seeth001

Hi all,
I had bought a used 2003 Chevy Avalanche couple of months ago. It has around 225K miles on it. I tried turning it on this morning and the motor was making a loud thudding noise and it would shut off. Then i got it towed to the dealership and they said the motor is done. They quoted me almost 8k for getting a crate motor including motor. I def do not want to spend that much money. I have read a lot of conversations on the forums and still a little confused if 1) i should buy a crate motor and get it installed? The dealership said they would install whatever motor i bought. It would cost between $2000-$2500 for labor. They quoted $4200 on the GM engine. I could possibly get something cheaper online. If so, what is the best place to buy?
2) or just rebuild the motor i have?
Obviously I am looking for the cheapest and best option. I just don't want to spend $8 k on this truck. After reading on forums, i feel comfortable spending $3k-$4k. Please advice..
Thanks a lot!

tech2

i wouldn't rebuild the current motor...to much down time. 8g into a 2003 is more than what the truck is worth.
2003 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE 1500 5.3L V8 Long Block | RockAuto

Suburban Dude

The cheapest solution but one with some risk is to pull a used engine from a wrecker. For instance, if you have Pick and Pull nearby, you can take a trip to the yard, have the clerk run a search for replacement engines to match your Avalance. The clerk will give you a paper strip with all the trucks in the yard with matching engines. Then, you stroll through the yard and look for a truck with as low as possible mileage, and perhaps one that has taken a hit somewhere so that you might assume the truck is in the yard due to the collision and not a blown engine. You can either pull the engine yourself or else some yards have “Pullers” who will do or for a fee. The way to get started is join ROW52. ROW52 is a website that will show you all the vehicles you are interested in the Pick and Pull yards across America. Once the engine is pulled you need to get it to your mechanic and he could check that it is not seized and then would install it. The risk is, you don’t know the condition of the engine. This might be totally unacceptable to some people, but you where looking for the cheapest solution. If you want, tell us your zip code, or a neighboring zip code and I can run a ROW52 search for you.

SD

Suburban Dude

I just ran a search for Avalanches across the USA and Canada at Pick and Pulls and affiliated yards and there are currently 48 of them out there. Many are there for body damage. For instance, there is one in Lubbock, Texas that was obviously rolled. That engine would sell for $180 and a bit more for the accessories. Do you have the 5.3 or the 8.1 liter engine? The other solution is to find one at any other wrecker or get on EBay or other websites.

SD

seeth001

Thank you! Yes that might be an option. I live in Birmingham, AL. It is a 5.3L V8 engine.

Suburban Dude

Although ROW52 would not pick it up, you might try the Pull A Part in Birmingham. I hope they can run a check for you to see if the normal pickups have exactly the same engine. Good luck,

SD

seeth001

I was just looking at it. Thank you.
Also one thing that bothers me is finding a decent mechanic. That is the next search...

oilcanhenry

If you live in a state with AAA, they often will have AAA endorsed shops. Most of them will knock 10 percent off the labor if you are a member of AAA.