The Hard (radiator) Hose has Struck again!

[rameye]

Went to go do may annual cooling sytem service and discovered the "hard hose" syndrome. Wish I didnt know what this meant but due to you fine folks on the DP I do. Looking for a new motor, quite a few on E-bay that are rebulit with the new reinforced block..about anywhere from 4k to 6k+.

I'm not into rolling the dice and doing the China thing...too much work involved to do a proper swap. Will keep the truck 5 years or so, it worth it for me...truck is in real nice shape. Not even going to bother doing the rebuild...these blocks are such a question mark, I need it to be bullet proof.

Questions..

1) How bad is it to R and R the engine?? Can it be done without dropping the tranny?? doesnt seem like much room to slide it forward with the front axle in the way. Tips and/or tricks would be appreciated.

2) Anybody have experience or stories about the engines rebuilt using the new AM general block?? Preferred vendors??

I know the engine is tired @ 168K so this wouldnt be a simple head replacement anyway, plenty of blow-by etc......time is of the essence so a swap is best for me...dont be mad Robyn!

Thanks for the help

[TAG]

I have not been on this forum in a while but ill offer my .02. I replaced my engine in 9/06 for no real good reason at 211,000 miles with a penn 18:1. I have 276,000 on it now with nary a bolt turned on the engine, & very few bolts turned on the rest of the truck since.I keep reading about all the questionable sources for engines & the pricing & it seems like a no brainer. I paid 6500.00 in 06 for a BRAND NEW amg marine engine, not a reman & no question about where it came from. Even if its 1500 extra, I would think sound sleep & low stress on a heavy towing trip would be worth it. If you keep it for ten years thats only 150.00 a year. Seems worth it to me. As far as the r&r, trans will need to go hard against the tunnel to clear the mounts, even then its close. Removing the frame pads does make it easier if your working alone. Other than that a pretty straightforward job. Hope this helps a bit.

[rameye]

Thanks for the reply...

Still shopping a motor...I know there is alot of bad information out there.

The one fella I'm considering has stated that he does get the blocks and heads from AMG and not China...the only old part is the crankshaft.

He wants a shade over 4k for a rebuilt with all new parts minus the crank
5500 for engine with a new crank.

I have to wait till it warms up to do the job so I have some time to research.

[Robyn]

Not Mad at all.

If ya got the $$$$$$$$$$$ to spend then a fresh AMG block/engine is a sweet deal.

I have never been in a position to be able to pony up BIG $$$$ when I have had an engine failure.

Always had more time than $$$$ so I have pieced engines together from a bit here and a bit there.

I would not be afraid of the Blocks that Clearwater is selling though.

Im sure they are being cast in China but so are the Dodge Cummins so who really knows who is doing them

I have seen several bare blocks from clearwater and they are georgous.

Anyway

Getting the engine out is a snap even working alone.

Remove the radiator shroud, fan, radiator and hoses.
Remove the accessories and lay the PS pump and the AC pump over while still connected.

Get the turbo off as well as the exhaust manifolds and Xover pipe.
Remove the bell housing cover, starter and the front driveline. (shaft has to come out before you can get the cover off)

Clear all the plugged in wiring and lay it out of the way.

Remove the two Long front motor mount bolts that connect the top and bottom halves of the mount.

Unbolt the Lower half of the RH mount from the frame.

Now the two top bell housing bolts can be a bitch depending on who has been there before.
The factory fuel line brackets bolt there with stud top bolts.

Flex plate to converter bolts and slide converter back as far as it will go by hand (1/2" approx)

with the remaining bell housing bolts removed lift the engine with its lift lugs.

Place a floor jack under the tranny pan with a piece of plywood across the jack to protect the pan (foot square) ?? or

With the engine raised a little, slide out the right hand lower mount half and then you can wiggle the engine slightly to the right and it will clear the LH mount.

Lift a little more, up and out. Pretty easy, just takes time.

I prefer on these engines to have as much stuff off the engine (Exhaust, Turbo etc) as these engines are large.

Makes handling easier and more room to get tools and hands in and around the thing. :)

NOTE a 2x4 slid across the torsion bars with the two (2) starter bolts stuffed into the tranny lower bolt holes works sweet to hold the thing while the engine is out.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

Robyn

[rameye]

Thanks Robyn,

Thats the 411 I was counting on!

I cant help but hear the dissapointment in your post that I'm not doing a rebuild...:)

I plan on doing a post mortem anyway as to the cause of the failure. Its a bizarre leak as the cooling sytem is rapidly pressurized to 15 psi under 1 minute then it holds that same 15 psi pressure indefinitely for upwards of 2 weeks when the engine is shut down. Got some cool antifreeze showing up on the dip stick so my time with this motor is short at best.

Will post on the board when I get this project underway...just doing my preliminaries right now, want to have all my ducks in a row fro when the weather breaks as this will be an outside job.

Take care