rebuild engine?

what is the best rout to go rebuild or buy a long block? 1999 s/w

That depends. You might save some money by rebuilding it yourself but it's faster if you just buy a rebuilt long block.

Agreed. If you rebuild it you know everything about the engine and how it is maintained there after. But for ease and time stipulations, its easier to drop in a JY engine

what is a JY engine?

Junk Yard. Refers to a used engine from a wrecking yard.

I just rebuilt an SOHC. Bored .20 over, new pistons, rings, bearings, rebuilt head, gaskets, seals, oil pump, timing chain kit, everything except the crank came in at just under a grand.

It also depends on what your plans are. You might get by with just a hone and new rings if you don’t plan on keeping it forever.
Add in any additional costs that may have been a contributing factor to the engine going out, radiator, injectors, EGR, ect.

Junkyard engines are the least expensive but they’re a crapshoot. It wouldn’t be the first or last time someone’s replaced a bad engine with another bad engine. You might get your money back but it will add more time if you have pull it twice.

A complete rebuild may cost close to the book price of the car, but, if you plan on keeping it would be worth it to you.

Add them all up and see which one works for you.

I just rebuilt an SOHC. Bored .20 over, new pistons, rings, bearings, rebuilt head, gaskets, seals, oil pump, timing chain kit, everything except the crank came in at just under a grand.

It also depends on what your plans are. You might get by with just a hone and new rings if you don’t plan on keeping it forever.
Add in any additional costs that may have been a contributing factor to the engine going out, radiator, injectors, EGR, ect.

Junkyard engines are the least expensive but they’re a crapshoot. It wouldn’t be the first or last time someone’s replaced a bad engine with another bad engine. You might get your money back but it will add more time if you have pull it twice.

A complete rebuild may cost close to the book price of the car, but, if you plan on keeping it would be worth it to you.

Add them all up and see which one works for you.
How hard are they to rebuild I rebuilt a 350 chevy once and put 100,000 miles on it when it was stolen

Just as simple but you’ll need at least a Haynes manual for clearances, torque procedures/values and valve timing.
Keep your bolts organized as some of them vary only slightly in length.

I’m not sure if the pressure and suction (oil pump) seals come with the gasket kit. If not, you can get them from a Saturn dealer.

One difference, the oil pump is mounted at the crankshaft timing gear so you can’t prime the pump separately. You can temporarily bolt the starter up and jumper it to a battery while it’s on the stand. Even with the pump packed it can take a minute or so to fully prime. You might be able to shorten that by tilting the engine on the stand and adding a filter full of oil before you fill the crankcase.

Leave the plugs out, watch for air and oil coming up at the lifters. You can monitor the oil pressure sending unit with an ohmmeter for approximate pressure.



Other than that, not a whole lot of difference.

I 'rebuilt' the engine from a 92 SL2 in the summer of 2007 - because it was an oil guzzler, and thee was a little too much timing chain noise. I only had to break the glaze at the top of the cylinders - didnt even have to ream a ridge to slide the pistons out the top. Its oil control rings were really stuck in the grooves. Cleaning the piston ring grooves was the only time-consuming job. I replaced the piston rings, put the original pistons back in, new crankshaft bearings (It didnt really need them, but it had 130,000 miles - so what the heck), and new seals. I put new seals on the valve stems, replaced the 'tensioner piston' for the timing chain. That was the entire reibuild.
The real reason for taking it out was because my nephew's teenage son had spun the tires enough to make the differential pin come out and goudge a hole into the bell housing. A $200 junkyard tranny went in:All I did was to clean its outside and replace the (badly rusted) bolts for the valve body cover. I think my total financial outlay was under $1000, and the work took me almost weeks. It was a pleasant rebuild. (this is a hobby, Im retired and have lots of time). My daughter has been driving it for the last 18 months - it uses about a quart of oil in 3000 miles - but thats when it gets changed anyway.