...Most of you agree that a motorswap is usually not the way to go?