Opinions Please

[class67]

My wife and I just paid off one of our cars last week, it is an 04 Malibu Maxx (her car) and only has 115,000 miles on it. Well just last Friday my wife was on her way to work and it started idling rough and just died on her. After taking it in for inspection, we have found out that the #3 cylinder is dead, oil blowing right past the rings.

Would you spend the money to replace the motor? pull the motor and just replace / repair that cylinder? or what???

If I were to replace the motor it would cost me a minimum of $4500 to have it done or i could do it myself and save on labor but my concern is if it is really worth all the hassel considering the car in this economy (and the fact that it is an american car) is worth maybe a little more than the cost of the motor itself.

Anyway, just looking for others opinions on this.....It really sucks to pay something off one day and have it crap out on you 4 days later.

[Restomod]

If its the 4 cyl there is an engine on ebay for only $600 + shipping. Hell if the car is still solid put one in it if you can do it yourself. Pretty hard to find a good car for $600!!!!

[class67]

It is the 3.6 V6 and with the exception of the motor (now) it is a very clean an solid car. No dents, fading, scrapes, scratches etc...

Hell, it is only 4 years old.

[WS6]

What is the value of the car? Don't guess, find out. Personally, I would find a used 3.4 with low miles and swap it in and keep going. I would plan to drive the car into the ground though and not sell it in a few years to get something else. That's just me though. If you have the finances and typically budget to get a new car every few years, say 5 or 6, I'd let this one go for whatever you can get out of it and go buy a nice used car to replace it now even though it's only been four years. Certified Preowned vehicles are a great value. Make sure it is certified and backed by the maker and not the dealer though.

[Restomod]

There are V6's on there to also reasonable prices.

[shmoov69]

Sounds like a good canidate for a Impala SS LS motor swap!!!
LOL!
It does suck about it getting paid off and then it craps out.

[NOPANTS-68]

What is the value of the car? Don't guess, find out. Personally, I would find a used 3.4 with low miles and swap it in and keep going. I would plan to drive the car into the ground though and not sell it in a few years to get something else. That's just me though. If you have the finances and typically budget to get a new car every few years, say 5 or 6, I'd let this one go for whatever you can get out of it and go buy a nice used car to replace it now even though it's only been four years. Certified Preowned vehicles are a great value. Make sure it is certified and backed by the maker and not the dealer though.

+1

as a side note- and we wonder why GM is where it is?

[Jim Nilsen]

I would find a good low mileage engine an swap it out. You might also check the tranny out while you are at it.You might be able to get a matched set at a good deal swap them both with less hassle and save yourself having to replace it next.

The big question I have is ? What kind of oil were you using and how often did you do changes? the same for the trans?

As to the comment that was made about GM. I have seen so many engines that were taken care of with Synthetic oil in them that have gone 200k to 300k that it surely had to be helped out by either being built on a bad day or pushed to its limits in one way or another.

I wish you luck and am really sorry to know that the car just got paid for and now it still wants you to keep paying it money. Damn cars for that !!!!

[Vegas69]

Cheapest route may be to repair it. Pull the head, pull out that piston and check the bearings and cylinder for wear. If the bearings and cylinder look good, then I would just replace the pistons and rings, hone the cylinders in the car, and have a valve job done. Slap it back together and drive it until it dies. Just because you had a mechanical failure on one cylinder does not mean it's junk. Especially if you have maintained it reasonably. When I twisted wrenches I always preferred to fix the problem instead of replace the whole shebang. That's normally the least expensive option. If you pull the head off and the block is junk then you can get a junk yard engine. It doesn't cost you anything to pull the cylinder head.

[Paul_J]

I've been repairing my '97 Volvo 850 T5 for a while. Do all the work my self because I just refuse to buy a new/used car that only depreciates. I've done the cylinder head and trans and a huge list of other things and I'm still better off having not bought another vehicle. BTW, Volvo's suck!

I say fix it and drive it until the wheels fall off. Take the money your not putting into a car payment and build something cool or buy some good tools.

[class67]

I did some checking around today with the help of some mechanic friends with connections and I can get a motor with 20k miles for $750 from the same year or newer. I think that I will go that route to get it going and see what I want to do with it next / see what the wifes confidence level with it is...lol

I'm sure it will be fine for a couple more years.

Any other thoughts on this?

[Restomod]

$750 sounds a LOT better than $4500!!!

[streetk14]

I would highly recommend swapping in a low-mileage used motor (like you found) over trying to repair the engine. There are a ton of wrecked Malibu's out there with low mileage and those engines aren't in demand as you have found out.

Doing a straight engine replacement should be a piece of cake. Not sure if you take those engines out from the bottom or the top, but I actually prefer dropping the front engine carrier with the engine and trans as a complete unit. Then you just transfer over the transmission, exhaust and intake manifolds, engine harness and accessories, etc. and you have an almost-new engine in that car that will be ready for another 100K or more.

You do need the proper equipment do do what I mentioned above, but it is by far the easiest way on the BMWs I work on. Maybe a GM tech will give us some info.

Andy

[MonzaRacer]

pull engine (provided you have a backup for one of you) disassemble it and repair as needed(ie pistons/rings/bearings/t/c set/oil pump. freshen heads and go on.
Gee whizz you can put $1000 in it and still trade it in for much more. wish you lived in Indiana I would fix it for ya as I am out of work right now.
Besides you CAN buy a 3.6 short block from GM fairly cheap too.

[class67]

Update...the new motor is in and car is running good again, most importantly.........the WIFE is happy with it too.

Now I don't have to go out and buy another new car for a couple of years....lol

[Steve68]

Sweet!!! thats what I do to all my DD, which are all Nissans! I would drive a GM product , but you can put 200K on a Nissan product That already has 300K on it,