Rebuild or replace?

1-8-04, 14:09

I'm the original owner of my 88MX6 GT. It was my first and only new car that I have ever bought. I have obviously developed a sentimental attachment to the car in the past 16+ years and have enjoyed us growing old together...<sob sob> but the time has come to make some hard decissions... the motor now needs to be replaced after 176K miles. The car for the most part has been a champ. I have had my share of problems with it but have always found reasons to keep it.

After struggling through a divorce (the cars about all I got to keep <he he>) and no additional cash flow to support a car payment, I have decided to keep my '6 and recondition him back to as close to original as possible. After all, I know everything there is to know about it. Where if I were to spend the same amount of money to buy a newer used car, I would literally be buying someone else's problems.

Here's the question:
Which makes more sense? Rebuilding the original engine or swapping for a crated, reconditioned one. I was quoted a price of approximately $2K to pull the original out of the car and send it across town to have it cleaned, tooled and rebuilt. Then the guy who quoted the the price would install it. Does $2k sound reasonable for doing this. BTW... he is a cerified ASE machanic and I have used him for about a year or so for less extensive repairs... ie starter, CV axles, wheel bearings and brake overhaul. (These are all other reasons for keeping the car in addition to having new tires, battery and both cylinders for the clutch)
I am also having him do the clutch, radiator, and shifter bushings while he's got the engine out. All that will be left to do afterwards is fixing the antenna and sunroof. They haven't worked in ages. I will try and give those a shot once I get the car back and running.

If anyone has gone this route and has any advice to offer, it would be appriciated.

Later...

**turbogt22** · 1-8-04, 18:40

Sounds like a nice little project. Did you consider the FE3 option? I know it's not for everyone but if I was in your position, I would have at least weighed the options.

**rebel2k4** · 1-8-04, 20:05

$2k isn't bad at all for that job. If you're the DIY type, you could find a low mileage engine from a junkyard and put it in your car for a tenth of that price tag though. I'm not going to say rebuilt engines are necessarily bad, but you just can't beat an OEM built engine. Best of luck

1-12-04, 7:44

Unfortunately for me, I'm not the comfortable doing projects of this size. I will probably attempt to do the sunroof, headliner and such but an engine swap is way out of my league.

I figured that if I need to pay someone to pull the engine, replace it and get it running right, I might as well put a "new" engine in it. He (the mechanic) suggest I drop a used engine from a junk yard into it as well, and even quoted me a much better price but again I would probably be pissed later when it started running rough. I'm looking forward to having all the horsepower at my foot again! The car really hasn't run like I remember for about 5 or 6 years now.

As far as dropping an FE3 in it... well, I guess I never really put much interest in modifying it to the point where I could race it. Don't get me wrong... I love going fast and have testing him out on many occasions. I'm just probably more focused on other things in my life right now. Besides, my 13 year old will have a car to drive in a few years and there's plenty of peddle there already!

Thanks for the responces...

2-3-04, 15:41

Well, I received the car last week after him having it through the holidays. For the most part, I am happy with the job he did, although I ended up spending nearly $2500! Of course, once the engine was pulled and replaced, other items needed replaced as well... ie... all hoses & belts including the two turbo hoses ($120), clutch kit and several other misc parts. I was a tad bit bent over the extra charges but I am happy with the way the car drives now. I only have several hundred miles on the new engine at this point and it is very hard to contain myself when I feel the need to open it up! haha Anyway, a few odds and ends to take care of and I will be ready to finish up with a new paint job. It will probably have to wait until my tax return arrives before I can dabble with that.

Later...

**TiZBaD99** · 2-3-04, 18:09

what exactly was wrong with the engine in the first place? Ive got 200k miles on one of mine and 155k miles on the other

**Illswyn** · 2-3-04, 20:33

Yeah, what was wrong with it, and what did you do with the old engine?

2-4-04, 6:33

After nearly five or six years of the car running like a sewing machine, it finally blew up. I know... 177k is not an extreme amount of miles for these particular engines but when the car is neglected for a significant period of time, they will eventually quit. I take responsibility for the neglect, but sometimes lack of funding will do that.

