Cylinder head gasket went on my minivan the other day. Was on a highway trip and the temperature light never came on. By the time I saw the white smoke from the exhaust, the engine was already toast.
I would like to just get a junkyard engine to swap in. My van is a plymouth voyager, 1989, 2.5L, non-turbo. Does anybody know what other motors will fit?
I got one hit on a junkyard that said they had a '97 motor for $300. Sounds like a crapshoot but a new engine last I checked was $2600 which at the moment is out of the question. Also found
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which links to urgpartsearch.com. This gave me several hits on engines from '89 through '94 at an average cost (including shipping) of $950.
I just got rid of my 92 2.5 Voyager last summer, same reason. Considering the age of the van, I wouldn't try to fit in any other type of motor. You'd be bound to have problems with motor mounts, linkages electrics etc. Instead I'd look for any 2.5. Doesn't have to be in a van. Buy a crocked-out Shadow etc where you can see the engine run, take out engine, throw away car. Even better if you could get one with papers saying the cylinder head was recently and professionally redone.
Things like this really hurt. Got 205k miles on it and have kept up with the maintenance and repairs. Everything is in remarkably good shape (with exception of dead motor). Even for $950 to get a used motor with a 90 day warranty is probably reasonable (shows that the vendor has some trust in their wares).
I just wanted to be sure that a '89 chrysler 2.5L motor will be compatible with anything newer that I can find in the same displacement.
The original motor was professionally rebuilt at a shop for $1300 at 153k miles. Had to replace the cylinder head gasket once after that... Such is life. Thanks for the reply.
It was the base model without the gauge package. Only the idiot light. Temperature sender must have been defective since it never lit the temperature warning light. I am almost anal-retentive about watching whatever instrumentation there is available.
Thanks for the lead about Car-part.com. Unlike Cherry-Auto.com, you can search by area and avoid shipping costs.
When having the motor previously rebuilt, I found two local rebuilders. Both were recommended by others. One had a terrible mess in his shop. The other was a spotless operation that you could eat off the floor (should you ever desire to). Both quoted same prices so I went with the latter. Go figure... If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Could have sworn that one junkyard said a '97 would fit. I could have heard wrong, I tend to turn into a blithering idiot when under stress.
Argh. Yeah, the problem is that the sensor's meant to sense the temperature of water, not of air. If there was a massive enough loss of coolant that the temp sensor was seeing air and not water, it never would've lit, and the "TEMP" light would have fiddled while the engine burned.
I have had *really* good luck with car-part.com.
They probably thought you had a 3-litre V6, in which case a '97 would fit. But the 2.5 was replaced by the noncompatible 2.4 for '96.
Find a nearby junkyard, this motor goes for $400-600 here in SoCal. Might want to get a temp gauge while you're at the junkyard; better than the idiot light.
I wouldn't try to put another engine in. FWIW, a good buddy blew the engine on his Voyager and bought a cheap rebuild. He went for price and not a good warrantee. The second blew too in a short time. I told him about a shop near me(Chicago) and it was a bit more, but he declined. So, he then bought a second engine...for the right price later.
I think the Blue Book of another '89 minivan like yours is about $900. My advice is that if your van is straight, never been in an accident, fairly clean, that you can sell it for at least $200 via private sale in it's current condition. Someone will buy it and part it out. Then take the $200 plus the $300 your contemplating on another engine, and use it as a down payment on a car loan for a '92 van with a lot less mileage.
I've done the wrecking yard engine on one of my cars and it can be a real winner if your lucky. But it's a huge risk, and at the time I had an alternate car that I owned that ran fine and I just had parked, I would never have done this with a daily driver. It's a lot of work to do the in-and-out even with a hoist, etc. and you always end up buying a bunch of miscellaneous parts that jack up the cost.
If this van isn't required for a daily driver, then your best bet is being patient. Check out the auto auctions, call your insurance agent and ask about buying totaled cars, check out the automotive thrifties, etc. Look for a smashed van similar to yours with the same engine, that someone wants to get rid of for more than the $50- a- ton that a wrecker will pay them. You can pull the entire engine/trans combo out of that and swap it in, plus all the glass, seats, other misc parts, then throw the blown - up engine into the back of the carcass and haul it down to the wrecker for the same $50 -a- ton. Your going to get an extra tranny out of the deal plus a good stock of spares.
All good information and thanks to all that responded.
Thankfully, while it was our daily driver, we also have an '85 VW GTI which is in reasonable shape. Was my son's old car but we kept it since it has a trailer hitch and used it for light towing. Our plant is closed for the holidays, so I'm going to do a bit more damage assessment on the old motor though I'm pretty sure that it is gone. Past that, local taxes are due in mid Janruary and after that we will see about either a replacement motor or another vehicle. Some of the new cars have really low finance rates and we'll see what is affordable. Most likely will just get a newer used vehicle.
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