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Sigh

Isn't a lim job just to have someone do the gaskets and coolant elbows another 900 bucks parts and labor? I am just having a hard time with this, because I worked my ass off to find a nicer and better looking car, and when I do find one, it can't even last me a year.

I bought a 95 camry before this car as my first car. Maybe spent a grand total for maintenance, and I abused the living suit out of it, with 180k on the motor. I ended up selling it for this car after a year and a half, and i made my money back on it.

That's honestly what's frustrating me right there.
 


i got my used 3800 for the GT for $250 at a u pull it. and 250 did the trick. i found a 3800 in a car that was at the yard for insurance purposes "runs and drives." and i just swapped out all the buick sh*t and put on all the GP's brackets and fittings etc.
 
toyota's last forever, so there's no comparison if you ask me, a lim job is like 600 from what people have posted here, but a whole engine swap usually runs about the same price, 5 to 6 hundred for labor, used engine 4 to 6 hundred for a good lower mileage motor. just shop around for a good price, go to 5 shops if you need to, shopping around is well worth it in the long run.
 
Now let's say I go through with an engine swap. As long as I keep the supercharger, any 3.8 should work for the most part, right?
 
if you get a n/a engine then you could do a top swap with your parts, but then you are adding the cost of head gaskets and a lim gaskets, if you find a used s/c engine, you could sell off the top of your old engine to counter the cost of the engine and labor. you could get anywhere from 3 to 4 hundred i guess for the heads and lim and blower, if your old heads are still good. yummy food for thought :D
 
Remnant King said:
Isn't a lim job just to have someone do the gaskets and coolant elbows another 900 bucks parts and labor? I am just having a hard time with this, because I worked my ass off to find a nicer and better looking car, and when I do find one, it can't even last me a year.

I bought a 95 camry before this car as my first car. Maybe spent a grand total for maintenance, and I abused the living suit out of it, with 180k on the motor. I ended up selling it for this car after a year and a half, and i made my money back on it.

That's honestly what's frustrating me right there.
Click to expand...

Hey, I looked for eight months, found the best one I could find for under $4k, got this AWESOME CAR, engine blew 260 miles later. I'm 16... This was my first car... spent ALL of my money on it... Luckily getting a new engine next week... n/a though :th_tongue2:
 


Dont do what I did... I got a perfect used L26 that I was going to top swap, than ran out of funds...and the cars gone now.

You're best bet is to grab a decent L67 from either a junkyard, or a yard that only sells motors/trannies. Expect 500-900 for a motor. Go ahead and change out all the gaskets that tend to fail (Valve-cover gasket, LIM, etc) and then slap her in.

Pulling the L67 is supid easy, save for 1 bellhousing bolt.
 
That's probably my only option, to grab a used engine. Don't know how to do all the gasket stuff (which I'll probably come on here to read on when the time comes), and have NO tools whatsoever that are involved in removing and placing an engine.

And NONE of that can happen yet since I haz no money. I came back from work and parked her in the garage, and it's going to sit for at least before I can even THINK working on getting that **** back to normal. During that time however, I am going to be begging for rides to work and all that good stuff. Thank God I am not going to college this semester.
 
XD, tbh, the only tool you probably dont have is an engine hoist. Only need a 10mm, 13mm, 15mm and an 18, and thats about it. Good pair of vicegrips and some screwdrivers, and whal-lah!

It's pretty straight forwards replacing gaskets too, just removing some bolts, pull parts off, then put it all back together.
 
I am starting to wish all the friends I made were mechanics...

Assuming I went ahead and tried to do this on my own, how long would it take for a first timer and a car illiterate person like me?

If I am looking for a GTP Engine at a junkyard, does it come with the supercharger too or is that a separate thing on its own? (Don't know how these things work, sorry)

Oh, and when it comes to doing the LIM gaskets and elbows, those should be easy too right? Since the engine is already out?

One LAST thing, Is there ANY WAY to get some sort of money out of my old engine? Just something to make up for the money I'll be putting into buying the newer one?
 
i 25 dollar husky socket set , and a small wrench set, and your set,

you can rent a engine lift for not to much at Taylor rental and any tool rental place should have one.
 


Remnant King said:
Assuming I went ahead and tried to do this on my own, how long would it take for a first timer and a car illiterate person like me?

If I am looking for a GTP Engine at a junkyard, does it come with the supercharger too or is that a separate thing on its own? (Don't know how these things work, sorry)

Oh, and when it comes to doing the LIM gaskets and elbows, those should be easy too right? Since the engine is already out?

One LAST thing, Is there ANY WAY to get some sort of money out of my old engine? Just something to make up for the money I'll be putting into buying the newer one?
Click to expand...

scottydoggs said:
if you get a n/a engine then you could do a top swap with your parts, but then you are adding the cost of head gaskets and a lim gaskets, if you find a used s/c engine, you could sell off the top of your old engine to counter the cost of the engine and labor. you could get anywhere from 3 to 4 hundred i guess for the heads and lim and blower, if your old heads are still good. yummy food for thought :D
Click to expand...

if you have a friend who can at least can turn a wrench and ain't afraid to get dirty, i'd think a weekend should do it maybe less,

redo the lim, and valve cover gaskets before you pull the old engine, so you have the new engine ready so when you pull the old one your ready to drop it in. just read up and try to find as many vids as you can, to make yourself more comfortable going into this, take pics before you start just ripping into stuff, bag and tag all the bolts you remove, so you dont have to guess later on.

and if you buy another s/c engine it will come complete. ready to run so to say.
 
Remnant, if you lived close enough i would help you. i know the position you are in and how you must feel.

most of it is pretty easy just bolts. don't over think it. watch the LIM video, over and over. type out instructions, bring zip loc bags and sharpies, bag your bolts separately, label them, organize them, take lots of pictures and of course we are always here to answer questions.

idk how much money you are working with, but plan on $100 for ALL the gaskets you will need. i got mine from rockauto, used the 5% discount code and viola to my door. i also found an engine for 250 with 113k miles from the junk yard. call around, ask for prices, "shop" smart.

and good luck :)
 
$100 for ALL gaskets honestly sounds like a great deal.

And my dad has a friend who owns a junkyard, is a mechanic, and sells cars. If I decide I dont want to do the engine myself, I hope he can really hook us up for both an engine and the labor.

EDIT: Thank you by the way, I really appreciate it. I'll tell you how it all ends up eventually lol
 
For a first timer, it may seem daunting, but once you break it down, its pretty simple. All the electrical connectors will only go 1 place each.

BEST thing you can do, is get a bunch of zip-loc bags that have the spot to write on, and label groups of parts/bolts... IE (transmission bolts, fuel rail bolts, etc) and it helps greatly if you wanna keep track of everything.
 
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