my 2013 chevy equinox recently had its engine shit the bed; the whole thing needs to be replaced. Do you think that swapping it out is something that I could do over the course of a 3 day weekend? Or do you have any recommendations for decent mechanics who can swap it out in the central-ish Dallas area?
Well, thatās a lot of question there.
A few factors come into play like how much experience do you have in automotive, are you rebuilding the motor or are you just removing one motor and putting another one in with minimal accessory and part swap?
If I remember correctly those are front wheel drive vehicles (I may be wrong because I canāt exactly remember off top my head right now), but if they are front wheel drive or all wheel drive that adds yet another level of difficulty to be taken into account.
And to give you kind of a baseline to think about, I have been rebuilding and swapping motors and vehicles (as needed or wanted for rebuilt performance upgrade) for something close to 32 years.
That being said I know I can swap motors in a sn95 mustang in right at 6 hours, a second gen Dodge ram in 8 to 12 hours, a 93 to 2003 Camaro in around 12 to 14 hours (less if you have a lift), 70ās and 80ās model vettes in about 8 and a Pontiac fiero (yes, I said it) in 8 hours with a lift, 14 hours without.
I know some of those numbers seem a little high, but there are some that I have had a lot of experience with and some that I have had minimal experience with and Iām always double and even triple checking everything so that takes a little more time.
If youāre pretty well versed in auto mechanics then my suggestion would be to have a known, working and running motor on an engine stand ready to go when you start this, have as many accessories as possible already on the motor along with the sensors so there is minimal accessory swap time (sometimes you can get a motor in with the accessories on it, sometimes you canāt. The Camaros that you remove the engine from the bottom with a lift, you could. The mustangs that go in from the top you could not).
Have somebody there with you that knows what theyāre doing and can help.
And absolutely, beyond all reasonable doubt, have a backup plan because anytime you do any kind of automotive repair especially on this level, you are only one bolt away from an 8-hour job turning into a 3-day fiasco.
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I would probably just be buying a long block motor from a refurbisher. And completely swapping the motor out. I am led to believe that itās relatively simple, but given that this is a front wheel drive car, your comments lead me to believe that my low to moderate experience in automotive may not be up to the task.
Okay with that information the first thing that you need to find out is what definition of long block are they using?
I have seen the term long block used for everything from a complete engine intake to oil pan minus all accessories to just the block, internal rotating assembly, camshaft and heads without intake, valve covers, oil pan, sensors or any accessories.
If itās the latter (which I would believe it is), thatās a lot of time swapping parts.
The second thing is that it is a front wheel drive vehicle which has a transverse mount motor and unless you are experienced in front wheel drive engine swaps, thatās going to add a pretty decent level of difficulty and take a lot more time because itās really not as straightforward as a rear wheel drive vehicle or even a four-wheel drive truck.
Now, donāt get me wrong, the person you talk to or the YouTube videos that you watched, it may have been easy to that person but the unknown factor is how much experience do they have in this particular scenario.
Based off of AutoZoneās definitions it comes with installation gasket sets, oil pumps, oil pan, and front cover. Possibly valve covers, but that is unclear. Thereās a few other things that lead me to believe that it also comes with piston, and timing chain as well, but I canāt find definitive confirmation of that
It will come with pistons, piston rods, rings, bearings, cam, ect.
Check out summitracing.com
They may have your long block as well and they are located in Arlington.
My two cents, for whatever itās worth:
Is it do-able for someone with some mechanical skill but no experience over 3 days? Yeah absolutely.
Are you going to run into issues that cause tremendous frustration and make it take 3 times as long as you thought? Almost certainly.
Will you end up with something reliable when you āfinishā? 50/50
Personally, I wouldnāt do it unless you have alternate transportation you can rely on for a few weeks and a plan for what to do when it all goes wrong and you have a non-running half-assembled pile of parts.
If you donāt actually need the car and you can have a buddy haul it away when it goes bad, it could be a good learning experience.
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You are absolutely correct and I should have emphasized that as well.
I guess I spent a little more time on āthe pitfalls you need to think aboutā more than āyeah, this could be an encouraging and learning experienceā.
That is my fault because sometimes I have to remind myself that we all started at zero.
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Soā¦ probably find an experienced mechanic, since I actually need this car to work?
If this is your sole means of transportation, then yes.
If it is not, and you have the place to work on it over a 2 week period (rough estimate taking into account the absolute worst case) then no. Gain the experience, learn the skill because like cooking and doing laundry, this is a life skill.
I can bike to most places that I need. But for longer distances, this is my only form of transportation. So Iām kind of sort of in that weird halfway space
Fair enough.
At this point, youāre the only one that can truly make that decision for yourself.
I wish you the best of luck and if you decide to tackle this yourself and have questions, Iām sure others as well as myself will give you what advice and guidance we can.
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Iām currently looking at mechanics and seeing what the prices are. Buying the engine block is already about at the limit of what I can realistically afford. So thereās like 18 different factors to balance
Yeah, good mechanics arenāt cheap and cheap mechanics arenāt good.
Usually.
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I have used an expression for situations like this for years. You can have this task done Cheap, Correct, and Fast, but you can only have two of these.
If you want Cheap and Correct, it wonāt be Fast
If you want it Fast and Correct, it wonāt be Cheap
If you want it Cheap and Fast, it wonāt be Correct.
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You are between a rock and a hard place. Years ago at the Space a board member asked me if I would help out a member with a similar problem as she was had zero mechanical experience and the pond scum for āhelpā hanging around her didnāt either. I dislike American cars with a passion, especially front wheel drive buckets. Her car was the very shyte rolled into that, FWD, CVT, and a Dodge.
Alan Wan and I had some good nights with that though, and for a junk donor car, it ran at the end. The car owner learned about her car and what the various tools were for and how to use them - and how to clean them and put them back where they belong.
If it wasnāt for my truck and car trailer it would never have been possible. Time was limited then and non existent now. Moving her car project in and out until we could meet again to continue. (In your case Zach - you would need at least one other person with a fair amount of experience to get this done in a solid long ass all day in to the night gig.)
The makerspace has the equipment, my old lift helps make the job easier for āmostā cars. But it is not a 10 minute jiffy lube at all.
Zach, do you āknowā what you are actually getting when you buy a rebuilt/reman engine? It does not look anything at all like the engine that is under the hood of your car - you know that right? It takes time to remove everything from your current engine and mount it to the rebuilt engine to prep it for install. This is where you really want to budget for replacement of āmaintenance partsā to do NOW whilst the motor is out. i.e. open the owners manual and look under āmaintenance intervalsā - this is the ideal time to replace things like spark plugs, water pump, misc cooling system parts, belt and tensioner, etc.
A little time pre planning goes a long way before doing this.
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ive done an engine swap as a novice mechanic. took me and a buddy about 4 days since he let me learn as it was my car. we had all the tools needed (more then what dms has), the shop manuals, and space for it to sit for a week while i watching every possible youtube video and played connect the dots for every bolt via the manual.
itās doable - if you have the tools, spare cash, and time.
but the tools are the biggest part.
its far cheaper to pay a good mechanic who knows your vehicle.
but good luck and well wishes!
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cheaper and faster than an engine swap.
If you are really determined to keep the same model ā¦
https://www.facebook.com/groups/683907798287534/user/100000575299866/
Iām not. And I think that it just makes more sense, from a practical and financial standpoint, to just get a new car. (Or new to me, at least)
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