My friend's VQ in his 96se had a leaky head gasket so he kept blowing radiators. We found another VQ30DE @ a junkyard with half the miles on it, and they want $450 w/a 6mo warranty. Pretty good deal.

My question is about how much will labor usually cost on an entire engine swap? We're trying to factor all the costs before he goes this route vs. looking at other more economical vehicles.

Thanks for any help.

 

Whats the mileage on the Junk Yard motor ??

Usually a shop will charge anywhere from $600-$1000 for a swap but it really varies where you go. Make some calls in your area.

-matt

 

I'd estimate about 5-7 hrs of labor to remove. so 10-14hrs total in that area.

so if you know about how much a shop will charge an hour for labor, multiply that by 14 and that would be about the total cost of it.

Or see if there are any locals in the area that would do the job for a flat fee, you have a chance to save money, and potentially get the work done faster, than a shop who would put the car at the end of the line.

 

it will be cheaper to have them install it than buying another car....

 

Hey,

Is the junk yard selling the motor and the tranny together or just the block?
Before you leave with that motor from the junkyard ask them to crank it up first or try to get a leak down.. Since it's about to warm up, you guys also have the option of doing it yourselves.. It really isn't that hard to bring a motor up or down just got to have the right tools. Call this guys and see how much he'll do it for.. Name: Scott, Business: Hi-Flow Custom Exaust, Number: (703)618-4008. He is in the manasas, va area.

Good Luck

 

The right tools makes a job easier, but know how is needed also, time and much patience. Plus doing this while its still in the car is much more tedious and time consuming that if it was out of the car.

 

If you do it yourself have fun with the power steering pump. I have done a few engine swaps and that is always a pain.

 

damn PS pump...

well you can leave the PS pump on, if your pulling the engine, but if your doing the HG, it will be a pain.

 

lol, I dealt with Scott a couple times before. He's cool but has a short fuse if you're late. He moved to Manassas now? I remember him being in the Alexandria area. Thanks for the heads up.

And there's no way we can do this ourselves. We just don't have the experience or equipment to do this right in a timely manner.

Thx again for the responses. I'll ask him to call around the mechanics in his area for a labor estimate.

 

Don't forget to check the heads and block for warpage before putting it back together if you're doing it yourself.


Edit: Nevermind....