Howdy folks!

I just picked up a 3500 12 passenger van as a rolling billboard for work, and to possibly haul my race car (car weights 2000 pounds, plus tools and stuff, all on a trailer) for next season. The body is in mostly good condition, both front and rear bumpers need replaced (I'll ask questions on that later), and the 5.7L motor is dead tired with 227,000 miles on it.

I took it to my mechanic, and just to bring it back to life will cost just over $2000, and it'll still be a 227k plus motor. That brings me to my first real question for ya'll...

To swap, or not to swap? And if swap, what motor?

I look forward to your ideas!

-Donovan

 

Rebuild yes....
Towing....my 2500 2002 is 5800 lbs total towing weight including what is in the van.
You should be more than fine......
If you don't have the trailer towing package....then you may not have the tranny cooler.

 

At that mileage, yeah might as well put a motor in. I would just put in the same motor it has now with low mileage and some sort of warranty. But then there is the transmission.. and every other system of that van will still have very high mileage on it.

Bottom line... is the cost worth it or not. What will the van be worth with a newer motor in it? That will answer your question. For what it will cost to rebuild this van mechanically it might be cheaper to just buy a lower mileage 3500 van.

 

I'm leaning on doing a swap for another 5.7. From what I'm seeing, I can get a warranty motor for about $2k, and a new trans for well under 2k. For the cost of the van that I paid for, and what repairs I'm going to do, that's still far below what the going rate for a very low mileage van in my area.

Is there a better alternative motor for my needs that I'm not thinking of or haven't considered?

 

Any different motor will cost you time in labor to make it work. So I would stick with the 5.7

If you are putting in a used motor, replace EVERY seal and gasket on that motor before it goes in. Do a tune up on it, new water pump, alternator, etc. Its much easier and cheaper to do on the stand rather than in the van 6 months from now.