Let's check a concensus... New engine time?

Is the sound we are hearing a rabbit hole?

OR, if I can somehow pull off the valve covers and figure out the collapsed lifter.. to approach a mechanic at that point?

 

.... They have one left!!!!

Maybe add the $800-$900 to this, and there it is.

Hope nobody buys it before me..

You recommend this engine (the Goodwrench LesMyer told me about) https://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet+Per...xoCFBIQAvD_BwE

... to this one, marketed as a "Performance" build? (I think) https://www.ebay.com/itm/Remanufactu...oAAOSwAYtWITrW

Both of them have free shipping, (which is good) and I can see the new engine would probably receive new spark plugs, spark plug wires, maybe an EGR valve (I don't know) ... but there are many other used engines which you REALLY don't know what you are getting, and I've been down that road before.

I just took it for a spin and made more video but I know there is some kind of a problem in the engine and.. unless it is some kind of "collapsed lifter, easy fix, fix it and change the oil and I dodged a bullet" then this appears to be what I am looking at. If I pull off the valve covers.. I'll take one more look but I'm not sure I have the ability to do. That...

If I can save for ~2 months I can do it...

*edit: My noise seems to go away the most "under load" - accelerating, and cruising. It seems the most loud when I let off the accelerator, or have to accelerate to about 40-50 MPH. I wonder if there is anything I can actually DO to this engine. Remanufactured engines essentially start at ZERO miles, right?

And are cylinders 4, 5, and 6 on the passenger side bank?

 

That same Goodwrench engine is a little cheaper here. There's also a promo code for 50 bucks off that price. If you can return the core, you save another 200 bucks.

 

2/11/2020 - The latest. Communication from the shop, where it is now:

Cut and paste

 

Any time you put a big money into an old car it is a bit of a gamble. I was in this position when I had to decide if I wanted to have my transmission rebuilt. because I was confident in the rest of the truck and the engine, I decided to do it. I also had decided I would keep the truck for at least 5 more years.

You might search the nearby wrecking yards for lower mileage motor in another Blazer and price them. But if you plan to keep the truck for a while and you have confidence in the rest of the truck, i.e. that there will be no other big-ticket repairs such as the transmission, then the new engine might the way to go.

 

Sorry to hear that. One thing I can say for sure. Don't tear it apart for inspection unless you are committed to fixing it (whatever it takes). I would give a lot more for a running vehicle that I could see if the trans and 4WD worked, and could hear the engine. I suspect others would as well. .

 

Hi Les, Hi Christine. I get to reply and look after work at what's going on. So I get to reply.

Okay, yes. I pretty much knew that is what they would say. . I did change the oil before taking it over. . Apparently it shows all the signs of a spun bearing. I did beat the **** out of it the past few days before that, and from what I read, if I had something thicker than 5W-30 in there (like. 10W-40) it still wouldnt have helped. I just know I put the 5W-30 in and drove it like a Ferrari and it is when I did the SeaFoaming that I think I started the bad news, as it would stall at a light. Then some days later, the knock. As backstory.

BUT. I Love this truck. I think the 96 (and 97) look better than the 98+, they just seem to have added in more luxury each year up until 05 and now Blazers are back as of 2019 so. They look horrible now. But it is what it is.

Now, back to the point... This truck is SOLID. A nice, low miles (yes, 147k for a 96 is low miles, folks. Florida car, owned by a painter that had a heart attack and the truck is basically new. Nothing broke on it except leaking brake booster and an ABS light. Starter died first cold day and that also is now brand new but Nothin else. No snow to test 4WD but that probably works too. I'm never touching that switch on dry pavement again because it then stuck in 4 Hi and I killed a 1st Gen that way but it doesn't snow in NJ anymore so.) - truck. And nice paint too. Interior needs sear covers or Katzkin and I'd like to make the front seats leather, maybe heated, but okay.

Takeaway: It's a really good truck. Really good. And yes it has service receipts. It's almost too good to be true.

