89GW - Great GW - Bad motor - now what?

[PaulD]

My 89GW looks great in/out but I just blew the motor (bad bearings). Now what? A quick check with local garages all tend to be a fix with a reman motor with a cost in the $5-6K range. I can get cost down to under $3K with a used motor or a crankshaft kit but that is probably a short term solution. With a reman motor, my 89GW would probably be worth around $20K or more in its condition.

Anyone else have experiences along this line? what did you do?
Paul D

[tedlovesjeeps71]

If you love it, invest in it. Otherwise, probably better to let it go.

Also, a reman block will give you many more years of enjoyment. If you weren’t happy with it before (performance wise), don’t expect much to change after laying out the money for another 360. Now is the time to ponder options.

Cam and intake and fuel injection go a long ways to make the 360 more the motor it’s supposed to be. But all at a cost.
An engine swap is another option, though costly, which would pay big dividends towards making it a much easier driver everyday.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

If you love it, invest in it. Otherwise, probably better to let it go.

Also, a reman block will give you many more years of enjoyment. If you weren’t happy with it before (performance wise), don’t expect much to change after laying out the money for another 360. Now is the time to ponder options.

Cam and intake and fuel injection go a long ways to make the 360 more the motor it’s supposed to be. But all at a cost.
An engine swap is another option, though costly, which would pay big dividends towards making it a much easier driver everyday.

[deckroid]

Wow... 5k? I found a couple of 360 motors for $350 - $500 on Craigslist and at wrecking yards. I am thinking of putting one on a stand and rebuilding it so if I have a replacement if mine gives up the ghost. Rebuild kits vary from 600 - 800. Just a thought...

Of course, there is alot to be said about tossing an early 90s Chevy 350 V8 and a 700-4R tranny in there... even with a conversion plate for your NP that's still pretty dang cheap. Throttle body intake... you could cut down a crap ton of the vacuum lines.

Again... just a thought.

[PaulD]

Although I love it, I am well past my mechanic days and will need to hire everything done. I would be willing to sell it "as is" for the right price. I would be willing to go the 350 route but I don't have anyone I would trust to do it right.

[PaulD]

Found a local shop that will put a Jasper reman engine in it for $4K total cost to me. Still OUCH but I think my GW is worth it. Probably go that route unless I find a better offer.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

Found a local shop that will put a Jasper reman engine in it for $4K total cost to me. Still OUCH but I think my GW is worth it. Probably go that route unless I find a better offer.

That’s a reasonable amount (based on what the shop I used to work at charged). Putting in a fresh heart is hard to justify when your FSJ is a beater. But a nice one....

[PBG928]

Bjs is better and cheaper than jasper.

[mx71]

Got my reman motor at BJs. I don't recall the labor I paid to have it put in since I also had them do other things, but it's got a great warranty and has given me no problems so far.

http://www.bjsoffroad.com/Remanufacture ... _1655.html

[will e]

If you have the shop buy the engine and you get a warranty then you are covered. If you buy the engine somewhere else and have the shop install the engine then if the engine fails, you pay for any work or removing and installing again.

Be a bit skeptical about finding the lowest price.

Do you have to worry about emissions?

[rocklaurence]

BJs is the way to go. I had them send a Reman' at a very good price and you can also opt for performance changes that are also reasonable. When I was looking, Jasper and the others didnt have any AMCs available and they all gave quotes but then days later said that they couldnt provide one. Make sure that your supplier has their hands on one before you pay or you maybe waiting for weeks to get it.

[tgreese]

Unless you do the work yourself, a reman engine should be about the same price as a shop fixing up your engine with a crank kit or whatever. The old-fashioned overhaul (bearings, rings, valve job) can't compete on price with a factory-built reman, unless you do the work yourself. As Will mentios, typically a repair shop will much prefer to outsource the reman, since it will come with a warranty that also outsources all of the new-engine risk. Nowadays the big reman factories are out of the country, but it is possible to find a local shop that does this kind of work. They could use your engine as a core if need be.

If you like the car and want to keep it, fix it and drive it. Otherwise pass it on to someone who wants that car. Automobiles are always a losing investment for individuals.

