Cost of Engine Rebuild?

Greetings,

My mechanic, whom I trust, quoted me a ballpark figure of $5K to rebuilt my 3.0L engine. I'm used to rebuilding 350's, so you can imagine that I was quite sticker shocked!

For those of you who have been through this before, what is the cost of parts vs. labor for the rebuild? I've heard that the crank can go "a million miles," so is it advisable to just rebuild the "top end"? Is this something a shadetree mechanic can tackle?

Thanks!

unfortunately, 5K for a complete is about 3K shy of reality.( unless there's no labor charge). up to about 130K, a top end fix is usually good for another 100K. that job would be around 5K. you could do it yourself, lots of others have, but get some professional advice.(a tech, not a shrink). back in the "old days", people found dozens of ways to "rebuild" vw engines. they often ran, but how well, how long, and how many problems?

You know... you can put a LS-6 Chevy V8 (385 Horse Power and 385 ft lbs of torque) in that car for around $7K - everything included except the labor of course. Oh yeah - it weighs 21 pounds less than a 930 motor and a rebuild (if ever needed) will cost very little)

Man, I LOVE stirring things up. Muhahahaha

I agree w/ Viper, go the chevy route and get rid of that overpriced Corvair engine.

Alright Wayne! New server. Let's open her up and see what this baby can do. Last V-8 topic cratered the last server.

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Robert Stoll
83 SC
83 944

ROFLMAO - that was good rstoll!!!

a friend of ours spent about $15k when his engine was redone in his 911 turbo.

hope that helps.

obin

15K for a 3.0 rebuild? I have some beachfront property for sale in northern Canada.

Yes, I too have built many a small block chevy, gasket set $50. 911 top end gasket kit $200, there is a big difference.

If you know how to do it, and you want it done right, do it yourself. If you don't know how to do it, it's time to learn. I don't know if I ever been satisfied with someone else's work, and I'm not pickey.

I had never seen a flat 6, before I bought mine. Armed with Bruce Anderson's book and the Haynes book, I was very successful at doing a top-end job on my 3.0, all by myself. Bruce's book came into play concerning cam timing, I don't remember the specs, but I advanced it about 4 degrees, what ever the great porsche compromise was.

Pulled the guides, and installed new ones. Took the heads to a shop, and had the guides reemed, and the valves and seats cut. I think it was in the $60 range for the shop ($2 a valve, $3 a seat). Had to replace two head studs, snaped in the center, how lucky could I get, no thread-certs or block repair. Couldn't afford the carrera tensioners, but did install the solid aluminum slug inserts, that will buy me time for the carrera's. All in all I spent about $1k, and all is fine. I made a parts list, and when I was ready to order I received a 20% off coupon from Performance Products. This saved me $ also.

If you've built a SBC you can build a 3.0. Just be patient, keep everything clean like you are doing open heart surgery on yourself.
If you get hung up on something put it on the bbs and you will get some quality advise.

The Haynes book worked for me, but I now have the Bentley book, and would recommend you get it. You can get the SC book here for $84.20.
http://www.bimmerparts.com/
I photo-copied mine and placed all of the copies in plastic sheet protectors, and binders. 6 binders. I can keep the original one clean and in the house, and the plastic coated one in the garage.

The Bentley book can answer just about anything on the SC.

Thousands of men and probably even some women have been successful rebuilding the flat 6, and I'm sure you can too. Just don't ever say "I hope I did that right", if in doubt check it out, and make sure you did that right.

Providing my own labor, I would certainly think I could rebuild my whole engine for $2500-$3000. It's just time consuming working on it in the evenings, but it makes it easy to be patient.


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GT911
GordonTaylor@ev1.net
'81 911 SC very very fun
'84 BMW 318i very very economical

You don't mention what is wrong with your motor that needs rebuilt. Could be a partial rebuild is all you need. A full case-splitting rebuild will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000 just for parts. Could be more. Labor is all over the place. If you don't want to do the rebuild yourself you can save a big chunk by doing your own R&R. Used 3.0L engines can be had for the price of rebuild parts. A worthy consideration.

By the way, that $15,000 figure for a complete rebuild on a 930 is correct. I've spoken to a few mechanics about it. One shop charged some sorry SOB $12,000 to replace broken head studs on a C2 Turbo.

[This message has been edited by RarlyL8 (edited 03-17-2001).]