A replacement engine (used) is a crap shoot. You can find one for a few hundred dollars at junk yards, but there's no way to know the absolute condition of it. A rebuild can be a short block (block, crankshaft, rods, pistons, rings, bearings) purchased from a remanufacturer in combination with your present heads, manifolds, oil pan, etc. plus accessories and brackets and add a new oil pump and gasket set. Or, it can be a long block that includes the heads - all the way up to having the local mechanic rebuild your present engine and repair/replace everything needed. I have found that the fewer people that are involved in something, the less finger-pointing there is when something goes wrong. You would want to make certain you're dealing with a reputable shop and that you have a good warranty.

I wouldn't know where to find a new replacement engine. There are used low mileage takeouts from Japan (probably around $1000), local takeouts that can be bought from many wrecking yards or found through this locater:

web page

There are DIY yards that sell a complete engine for about $200 (including warranty). In this case, you would have to remove the engine yourself or pay someone to do it for you. Warranties on used engines don't guarantee that the engine is good - it means that if you find that it isn't good, you can swap it for another..... which means you may have to remove and replace the engine a second - or third - time..... expensive if a shop is doing the work.

I think the only way I would allow a shop to install a used engine is if they guaranteed it would cost no more than $2000, have no quirks and used no more than 1 qt of oil every 3000 miles.... to be replaced at shop expense until I was satisfied - and I doubt any shop would accept that deal.

I hate to estimate the cost of a full rebuild, because the term means different things to different folks. It could run from $1500 to $4000, depending on how much work is needed, how much is actually done, what rate the shop charges and the type of warranty.

Gaskets and parts are expensive through a dealer, but are of excellent quality.... particularly the gaskets. Otherwise, there are cheap parts on ebay and at most auto stores. NAPA stores usually are a good trade-off between price and quality for rebuild parts.

A rebuild should take about a week or so for a good shop. Removing the engine, disassembliy and examining the parts will take a day, a couple of days for the machine shop, reassembly and installation another couple of days. If aftermarket parts are used, I suspect you can get it done for about $2500 or so.

If you lived a bit closer, I could help - I have an extra block, crankshaft and set of heads here, but I'm as slow as a turtle.

Frank

All in for parts and the machine shops costs, I was in about $1200-$1500 for brand new bearings, rings, gaskets, have the heads rebuilt, hot tanked the block, polished the crank. I went overboard thinking I was building an engine for someone to keep for a long while (he sold the car for $500 less than a year later <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />). But I spared no expense, but if your looking to keep your Raider for another 100k miles then its really the best route. My montero threw a bearing AND head gaskets on a rebuilt engine with less than 40k miles on it. That is why I will never trust a remain company to deliver the same quality I put into my work.

Greetings, folks!

Thanks so much for your help! (Richard! OUCH! I wish IÆd bought it!)

The local shop (and I, but they had better leads) went looking for either a low-mileage take-out or a reasonably priced rebuild, and found both in CA. The take-out (with 35K-40K miles) was $1,400 and the short-block-plus-heads (I believe is the best description) rebuild (they had a core) was $1,800 (12 month/12K mile warranty).

I ôbit the bulletö and chose the rebuilt engine, as I felt it was the more reliable and durable option. (I have asked my shop to specify the instructions Frank passed along [thank you, Frank!] regarding the head bolt torque, etc.) It should get here in about a week and then my local shop can swap the engines. The owner of the local shop said the folks in CA who will send out the rebuilt engine all had thick Japanese accents, so IÆll take that as a good sign! á ;-)

There are still some details (two cracked connectors, two broken fusible link cases, and a deteriorating battery shelf) that need to be addressed at this end, though, so I humbly ask your advice once againá.á.á.á


---- Cracked Connectors ----



I have two cracked electrical connectors that emerge at the same point from the control (?) harness and plug into the power transistor and ignition coil. The metal clip has come off the power transistor connection and the connector has a cracked boot as well (hard to see in photo). The ignition coil connector has only had the cable pull out of (or crack at) the connector boot. Both connectors should be replaced (especially the power transistor connectorùcurrently secured with multiple tie-wraps).

Replacing the entire control (?) harness would be no small task. Can the two connectors (plus power transistor boot?) be purchased somewhere? Removing the existing, cracked connectors would result in a tight run for the cables, but there may be some slack available. Thoughts?

