Should You Rebuild Your Truck Engine Instead Of Replacing It?
Posted by admin at 16 November 2021, at 10 : 31 AM
If your truck has been on the road for a long time and it’s seen better days, routine maintenance on the engine is crucial. Regular visits to the mechanic will help you avoid any major problems for a while. However, there will always come a time when the engine packs up. At this point, if you want to keep your truck running, you have two choices; replace the engine or rebuild it.
A lot of people never consider rebuilding the engine but it can actually be a better choice than replacing it, depending on the overall condition of the truck, and your budget. If you are trying to decide whether rebuilding your truck engine is worth it or not, here’s everything you need to know.
What Happens When A Truck Engine Is Rebuilt?
Rebuilding your truck engine is not as simple as it sounds. The process includes many levels of expertise to ensure that the engine doesn’t have any repeating problems after being restored. There are several stages where you can make mistakes, including stripping out too much material, which means the engine has to be replaced anyway. When rebuilding an engine, there are certain parts or components that should never be touched. If the majority of the parts need replacing for some reason, the whole block will usually be discarded because replacing them would actually cost more than buying a new one.
When your engine is rebuilt, the following steps will be taken:
Remove all dirt and debris from the exterior of the engine.
Take apart each rotating assembly.
Clean all parts to ensure there are no obstructions or deposits on any part of the engine.
Remove cylinders and measure wear on piston rings, crankshaft bearings, camshaft bearings, and main bearings.
Use computerized technology to measure the size and specifications that need replacement, such as piston rings and bearings.
Replace any parts that are corroded or worn out like bearing spacers, gaskets, and piston rings. These parts will be replaced with aftermarket equivalents if they’re still available.
Once all of the parts have been cleaned and any damaged and corroded parts have been replaced, the engine will be put back together. Ideally, you should have this work carried out by an experienced mechanic service like M&L Truck Service, who have a good knowledge of truck engines and how to rebuild them. Any mistakes along the way could cause irreparable damage and the whole engine may need to be replaced if it is not salvageable.
In most cases, rebuilding is an option. However, if there is serious damage to the engine block, it may not be possible.
Advantages Of Engine Rebuilding
Now that you know what goes into the process of rebuilding a truck engine, the question remains, why do it in the first place? There are several great benefits of rebuilding your truck engine instead of replacing it.
Firstly, it’s cheaper to rebuild instead of replacing. As the engine is completely disassembled, it allows mechanics to simply replace any bad parts that are still available on the market. This includes rebuilding pistons and crankshafts instead of buying all new parts. A lot of times these parts are no longer available, so they have to be custom-made for your particular model. While this can be expensive, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will need to pay more if your engine is rebuilt.
Secondly, re-using old parts means less waste goes into landfills. Instead of throwing an entire engine onto the scrapheap, you are keeping it going for longer and drastically cutting back on the waste you produce. So, if you are concerned about waste, rebuilding is a great option.
Finally, it helps with compatibility issues. A brand new engine may not be compatible with the existing electrical systems in your truck. By repairing it and keeping the same basic engine, you can ensure that your truck runs exactly as it did before without any problems.
Disadvantages Of Engine Rebuilding
It’s clear that there are a lot of reasons to rebuild your truck engine. However, it may not always be the right choice because there are some disadvantages.
First of all, the process takes a very long time (usually about six weeks), which means your truck is out of commission for that amount of time. This can be inconvenient if you need to get back on the road quickly. If you rely on the truck for work, for example, rebuilding the engine might not be the best way to go.
Since there are fewer parts available for older trucks, it may also be more expensive because mechanics have to custom-make some components (like bearings and gaskets). Unfortunately, this can’t be avoided. While it will usually cost less than replacing the engine with a brand new one, rebuilding an old engine might end up costing nearly as much money. Additionally, not everyone has access to professional rebuilders because it’s much harder to find someone qualified who specializes in older trucks compared to newer models.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, rebuilding your truck engine won’t add more horsepower or torque. Of course, you can replace the parts with upgraded aftermarket equivalents to get a little bit of extra power out of it. However, remember that this is only done if the new parts are compatible with the old ones and will not damage them in any way.
So Should You Rebuild Your Truck Engine?
As mentioned earlier, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to whether or not you should rebuild your truck engine. It depends on age and condition.
If your engine isn’t very old and has relatively low mileage, then it might be worth considering just replacing all of the bad components rather than replacing the whole engine. However, if the engine is very old, you should speak to a mechanic about the availability of the parts. If it will take a lot of custom parts or imports of rare parts from around the globe to get your engine up and running, it’s probably easier and cheaper to replace the whole thing. You should also replace the engine if you are in a rush to get the truck back on the road.