Hi all. No, I'm not a Cavalier owner, but my very young sister-in-law is. He mother bought here a very used 1997 Cavalier against my better judgement, the thing had 224K miles on it and had what sounded like BAD piston slap, very loud, but she bought it anyway.
Anywho, the engine blew. I'm try to find the best way to get a new (used of course) engine in the car. She's getting quotes of $2000+ to replace the engine with another used one (of course, lower miles), and was hoping you guys could assist in waht the best avenue is to get it fixed. Bottom line is her mom simply does not have that much money right now and is saying she can't pay the $2000+ until SEPTEMBER. So my wife and I are having to take her places,...so I'm involved now.
Any help or direction in bringing that price down would be appreciated...
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2004 Pontiac GTO, A4
http://www.myyellowgto.com
well, nobody likes you because you have an A4 and a GTO.....
im guessing she has a 2.4L engine? the slap was probably lifters. and a 2.4 engine is not cheap but your best bet would be to get a used engine from a junkyard and pick it yourself, if you arent prepared todo it yourself and have the knowledge i would not embark on attempting. the obd2 cars are a $(%*# until you know where everything is. doing it yourself is going to save the most money and you could look to walk away after about 1200 plus or minus a few hundred. if you are going to pay a shop todo it you will be looking at about 2k because every shop i know especially hates the 2.4 for a very good reason.
I thought it was the 2.2L, but not sure. It's the cheaper Cavalier, just a plane-jane 4 door. I'm at a loss because I'm not familiar with what engines were available. Isn't the 2.4L a derivitive of the Quad4?
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2004 Pontiac GTO, A4
http://www.myyellowgto.com
Actually, I'm going to go out on a limb and bet it has the 2.2 OHV motor. The timing chain tensioner is notorious for wearing out and the chain slaps the cover. The tapping sound it makes is often confused with piston slap.
Anyways, 2000 for a used engine isn't bad if your paying someone to do it. If you want to save some money, you can search for a used engine at
www.car-parts.com in your state. Of course you will need all the equipment to change the engine out yourself. If you have a engine hoist, remove the brake master cylinder and pull the engine and transmission all in one assembly. If you have 224K miles on the original transmission, it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and spend $300 on a transmission with ~50,000 miles.
Its really not all that hard. You should pick up a haynes manual though so you can have all the torque specs. If your still interested on swapping the engine I'll post more detailed instructions.
Another idea might be to watch the Parts Car section for Cavaliers/Sunfires. Give me more details about what engine/transmission is in the car. If its auto, state wether its a 3sp or 4sp.
If its the 2.4L it will say that right on the valve cover. The 2.2L doesn't tell you what engine it is(but its pretty obvious by the size of the head that its an OHV). The exhaust manifold is by the radiator on a 2.2 and on the 2.4 its by the firewall.
Zach wrote:Another idea might be to watch the Parts Car section for Cavaliers/Sunfires.
I'm referring the Parts Car secsion on ebay motors.
Zach beat me to
http://www.car-parts.com ! Great suggestions as I was going to post about that myself. I was looking at engines for my car (being nosy) and saw the 2.2's going for like $300-500 so if there is a salvage yard near your house you may want to try there first.