(FYI, it was this forum that provided the link to the 1989 Raider Powertrain Diagnostics-3.0L FSM that made it possible for me to get ÆBecca out of a snow drift a year and two days ago! Thank you again!! The power transistor connector was corroded, but a small jewelers file did the trick! That was when the connector crumbled. It had probably never been opened in its life!)


---- Broken Fusible Link Cases ----



Two fusible link casesùone attached to the positive battery post and the other mounted to a bracket on the passenger-side of the engine compartment wall, just in front of the batteryùhave both broken loose over time. The one on the battery post has been jury-rigged with some copper flashing and does seem to be holding up OK, but a replacement would be best, and the one mounted to the engine compartment wall is also now secured with tie-wraps. I would like to replace both (the fusible links seem to be fine, it is just the cases that are cracked and worn), but IÆm not sure what the part numbers are, as the 1989 Raider Parts Catalog doesnÆt show them clearly. My guess is that the part numbers are (page numbers are for the parts catalog PDF):

MB622302? - Main Fusible Link (on battery post) - p. 122, #28?
MB596949? - Sub Fusible Link (on bracket on engine compartment wall, passenger-side) - p. 116, #19?

Any advice as to just what the part numbers (and proper names?) really are for the two cases would be appreciated!


---- Deteriorating Battery Shelf ----

The shelf that the battery sits on has corroded (possibly from battery acid, there really is very little rust anywhere on ÆBecca) such that I had to make up a 1/2" thick bundle of baling wire, wrapped under the whole shelf, to keep the battery from breaking free (as shown in the above photo); she canÆt rely on the standard, threaded-rod-with-the-hooked-end arrangement: they keep breaking loose.

Suggestions?

Thank you so much!!

(ÆBecca has now successfully made two trips down off the mountain and back up to camp, albeit at 30 mph going downhill and 10 mph coming back up. If she can just do that two more timesá.á.á.á)

Richard Fairbanks

Try something like the old STP in a tear top can, or Wynn's Motor Honey. We ran a S10 2.5 for several thousand miles on 100% stp in the pan with a bad knocking rod.

How have you been doing, Richard? Better, I hope.

For the electrical connector at the power transistor, find a decent used one from a JY and cut it so you have at least 6" of wire, then cut off your bad connector and splice the replacement into the harness. That way it won't be short.

The other electrical components should be available at the yard also.

The battery tray is a little more difficult, but while the motor is out is out, maybe the shop can weld in some metal to repair it.

Frank

Are you sure you dont just have a lifter tick? Shops just want to sell you motors, not find the real problem.
John

You test for rod/main bearing problems by adding the oil thickener additive and see if the hot oil pressure increases markedly. If you had an undamped mechanical gauge, you can see the oil pressure flutter in time with the knock if it's a rod or main.

Sound diagnosis runs: Heavy knock is mains, tappier knock is rods.

Rods make a knock off gas ..Under load a rod is pinned down to the crank and cant knock ...Think about it ...

Mains knock under load and "should" not at idle ...Mains will knock real fast at start up ...
Tighten HP not just try and feel it ...

Nether one goes away as a motor warms up ....It could be a number of things ... Hard to hear a knock on a PC ...Find someone else to look at it just to be save ....

Motors are not a science...Dont forget the "should" factor..

David

Hazardous Toys inc

Pinch a 2-piece rear main seal on an old Chevy small block rebuild and see what happens...... the deepest strongest main knock you've ever heard at idle. You can imagine how I discovered this on a '55 BelAir 'bout 50 years ago. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



Right.

Frank

Greetings, folks! Thank you yet again for your invaluable advice!!

Sorry for the delay in responding; a storm rolled through and I have to stay off-line to preserve battery power until the sun comes back out!

Eddy: Thanks for your advice, and for checking in: IÆm still vertical! (And SLOWLY recovering from the severe brain trauma and PTSDùsome lessons are learned the hard way!)

Frank: Thanks (yet again!) for the advice on splicing in used connectors. Sounds like the best bet.

John, Eddy, and David (my love to the Granite Dells!): From what you describe, it sure sounds like the knock is in my ômains.ö á.á.á.áNow please enlighten me as to just what the ômainsö is!

<embarassed blush>

Thanks folks! IÆll let you know how the swap goes; the rebuild should be in by early next week. I assume there is a break-in period for a rebuildá.á.á.á

Blessings,

Richard