Remanufactured Engine

I rebulit a ford 7.3 powerstroke once. It was a very high mileage motor that used oil and smoked like crazy but held good hot idle oil pressure. On tear down I found the engine very clean inside and the crank rod and main bearings still in factory specs. Cam and valve train all in good cond. the only problem I found was the cylinders, pistons and rings were worn badly. There was a ring groove in the lower side of the cylinders but not in the upper side, in other words the cylinders were not round but worn oval shape. Bought a rebuild kit with pistons, crank bearings, and gaskets. Sent the block and pistons to a machine shop for cyl reboaring and piston fitting. Total repair cost was about 25 percent of the cost of a long block assembly. I got lucky not needing crank or valve work but still as expensive as that would have been I am guessing I probably would of saved 30-40 percent over the cost of a new rebuilt engine assy.

 

The main problem with silicone is bits and pieces can and will break off and float around in your oil and coolant. these pieces can clog tiny oil and water passages causing all kinds of problems. There are oil return passages from the valve area in the heads to the oil pan, silicone bits can break free and clog oil pickup tube screens. Also these bits can clog very tiny but very important coolant passages in the heads and block. And there is more coolant flow to the heads than one might expect, takes a lot to cool the heads around the exhaust valves especially.

 

I used to overhaul engines. It was rewarding, educational and budget friendly.
Now, the warranty of a reman engine has value to me. The faster swap was good, too.
S&J offers a 7 year / 100K mile warranty.

Isn't this site great?! You get way more opinions than you ever thought possible.

 

The 401 is the best V8 AMC made although not as common as the others. It has a forged steel crankshaft and very strong rods. Go hunting for the 360 but if you find a 401 scoop it up. Everything is interchangeable between AMC V8s.

 

Ha! I had to laugh because when I was taking my engine apart it looked like someone used bathtub caulk to try and seal the front oil pan seal. Guess what I found in the oil pump screen? Yep, white bathtub caulk. There is some real screwy repairs out there.