engine rebuild

[dirtyhick42]

Well my 5.7 vortec in my 98 is getting worse and worse. I need to find a rebuild kit and it needs to be cheap. I have no job and little cash so I need to get this done so my truck does not die on me one day and end up needing a new engine.
If someone could point me in the direction of a good kit that is not too pricey. The motor has 185000 miles on it and has probably never been touched.

 

[Swims350]

check with northern auto parts or summit, those are the cheapest I found.

I bought my cam kit for my 88 which was flat tappet for like $80 or so, had cam lifters and a double roller chain and gear set.

They have master kits with pistons and basic rering kits. Then yu can buy a cam kit seperately, depending on what all you need.

I bought my oil pump, rings, and rod bearings from summit, main bearings from advance(cheapest price and summit was on backorder) I bought the gasket set from northern for $42 total complete kit. That was half the price of the same kit anywheres else. It pays to shop around on the net. I might have $250-300 in mine. I spent more on plugs, belt, cap, rotor, fluids, and o2 sensor then I did on the engine rebuild.

 

[71 cuda man]

whats the motor doing?You really don't want to buy any parts til you have the motor checked at a machine shop.with that many miles I'd have the heads redone.Have the shop check the cylinders,if they are within spec just hone & rig ream.Check crank if its good then have them polish it.Get block boiled & new cam bearings installed.
Summit sells a rering kit that comes with a hi volume pump for under $300.00.Napa has a Fel Pro top end kit for around $80.Eldelbrock timing set is around $40.Depending on which cam you pick you should be around $1000 total.thats with good quality parts.
Thats what I'm doing on the 95 TBI motor I just pulled from my truck.It blew a head gasket between #s 3 & 5.It sucks cus I lost my job when the shop closed down back in Oct.I just figured I'd bite the bullet & do the motor right using good parts cus come 3 or 4 months down the road I don't want to tear into it again cus i used cheap chinese parts
I was going to put in the LS I picked up cheap,but thats on the back burner for now.I'll do that down the road when money situation is better.
Good luck

 

[Bigg G]

Hmmmm....
I'll have to subscribe to this thread because I'd like to eventually freshen up my tired 95 TBI .

 

[dirtyhick42]

Well I changed oil, plugs and wires today. Bad news, I found metal shavings in my oil. So am I now past the point of a rebuild?

 

[Swims350]

I wouldn't think so.

 

[71 cuda man]

What exactly is your engine doing? Is it missing,knocking,or smoking?Did you do a compression check?

 

[dirtyhick42]

It was missing but I changed my plugs and wires and its good now. It ticks a lot when I am starting it up too.

 

[71 cuda man]

Ticking at start up sounds like the lifters are leaking down over night.check it tomorrow start engine & use a broom handle or long screwdriver probe around intake with one end & the other pressed against your ear.You should be able to find it.If thats the problem do a compression check to make sure all cylinders are within 20% of each other.If they are your golden.I don't know if you have regular hydraulics or roller hydraulics,but if they are making the noise its alot cheaper to replace um for now & worry about a rebuild later when your more stable financially.you can always get an old engine that needs a rebuild & build it while you drive this one & when your done replace the engine that way your truck isn't down long

 

[Swims350]

Either that or maybe try a valve lash adjustment with it running, done an oil change recently? Could be the oil, or maybe need to run some thicker oil, like if you use 10w30 go to 10w4 or so.