I always knew i was going to destroy the engine, folks. And now I have. This way... I get to KNOW it is my truck, and participate in going through it when the engine is out. I know that sounds stupid, but, now I KNOW it is mine, and i dont feel like I was just tossed the keys and someone said "Have fun." This is probably my truck for life, . Or one of them.

I think I have a few options.

OPTION 1: Found a Part Grade A "RUNS EXCELLENT" 130k miles engine for $500 out of a 98 Astro, VIN X - Will that engine work!? I could maybe get it. It is within a price range I can reach.

SIDE NOTE: If I DO get another engine - or if the guy at Kadena makes me!!???? - I want to keep THAT original engine around FOR A REBUILD. Overbore, stroke, whatever, I would spend to put a custom engine or even a built 350SBC at some point in the future. But we are nowhere near there yet. Just a vision. The 4.3 is plenty fast.. always heard the 5.7 has the same motor mounts.

OPTION 2 AND THREE involve the same engine...

SIDE NOTE 2: If sticking with the engine in there, then i do not need to worry about:
a. Cores
b. Shipping
c. Engines that have rod knock (I've had engines from yards knock worse than the one that came out upon first start up as I stand there in disbelief)
d. Unknown histories
e. Lying yards.

OPTION 2: I REALLY want the guy to pull the oil pan and further assess the health of the engine before we proceed.

I have mentioned to him about "the bearings." I just have to say, since we are talking amongst car enthusiasts here and this is a learning experience for me (and if he makes me get another engine, I will, so I literally have nothing to lose here..) seen a FEW YouTube videos where
1. Engine knocks
2. Oil pan comes off
3. Bearing is changed
4. A shoelace and sandpaper are used
5. Engine is put back together
6. Engine runs.



^ My Corolla was originally supposed to be an Impreza so always a soft spot for those.



oh.. there is one about a 94 S10 also. I had a 93 and a 94 side by side once...


He says "if you caught it in time" Mine has gone less than 100 miles...

Option 3: Get the engine rebuilt as to what it needs .


???

Thank you.

 

^ And hear is yet another "replaced con rod bearings" update... Before:


After:


If. He. Will. Go. For. That..

Edit

 

O.K. - just a couple of thoughts about this "cheap fix for a rod bearing":

It's a bit like a heart-attack - It just doesn't stop by itself, there is an underlying pathology which leads to it.

The same is true for engine failures. In order for a fix to be a permanent fix, you need to remove the underlying root cause.
There is no quick fix to a bad rod bearing. Even if the fix itself is possible (and I doubt it, because the Blazers 4.3 cranks are not hardened) you will still have the root cause biting at it again.
What I think is unfortunate about these nice fix-it videos is that they never show if it is still running a week later, or let's say 5'000 miles later.
That is a fix I would apply to get me out of the desert.

Normally it's the #1 or #2 that dies. Simply because they are the farthest from the oil pump. The reasons can be many. Oil pump worn, pressure regulating valve, anything in the oil path. Dirt in the crank blocking or obstructing the oil passage from the main to the rod bearing, worn out lifters where the oil pressure bleeds off. Water in the oil, fuel in the oil, running the engine without oil pressure, you name it.

IMHO a good idea to maybe even go after a running Blazer from where to do a transplant. Then according to your needs and time and space available take it apart and figure what and why it went bad. Agree with the previous recommendations. Depends on the overall state of your ride and if it is worth putting couple thousand dollars at it.

 

Okay, well, he explained to me how in the real world.. another engine with new "front and rear" seals (and new plugs etc) is the way to go. He also told me I may lose "a quart or two" (I'm thinking from the radiator trans cooler lines) of trans fluid but that's it. Also that yes Master Cylinder is leaking air.

So, it is down to two engines, local.. both 1998. One from a Blazer, one from an Astro van. Will -either one- of these work? Or should I pursue the Blazer one first. I just need to know, in case anyone buys the Blazer one.. 1998 to 1996, that works?