Engine rebuild or new truck?

501 96 7.3

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My truck went down this summer. Engine went to machine shop and two main bearings were cooked and crank was blued there. I have been trying to work with swamps and that hasn’t been to easy. Anyway looks like $10K for them to rebuild everything with good parts and dyno engine also. My local guy I don’t really trust to put everything back together correctly.

I found a 17 with 40k miles for around $40k. XL truck but it’s what I need cclb srw 4x4 F350.

I also found a used engine for $1K with an auto attached. Said to be running but who knows. I thought about doing a compression check on it and go that route.

Any suggestions welcome.
 

wildbill963258

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Its completely up to you man, honestly I would say do the rebuild and while you're in there fix any other issue that you may have as well. My truck runs but has lots of blowby for only having 186k miles. So I'm gonna have mine replaced with a known good running engine and build it to 400rwhp as well as upgrade the transmission to a sd 6 speed and replace the rear end with one with a higher gear ratio. As well as fix all the other issues I have with mine. You might could try getting ahold of kcturbo they might be local to you.
 

wildbill963258

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You could buy a newer truck but it all depends on how the previous owner or owners took care of it. That's one of the problems I'm running into with mine when I got my truck it had 166k miles on it but it had blowby even then which tells me the previous owners did not take care of it at all maybe had glowplug issues with it on cold mornings and used ether or didn't let it warm up before driving it like they stole it. I would consider getting a newer truck but I love the sound of the older motors and mine is getting ready to paid for and quiet frankly I dont want another truck payment.
 

JCart

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Really depends on what you want.... I Rationalize it as “Parts” or “Payments”. With parts you basically get to choose when you put dough into your rig. With a loan as in new truck, or one you have to borrow money on, you’re committed to payments every Month/bi-weekly or what ever.... I’m a parts guy and choose to bolt on stuff on, pay cash, buy tools and do the work myself generally. If you’re not in a huge hurry buy a known lower mileage engine and install yourself, then bolt on performance parts as you want them. With a used purchased truck you could be buying someone else’s problems and be in the same boat as now. Brand new or near new payments could be significant and in terms of add performance parts, my understanding EPA is getting tougher to deal with.
Cheers,
j
 
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superpsd

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I read a post on another forum today that there is trouble t swamps. From what it said is people are waiting on parts and the owner was arrested for writing bad checks? Just a rumor so it could be B.S. Just something to look into. I would just drop in a running take out.
 
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501 96 7.3

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I had bought studs springs and pushrods several months ago. I sent them back when I found out my engine was done. I have called swamps several times trying to spend more money with them and have left several messages. I have a credit for the returned stuff. Makes me wonder what is going on.

As far as putting a takeout in, is there anything to check besides compression? I found one already pulled from a wrecked truck. I know this is the cheapest route...cheapest ain’t always the best. Thanks for the replies
 

wildbill963258

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What happened to your original motor? Depending on how it went you could buy the takeout and check compression on it look for any obvious leaks and damage and check the condition of the main engine harness, and install it in your truck for now and then while you have the original out of the truck tear it down find out exactly what happened to it fix it and rebuild it to the way you want. Then put the original engine back in and sell the takeout to someone else who needs it.
 

wildbill963258

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Also while you have the engine out you want to go ahead and take a look at the flywheel and clutch/torque converter. If you have a manual transmission go ahead and replace the clutch while you have the motor unless you know for sure that the clutch is still good. Because it is a pain to do it while the motor is in.
 

501 96 7.3

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Anyone have any info on J&K engines? They are out of Mt Juliet TN. They sell long blocks for a reasonable price. I think I would rather go with a rebuild than put a used engine that I know nothing about.
 
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Zeb

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Anyone have any info on J&K engines? They are out of Mt Juliet TN. They sell long blocks for a reasonable price. I think I would rather go with a rebuild than put a used engine that I know nothing about.

I installed one 6.0 from them that the customer brought. No issues. Also know of several other shops that have installed a number of their 6.0 and 6.4 motors with no issues. I don’t know of any that have used their 7.3 tho.
 

501 96 7.3

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The thing is there are so many cases of poor results on rebuilt engines that some folks see it as less risky to go used!

Well that’s the route I took. I picked up a running engine this weekend, it had an adrenaline, some other new parts like valve cover gaskets. 350-400 on cylinder compression. This leaves room for a new clutch, any recommendations? It has a luk in it now. It feels good but has slipped some pulling heavy.

I will also consider doing studs pushrods and springs. I will be installing my injectors, turbo, Efuel, etc.
 

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