Repower

[L2fish]

Ok. Here is my dilemna. My 2008 is still in fairly good shape but has 157 K on it. Looking on Rock Auto I can get remanufactured long block and automatic yransmission fir $4,219 before core fees, $3,509 after. Who thinks its worth it? I want to buy a new motorcycle rather than a new car. With these major repairs I should be able to get a few yrs more out of it for cheap money. I do all my own work. Changing these out should not be too bad?

[rsrocket1]

Are the current engine and transmission on your car destroyed? Why do you need replacements rather than maintenance or repair?

[rob302]

i'd say your engine should be good for another 100,000 miles at least. mine made it past 276,000 and i beat the hell out of it and regularly skiipped minor things, like oil changes.

honestly i would rather have your used engine than a parts store longblock some $5/hr worker put together with an impact gun using cheap gaskets, bearings, and bolts they bought in bulk from china..

[Handy_Cruiser]

Instead, drive your car until it dies. Then collect all belongings and leave it on the side of the road. Then take your $4,200+ and buy yourself the cleanest, nicest stock PT Cruiser ever made. $4,200 should be enough for that and you will likely have enough left over to buy you and your best gal a nice diner and show on the town.

Joking aside, only a heavily modified PT Cruiser "show car" would be valuable enough to spend an additional $4,200 on. In perfect condition, your 2008 PT is likely worth around $2,500 or less. So I recommend saving your money. And as already indicated, if your PT is in good condition now, it should last a lot longer if you show it some love and keep it well maintained.

[ptcruisersteve]

Keep in mind that these PT Cruisers seems to have an average life of 10 years so other components outside of the engine and transmission are going to start going bad on your PT Cruiser. I say if you can do the repairs yourself I would keep the engine and transmission you have in it. As Rob302 posted you don't know what you are getting with a re-manufactured engine and transmission.

[Imakenocents]

If you're ever seriously looking to replace your engine or transmission in your Pt without rebuilding your own I would recommend LKQ on line. They are very reasonable on price and these are used engines pulled from salvage cars. I just looked at one for the 08 year you have with 41K miles for 1250 dollars, hard to beat that. These folks have a great reputation. I have bought engines from them before for two of my GM vehicles and have been pleasantly surprised at the results. Shipping is free, to a docking facility or business. You might have to drive locally to pick it up but the savings are well worth it. They have their inventory listed on the website for you to choose from. Just another option to consider down the road if needed. They do warrant their product.

[ptcruisersteve]

Originally Posted by Imakenocents

If you're ever seriously looking to replace your engine or transmission in your Pt without rebuilding your own I would recommend LKQ on line. They are very reasonable on price and these are used engines pulled from salvage cars. I just looked at one for the 08 year you have with 41K miles for 1250 dollars, hard to beat that. These folks have a great reputation. I have bought engines from them before for two of my GM vehicles and have been pleasantly surprised at the results. Shipping is free, to a docking facility or business. You might have to drive locally to pick it up but the savings are well worth it. They have their inventory listed on the website for you to choose from. Just another option to consider down the road if needed. They do warrant their product.

Just keep in mind that you might consider replacing the timing belt and water pump before putting in the PT Cruiser being the timing belt is 9 years old if the engine still has the original timing belt in it.

[Imakenocents]

Originally Posted by ptcruisersteve

Just keep in mind that you might consider replacing the timing belt and water pump before putting in the PT Cruiser being the timing belt is 9 years old if the engine still has the original timing belt in it.

Yes, great point, and readily accessible before installing engine.

[L2fish]

All good comments, thank you. It has been giving me some problems lately with a rough idle. Almost like the fan issue, but that's new. So I was thinking a refurbish motor might make it more reliable than the high mileage original and maybe last long enough until the motorcycle I plan to finance is paid off. But if I can squeeze another 100,000 out of it, that's good too. The engine has a new head at 98,000 but I am worried about the transmission lasting another 100k as it is acting strange. It has lots of new front end parts control arms, radiator, brakes, wheel bearings, etc. LKQ is a good idea. Timing belt would be a walk in the park compared to engine in the car.

[chuzz]

Just make sure that if you do the engine replacement with an LKQ, or any other used engine, that you do the full two complete engine rotations and double check your timing marks. No point in guessing that just because it's not in the car, that you can cut any corners as far as double checking goes.