2.9l rebuild costs

[IcecreamLtDan]

Alright, so my 2.9l with over 340,000 miles on it has started tapping really bad and the oil light is on. It's never really had the lifter tap before this except when it had leaked out too much oil, or it was in bad need of an oil change, but this is a noticeable change in the engines condition. No smoke, but very much louder tapping than ever and the truck seemed to lose power really badly. Now I haven't had the chance to check anything other than the oil level and it is fine. The truck sits quite a bit and the oil, even though it's only got about 1500 miles on it, has been in the truck since May. My plan is to change the oil and filter tomorrow and see what happens. Being this truck has so many miles on it, I am not hopeful that will solve the problem. Now, I have no experience whatsoever rebuilding engines, replacing engines, or anything of the kind so if this needs to be done, I'll have to get it taken someplace. The question I have is, about how much money would something like this run? Not looking for an exact figure, just a ballpark price. My wife and I have every intention of keeping this truck. I would consider the 4.0l swap, but again, I have no experience at this kind of work. Thanks for the info.

 

[d9n]

I'm just finishing a rebuild on my 2.9, block was machined (honed cylinders, checked for cracks, jet tanked,etc.), the heads machined flat and cam bearings installed. The price of parts online (Northwestern Auto)was half of what I could get local.
So far I'm into the rebuild for about $1500 with me assembling everthing. For a shop to assemble the short block it would of been $200-250 range.
If your haven't ever rebuilt an engine, you can buy a rebuild in the $2000 to 3000 range. Maybe check with your local auto shops for them to just rebuild your 2.9 and you remove/install it.
Oh, mark every connection as you remove them (1-1,2-2,etc.).
It's still a down time for the truck of a three to four weeks (?).