Hi everyone,
I have been searching various threads about the very common timing cover oil leak, and I still have some questions.
My car is a 1996 with well north of 170,000 miles on the clock, that has a major oil leak. The leak is emanating from the timing cover area. My mechanic (that I trust) said the repair is a big job, and the labor alone would be in the area of $800.00. When the car sits for a period of time without running, I will get the chain rattle noise for a short time as well.
Many of the threads that I have read mention something along the lines of "don't waste your money on a timing chain job, just get a used engine". Is the job I need less labor intensive than the entire chain job, or is it virtually the same? I know that my engine was well cared for (original owner), but the miles are high. I found a used engine at the junk yard today for $350.00 with 78,000 miles on it. Would it make more sense to have the used engine dropped in?
If I was to buy the used engine, I assume I would/should still have the timing cover resealed, correct? Is the labor of the job only high since the engine is in the car?
What should I expect to see in labor for an engine swap?

Thanks,
Zack

 

If u can post some pics of where its leaking from that would be great. It will help us give u a better answer.

 

Hey Zack - Where are you located? We might know someone in your area who does good work.

Last year about this time I had to replace the engine in my 99 Maxima with roughly 165,000 miles. I found an engine from a wrecked 95 model with ~73,000 miles for $350 + $150 for the salvage yard to pull the engine and drop in the back of my pickup. So we're talking $500 for the engine. I had my doubts about the engine at first, but later found it really only had ~73,000 miles and the internals were clean.

Next I got a shop to do the engine swap for $1,500. So my total outlay to replace the engine was $2,000. Unfortunately, the new engine inherited all of the problems that plagued the old engine. I had bad injectors and clogged and cooked catalytic converters. You don't want to know about the money I put into the car from that point forward.

I ended up reworking the engine installation in my garage, resealed the front timing cover, replaced the half moon seals, new front and read main seals, hoses, gaskets, sensors, water pump, new y-pipe, cat, and more.

Here's something to consider.

You know your engine. Yes tensioners and water pumps eventually go bad and an easy time to replace the tensioners and water pumps is when the timing cover is off. I also have a 99 I30. I had a shop replace the I30's noisy tensioner a few years ago for roughly $300. That fixed the timing chain noise on cold start up. The I30 is now approaching 275,000 miles. A well cared for VQ30DE will easily run over 300,000 miles. Unless it has been damaged, your engine will run well over 300,000 miles.

The timing cover can be removed and resealed while the engine is in the car. I've done it. I'm sure you've seen my thread named "Timing Cover Removal Tips".

Since the engine I purchased had been "Grandma Driven", it was full of carbon. The EGR tube was so clogged that it was completely closed. You will most likely need to go through the replacement engine to clean it up and to replace items that just deteriorate over time.

Do you get injectors with the replacement engine? I had to refurbish my injectors since two were causing problems.

Like 97 SE requested above, if we can see a picture of the leak, we can provide a better answer.

 

Fix your engine rather than swapping a potentially worse one in. Time and disuse is worse than miles in the case of gaskets and o-rings.

Sent from my XT1060 using Maxima

 

I would say since u had the car since new, Fix your engine and don't fall into the trap that lower mile engine is better, sometimes u don't know what they could of done to that engine, and then potentially ur screwed.

 

Engine swap gonna cost at least 600 bucks in labor. But ask around for prices and see what the shop says.

Timing cover gasket is PITA. Its different than water pump removal since u can get to the water pump more easily than removing the timing case.

That being sd, since u are NOT doing any timing work (chains, guides, etc) its not as dramatic.

I say, if you know the car and still want to keep the car, fix your engine. Dont bother with a used one.

 

yeah atleast 600 for engine labor alone, so its gonna be over 800 regardless if u do the engine swap,

fix your engine since u know it well, don't mess with other people's used engine that may be worse.