Recon Remanafactured motors?

[Fastzdriver]

i was at advance auto the other day anf decided to ask them what one of the HP remanifactured motors by Recon they advertise would run for. SBC 4-bolt main 350 rated @ 350 HP with an edelbrock carb and intake was like $1140 with core charge. $840 w/o. Has anyone used one or does anyone know much about their reputation. Pkg came with a decent warranty as well. Your thoughts guys?

[DavyZ]

Don't know about their reputation, but the price is right! Especially for 350 hp!

 

One problem we have around this part of the country is many of the remanufactured engines come from Mexico. My neighbor bought a Ford engine that ended up having to be rebuilt in a short period of time. He found things like that some of the valves were too long and someone had ground them down to make them fit. Amazing that the engine even ran well for a while despite that kind of Tom Foolery. Make sure they assemble the engines in house and ask for references. I would think any reputable shop could provide that.

[Guest RON JONES]

If its warrantied,Thats an unbeleaveable deal!

[Kevin Shasteen]

Has anyone used one or does anyone know much about their reputation. Pkg came with a decent warranty as well. Your thoughts guys?[/b]

 

I'm not in your area; however, the one time I decided to go w/a reman.eng. from a rebuilder it didnt last more than two years before it started blowing oil out the dipstick....obviously something wicked was a brewing inside the unhappy motor. This was a 1/2ton Ford 302. Never hotrodded-just an old work truck.

 

I had build eng's prior to that & was hesitant about using a rbldr; but wasnt familiar w/Ford & didnt have a lot of time.

 

Even then I dont like anyone messin w/the inside of an engine that I install in a vehicle of mine; if I had to do all over again...I would have taken the time to build it myself & the satisfaction of knowing it was build right w/premium rings/pistons is not something you can put a price on.

 

My engine came w/a warranty also; however, it went bad on me half way thru the second year...well out of the 12/12 warranty.

 

Be leary of any reman.eng. if your purpose going into the deal is to drive said vehicle hard.

 

Just my .02cents worth.

[Guest Anonymous]

Just a quick note, the made in Mexico moniker doesn't necessarily mean its a bad thing.

The basic Chevy engines (goodwrench) are made in mexico and they weren't that bad, cast parts, but 3yr 36000 warranty. The Ford 302 'Mexican Block' is a decent core to build a 302 Ford as well. People asleep on the production line is a problem in most industialized countries, the U.S. is no exception (they just get paid more for sleeping!)

But I understand what your saying, some rebuilds are put together rather shoudly south of the border.

That recon engine sounds awful cheap though, makes me wonder where they cut corners and if you should twist its tail very hard, how fast it'll fail. Just a opinion mind you.

 

Lone

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by lonehdrider (edited February 05, 2001).]

[DavyZ]

Lone, I know what you mean, but the difference here is factory vs who knows what? Don't get me wrong, I'm not Mexico bashing and I totally agree with you. Factory stuff seems to be pretty good. I do hope that things have changed for the better regarding some of these rebuild places and that they are doing things in house. In my mind, it's easier to hold them accountable for an engine job if THEY did it themselves. Because I'll show up on their doorstep if I'm not happy.

[Guest Anonymous]

Totally agree Davy. My brother has had thousands of dollars worth of work done in the San Diego area on his 63' bird and its amazing how badly these shops F*** things up and have to do repeat work, and I'm not talking just once, but two and three times (even then, you sometimes just have to do it yourself just to keep from killing someone in a rage). This was in like three or four different shops down there and then they can't understand why your pissed off when you have your car tied up for a week at a shot. Oh well, I vented, I feel much better now... . We now return your to your regularly scheduled topic.

 

Regards,

 

Lone

[Guest Frank280z]

I know of someone that put a recon 350 ho in a toyota truck. He said he was pleased with the performance and the price as well. And I think that price does include a warranty. Frank

[Kevin Shasteen]

Fastftiver;

 

Before you make a decision; think about the possibility of getting "One of Those Engines" that dont hold up. Sure, it may even fail w/in the time constraints of the warranty: Great! But, do you really have the time/money for your vehicle to be down & can you put all your other errands on the shelf while you needlessly attempt to fix something that shouldnt have broken in the first place(?)

 

I'm not saying all reman-shops are bad. I've only heard to many bad stories & I am one of those who was not pleased w/reman eng I recieved.

 

I'ld rather find a shop that is performance oriented. In the past I have also used a machine shop (not performance oriented) & have found myself arguine w/the couter man about a perf.mod I wanted (such as 3degree valve job). He was an old timer & thought if the Mfg thought I needed a 3degree valve job then they would have given me one from the factory.

 

I dont have time to justify my needs to someone; even if that someone agrees to give me what I want-what kind of quaulity will the job be given as its performed.

 

I think it pays in the long run to have your work done by someone who understands your needs & is performance oriented.

 

IMHO!

[pparaska]

First, if you don't know of me, I'm one picky son-of-a-gun.

 

That said, if I were to buy a low buck crate motor, I'd pull it apart myself and check clearances, etc. The cost of a gasket set and even torque-to-yield fasteners (if needed) is a small price for piece of mind. That's assuming you have the tools an know-how to measure things and know what's good and bad. Yeah, you'd void the warranty, but how good is a warranty anyway on such a cheap motor.

 

In other words, on a motor like that, I'd consider it a collection of parts and no more. I'd tear it down, check it out, fix the things that I didn't like, and unless it was real bad, just eat the loss and losing the warranty.

 

It comes down to I don't trust cheap rebuilds, as I've seen them go bad quickly. A used motor with low miles out of a junk yard would be a better bet, in my opinion. At least it's proven itself to have run that long.

 

I guess I'd really rather go to a machine shop/performance machine shop and buy an engine that they have but the owner can't pay the bill on. That happens alot and you can get a great deal.

 

------------------

Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project

pparaska@home.com

Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages

[Guest Locutus]

When the engine in my old 6 cyl mustang died, I went looking in junk yards to replace it, there were very few 3.8L V6 that were not already in the same condition as mine was. The few that weren't were either high miles or nearly as much as a new motor from ford. So I started looking into remanufactured engines. I ask local mechanics that I knew what experience they had and a few names popped up repeatedly. I then took those names called the BBB in the cities they were located(in my case they were all in Houston) 2 had negative reports with the BBB. That left a couple of rebuilders to look at. So I called each and asked for references. I wanted to talk to someone who was driving one of thier engines on a daily basis, the one I ended up going with gave me a detailed parts list that they used in the rebuild and even offered to let me watch thier guys work. That is the one I chose. They were a couple hundred more, but it was cheap piece of mind.

 

 

Mike

[BLKMGK]

What's in it? I'm betting steel heads, cast pistons, flat tappet cam, maybe even an iron intake? Find out what EXCATLY is in it and do your homework - don't be penny wise pound foolish.

 

I WOULD also look closely at the GM crate motors. Some of their lower end motors aren't too expensive and while they may not make 350hp out of th ebox Super Chevy has been building them up with good success.

 

Lastly, 350HP on who's dyno? I've been told 450 for my built motor but some of the number runs done here on the combo come up short of that number. Likewise, my 351W is supposed to make 600+ but until I see some proof I'll always caveat that figure with a chunk of salt. Big numbers sell engines but be careful...

[Guest JAMIE T]

fastZdriver, I'm in richmond also, I assemble all of my own engines and usually get H&M (summit sales and service, in the phone book) to do the machine work, they also do remanufacturing of engines. If you don't want to have an engine rebuilt, call and ask about reman engines from them since you can go there and check out the place yourself.