[mx71]

I'd like to add that I was given a quote to rebuild my motor, and it was only a couple hundred more for a remanufatured unit from BJs, who has S&J Engines do them in Washington state. S&J provides the warranty for them. Remanufacturing is as close to new as you can get for an AMC 360, short of getting that aluminum block and building one from scratch, and much more involved than a rebuild.

The question becomes how much do you like your GW? Do you plan to keep it for a lot of years? If it's not in great condition, it's not worth that much less running than not running, at least in Idaho. If it's in otherwise great condition and you want to keep it for a long time, a reman is the way to go.

[1979bettywhite]

Well sadly, I am now in PaulD's camp as well.

Took the chief in to have them really go through the mechanical. These are good guys that don't BS around and they don't want you to spend money if it's not worth it in the long run. They work on AMCs all the time as well, which helps.

In their diagnosis, they found that it has pretty bad blow by, down on compression in two cross cylinders, and upon cold start a knock from the area of the front main. So their recommendation was to rebuild or go reman etc. So now I am at decision time.

They work with Jasper and have quoted me on that. I have reached out to Ryan at BJ's about S&J's engines as well. But the ballpark of anywhere between $5-8k (if adding performance enhancers) is what I am looking at.

Love the Chief and plan to keep it, but this is a tough decision to make as we all know the 360 is not an efficient motor in the gas department. Only other option is to go LS and 4l80e, which would be a more expensive option obviously.

While I would love to do this myself, I don't have the shop or space to do it at this time. Spent the weekend swapping over a power steering box into the CJ on the concrete floor in 30-40 degree weather. Somewhat fun for me, but an engine swap, meh. I would rather leave it to professionals.

Any other thoughts? Maybe some prayers at the same time, lol?

[tedlovesjeeps71]

My thought is if you can afford the swap for an LS/4sp, it'll be worth it in the long run. Driveability will be greatly increased, so will reliability, parts, and finding someone who understands it because it's not a "dinosaur" by today's standards. Power and mpg will be better too.

[derf]

Swapping to a different brand powertain is very involved and will cost a lot more than replacing the 360 with another one. Probably triple or more.

The fuel economy won't make up for the cost probably ever. It will drive nicer with the fuel injection and overdrive. And that may make it worth it.

[tgreese]

... probably ever.

Yep. If mileage is important to you, you have to put pen to paper and figure how long it will take to make back the added cost. Likely never. And realize that people's lives change - if you care about mileage, you making an investment in the upgrade that you will lose if you plans change. It's an added risk.

[letank]

x2, probably never, your new engine will be so peppy, that it will be fun to play w the skinny pedal.
do an excel table and do the $ difference between 12 , 14 , 16 and 18mpg at 5 and 10k miles per year. Especially w the current prices of gas at $2/gal for most of the country... cal is the exception at $3.5/gal.
Our carb engines are not too difficult to tune for performance.
as said the tough issue is finding quality parts, or body pieces when accident or rust show its color
working in 40 weather is expletive, wait for spring, ...engine swap ... with an helper is a weekend job, probably easier in the outdoor than in a constrained garage space as long as the concrete floor is flat.

[1979bettywhite]

Thanks for the responses. Makes a lot of sense on cost versus payback over time. Been in touch with Ryan about his engines. Would love to try and tackle this job myself, but having a shop and/or garage would be more beneficial. Neither of which I have at the moment. But I will be doing the CJ 4.2 myself someday when I do get a shop.

Hopefully if I do go through with a reman'd engine we can start to think about crossing the country again in the Chief. That was my main concern in doing that with the current engine. And my suspicions have been confirmed in this old and tired 360.

Of course I would have plenty of FSJ friendly helpers along the way if anything went wrong, right?!?

[letank]

Of course I would have plenty of FSJ friendly helpers along the way if anything went wrong, right?!?

Of course, with the appropriate beverages we will host a repair pad. I do not have a garage for more than 10hrs, the car port does the trick.

check user Hercules on the mothership, he uses a harborfright tent cover... or whatever it is called. In my case the worst is the wind effect, when draining oil, it is a b....h