Thanks.

Maybe I'll start planning for the $500 engine and just maybe gently drive it LOCALLY until I can get it? I don't think I would trust it on long highway drives anymore.. except, maybe if I go to GET that $500, which is about an hour away. They put it in the back (cargo area) and then it got installed at a later time. I've done that before, too...

*Everything else on the truck is PERFECT except for that loud suck noise from the brake booster and pedal going down slow and hard, so, the truck definitely is not dead .

 

I wonder, in general, how much a shop charges for an engine swap at shop rates?
Vs. The Backyard guys that have a cherry picker and know how to do it..

 

This sound is from a collapsed lifter. Could be because of low oil pressure from excessive bearing oil clearance, but the tick at idle you are hearing in this video is a lifter.

Now don't jump into blaming the hydraulic lifter itself, because it has to have adequate oil pressure to take up the clearance so it doesn't tick.

In this engine, oil is sucked up from the pan and filtered before entering three big passages that run the length of the engine block, two of which run along each bank of lifters. Also note that oil pressure is measured at point B in the following diagram so it doesn't reflect the oil pressure at other points in the engine (especially the furthest away - which is #1 rod bearing).

I would caution you about using oil thicker than 10W30 in a Blazer (5W30 preferred), especially in the Winter. Almost all of it will be bypassing the oil filter and it puts unnecessary strain on the distributor gear to turn the oil pump.

I used to have an engine that sounded like that at idle, but as soon as I brought it off idle the clacking sound would stop. Same engine soon had a failure of #1 rod bearing. If the clacking goes away off idle, can you hear a rod start to hammer when fully warmed up and revving from 2000-3000 rpm? If so, disconnect the spark plug wires one at a time and recheck to try to isolate a change in the hammering to a particular cylinder.

 

This engine is not an easy one to do, especially if it is a 4WD. IMHO a real shop is going to charge you $1500+ for labor to swap in a used engine. So to swap in a used engine you are going to have $2000+ more in this vehicle, unless you can do it yourself.

As far as the Craigslist crew coming to your home and doing a Blazer engine ………. I question if they would successfully finish the job.

 

I really thank all the replies, and I hope they keep coming. Maybe the problem is not as bad as I thought. And I presently have it idling outside (fully warmed up) with a quart of MMO in there, if it is a collapsed lifter (would explain my stalling.)

Here it is after I drove it a half hour to see if it will make it in to work while I figure this out... as it appears that it will.

Only the light tapping sound audible now while it idles outside. Will SeaFoaming it more (through the brake booster) help un-collapse the lifter?

 

And yeah, I been conned from Craigslist before.

Just sucked up uor. MMO through brake booster now it gets to sit 12 hours. I hope there is an easy fix ..

 

How quickly can the costs add up if I take it to a machine shop for a rebuild?

 

.. yeah, new engine or rebuild!?!?

My engine still runs good when cold.. takes 30 seconds for the noise to even appear. I wonder.. should I just get it to the rebuild/machine shop, will it be more than $1500 to rebuild it .

I could get a "runs good/excellent" engine with less miles than this one (130k? Maybe less but about that?) for about $500.. just not sure how to get it point A to point B.. and I've been quoted $800-$900 as a cost to put in a new engine.. so if a rebuild is about that much then it makes sense because 1. You know the work done and 2. Maybe even get some upgrades, maybe and 3. Keeping the truck forever. Just now sure if expecting to pay $1500 for a rebuild is reasonable?

I still have oil pressure and it runs fine, just loud knock same speed as engine RPM when it warms up... maybe put about 20 miles on it since noise appeared..

 

Mine sounded exactly like that before I replaced the engine. It never seemed to get any worse, and sometimes it even seemed to get better. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Goodwrench remanufactured engine for about $1850, core charge and shipping included. It wasn't worth shipping my core back for the $200 charge, so I still have it. I haven't gotten around to tearing it down for an "autopsy" yet, but I did notice almost immediately that it had close to 1/8" of crankshaft end play. I think that may have had something to do with the knocking noise. All of the rod and main caps look fine with no signs of getting hot or anything.

Anyway, if you're thinking of having your engine rebuilt, consider buying a reman with a warranty instead. It's not going to cost much more, and it might even be cheaper. Also, check what the warranty covers. Some are just parts (take it out, pay to ship it back, and they'll send you another one to try) or they only pay very low labor rates.

 

I had well over $2000 in just parts/machine work when I rebuilt mine myself because it had absolutely everthing done at the machine shop, and everything was new. Too bad it only lasted 2K miles. That engine was my biggest mechanical regret ever and was the only engine rebuild I have ever had fail. In the end it had to do with priming the oil pump with the intake manifold not installed yet - getting drill brush particles into the lifter valley, and I remember priming it "really good" in each of 6 crankshaft positions. You can read the entire saga here on Blazer Forum if you dig. Look for my original thread as a newbie entitled "2001 Blazer Sticking Valve???". Please remember that a lot of that thread was me learning about my vehicle and Blazers and OBD2 in general . I still have the engine sitting inside my garage in the Goodwrench engine box that replaced it. I just wanted to start driving it instead of continue to work on it (and have a warranty) so I ate all the money I originally spent and installed the Goodwrench rebuilt. Jegs never asked for a core. Now have nearly 50K miles on it.