engine repair costs

[branhamautomotive]

As a full time auto tech I will agree with everything said so far. With proper maintenance engine can run many thousands of hours. There us no cut and dry way like hrs to tell if a motor needs rebuilt. But there are a few basic and easy check with tools that don't cost much or are rentable through the local parts store.

One i like to start with that gets overlooked alot is a simple vaccum reading. Given the overlap in the cam grind of most marine motors reading around the 13 area are not uncommon. The more the overlap in the cam the less and more erratic that number becomes. But you want to see a fairly steady reading, you don't want to see very very rapid jerking or bouncing of the needle.

Do a compression and cylinder leak down or balance test. On the compression you are looking for even readings would guess 150 psi plus seeing the hrs you have. I like the leakage test better, over 20% is bad, seeing you ours 10 to low teens would be normal.

As far as bottom end we only have oil pressure and I have seen motor with 50 psi knock and motors with 10 psi run perfect. You can cut open your old oil filter check for fine metal powder, thst would indicate an issue

Motors can go bad at any time I have seem them with less than 100 burn up. Keep in mind there are hundreds of moving parts often times with 2 or 3 thousandths of inch of clearance and a small film of oil, running at 3000 plus rpms sometimes hours at a time. And these are built by a company that is looking to save a penny at any chance they can.

[cooleyfarms]

We relate engine hours to auto mileage using every hour as equivalent to 50 miles (50mph). 100 hours would be 5000 auto miles, time to change oil & filter. 1000 hours would be 50,000 miles and 2000 hours would be 100,000 miles. These are mileages (hrs) when auto manufacturers suggest more extensive maintenance. We have farm tractor engines with over 8000 hrs still running fine and using no or very little oil. Keep in mind these are industrial engines and we strictly follow manufacturers suggested maintenance schedules. Check your dipstick before starting for use that day and note any usage over time. Usage of more than a quart at 100 hrs would indicate a mechanic should be consulted. (In my experience)

[pimplepounder]

I agree with cooleyfarms input on oil consumption. A little oil must get past components for lubrication, but today's engines are very efficient mainly due to tight tolerances. Excessive oil consumption between recommended oil change intervals indicates engine wear. There are tests that can determine where this may be happening. I would also consider 1 quart or less consumption within 100 hrs, to be normal. In Ag and marine equipment this is mainly WOT Rpm and this is a lot of hours in reality, at this engine speed. To use a quart or less is pretty darn impressive when you think of what all is really happening inside..

Little things like this can tell you a lot.

[sherman51]

I had my old 305 228 hp engine replaced at Michigan motorz with a 350 vortec 315 hp engine back in 07 and its still going strong. these are new marine engines and are worth the money over a rebuild job in most cases.