H3 Replaced your engine?

[med]

You guys (or gals) that have had to drop a new motor in your h3 I'm looking for advice on the subject. I'm possibly going to have to do this in the future. Anything you would do different next time? Specific things to load k for in the new motor?
Thx
2006 adventure 3.5


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[CaseyS]

Only advice I can give is to think outside the box

 

[4speedfunk]

Not sure I would invest much money into a 5-cylinder. If you can find a good low-mileage one, for $1500...sure. But, I would not get into a big project because the outcome is nothing more than YAWN. Most guys that blow up their 5-cylinders either replace them with a cheap stock motor...or convert to a LS V8. The V8 swap is rather complicated and expensive but, at least you got a real truck when you're done.

And then there's CaseyS (jealous)

 

[med]

Yeah I really don't want to go the complicated route...lol. I just need the bastard to run right. I don't do a lot of wheeling and trail riding. I hit the trails during hunting season and pull a hunting boat. Other than that it's on the pavement.


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[Mr_Rich]

I think it really depends on what your budget and talents allow. Seeing as how GM gave up on Atlas engines I'd be looking for other possibilities, but that's me since I've replaced a number of engines and trans in my vehicles and it's a hobby for me.

 

[med]

Engine replacement is out of my league. I'll have to pay to get this done. I'm just looking for reliability. I got a pretty good deal on it initially. The lady was a traveling nurse and simply parked it when gas got high. It has high miles ( 186,xxx) but they are mainly highway miles. Only paid 4500$ for it. But I had to get the front main seal replaced from it sitting and the gasket was bad. Just had the transmission rebuilt plus trying to figure out the oil pressure issue and that was another 1800$. So naturally I don't want to have to sell a kidney to fund a new heart for it. Is the 3.5 the only plug & play option?


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[deserth3]

I went with a GM crate engine and transmission installed at a local dealership.
Have had no problems with the engine and they found and replaced a leaking from seal under warranty.
The transmission had been a different story. I have a thread going about the latest.
If you can find a local shop with a decent warranty that'll rebuild/replace your engineer. Go for it. Dealer is overpriced if you get a bad one...

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[med]

My transmission rebuild was a big circle jerk. My issue was that it would drop out of 3 or 4 into 2nd going down the road...sometimes. They told me the clutches were bad so they rebuilt it. Thing is I had to carry it back 3x AFTER the rebuild for the same issue. So I probably spent 1300 for nothing. Not sure what they ended up doing to fix it. Shifts out great now but that's when these motor issues showed up. Kinda like a never ending bad dream here lately. I started to go back to see what they did different the last time to make it work but was so disgusted with the whole experience that I'm 99% sure I'd punch the first person to approach me. It's not worth going to jail over I reckon so I marked it down as a lesson learned about who I leave my ride with..lol


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[deserth3]

I understand how you feel. If you decide to go with the GM crate. Ask them if it's going to be rebuilt before it's put on the truck and not after. Tell them you have a friend with a GM Crate transmission where there seems to have been a little confusion in this part.
But if you get a GM Crate engine or transmission done at a GM dealer you do get a 100,000 mile, 3 year warranty.

 

[med]

I understand how you feel. If you decide to go with the GM crate. Ask them if it's going to be rebuilt before it's put on the truck and not after. Tell them you have a friend with a GM Crate transmission where there seems to have been a little confusion in this part.
But if you get a GM Crate engine or transmission done at a GM dealer you do get a 100,000 mile, 3 year warranty.

Any idea on how much cash it takes to go this route?^^


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[awalsh]

Agreed with 4speedfunk don't go crazy, in my case since I hydrolocked it in flood waters on a road the insurance covered 5k out of the 7k for a brand new engine. If I had to pay out of pocket I would have dropped in an older engine. Only regret is thinking about the possibility of a v8 swap but I guarantee insurance wouldn't have covered that plus if I ever feel the need to get a v8 I'll just sell this rig and buy an alpha


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[deserth3]

Any idea on how much cash it takes to go this route?^^


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I don't have specific numbers. But Crate engine, Crate tranny, Plus associated parts, and my forward cat was cracked. Also rental pickup I could put the dogs in for two weeks. Came to about $12000.00. Now you can see why I'm upset looking at dumping and few grand because GM won't admit the tranny is a poor quality rebuild. Makes it even worse my original tranny was just old. Never had a problem with it.
But you can call a dealer service department and get a pretty good estimate on just the engine and associated parts.

 

[med]

Holy smokes man. Yeah I'd be super pissed too. Wish you the best of luck with it.


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[alrock]

When the time times, I'm leaning towards another 3.7. Yawn is okay with me - this is just an occasional driver and an offroad toy. I've got another ride when I need more than a yawn. Putting in another 3.7 is a straight swap. Putting anything else requires a lot more work and I'm not sure that I'm ready to commit Reloader to all of that. Okay, Reloader and myself. Plus the expense of different exhaust, accessories, etc. The one saving grace in that direction is a new or reman 5.3 is probably less expensive to begin than a 3.7

 

[K0PIR]

I've got over 170,000 miles on mine and when it's time for a new engine I think I'll go with a 3.7. The 3.5 I have now is okay, but a few more HP won't hurt things. I don't drive it that much anyway.

 

[deserth3]

If you bought the H3 to fulfill your "need for speed". You made a serious mistake.

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[med]

I'm waiting on a call for a replacement cost. That figure is going to determine if I keep it or not.


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[med]

.


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[Mr_Rich]

Engine replacement is out of my league. I'll have to pay to get this done. I'm just looking for reliability. I got a pretty good deal on it initially. The lady was a traveling nurse and simply parked it when gas got high. It has high miles ( 186,xxx) but they are mainly highway miles. Only paid 4500$ for it. But I had to get the front main seal replaced from it sitting and the gasket was bad. Just had the transmission rebuilt plus trying to figure out the oil pressure issue and that was another 1800$. So naturally I don't want to have to sell a kidney to fund a new heart for it. Is the 3.5 the only plug & play option?


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I went back to one of your earlier posts to reply to your questions. Given that I see ads for H3's on lots for ~$12K around here I think you are way ahead in savings for any future engine swap you might consider. I know what I would want to do but I'm not in your shoes. I think your practical choice would be a 3.7L crate engine replacement. With your original price of $4500 I don't think you will lose any money by having a new engine installed whether you want to sell or keep your H3 in the future.

 

[med]

The guy got back with me on some pricing.

$5300 for a used lower mileage engine installed. Unsure on the warranty details.

$7200 for a factory checked longblock with a 3 yr warranty.
Both come with new radiator. The motor is running fine now with the hvy oil. It make last another 50k. I think I'll probably end up trying to sell it. I like the h3 but I'm not really digging the hassle at the moment. My wife has an 08 lux so I can burn some gas in hers if I get the itch to drive one.


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[alrock]

Med, I certainly understand your position. I'm on the other side of the curve. While it's not my everyday vehicle, it's one I want to keep. There's simply no equivalent on the market. For me, the best "replacement" for a worn out vehicle is a rebuild. If I were to replace, I'd head towards a 90s Land Cruiser, as long as I had a wad of cash. Follow whatever stirs the emotions.