Car Troubles

[Bad324]

Jasper engines are great. In the 7 years I've been at our company I bet we've put in over 20 Jasper engines and trans in our trucks

[jporter12]

Jasper's are pretty good.  The warranty cannot be beat!  I've seen a few problems with engines and transmissions from them (not a high rate by any means) and they are really awesome about taking care of things.  

The other thing to look into is an engine from GM.

 

 

 NATIONWIDE 3-YEAR OR 100,000-MILE LIMITED WARRANTY:

You can be confident that the Genuine GM Parts Engine built for your vehicle will function as originally designed and engineered. That reliability is backed by a fully transferable Limited Warranty on parts and labor for 3 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first

 

 

 

Same warranty, and possibly cheaper than the Jasper.   They're also covered by any GM dealer, and I believe the original can be installed by anyone to have the warranty (be sure to check with a GM dealer parts dept, first.)

[M_Quick]

Just re-read your first post. $2300 out the door and that includes the $500 you owe from the first engine. (not $900, like he previously stated.. keep that in mind) So, for $1800, you're getting a 91k engine installed with a 12/12 warranty.

 

 

Ummmmm... whats that mean for me?

 

the wiki article IP refernces speaks to 2006 and newer models, Mines an '05.  all i really know is the 3.5 V6, interference motor?  Cam in block?  No idea what that means. 

 

the more I think about it the more I am leaning towards doing the swap and driving this mother till the wheels fall off.  still better than a car payment in the long run.

 

Thanks again gents. 

 

 

Since they told you they will warranty the repair for the above price, which includes the chain work on original engine. I'd ask them to put the new chain in the used engine, and get the estimate and warranty clause in writing before giving them a go ahead. And FYI I'm not exactly sure but legally they can go over there estimate by like 20% or so...

[magley64]

I don't like to throw around the words scammed, or duped, or ripped off willy nilly. I'd be hesitant to automatically assume malice in the intentions of your mechanic.

 

Competence, however, seems apparent in this case. I'm not sure if I personally would hand him $500 for the "diagnosis and repair" he's done so far, but it's becoming more and more apparent he doesn't really know what's going on with your vehicle, and hoping that swapping out a completely new engine will be easier than fixing the problem with yours. (which it may very well be)

 

If i were in your shoes, I would definitely take it to a more competent mechanic.

[jporter12]

It is unfortunate that sometimes we get into some big dollar amounts just to get a vehicle into a state that we can properly diagnose.  I had a 2003 K-2500 plow truck come in the other day for a few issues.  I went out to test drive it and pull it into the shop, and it wouldn't crank.  They drove it to the shop, so this is a new problem.  To quote a co-worker, "the starter looked like it had been on the bottom of the ocean" referring to the amount of corrosion on it, and the battery cable running to it.  It was several hundred dollars just to get the truck running to where I could check it out for the other concerns, which were power steering, brakes, and fuel gauge.  The customer must have been very understanding, because the bought the starter and battery cable, then we called them back and they bought a steering shaft, power steering pump, and front wheel speed sensors.  All of the above issues are mostly due to the fact that it's a plow truck, causing the corrosion.

[serpentracer]

I replaced a timing chain in a S-10, 4 cylinder at ~30k miles. It was one of those doubled jobbers. No engine damage, but it certainly made me wonder how that could have failed so early in life. I was a wrench for Nissan for some time and I've only replaced timing chains on engines with very poor service history...and ours were never double chains. Three separate chains, but all single roller style. I'm not saying you have poor service history. I'm saying I'd tend to follow the presumption of Porter and Standout regarding twisted camshafts. Even then, it's moot. That's a very costly repair and probably better to just install a gently-used engine.

 

I'm doing this service in my head.. and I imagine the need to remove the rocker covers and spin the camshaft by hand to witness valve actuation. At this point, you're kind of already at the chain timing mechanism. The service writer said the chain didn't let go. The key seared in the crank gear, right? So, the cam twisted and caused a bind on the key, causing it to do its job, essentially? Hard to say, but that's what keys are for. They shear before any real damage occurs... hopefully.

those were known for going bad.  I had 154k on mine and never needed one.  I put a new crate motor in it because it spun the #1 and #4 rod bearings.  right now it has about 50k and still fine.

 

that motor was used in many different cars from the pontiac sunfire to cavaliers and trucks.  it's not a bad engine but it's not great either.  it's very weak and known  for bad heads more than anything else.

[serpentracer]

sorry folks i left out some important info.  its been a long day. 

 

2005 Pontiac G6 with a 3.6l V6.

 

paid for, daily driver, (when its raining and thru the winter) No rust, interior has stains in the back from the two kids.  It has the 5 panel panoramic moon roof.

 

I dont do engines.  I asked him if there was a way to diagnose more damage before the timing chain work, he said that would require tearing down more of the engine and that would be more than the timing chain.  as it turns out the bottom gear on the timing chain sheared the key, fell off and detroyed the chain (thats what he said anyhow). 

 

My intitial thought is to swap the motor out and drive it thru the winter, then in the spring bite the bullet and trade it in/sell it outright on a newer car.  didnt think about the rolling of two paytments into one option mentioned above.  thats a good idea. 

 

he did say it would have a 12 month/12k mile warranty, for what thats worth, i have no idea. 

 

thanks again for all the feedback, it really helps.  the more you know the better i reckon.

the engine I bought from autozone is 3 year/100k mile warranty.  just for perspective.

[jporter12]

those were known for going bad.  I had 154k on mine and never needed one.  I put a new crate motor in it because it spun the #1 and #4 rod bearings.  right now it has about 50k and still fine.

 

that motor was used in many different cars from the pontiac sunfire to cavaliers and trucks.  it's not a bad engine but it's not great either.  it's very weak and known  for bad heads more than anything else.

 

Yes, they were (still are) known for cylinder head sealing issues, and cracking as well.  

 

The problem that I have seen with the 2.2L (OHV) timing chains is more often the tensioner than the chain.

[mango_sv]

A 3.5 gm is 60 degree v6 (same as the old 3.1, 3100, 3400) and shouldn't be an interference motor. Something else is definitely wrong.

[buxnut]

So everyone I have talked to has basically said the same thing.  nearly impossible to diagnose internal issues when a timing chain goes without tearing the engine apart.  I feel like this guy has never steered me wrong in the past and everyone else that goes to him says the same thing.  i am going to bite the bullet and have them do the engine swap, ask for the new timing chain to be installed in the used motor and drive this mother till the wheels come off. 

 

thanks for everyone's input.