Engine Rebuild Question (1 Viewer)

[mikeymike4]

Hey everybody,
Since y'all know far more about cruisers than I do, I would appreciate your opinions. Here is the situation:

I have a '94 cruiser with 300,000 amazing miles. Recently, the cruiser was driven a short distance without the belts being on (long story). Needless to say, the head gasket blew. Of course the cruiser still ran will, but was pouring out coolant. Since that level of repair is above my pay grade, I took it to a local, reliable mechanic. I was quoted $3300 to replace the head gasket, valves, chain, and resurfacing the block.

So, would y'all recommend moving forward with the repair? Or should I look into buying a rebuilt motor with less mileage? I recently replaced the starter and water pump. Prior to this unfortunate incident, the cruiser was running like new. I truly appreciate any insight y'all can provide.

Mike

 

[slow95z]

I would replace the head gasket and work the head. Should be fine.

 

[graham5david]

You are going to get a few different opinions on this. It all depends on how much you want to spend. if you are confident the bottom end is good then go the route you are suggesting. I would rebuild the engine but if I wanted to save cash and was comfortable I may go with the head only. used engine is a good option too because you could replace all seals and sensors before putting it in.

 

[nodaksn3]

My '95 has almost 340,000 miles on it and the valve guides leak a little. I've been thinking about just the same issue: head or whole thing? I'd initially go with the head only. If the timing chains look worn then you might reconsider, but these things are so tough that they are probably OK, as is the rest of the engine. It all depends on the engine having been taken care of. Just my guess, of course. Ned

 

[Red Merle]

Are you sure you blew the HG? They don't usually go in a way that results in coolant pouring out, but they also usually have the belts installed, so this is not a typical situation.

I would make sure something else didn't burst or let go. Check your cooling hoses (all of them, including PHH) and rear heater lines. It may still be a HG, but it might not. Put the belts back on, fill it with coolant and run the motor for a few minutes to see if you can pinpoint where it is leaking from. At this point, you probably aren't going to make it worse by running the motor for a short period of time.

I thought I blew my HG but it ended up just being my rear heater lines. I rebuilt the whole top end, but I probably didn't need to, at least not when I did it.

Do a little more sleuthing before you start ordering parts and scheduling a rebuild.