rebuild an engine

It’s worth it if you’re doing it to learn, but not if you’re trying to save money. By the time you get all the machine shop work done and buy all the parts, the cost is about the same as buying a rebuild.

Ok, as the title says, it’s about 1 year later and I have been driving the Jeep almost daily with that replaced engine.
I have no complaints! The Jeep’s engine is stronger than it’s ever been, and gets pretty decent milage (for a vehicle with all of the aerodynamics of a flying brick!)...
I guess I could say that this was a successful venture!
I now have over 200,000 miles on my Jeep, with over 100,000 miles on the “new” engine.
Keep in mind that I got the 2nd engine used with about 80,000 on it already. So, in other words, I have put over 20K miles on the engine with no complaints!.
Mark another one of my “43 Things” as done!!
This is TOTALLY worth doing!

Grad School = important
Engine Rebuild = fun, however not important

So… My 98 Jeep Grand cherokee had the engine blow at the beginning of this year.
Initially, I just wanted to rebuild the engine, possibly build a “stroker”, but I decided not to.
The Jeep was my “Family Vehicle”, so I needed to get it back on the road as soon as possible.
Needless to say, It had the 4.0L I6 engine and I replaced it with the same.
In looking around for a new engine though, I did get my hands on a bottom end in perfect shape.
The top end of my old engine is actually still fine. When the rod went through the block, it stopped everything and the piston shattered. It did NOT tag the valve though, so I think I’m going to try to use that for a rebuild.
I’m going to take the time and actually build that stroker that I want.
We’ll see how long it takes though…
The pickup truck is going to be restored first…

This is just one step of a more ambitious goal of rebuilding a Datsun 240Z. The engine is pulled from the car and on a stand. Just today, I got the rebuild book in the mail. I still need to figure out what’s going into the rebuild, where I’m going to do it (garage space is short), and how much money I want to spend on it.

Engine Details:
mfgr: The Nissian Motor Corp – Japan (NISMO)
designation: L24*
block:E31
block serno:004491
head:N47
*This engine has been rebuilt previously – so, I’m not sure quite what’s in it. The N47 head wasn’t origional to the E31 block.