reman or rebuild

[dansoph]

me 1998 chevy venture,s engine died. should i get it rebuilt or have a remanufactored engine installed? the locallchevy dealer quoted $3200. that is with a heavey discountfrom a friend who works there. the car has 107,000 miles and we payed it off last month.the dealer quote is for a gm reman. thanks for any input

 

[NathanY]

Re: reman or rebuild

Why did it die? What happened? I have a 99 model and dont want it to die.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: reman or rebuild

Well.... if you invest $3200 in the Venture Van you will have to drive it for a long time to get your moneies worth. If the rest of the van is sound (transmission, body, suspension) keep the van and go for it. A reman usually comes with a great 3/36 warranty.<br /><br />107K is rare for it to die.<br /><br />Bob

 

[ndemge]

Re: reman or rebuild

my parents had that same van, heard piston slap and had it taken in, ---engine was rebuilt under waranty.<br /><br />by chance are you willing to do the r&r of pulling out the old engine? even if your not up to the task of actually rebuilding it, if you can pull it and bring it to a machien shop, that will probably halve your bill..<br /><br /><br />But to answer the question.... it all depends what kind of price you can get on the rebuild.... and you don't know how much that will be until you actually tear it apart...<br /><br />i would probably go for rebuilding the one you have unless something really nasty happened to it. All your buying from GM is one that someone else rebuilt.... but the waranty is nice...<br /><br />Hmm... so I'm still not sure

 

[Xcusme]

Re: reman or rebuild

Yikes, I have the same year and model van. I have read that there is an issue with the intake gaskets failing. I'd be interested to know what exactly you were told. Of course GM won't own up to anything regarding those gaskets.

 

[dolluper]

Re: reman or rebuild

Yes the 3.4 engines do have a problem with intake gaskets it soon may be on a recall list check with your dealer up in Canada it has been a constant problem in other vehicles also using that motor first signs are usally the disapperence of coolant you have to keep adding

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: reman or rebuild

Of the two choices, I'd go for the reman for 2 reasons. That engine has already given up twice. Get rid of it. Second reason is the warranty on reman. Machine shops may warrant their work, but it might be a battle to get them to stand good.<br /><br />With that being said-<br />Average trade-in (NADA) is about $3800. That together with your $3200 repair equals $6000. The average retail is about $5500. I might be tempted to take some loss and see what the dealer would give me on trade without the repair. He can fix it much cheaper than you.

 

[DJ]

Re: reman or rebuild

I'm with BoatBuoy on this one. The vehicle may not be worth it, unless it is in pristine condition and you REALLY like it.<br /><br />The tables turn if the vehicle is a commercial unit with lots of added specialized equipment.

 

[Realgun]

Re: reman or rebuild

Get rid of it and get a newer used Van less than 2 yrs old. You will be better off in the long term.

 

[KaGee]

Re: reman or rebuild

Cut & Run! $3200 makes a nifty downpayment on a newer vehichle.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: reman or rebuild

Hmmm, normally I would say rebuild the one in it. If an engine is rebuilt the proper way it will be exactly the same as a reman. Remanufactured if the exact same as a rebuild if the rebuild is done correctly with the exception of a warranty..<br />Even a Chevy should run way over 107,000 miles. <br />If finances allow dump it and get a newer one. If not, this is a decent price for the engine. Good thing about the engine is then you know it is new. Usually remanufactured engines have warranty.

 

[PierBridge]

Re: reman or rebuild

If you decide to buy a used Vehicle it's a buyers market at this time.<br />My neighbor just picked a minivan the sticker price was $5700 he picked it up for $3400.

 

[nothreat]

Re: reman or rebuild

This a disturbing thread. I have a 1998 Pontiac Transport (same engine as the venture) and it has been losing coolant for about 5000 mles. Just add a cup every 3-4 weeks. I thought I had a water pump leak, but could never find it. It now has 74K on it. Sounds like I may be headed toward the same experience as dansoph. I did some searchs on the Internet and it seems like a pretty commom problem. I have put more money into this vehicle than any car I have ever owned. Anyone want to buy a transport. I am going Honda shopping.<br /><br />Edit:<br /> I just went and looked at my oil filler cap and sure enough - white and milky. This board may have just save me $2K - well worth the price of admission. Thanks for the heads up!!

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: reman or rebuild

We had a 99 Montana,same creature, one of the better vehicles we ever owned. At 144,000 we traded it in. I got $6700 for it and was happy as a lark. We were going to get a Venture but wife wanted something with balls, she needed to be able to pull a trailer. We had a coolant leak for almost 2 years, never worried about it.

 

[zindale]

Re: reman or rebuild

hey thought i would give my 2 cents. i am a tech. at a G.M. dealer have put on dozens of intake gaskets on the 3.4, and 3.1 gm engines.they are a prob but they have revised the gaskets. not a hard job to do. as for the engine, where i work try to sell reman or new of course but offer salvage yard engines as an alternative, i have put in alot of salvage engines and most only have less than 40k on them. with no prob. and a third the cost and they also have a warr.