Here's Why You Should NEVER Rebuild An ENGINE *The Math Doesn't Add Up*

If there's one reoccurring question here, it's "Why didn't you rebuild the engine?" This video should answer that and help you save tons of money in the future. There are always cases where an engine should be or has to be rebuilt, but for 98% of the cars on the road they should be replaced as fast as possible and returned to service. Stop rebuilding engines that aren't worth, save the love for engines that matter!

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Common Questions:

What motorcycle do I ride? A few. Ducati 1198, Honda Goldwing, Honda Grom, Honda Ruckus

What do I do for a living? Make YouTube videos.

Can you wheelie? No, I suck.

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Where can I keep up with you off the bike?

Instagram: WatchJRGo

Facebook: WatchJRGo (or JRGo, FB hates my branding)

Do you go to school? College, for 2 classes.

Why do you ride so dangerously? What do mean? I was doing 25.

Do you go to the track? Of course, hopefully there will be videos in the future.

Do you play video games? No, but I might stream N64 Goldeneye at some point. Twitch: WatchJRGo

Are you afraid the police will watch your videos and arrest you? Something something evidence something something warrants and due process of law

#BlownEngine #SaveDatMoney #EngineSwap

[timramich]

For people pondering the concept of replace vs. rebuild on your own car that you aren't flipping, consider that new parts are sometimes newer versions that address engineering flaws. Also, rebuilding and being meticulous, measuring every bore and clearance and whatnot, you can make the engine better than it came from the factory, probably fixing missed defects.

[dezfyah]

Few years ago someone from a supporting church blessed me with a 2008 Chevy Suburban (190K miles) so I could continue to do my ministry in the community, especially the street outreaches as a gospel DJ. I had taken out an extended warranty when I got the vehicle, few months later it had a dead cylinder. I took it to the local dealership and 2 months later after a lot of back and forth, the warranty company gave me a rebuild engine with zero miles on it, and its still running great. My deductible was $100. Hallelujah!!!

[davidpeterson]

the key part everyone is missing is having a reliable salvage yard which knows how to test and pull the engine correctly.

[insanelywicked]

What I've learned in the first 60 seconds is don't buy a car from this guy. He puts a scrapyard engine in it and sells it to you immediately.

[billziegmond]

Exactly! Engine swap cheap and easy. Last one I did. $500 for the car $300 for engine. I drove it 3 years. Sold it for $1800.00. Now that makes sense.

[HappyHands.]

Have you ever thought about the fact that its fun and educational??
Rebuilding an Engine challenges you to do the best job you can and teaches you to pay attention to details and specs while giving you a true appreciation of just how that engine works.
You shouldn't tell people to "NEVER" rebuild an engine. You are in effect encouraging them to miss out on something really valuable. Even if that engine is not used.

[chocolate_chip_cookies]

The headgasket in my 2003 chevy trailblazer 4wd blew on the way home from work and yes I kept driving lol, I live out in the country so it was about a 20 minute drive home from where I was. Pulled the valve cover off and saw 3 rocker arms broken off and milky oil cams were toast and the whole engine was done for. So I went to the local junkyard and bought a running 4.2l i6 out of the same year and model trailblazer as mine for $350. Swapped it in a day and runs great 60 psi of oil pressure I did new gaskets, plugs, coils, , and injectors on it before I put the new engine back in because taking the intake off on a trailblazer sucks while in the car. Now I drive it to work everyday and have put 20, 000 miles on the $350 junkyard engine.

[carlanderson]

Years ago when i had a shop, i always bought used engines from 1 particular salvage yard. His engines were always tested and put on shelves indoors. Bought and installed over 35 engines from him in 2 years. Never had one needing a replacement. If it worked out that it did, i would have done it for free labor for 6 months. If a customer bought an engine from somewhere else. There was no free labor at all even if the engine went bad within its 30 day warranty period. I had no problem standing beind my choice in using his used engines. Anyone elses i was not confident in.
Never had to provide free labor. I did as a rule replace timing chains, oil pump, water pump as well as front and rear seals.

