Cost of rebuild vs reman

[Sultan]

After looking for almost a year I picked up a 1988 Ranger XLT regular cab 2 wheel drive five speed with a 2.9.

Under load I can kinda hear a knock in the engine. After 208k I am guessing the engine could use a rebuild or replacement.

So the question is what does it cost to rebuild ot yourself (some thing I have never done) or should drop the $1800 and get a remain engine?

Right now it runs and drives great but it does leak.

Thoughts? Thanks, Rick

 

[88_Eddie]

i priced rebuild kits a while back when i was gonna rebuild my 2.9. i decided i'm just gonna do a 4.0 swap down the line.

they went from ~$300-~$600, that was for pistons, bearings, seals, gaskets, cam, etc.

 

[jhammel85]

Are you sure it's a knock? If it's under load, I don't really think that it would be a catastrophic knock if it's only under load.

If it is under load only, check for things like exhaust leaks and possible spark plug wire problems.

 

[Psychopete]

You can't necessarily know how much a rebuild is going to cost without really knowing what all will need to be done first. You can tear it down, have a shop look, and give you a ball park. With that being said, in my experience, long block cost has always been cheaper than rebuild cost. But always be sure it needs replaced as stated above - doesn't hurt to get a second opinion.