Still waiting for more info from machine shop, but in meantime looking for some input from those very familiar with the 3800 engine.
I have been searching online at various forums, and most seem to generally agree the 3800 is a demanding engine to rebuild. I can see how it is exacting, but it has been repeatedly mentioned the engines seem to have a high failure rate after a rebuild. I am not exactly sure where the main problem is, but I sense it is the lower end. Has there been any post mortems done indicating where and why they failed?
So far it seems I have 3 options for the crankshaft on my engine:
1) get a refurbished crankshaft kit, is there something I should be looking for specifically
2) get my crank welded and ground, is there something the shop should be aware of? Cost of these 2 options are comparable.
3) there are NOS cranks listed on the web. While of course these would be the most ideal, they do come at about a 40% premium over the first 2 options.
In the meantime still beating the bushes for a good used crank
Thanks for any input
Jeff