[Basil_Kehoe]

I think that it matters for what you are doing. I personally love rebuilding engines because of the process of it and the satisfaction. Plus knowing that the engine is in great condition.

[rickgregoire]

I've been a licensed mechanic and machinist since 1974 and have worked in machine shops on thousands of rebuilds. I found that most of the engines I did were for rare or not commonly available engines or numbers matching and performance apps. I have given this same advice to many customers when I felt the conditions warranted it. They have lots of importers for JDM engines here in Canada and their rules in Japan for used parts are very strict. I've used plenty of them in my flippers and they have never let me down. I have totally rebuilt engines for my my own special projects because it's fun and satisfying for me, personally but for everyday runners, a good used engine is usually the best route.

[umad]

People gotta remember, this is how you make money, watching you rebuild an engine may be *cool* but it isn't the cheapest way to get flips done, the cheapest way to get flips done is to stick an engine in it. The *only* thing I'd do different is do a timing set and a water pump on every engine just so you can say it's a used engine but the water pump and timing set are brand new, get a few more bucks out of it, and feel good that you are sending quality automobiles out there onto America's highways for people to use for years to come.

[ederm]

I wouldn't buy a car from a flipper, it is clear that they don't care about longevity. As you mentioned, some people simply need a car for transportation and rescuing engines to quickly put them into other cars is fine, I respect it. However, personally I don't like living with the anxiety of not knowing the state of the engine on my car, feeling like the car could break down at any time. Rebuilding it gives me the peace of mind to know the state of it without buying a brand new car. It is like gambling and that's the problem, I don't like gambling. Ultimately you make a profit and walk away, the costumer is now the one with the ticking bomb.

[WatchWesWork]

I think it shows why the math doesn't add up on flipping cars (minus YouTube ad revenue). Book time to replace that engine is 12ish hours, which should be around $1, 000 in most shops. So if you value your labor at $80/hour you'll barely break even on this flip. Plus you have to buy it, go get it, sell it, deal with the tire kickers, and have your money tied up for weeks to months while that goes on.

[scottbutts]

For flips this a ton of makes sense. For my project Fiero that blew a head gasket, I rolled the dice and only spent about $60 on a gasket set and didn't even check the head for flatness. I've put 5k miles on it since then with no issues

[edfrawley]

You are taking me back to my youth. Blow up an engine, go to the wrecking yard, pay 1$/ci and after the first time got the swap time down to 1.5 hours.

[tomj]

Geez, I rebuilt a chevy small block in the early 90's for $500 with a rebuild kit from Summit, their brand camshaft and lifter kit, etc. and the machining done at a local parts house. I low-bucked the heck out of it but took my time and did an excellent job with assembly. It was for my '74 C10 stepside pickup, I scored a huge air cleaner assembly from the junkyard off a Cadillac and after I broke it in I hit the on-ramp for the highway and nailed the gas pedal. The thing took off and the hood sucked down just like on a race car, it was moving a ton of air. Those were the good old days, I could fix almost anything on that truck for $35-$50. Good times!

[Dartman]

It's the fastest, cheapest way to get a flip car running again. If it's a car you like and want to keep long term, and if the original engine isn't garbage it is probably worth it. Sounds like you already just said the same thing so we agree 👍

[gregisdivorced]

I totally agree with you on that, everyone has to go through an engine rebuild sometime in their life if you’re a car guy or girl just to realize how expensive and time consuming it is. Engine swap on a car that holds its value is totally worth it.

[andy]

He’s right, but with that fancy screen he could have, at least, given us the weather, too…

[k-Watt]

Yes sir i totally agree! Ive been an automotive mechanic for 25yrs and found out what makes sense pretty quick. The only time i touch the internals of a motor is installing upgrades for higher preformance. Its motor swaps pretty much with everything else.