Please help

[Jeepsfun]

Need moter for vx I bought yesterday. Will trooper work

[mattferguson14]

There are a ton of threads on here about motor replacements. Just use the master search feature. Trooper, axiom, rodeo, even Honda passport and acura slx are all potential candidates if you get the right year. Also try eBay. You can get a nice rebuilt engine for around 2 grand.

[Otwobme]

Need moter for vx I bought yesterday. Will trooper work

Why do you say you need a new motor?

[Jeepsfun]

2nd owner of vx. Said his moter run out of oil and sized up. I'm a cj and excursion owner but have been looking for years for a vx for the right money
It was my understanding that trooper moter wAs plug and play.

[Jeepsfun]

Thank you both for taking time to respond about my vx problem

[Triathlete]

A trooper motor will work but you give up a few horsepower as it is a 3.2 vs. a 3.5. A search as suggested above should give you a ton of info on the subject.

[VX KAT]

Member "ND92" (Stefan) just replaced his engine and went thru the analysis and decision making on which direction to go. PM him, I'm sure he'd be glad to give you some input.

[Mile High VX]

Member "ND92" (Stefan) just replaced his engine and went thru the analysis and decision making on which direction to go. PM him, I'm sure he'd be glad to give you some input.

MSHardeman did the same and could probably provide some help as well.

[Otwobme]

2nd owner of vx. Said his moter run out of oil and sized up. I'm a cj and excursion owner but have been looking for years for a vx for the right money
It was my understanding that trooper moter wAs plug and play.

Ok, just to clear up a misunderstanding on the 3.5L it is a noninterference motor. Meaning in this case you should not have to replace the motor.
If you want to do the timing belt and an upper end rebuild. IE... Heads, cams, timing belt. What is going on when people run these low on oil is that the cam seizes. Rebuild the top end of the motor start it up and drive.

[nocturnalVX]

Ok, just to clear up a misunderstanding on the 3.5L it is a noninterference motor. Meaning in this case you should not have to replace the motor.
If you want to do the timing belt and an upper end rebuild. IE... Heads, cams, timing belt. What is going on when people run these low on oil is that the cam seizes. Rebuild the top end of the motor start it up and drive.

X2
Rebuild your motor. Have it balanced, blueprinted, and all that other stuff to make it better than ever!

[JoFotoz]

I'm confused... ( go figure!)


Ok, just to clear up a misunderstanding on the 3.5L it is a noninterference motor. Meaning in this case you should not have to replace the motor.
If you want to do the timing belt and an upper end rebuild. IE... Heads, cams, timing belt. What is going on when people run these low on oil is that the cam seizes. Rebuild the top end of the motor start it up and drive.

I understand Non-interference...
..but how does that mean that he may only need to rebuild top end??

Lack of oil is lack of oil...

""ran out of oil and seized up"

...surely bottom end could be fried ?


Jo

[mattferguson14]

yeah, I don't see how you can assume it was a cam and not the crank without tearing the whole thing apart. And unless you're going to do it yourself, the labor can add up to as much as buying a rebuilt engine or sourcing and pulling a used engine. Not to mention if you buy a rebuilt engine, most come with some sort of warranty. Some things to think about here..

[Otwobme]

yeah, I don't see how you can assume it was a cam and not the crank without tearing the whole thing apart. And unless you're going to do it yourself, the labor can add up to as much as buying a rebuilt engine or sourcing and pulling a used engine. Not to mention if you buy a rebuilt engine, most come with some sort of warranty. Some things to think about here..

you are correct in thinking that it could be the crank. how ever the cam should go well before the crank. i have rebuilt a couple of these that have been ran low and or out of oil and it has been the same on all. i just had to rebuild the top end. one of the motors have 15k after the top end rebuild and its still going strong. you can buy a master rebuild kit for $500 plus what it would cost to machine the heads. even if you take it to a mechanic it should cost less then a motor swap.

[Mile High VX]

Is there an way to determine this?

Could you pull the plugs and the timing belt and see if the crank can be turned with a breaker bar?

[mattferguson14]

Is there an way to determine this?

Could you pull the plugs and the timing belt and see if the crank can be turned with a breaker bar?

Sounds feasible.. :thumbup:

[Otwobme]

Is there an way to determine this?

Could you pull the plugs and the timing belt and see if the crank can be turned with a breaker bar?

Yes.

[PK]

There is no way to be absolutely sure without pulling the motor out and checking the bottom end.
The camshaft or crankshaft may have seized at the time, but with the motor cold may still turn over. However the damage will have been done.
Jake may have been lucky, but most of the low oil failures on these engines seize #1 rod bearing.

PK

[ohiovx]

Just in my case. Yes the cams seized (actually the drive gear for the cams seized, locking the cams). But when I tore it apart the main & rod bearings (2 total) were just starting to show signs of starvation. I was able to have the crank polished & saved it. No way would I have wanted to put it together without polishing the crank & new bearings. BUT, the reason the engine (please don't call it a MOTOR) was using oil was the oil rings were all carboned up in the ring lands & just letting the oil go right past them & into the compression rings. So if you just rebuild the top end the same oil consumption will still be going on. I bored my block, new oversized pistons, drilled the extra holes in the new piston ring lands & put her back together with new heads. I was actually able to reuse the cam shafts. Like I said they didn't seize, just the intermediate gears.