Engine swap

[Albrechtk]

I'm in Pinckney Michigan, as of yesterday my H3 base has a severe knock, mechanic says new motor. Okay, but does anyone have recommendations for a good place to have it done, maybe options for a better engine within the same cost? He said it'll take him 3-4 weeks and be about 4k just for the original engine type. Ideas, it's my daily driver/ work truck as well as my toy (as my wife calls it) any help would be appreciated.

 

[alrock]

Moved to a more appropriate section.

$4K for just the engine or the complete job? What type of engine or work on the engine is he offering? You won't get a different engine, i.e. a 5.3 or any other model, for less money than replacing an I5 with an I5. But there options like used engines, reman engines, etc.

 

[Albrechtk]

Estimated 4k total for the engine swap including labor.
He's a decent mechanic, but he doesn't particularly like Hummers ( he's mentioned it a few times) I just want to be sure I'm getting the best service for what I'm going to pay. Just didn't know if there were any options.
He said crate engine, meaning brand new- not sure where he would get that from since GM stopped making them.

 

[rascole]

4k for the complete job is about right.

 

[atvspeed4]

I know there are alot of mixed opinions on Jasper rebuilt engines but they might be where he is sourcing the "crate engine" we used to sell our old front diffs etc from H3s there but last time we tried to send a 3.5L they said they did not need any more cores so they might have them stocked.

 

[rascole]

I have only read a few threads on this but it seems that for our 06 I5's we can upgrade to a 07 I5 from what I read. May be worth to look for a few extra HP.

 

[MTUH3]

Hey - I am from Plymouth - not too far from you. I happen to have a 3.5L sitting on the floor of my garage... but you don't want mine. It ran when I pulled it, but she is old and tired.
I would got for the 3.7L if you are not ready to jump to a V8. I think some minor programming / tuning can get you there. Vector Motorsports is out in Brighton. Mike D there tuned my G8. I doubt the do much work on the I5, but at least a local shop to bounce some ideas off.

 

[3rdH3]

Having had all 3 Engines available, for simplicity, I wouldn't be afraid to go with another 3.5 with the following upgrades. PCM of North Carolina Tune, a Catback Exhaust and an AirDoc Cold Air Intake. Those mods really make the 3.5 come alive. Good Luck.

 

[Albrechtk]

Just spoke with my mechanic, #@*$&#@ ! Now he says he's having trouble locating a low mileage engine and the option is a total of $5,800. W labor.
He thought it had a 4.2 and had located a cheap low mileage one, but when he realized that was wrong and started looking for the right engine, he also said it's a 14 hour job to change the engine.
Feeling kinda f###ed right now, I basically owe $5,900. To pay the vehicle off. And with the repair at another 5,800 ..it's about 2k more than I can really go... So again, does anyone know a mechanic that isn't looking to bleed me dry?

 

[JPaul]

Engine replacements aren't that cheap unless you do it yourself. The fact that he thought it had a 4.2 means he didn't even bother checking his system for estimating the job and made a horribly wrong guess, I would definitely stay away from someone like that. Especially when they say they don't like Hummers, that is just an asinine thing for a mechanic to say. Nothing wrong at all with Hummers and they are relatively easy to work on. Mechanically they're just fancy Chevy's really except for the H1's. He sounds like an ignorant dick.

If you locate your own engine it's not a hard swap, any decent mechanic should be able to get it done in a day easily. The 3.5/3.7 out of a Colorado/Canyon will work just fine, you just have to swap over the oil pan and maybe some of the accessories. It doesn't have to strictly be a H3 sourced engine.

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[amrg]

Perhaps check the colorado/canyon forum for someone who have V8 swapped his truck and still has his old engine laying around?

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[alrock]

Reloader swapped one of those engines in about 8 hours in real time in his prior life. 14 hours could be the book time.

Used motors seem to run about $2800 on eBay. Jasper remans were around $4000, if I recall correctly, before labor. It's not a super common engine which drives the price up.

 

[Traxx]

First, you need a new mechanic. Preferably one that can find the hood release to verify the work they are quoting you for is actually accurate. What you got is a I don't want the job/go away quote.