260hp gm crate motor issues

[lilred67]

many of you know i bought a 260hp gm crate motor and put in my '67. the isuue with the rear main leaking started with only 400mi. on the motor. i took it my local dealer ( jerry's gm ) for repair. they installed a new rear main and oil pan gasket. all i was out was the cost of an oil change. i drove it home only to find the rear main and the front pan gasket was leaking. took it back to the dealer and they replaced the pan gasket with a one piece gasket. drove it home and the rear main was still leaking.i took it back to the dealer and they decided the crankshaft must have a bur on it or something. they told me they where going to replace the crankshaft in it. after pulling the engine to replace the crankshaft the 60yr.old heavy line mechanic working on it found the block was linebored in correctly putting more pressure on the starter side of the rear main and hardly any on the filter side of the main seal. to make a long story short, the installed a new crate engine in my truck, and didn't charge me a dime. that 60 yr. old mechanic did a very good job. i had to look pretty close to tell the engine had been swapped. i'm hoping this was an isolated issue, but time will tell. with gm having to eat cost like this under warranty because of faulty machine work, no wonder they are needing gov. bailouts. but i'm very happy they stood behind the warranty.. rusty

[68gmsee]

That's good to know... I have been thinking of getting a crate motor also from my local GM dealer.

forgot to ask: Did you install the motor, or was it a dealer install?

[Senator350]

brand new engine= brand new problems.

same old engine = same old problems.

I swear, just because something's new, people expect it to be perfect or something. I wouldn't critisize GM for their crate, especially not if it came with a warranty. After all, you could have supported your local economy and paid a qualified engine builder.

This is why it's fun being a carpenter... people think their new homes are going to be maintenance and repair free for like 10-20 years...

Nope... just more expensive to fix.

[msgross]

sorry to disagree but I would expect no issues from a new crate motor... or a new house for awhile..

Does the warranty cover this stuff if you install it yourself the first time?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by msgross

sorry to disagree but I would expect no issues from a new crate motor... or a new house for awhile..

Does the warranty cover this stuff if you install it yourself the first time?

I play on buying the 240 horse version within the next year or so. Lots of people have them on this board without issues. Hopefully this was an isolated incident.

From what I understand you get a 3yr 36K warranty if the motor is installed in a vehicle that had that motor in it originally. If you install it in a non stock application it's supposed to be 1 yr 12K (so technically, a 350 in a 67 is a non stock application). If you install it yourself I guess you're supposed to take it to your local dealer to verify it's installed correctly. Just what I've read/been told.

[lilred67]

i installed the engine myself. the dealer pulled it and installed the new one at no cost to me. the engine has a 3yr. 100k mile warranty from the original date of purchase. i still have 1 1/2 yrs. left on the new engine.the truck was originaly a six cylinder, it made no difference to them. they warranty'd the motor not the truck. rusty

[lilred67]

Originally Posted by Senator350

brand new engine= brand new problems.

same old engine = same old problems.

I swear, just because something's new, people expect it to be perfect or something. I wouldn't critisize GM for their crate, especially not if it came with a warranty. After all, you could have supported your local economy and paid a qualified engine builder.

This is why it's fun being a carpenter... people think their new homes are going to be maintenance and repair free for like 10-20 years...

Nope... just more expensive to fix.

i did support my local economy, i bought it at a local dealership!! i could and can build one myself. the machine work alone cost 1/2 of what i paid for the crate and you still have to buy all the parts to put in it and don't get a warranty.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by lilred67

i did support my local economy, i bought it at a local dealership!! i could and can build one myself. the machine work alone cost 1/2 of what i paid for the crate and you still have to buy all the parts to put in it and don't get a warranty.

Exactly... I've bought several cars and lots of parts from the local Chevy guys here. Know a few of them. Evidently they get a good chunk of the cost of the crate motor otherwise they wouldn't sell them....

[cdowns]

i think 60year old mechanics ROGK

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I put in hundreds of them of them when I had a shop & never had any problems. I'm running 2 of them now & they are fantastic. It must have been an isolated incident. GM wouldn't put them out if they had to eat very many like that.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i think 60year old mechanics ROGK

Yeah, man! I've known a few of them, including my old neighbor -God rest his soul. He also was a race car driver back in the 50's. Those guys have seen it all. Only thing they don't like (at least the ones I know) is all the new fangled electronics...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Yeah, man! I've known a few of them, including my old neighbor -God rest his soul. He also was a race car driver back in the 50's. Those guys have seen it all. Only thing they don't like (at least the ones I know) is all the new fangled electronics...

I'm young and I hate that crap too... it's not limited to age

[Wrenchbender Ret]

How about a 75 year old mechanic. They call mechanics "techs" now. But i still prefer a big hammer & cutting torch to a VOM.

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

Exactly... I've bought several cars and lots of parts from the local Chevy guys here. Know a few of them. Evidently they get a good chunk of the cost of the crate motor otherwise they wouldn't sell them....

Actually there is not a whole lot of mark up for dealers on crate motors. They are really not a big money maker even though they cost alot

[kgt]

i work at a gm dealer. on a 290hp 350 eng we make about 3-400 on the engine on the average i would say.....

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by kgt

i work at a gm dealer. on a 290hp 350 eng we make about 3-400 on the engine on the average i would say.....

I had figured at least 15-20 percent from the dealer. Not bad.

I realize that vendors may not get that much but my comment was geared towards a GM Chevy dealer 'cause that's who I would buy it from here. They're good folks in this area.

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

I had figured at least 15-20 percent from the dealer. Not bad.

I realize that vendors may not get that much but my comment was geared towards a GM Chevy dealer 'cause that's who I would buy it from here. They're good folks in this area.

We buy our crate motors from GM dealers for 10 % over the dealers actual cost (not a 20% or 25% discount) Thats less than an employee discount. $300 dollers is not alot of money considering the time it takes to handle one.

[Jtrux]

I've got the same motor with 1000 miles on the clock with no problems. I'm past the three year mark so i'm gonna up the cam a bit but nothing major.