Titus

My wife was driving the LS400 and it overheated, blew headgasket, then seized up.

I can get another motor locally certified for $450 but i'd like to know how many hours labor (realistically) would go into swapping it with another identical one. Professionally. I know the book calls for 20 hours, but is there a particular reason or are there any shortcuts? Anyone know of any writeups on here? I have searched... maybe not enough

absolut

20 hours is right. Any shop you go to will charge you for 20 hours. I blew the motor on my 96 sentra and I swapped in a new motor myself. The job took a little less than 20 hours but we're talking about little 1.6L engine with small engine compartment.

well good luck to you.

Blavatsky

Just curious...how many miles on your LS? Year?
I have not read of many BHG problems on this car....

Suneet

Wow we sure don't see many of these threads here! Sorry to hear about your engine blowing.

B.Diddy

iTrader: (1)

I think it can be done in about 10-15hrs.

Blavatsky

If you want to read a bunch of BHG threads, check out acura-legend.com
I love my legend, but its sadly the most common death those cars have...otherwise they can go 250k+

SW07ES

Any engine - but especially an aluminum engine - is likely the blow the head gasket if the owner keeps driving instead of stopping when a cooling system fault causes the temperature gauge to climb near or beyond the HOT mark. Excess heat causes the aluminum to warp which in turn can cause a breach in the head gasket seal.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

this is honestly the FIRST TIME ive EVER heard of a 1UZ with a blown headgasket.....


so just how far did ur wife drive with the car overheating?

Thermactor

iTrader: (1)

I worry about my car running too hot. When I first got it, the temperature gauge went a little bit higher than the "mid" mark, in stop and go traffic. It came back down when I blasted the heater on full, but this car shouldn't overheat ever! I bought a Scangauge, and find that my water temperature is about 193f when fully warm, and can go up to 202 when hot!

Titus

the overheating only lasted a matter of seconds... it was the leaking waterpump (that i had been planning to change) that was the major problem. motor has 222k miles on it.

dilema: do i swap the motor or do i part the car? it is a 1991 LS400, body in good condition (not excellent), paint is ok... except for hood and trunk, interior is super clean, with a slight tear in both front seats, nothing aftermarket. Suspension and brakes are in excellent shape. i can get a certified motor w/ 100k on it delivered to my door for $450, then i can have it swapped for $500. Question is: is this car worth the additional $1000 to be invested? I currently have $2700 in it.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

if ur up to it swapping the motor isnt overly difficult.

otherwise id sell it off/part it out and pick up a 95+.

damon

Titus,

Does'nt the question become what else are you willing to drive for X amount of dollars & not the amount you have in the LS??

In other words at a certain point the value of the LS is that it allows you not to buy something really nice, not the worth of the LS itself.

Titus

what could i dream of getting out of the LS in a partout? (obviously most of it would take place on here) give me a rough worst/best scenario?