are rebuilt motors good?

Question

So i have a 1998 nissan altima and the timing chain broke and some how messed up the motor (family mech. said) well i was going to get a rebuilt motor and i wanted to know if it was a good idea...

Answer 1

They are fine. Just make sure you shop around. A lot of places give you a 90 day warranty with the motor.

Answer 2

Find out as much as you can about the rebuilt motor - the original mileage, the make and model of it's original car, the model year of the motor, and why it has been rebuilt (fire damage, water damage, bad car crash, etc.).
The car you are looking to put it into is just about 10 years old so any motor will only be as good as the rest of your car - is your transmission going to fail next? Do you need to replace your suspension, radiator, fuel pump?
Find out if your insurance company will write the car off and give you a check for it's replacement value. It might be a better bet to get rid of the Altima and get new/preowned car.
When you try to sell your Altima with a rebuilt motor you will find that the resale value will be low as there will be few people wanting to chance buying a car that has had previous mechanical faults.

Answer 3

I have had both good and bad experiences. A lot has to do with who does it, and who installs it. Take your time and learn. Find out if rebuilt means just a partial rebuild, or are they going to break the motor down completely and use new parts. If they do not use new parts, there is a greater chance of future damage and problems. Do the mechanics have experience?

I would also find out if you can but a after stock, or better yet, a car that was damaged but the engine was still good. For example, my Nissan blew a rod, I found a car just put in a junk yard that had a tree fall on it, crushed the cab and rear. Nothing was wrong with the engine. I paid more to have it removed and placed in my car. I was lucky there. I put 138,000 miles on that engine.

Answer 4

If you buy a rebuilt or a new motor, have it spec'd / blueprinted and balanced. Make sure they do the extra blasting in the exhaust ports. I don't know your location, so I cannot recommend the local rebuilder. Have a pro do it, not a local mechanic. The people that do it every day will be better than one that does it on occasion. Look in the yellow pages under engine rebuilding. They will give you the way you should break in the motor. It is a common practice when the engine reaches certain mileage if you want to keep the vehicle, rebuild the engine.

Answer 5

A rebuilt engine is only as good as the Rebuilder. In my Shop we tend to only use Factory Rebuilts. The plus side of this is they tend to due any updates that may be required due to Bulletins established by the manufacturer. The down side of this is that they tend to be a little more. Although we have never had a problem I know that with the Factory Warranty that no matter where my Customer is there will also be a Dealer to honor the Warranty. With After-Market Rebuilders there tends to be less Shop willing to Honor these warranties. They tend to pay lower rates to Shops so there are no incentives. Also more and more Aftermarket Rebuilders tend to Import there products from cheaper Companies outside the Country.

Answer 6

A rebuilt motor should be as good as a new motor, but only if the person rebuilding it knows what they are doing. If you get a rebuilt make sure that it comes with a good warranty

Answer 7

It really does depend on the rebuilder.

Factory engines are built on production machinery. Some of that machinery has greater operating tolerance than the machinery at a custom shop. For example no one makes a perfect circle and how round and straight the cylinders are can have a big effect on the longevity of the engine.

A moron running a good machine can produce accurate cylinders. A Master Toolmaker running a hunk of crap can produce accurate cylinders. What you don't want is a moron running a piece of crap boring out your cylinders or bearing seats.

PS: Blasting the exhaust ports can either roughen or smooth the texture. You want the smoothest texture in the exhaust ports because it reduces the amount of carbon build-up, reduces the heat transfer to the head and improves the exhaust flow.

Leaving the intake ports rough increases thermal transfer and helps mix the air-fuel as it goes into the cylinder. This can actually increase compression and power at higher RPMs and reduce power at lower RPMs.

You can also improve performance doing a radial valve job. Most valve jobs lap in three angles and a radial valve job laps in more like 6-9 angles. This improves the seating and reduces the blow by. It is not very common because it is illegal for legitimate racing, AND, it is mostly unknown in street racing so it can give you a slight edge.

Answer 8

It all depends on who rebuilt the motor, and the quality of what they used to rebuild it. Most of the time buying something that has been rebuilt will work out okay, but not always. It has been my experience that there is very little recourse if something ends up going wrong; even if you are lucky enough to get your money back for the part, you probably won't be able to get reimbursed for anything else that was damaged as a result of the rebuilt-breakdown.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you are willing to risk having to have the car fixed all over again, go ahead and get the rebuilt part - just make sure you know who you are getting it from, and whether or not it comes with any kind of guarantees.

Answer 9

You have three choices:
1) Get a rebuilt / remanufactured engine. (Often better than original with a longer nationwide warranty for parts and labor)

2) Get a used one from a junkyard. (they will usually deliver to your mechanic) All junkyard parts are road tested! he he he

3) Junk the car or sell it in non running condition.

First and foremost don't get a backyard rebuild. Jasper now offers 3 years/ 100,000 miles on their re-man engines and transmissions and I know first hand they stand behind their warranty. Some local machine shop may try to blame you or your mechanic when the excriment hits the fan, but Jasper sends out the parts and or check. I know they sent me one for $1300 one time along with a second remanufactured 4.7 for the 2005 jeep I was working on. NEXT DAY AIR!

Yes they made a mistake and put the wrong tone wheel on the camshaft, but everyone makes mistakes. It's what happens afterward that's important.

Answer 10

New remanufactured engines from a factory are gauranteed for 3 years and 75,000 miles like the ones from your dealer or http://www.jasperengines.com But "rebuilt" engines can be anything thrown together in a garage somewhere so that they are unlikely to be as completely remanufactured and machined to the same fine tolerances (unless your dealing with a professional race shop or something that charges $5000 for an engine rebuild).

Answer 11

Stay away from rebuilds from Mexico because they will not last and generally are built with the cheapest parts available as well as assembled with an impact wrench.

Some of the better ones that you can get will have at least a 1 year guarantee (possible to get 2 year) and will be replaced at no cost if they have problems. These better engines will cost more, never forget that you get what you pay for.