Engine Gone on I95

[hpman247]

I was riding down I-95 goin to Myrtle Beach just last week. All of a sudden the Engine started knocking. It had done this previously, it was a small ticking when I accelrated but I knew that some cars just did that. Boy was I wrong. The car started knocking and when i pulled off the interstate it just cut off. My friends thought it might be oil, or coolant problems, but after sitting there about and hour letting it cool off it finally cranked and the motor was knocking and moving around like crazy.

I got it towed back home ($1000), and I'm waiting for Monday to have the company bring the piece back to my house. My parents want me to replace the engine (could you guys give me some idea on the price for this), but me and my friends think that I should just get another car. It is a 1999 Grand Am with the V6 3.4 L engine and it has 85000 miles on it. I'd really like you guys opinion on this, because I'm not sure what to do with it. Thanks for any help.

[Knifeblade]

Hard ? to answer.

1] How good shape is rest of car? Any other mech. or electrical or body prob.'s?

2] Plan on doing any of the swap of engine yourself?

3] A rebuilt plant will run easy $1500-$3000 depending how much rebuild went into it. And that is just on the crate, no install.

4] Quandary, a blown '99 won't get you very much in a sale. A runner will. To make it run you need an engine, which means the above #3 and any install costs, which likely will run ya over 1500 to $2500 for a mech. to pull the old and drop in the new.

5] It hard to call, but I think with something 6 years old with a blown engine should just be scrapped or parted out, and get another ride.

6] BTW, any idea why the motor fried?

[GTP Dad]

I agree with Knifeblade 03 if the car is in good shape why get rid of it. If you can't afford a new crate engine then search for a used one. You can usually find one for less than $1k plus installation. If you can do the installation yourself then you can save major bucks. It would be a lot cheaper than buying a new car!

[hpman247]

What do you guys feel is a normal install price on a crate engine

[Knifeblade]

I still thinking, asked a buddy who works dealership, minimum 1.5K to pull and drop in. There is a LOT to it, he says it can be over a two-day affair usually, and I say ayep.

Had a 4.0 on my new Jeep go west, under warranty, tg, but took them three days to pull and drop, of course, I think it not the best example, as there is the forward drive hookup, etc.

[skibum1111]

Installation on my 2.3 in my 95gt was $1k, the crate motor was around $4300 from gm, and the best part about it was I didn't have to pay for anything, something about a certain oil change facility charging me for synthetic oil and putting regular oil in, which caused a massive bearing failure...

[phaderus]

A rebuilt engine from www.gmpartsdirect, with a 3 year or 1000,000 mile warranty is around $2,200. Jasper charges around 2,500. Or you can get an engine from a juckyard and it rebuilt and you could performance parts for a little boost.

[cficare68]

If I where you a would look at what the car is worth and how much altogether you are going to have to dump into it to get it up and running again. 99 Grand Am GT is probalby only worth about $5900 and if you are going to look at pay 3 or more grand to get this fix on top of the 1000 to have it towed back to you. It might just be best to purse another vehicle.

[hpman247]

just thought i would let you guys know that the engine did something as my friend called it "spun a bearing" i have no clue what that is. he tried to explain it to me, but i thought that that might give u more insight into helping me.

Thanks

[GTP Dad]

A spun bearing concerns the bearings that support the connecting rods or the crank shaft. The bearings are made of metal alloys and are protected by a thin layer of oil that lubricates them as the crankshaft spins. If the oil pressure drops too low or something blocks the oil passageway the bearing will seize or overheat causing it to spin within the race. It will then cause scratching to the crankshaft journal and if let go will often lead to failure of the rod or crankshaft. To repair this the engine will need to be pulled from the car and the crankshaft and rods removed. The journals on the crankshaft will need to be turned by a machinist, if possible and new bearings installed along with the reground or new crankshaft. The cost would be quite significant and a used engine would be far cheaper than repairing this one.

I would try car-part.com, cherry-auto.com search the web for another engine. It will be far cheaper in the long run especially since your current engine had 85K miles. You should be able to find an used engine or a reman engine much cheaper than a new one. If the car is in good shape the cost of the repair is much cheaper than a new car payment although a new car is always nice! Good Luck!!!

[hpman247]

Another thing I forgot to mention was that after the car had been put on the tow-truck, the place where the car had been had a mixture of oil and gas on the ground.

And thanks GTP Dad for those web sites. I'd been looking for sites like that for a while, but i just coulndn't find them.

[phaderus]

Is it possible that your Lower Intake Manifold Gasket was bad and coolant mixed in with the oil and caused the issue you had? Did you ever replace the LIM gasket on this car? The LIM gasket is a none issue with this car. I have replaced mine myslef.

[gert55]

Here is a place to get a crate engine with a 50,000 mile warranty

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/