ever since i've had my car almost, i've had misfire problems with it ('98 V6, 97k miles). i've done had it to four different places and nobody can really seem to figure it out. the last shop i've had it at figures that it's a bent valve or something or that nature since the compression on that cylinder is a lot lower than all the others. anyway they want $1600 at least to replace and fix that. since i just bought the car 3 months ago (warranty expired today, but there's still an open work order on it), my parents and i today went to the dealership, bitched, asked for our money back, and were basically told there's nothing that can be done for us. i've spent $563 having it looked at and it's just been a huge pain in the ***. plus there's no guarantee that the warranty will cover any of it because no one knows what's wrong. so it looks like the best option is to just replace the engine. swapping an LT1 or LS1 seems to be a lot of work and a lot of extra cost, so i would stay with a 3.8.

here's basically what i'd like to know. about how much would a motor from a boneyard, with less than 20k on the clock cost ($600-800?). how much would a factory rebuilt be ($1500-1900?) then the biggest question. am i better off buying a factory rebuilt instead of one from another car? my budget is $2000-4500, depending when i sell my other car. i would not be able to do the swap myself, due to my work schedule and to my lack or knowledge.

any suggestions?

*edit* the one thing the dealer would do for me is give me the motor at cost, if i did get it through them.

 

pull the cylinder head yourself and see if it is indeed a bad valve.

could be a lifter as well.

i say tear it apart and see what you turn up. after all...it's already messed up. how much more harm can you do?

 

like i said, i don't have the knowledge or time to do that. tearing into it any more is gonna cost a lot. i'm thinking it's best to cut my loses now.

 

well im glad you came up with your own advice