Had a buster radiator hose, and we replaced it. Let it idle for about 15 mins no problem. Drove it maybe 10 miles, car started losing power and than oil pressure dropped, and started smoking so I immediately turned it off. Waited about a hr, and checked and there was no water in the radiator. We finally saw the radiator had a crack in it so we replaced the radiator. After letting it idle for a few mins, we heard what sounded like a rod beating.

Checked and the tail pipes had white smoke coming out, and than the even worse news. We checked and the oil had water all in it. The coolant was sprouting from the new radiator and reserve tank. So we are assuming the head gaskets are blown. Questions and advice I need............

1. Wouldn't it be just about the same to just put a used motor in the car, than have the heads shaved, because the intake could also be warped.

2. Where can I find a good quality used motor if I need to, and what type of price am I looking at?

3. Dumb question but just how hard is it going to be, and normally how long.

4. The big question what would you guys do? Used motor or sale the car?

Car is a 97 z with 150,000 miles on it, basic bolt ons, and a 175 shot of gas.

 

Sounds like when you installed the radiator you DID NOT bleed the air out of the cooling system..You should have atleast one bleeder screw on top of the thermostat housing,you needed to open that up while you were pouring in the new coolant and watched for the air bubbles..I f you really like the car keep it and find or build a new motor..

 

Getting the heads shaved isn't that expensive... I could get that all back up and running for under 500.00 easily...BY doing most of the work myself but taking the heads to a shop and the bottom end may still be fine you might have just heard a push rod since you weren't getting oil in really but if its a rod still should be able to get it all done for 500 if you pull the engine tear it down to the block and then take it to the shop that saves you thousands right there alone...

 

Are you planning on doing it yourself or take it to a shop?

 

Me and a friend plan on doing it ourselves. What else can anyone tell me? Fellows I am in a bind bad, going to school for another degree, because cannot find a job for the first one I have. Have no job, have no other car, and somehow I am going to have to borrow the money to get this thing fixed or do something.

 

A used motor would be a major question mark unless you knew who owned it previously.

I don't know for sure about prices on used running motors. I've seen them as cheap as $500 a year ago.

Engine removal (for a novice)is about 6-8 hours. Count on the same for reinstall. Difficulty factor is a 5 or a 6 out of 10. I have seen garages say that they can do it in 4 hours.
I have done it. BTW I took it out the top. It can be done either way. But I didn't have to re-align it when I finished. It took longer to reinstall because I did new motor mounts and I had to "adjust" the mounts once I had the mounts loose. Then the fun begins trying to diagnose starting or running problems if any.

I would yank it and rebuild the whole thing.

 

Pull it out the top its the easiest way and takes less than 2 hours for anyone that has ever pulled a motor before super easy truth be told me and my buddy have prob pulled 8 or so and have got the fasest one out in just about 45 minutes with both of us working on it at the same time...
But easiest way is make sure you take your front bumper clip off that way your nor scratching it all up when you use your engine hoist... its just a few screws like 20 that hold it up... Super easy as well...

 

What is some ideas on the cost of a rebuild, and is that meaning also having the heads on the car taken to the machine shop.

 

It really all depends on where you live and who you know and what kind of deals you can get ... For me it would be less than 500 easily i know a guy that races that builds my bottom half of my engines and does whatever engine work i need done cheap becuase he runs his own machine shop and is amazing at what he does... I had a camaro that had 425 at the wheels that i spent less than 600 dollars on with him doing the major work on it... Bore and all that good stuff... that was dynoed at that so thats not a number im just randomly making up either.

 

I am guessing that if you buy a used motor you are not sure what you are getting even though it would probably be cheapest way to go. Guys I am in North Carolina so if anyone knows of any shops let me know. Also, keep coming with some options because I need them.

 

I would go with the used engine....especially from a wrecked car. Your 150,000 mile, N2O boosted engine is questionable to me...probably more so than a junkyard engine.

I also doubt this was caused by not bleeding the cooling system properly. If you ran the engine for 10 minutes and the temp wasn't in the red this wasn't an air pocket...