The car has been in need of a rebuild for quite a while but a slow, unlocated leak in the cooling system caused the engine to overheat and force me to do it the hard way. I opted for pulling the engine and completely reconditioning it rather that shipping in a crated one. The cost of that engine would have been the same, not including labor and the other things I had done. Although $2500 is a ton of cash, I now have a "brand used" engine, clutch, cooling system, belt, hoses... the works. Not to mention the other work I've done in the past 18 months including: battery, started, both cv axles, wheel bearings, brake overhaul, and tires. It made more sense to fix the car than replace it. After all, I bought it new and will benefit from knowing all I've done and not done to it over the years. All that's left to do now are the esthetics at this point.

Thanks for inquiring....

**johniebgoode** · 2-4-04, 11:56

Congrats on deciding to hang on to your car and rebuild the motor. You won't regret the money spent, as you've been through alot together. The car is almost a classic and it's very rewarding to have a unique vehicle such as the "6" which is still quite capable of holding it's own on the road.
Some new paint and detailing will give it's pride back. Go for it !

**TiZBaD99** · 2-4-04, 16:24

yeah congrats man

but i sure wish i could say that ive owned my cars from new, far from it I bought one with 180k and the other with like 145k.

the 180k is now upto 200k and the first 180 was put on by a middle aged lady who I doubt every revved past 3500. It is in better shape than the gt which has like 50k less miles on it.

I want to keep the DX forever, i know the gt wont last the way is and has been driven. But im going to baby the dx till the end. Eventhough i generally do pretty good maintenance to both cars, I change the oil probably once a month (lol) and do the cap rotor and wires plugs usually twice a year. If stuff isnt working as well as it should like brakes or somthing ill take a look at them and replace stuff if necesarry.

But i know the GT wont ever see 200k (its at 155k or somthing) I think it was abused by its previous owner.

2-17-04, 8:58

Unbelievable turn of events... I am once again without my car. Last week I noticed a puddle of sludge under the car. After investigating, it was apparent that oil had leaked into the cooling system, causing it to overheat and run out of the overflow! This is after having the engine completely overhauled during the holidays (less than a 1000 miles). Five weeks without wheels to begin with was pretty tough but I should try not to forget that this took place during the holidays, when parts are hard to order. Much of that time was just idle time. Anyway, turns out that guy that did the rebuild cut some corners, obviously, and pushed the blame on my mechanic who bolted it in. Needless to say that the rebuild guy won't be doing much business with people on my side of the tracks.

Anyway, my mechanic has taken responsibility and offered to install an "new" ATK engine at his cost, totaling just over $2200. I thought this was the honorable and correct thing for him to do, so I took him up on it. After a bit of a struggle, he finally agreed to split the cost of a rental car with me as well. I figured if he was accruing additional costs with the rental, he might be more eager to finish my car a little quicker this time around. After waiting nearly a week for the engine to arrive, he has bolted it down and connected nearly all of the components. At this point we are waiting for the radiator to come back from being cleaned. Hopefully, I will get the car back today and the break in process will begin... again.

Damn, this has been a hell of a ride but I guess all of the trouble will be worth it in the end. One good thing coming from this is that the turbo came with the engine which means I won't have to worry about that "weak link" failing in the near future. Another bright spot... I will have a 3 year 36K mile warranty on this engine where the original one was only a year! I guess lucky for me the trouble popped up right away.

Here's the funny part... I ended up with a Mazda 6 as a rental car!! LOL! Even though I'm looking forward to getting my MX6 back, it will be tough to turn the new one back in. The new 6's are pretty nice and no where near as noisy! Ha Ha! There is something to be said about new cars but as nice and new as it is, it could never catch my original beast!

Later...

**Gaius.** · 2-17-04, 10:34

I don't know what it is about these cars that creates so much loyalty in us, but I know I feel it as well. I had an 88 DX MTX which I wish I had kept. Now as a second car I have a 93 LS ATX which I inherited from my aunt. The car came to me with alot of body damage, and poor paint, plus it needed a thorough tune up, hoses replaced etc. The great thing was is had only 54K miles on the odometer.

Now, roughly $4000 later (new body panels, paint, engine work) I have a great looking second car I will baby as long as I'm around to do it!

**Illswyn** · 2-17-04, 11:47

Have you read this suggestion on break-in?

Just a thought, considering it'll be a brand-new engine. I've read all the info he has on there...and there is a lot.

After reading that site, I wouldn't consider babying a new car engine.