Blown Engine, 8.1l
Leaving Townsend GA yesterday for Covington GA and a Ham Fest I did not make it.. Just north of Reidsville there was a BANG, and a lot of smoke, and the engine died as I coasted to the shoulder. U...
Forum Discussion
Sorry to hear of your issues. It's even worse when you're far from home.
The 454 in mine apparently had a bad wristpin that eventually gave at 79k miles. Piston came apart and destroyed the block. If you have a rod through the pan, there's a pretty good chance the block isn't salvageable.
With unlimited funds, I would either rebuild the engine or buy a crate engine. However, since this isn't the case most of the time I would find a used engine. Even if your block is salvageable, the cost of a rebuild will exceed the cost of a good running, used engine. I would talk to the shop about connections they might have in sourcing one from a salvage yard. A quick perusal of Craigslist came up with a few in the $800-$1,000 range.
I picked up my 454 from Craigslist for $1k. I may have gotten lucky by finding an honest seller and a legitimately low-mileage engine, but it's worked out great so far.
Obviously your biggest expense will be labor. If you have a driver's side door it makes things much easier. If not, they'll have to build a rig to get the engine out, down the hall and out the door.
If you're mechanically inclined at all, I would see if the shop would let you offset some of the costs by doing some of it yourself. At some point you're going to need specialized tools (mainly a portable crane), but there's a lot you might be able to do yourself.
The 454 in mine apparently had a bad wristpin that eventually gave at 79k miles. Piston came apart and destroyed the block. If you have a rod through the pan, there's a pretty good chance the block isn't salvageable.
With unlimited funds, I would either rebuild the engine or buy a crate engine. However, since this isn't the case most of the time I would find a used engine. Even if your block is salvageable, the cost of a rebuild will exceed the cost of a good running, used engine. I would talk to the shop about connections they might have in sourcing one from a salvage yard. A quick perusal of Craigslist came up with a few in the $800-$1,000 range.
I picked up my 454 from Craigslist for $1k. I may have gotten lucky by finding an honest seller and a legitimately low-mileage engine, but it's worked out great so far.
Obviously your biggest expense will be labor. If you have a driver's side door it makes things much easier. If not, they'll have to build a rig to get the engine out, down the hall and out the door.
If you're mechanically inclined at all, I would see if the shop would let you offset some of the costs by doing some of it yourself. At some point you're going to need specialized tools (mainly a portable crane), but there's a lot you might be able to do yourself.
