Motor overheating, found oil in radiator.

[superslidestyle]

Well, I think my motor is shot at 207,000 miles.  I did a simple head gasket kit only (no machining) in Nov. '08 just to get by and now I thing I need a full rebuild.  It's OK cause I was expecting it already.  I prefer to rebuild my motor since the port and polish is done on it rather than just get a used low mileage motor.  So far I found a shop named G & S thats charging $1150 to balance, machine, and rebuild the long block.  They are not the cheapest but they came highly recommended from a mechanic friend who owns his own repair shop.  Has anyone dealt with them before?   What do you guys think?

Anything I should be aware of on the short block since the motor will be out and opened?  I'm also going to buy a new clutch since the motor is going to be out.  Does anyone have any feedback on the Centerforce kit or any other heavy duty units?

[XterracerX]

The guy that sells those Nismo exhaust in Burbank told me that he has access to Xterra engines with practically no mileage really cheap. Let me know if you need details... 

[fleury123]

I would throw in the centerforce clutch sinc eyou are going this far.




Good to know info on the used engines Fred

[XterracerX]

The guys name is Bill and his number is (818)504-3939 or toll free at (800)736-3727. The name of his outfit is AAA Foreign Auto Parts.

[superslidestyle]

I am actually contemplating either a full machining rebuild with balancing ($1150.oo + tax) or a used motor with unknown mileage for $1400.00.  Let me see, which one should I get?  A dependable rebuild or a "not so trusty" fix which might eventually need a rebuild down the road?  I think I'm going with the full rebuild and pay a bit more for the balancing.  I hear it helps reduce vibrations.  I'm also sending the main bearing, rod bearings, and pistons to Swain to have special moly-coatings put on them.  $80 for the bearings and $240 for the piston skirts.  Should bring the motor up to modern rebuild specs.

[superslidestyle]

It seems I have a broken head bolt on the front passenger side.  Looking into ARP bolts, Centerforce clutch, so my overall cost looks like around $1900 for the whole thing.

I did talk to Bill and he has a brand new, no-mileage '04 VG motor but the X that it was in suffered water damage so I don't know what condition it's in.  He wants $1750.00 for it so I will still have to go with the rebuild route.

[Ruination Fan]

Dont know if you started the rebuild or not, but found this on the classifieds over on RDC.......'01 frontier 3.3L over in AZ for $950.

http://www.race-dezert.com/cgi-bin/trader/atl.cgi?ct=7&md=second&id=2222756

[superslidestyle]

Thanks but I'll pass on a used motor. 

10-04-09 Quick update:  just tore the motor out, junked the OE clutch, stripped it down and just had it sent to the machine shop.  It seems I'm going to need new pistons so I'm going with a "20 over" (0.02") size.  I just sent them to Swain tech with the rod and main bearings for the Moly coating which will add 0.002", the pistons will also get a ceramic barrier on the dome to help with the heat dissipation and get balanced. $268 just for the coatings.  Hoping to get them all back in a week, after which, I hand them back to the machine block for further machining and final assembly.  I still owe $600 for the rebuild and $400 for a Centerforce clutch from 4x4parts.com.  So far total looks to be about $2000 for a good overhauing.  Wish me luck...

Anyone else who goes through this should really consider porting the water passages on the block, where the water pump mounts to the block.  There was very rough castings on mine that seriously hindered flow.  Also the water passages on the intake runners can be opened up as far as the gasket allows for more flow as well.  A long 6" carbide bit on a drill and some time should do it.