how much money is in your motors?

[towcat]

I'm the same as Towcat. I don't replace stuff just to have new stuff. I run my **** until it breaks....which for me usually takes a long time. Had a mechanic tell me 2 years ago that my LS400 needed a timing belt ASAP. Well...2 years and 20,000 miles later, the engine runs slicker than a lawyer's mouth. No way I'm changing out a perfectly good part.

not changing a timing belt is not doing preventative maintenance. i'm not advocating that.
what you and Javier missed is I

buy a used truck, run it for a while to see how the motor behaves and if it has any problems

I can't think of a better way to test out to see if a motor is any good or not. If it's good, I transplant it into a chassis needing a motor and sell off the rest of the parts. to me, that's a win-win in my book.
I just did a repower in a '99 F450 the same way. I bought a E350 van and drove it around for a while. The van was ugly and beat up but the powertrain was in great shape with almost no leaks or blow-by. buy-in price? $1700. drive it around looking like a hold-up crew casing a bank....priceless. motor passes the eval and is pulled. sell of the rest of the carcass to the wrecking yard....get back $400. total outlay on the motor? $1300. what is a PSD currently going for in CL? about $2500-$3000 and I have to take the word of some random ******* that the motor is good. I'll buy a unwanted vehicle anyday over that .

 

[92F350CC]

In this case, it's not as big a deal though, because I'm running a non-interference engine. My point is that the engine runs well, I saw a part that could be changed but didn't need to be, so I'm not going to stress about it.

The same goes for my F350. She's not shiny or anything, and at 185k(on a gasser), I might be justified by looking for another engine or even another truck. But the damn thing works and works well. I run it. The very worst case scenario for either vehicle is I end up stranded, most likely within an hour of home or somebody I know. Inconvenient, yes, life-changing, no.

 

[88beast]

gauges well about 600
air intake and exhaust 200 and a mountain bike
g31 setup 400
3g alt 100
stroker kit ??? p/o put it in
carrier pump and other fuel things 150
radiator and cooling system 350
glow system 6-800 total but thats a lot of fried parts
wiring 100
misc 350
countless hours of time put into it pricless

things on the way
cam 150
turbo 500 so far another 400 to aquire yet
studs n gaskets 300-500
plus more as i think it up


as for a swap id say dt466 is the king one day the idi will go in a bronco with full size axles and the truck will get a dt466 and a manual trans


as for other things that are nice and make it function nicer the west coast mirrors, bumper, winch, gauge/cb pod, tool box, ladder rack, front hitch, 2 inch front lift, fsd rear springs,oba, lights, and tons more id say total invested is around 15-20k

 

[War Wagon]

Too much = more than I paid for the pickup

 

[justinray]

I've seen a few people claiming that 7.7 stroked engine, was that readily available at one time, or just an off center crank grind?

 

[dizdak]

from reading ya'lls posts i am still way on the cheap side with my engine.... i had to replace the IP and injectors they were getting in **** pour shape, aside that the rest has only been a couple little maintenance fix ups..

 

[junk]

Ok I went all out on my 89 with the drop in diesel. Now on my 93 I'm doing an engine the towcat way. I picked up a 1991 F250 IDI that ran really well, but the body was hammered. I drove it home 100 miles and it ran great. I also drove it around my acreage several times seeing how it started and continued to run. Ran great. I bought the truck for $1,000 and kept the engine. I've since sold $1200+ of parts from it and I still have the frame and dana 50 that will hit the scrap. I am resealing the engine and swapping over any new parts from the old engine before installing. Engine supposedly has under 180K miles. Should last me another 50-100K easy.

 

[89greendiesel]

I haven't done any performance things to my truck yet, it does have new injectors and return lines. That was $220.

New glow plugs, glow plug controller, glow plug harness $185

New external voltage regulator and wiring $30

I think I'm on my 4th oil change since buying it. $400
Dont use it a whole lot

Bought a new supply pump for it $30

I have a turbo, bull moose for it that hasn't been installed yet. Considering getting rid of the setup. $1800 for everything. But it is all new stuff so worth it imo.

New battery cables: $250 ( i know it's not really in the motor but i don't have a motor without them)

New belts at purchase: $85

The only other thing i can stretch to justify classifying "spent on motor" is the new fuel tanks, lines, straps, and fuel switching valve. $700


There is a bunch of other stuff, might make a total money invested thread in a bit here. I'm over $5k invested and i did all the work.

 

[riotwarrior]

I have a turbo, bull moose for it that hasn't been installed yet. Considering getting rid of the setup. $1800 for everything. But it is all new stuff so worth it imo. r

Why not install and be a happy camper?

 

[89greendiesel]

Why not install and be a happy camper?

fair question........i guess i am enjoying a properly operating truck right now. The first time since i bought it a few years ago. Starts on glowplugs and everything.....no stumbles, misfires, no leaking injectors, no air intrusion. Batteries are tired but that can wait till winter. I probably will install it. I am all for making an engine more efficient. Gotta fix the supply pump and then i can think about what to do next.