Is an Engine Rebuild worth it?

[wasthatacop?]

Originally Posted by Widget

That is almost the exact debate my dad and I are having. I am trying to weight all options and determine which would be the best.

- Fix to running, sell, and look for a newer zl1/modded camaro (or maybe wait for a used c8 in a few years)
- Rebuild/upgrade current engine to something just as good
- Replace the engine so I can drive it for as long as possible

He is in the camp of just replace the piston, getting working, then sell/trade for something newer and already built with the specs I want.

This is the first car I bought and paid off, so sentimental attachment is getting me unable to commit to getting rid of it. (My attachment isn't like very high, but enough to make me think about it)

Is it possible to just replace that piston without removing the engine? (he thinks we can remove the oil pan and be able to access what he needs to remove it) If so, my dad is confident we could do that ourselves.

Then I would probably buy new heads as I would assume another valve spring is due to break soon as well.

In the back of my mind I was thinking "Well what is 1 piston compared to 8?" replace with some stout pistons that can take a small amount of boost one day. Put some performance level heads, and then see where that gets me.

But if the damage in the cylinder wall requires machining, then that changes everything.

No. It is not possible to replace a piston without pulling the engine. You'd also be the first person to ever replace a single piston. If your logic is to maybe replace one piston, without pulling the engine, then I'm recommending that you don't fix this yourself.

[CamaroCracka]

There are lots of instances where replacing the pistons with the engine in the vehicle makes sense, so it's not totally crazy. However, it's probably not a good solution here.

In the diesel world they call them in-frames. You also see individual cylinder repairs on boats, particularly if you have to take the boat apart to get the engine out. However, in those cases, they replace the sleeve and I don't think you can do that with the engine in the car on GenV.

[Greenhornet2]

Originally Posted by wasthatacop?

No. It is not possible to replace a piston without pulling the engine. You'd also be the first person to ever replace a single piston. If your logic is to maybe replace one piston, without pulling the engine, then I'm recommending that you don't fix this yourself.

That is a very broad statement and not true. you can pull a piston without pulling an engine. Also many times a single piston is replaced if there is a fault with one piston, particularly on low mileage vehicles where maybe a valve hit a piston and damaged it. There is nothing wrong with replacing a single piston with another factory one. On these cars though it wouldn't save much time doing a piston in the car since the engines come out pretty easily.

[christianchevell]

LS3 can only be rehoned .020 a ls7 .005....thoughts, and crates are around 7k, .....cost always matters....

[Dm55]

Anyone help me out with putting a price on my 2010 l99? Less then 1200 miles rebuilding top end with performance parts, eliminated afm, used Texas speed cam kit, and jegs kit. Professional tuned and replaced any and all parts that could fail that bolt on. Oil pump, water pump etc. I'm wanting to go bigger and go full race is the only reason I'm considering selling. Just have no idea what to sell for

[morepowerjoe]

I actually like the process of rebuilding an engine. You might need to invest in some good tools if you haven't done so already and find a good machinist. But for the money you will save on doing it yourself will probably allow you to install some performance parts like a cam, valve springs, pushrods, trunnion upgrade, and a good oil pump. And there's nothing wrong with the stock bottom end unless you plan on going crazy with the horsepower.

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by Dm55

Anyone help me out with putting a price on my 2010 l99? Less then 1200 miles rebuilding top end with performance parts, eliminated afm, used Texas speed cam kit, and jegs kit. Professional tuned and replaced any and all parts that could fail that bolt on. Oil pump, water pump etc. I'm wanting to go bigger and go full race is the only reason I'm considering selling. Just have no idea what to sell for

You see quite a few long blocks listed for 5k or so on LS1Tech. Not sure what they actually get.

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by Dm55

Anyone help me out with putting a price on my 2010 l99? Less then 1200 miles rebuilding top end with performance parts, eliminated afm, used Texas speed cam kit, and jegs kit. Professional tuned and replaced any and all parts that could fail that bolt on. Oil pump, water pump etc. I'm wanting to go bigger and go full race is the only reason I'm considering selling. Just have no idea what to sell for

I paid $3800 for a stock LS3 long block with ±20k miles, but that was a really good deal at the time. I would say you could get at least $4-4.5k for it, maybe more. A lot of it also depends on just how bad/fast you want to get rid of it.

The problem is a lot of people don't want to pay that kinda money when they can build a potent beast from a used truck 6.0/6.2 block for possibly even less. A few grand more starts to get into crate engine territory. Take a look on Ebay and look at LS3/L99 take outs. You will have to filter through them though, as a lot include transmissions. Also, used LS3's will always fetch a few hundred more than the used L99s.

[ADVMax]

https://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet+Per...YaAtBoEALw_wcB


When a new GM Performance LS3 long block is 5 grand it makes it hard for me to justify more than $2000 for a used engine?

[InFiD3ViL]

Originally Posted by ADVMax

https://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet+Per...YaAtBoEALw_wcB


When a new GM Performance LS3 long block is 5 grand it makes it hard for me to justify more than $2000 for a used engine?

Holy crap! I could swear they weren't always that cheap. When i was looking, they were always around $6900 or so for a new long block. That was around spring 2019.

[CamaroCracka]

They weren't. When the vert spun a bearing, you could barely get a short block for that. My fear is GM is getting out of the crate motor business with their move to EV, but that is pure speculation on my part.

[d kings z28]

Originally Posted by ariZona28

If I was in your situation I would lean towards a crate engine. Sure, you could rebuild it yourself and get the satisfaction of accomplishment but you also have to run around town chasing parts (or order from the internet and hope the right stuff shows up). Then you need to find a competent machine shop to work their magic. Throw in "some assembly required" and it could be some time before you're back behind the wheel. You could just drop it off somewhere but that can result in an entire different avenue of frustrations. Thumb through the current Summit catalogue and you'll see they have some fairly good deals on some stout HP engines ready to bolt in that even come with a warranty. The 495/473 looks like it would be good streetable fun.