Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 23:36
If it's a low km engine, it shouldn't require a major rebuild. The two things that modern engines die from, is cooling system corrosion, and electronics failure. In fact, most modern engines die an electronic death.
When a vehicle gets around 15 yrs old with high kms, the value has dropped to a low figure, and a major electronics component failure is usually the reason they're scrapped.
The second biggest source of problems is cooling system corrosion problems. A lack of cooling system maintenance (not flushing and changing coolant with factory recommended coolant every 3 years) will soon see corrosion holes appear in major components. It's worse now that so much alloy is used in todays engines.
If you keep your coolant in top condition, a modern engine will generally give little trouble - unless you overheat it through overloading, run at constant high speed in high ambient temperatures, never change the oil, etc.
After about 10 yrs, the third biggest source of problems is with hoses and wiring. Many hoses, plastic components, and attachments start to degrade, develop cracks and splits, or corroded connections, and thereby create engine problems.
Your problem may be a relatively simple one, or it may involve substantial engine dis-assembly. Get the repairer to examine your engine at length, and give you his opinion on the problem. A good mechanic with extensive experience will usually be able to pinpoint the problem and give you a written quote.
Never let anyone commence repairs until you have agreement on the problem, and the cost of the repair in writing.
Casual, verbal O.K.'s for repair work to be done, nearly always lead to sizeable cost over-runs and disputes. If the repairer pulls an engine down and finds something that needs to be repaired, that wasn't discussed or even imagined to be the problem - then he should cease repair and contact you to discuss what extra is required to be done, and then get your approval to proceed.
Cheers - Ron.
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