Is $3500 for a 6bolt w/14b install too much?

[vr4gasmtt]

There is a reputable shop in my area, well its about an hour away that I emailed. The guy said itd be $3500 for a 6bolt block w/ 14b turbo along with an extra 400-500$ for a high performance clutch ( I'm thinkin ACT2600)

"JDM 6 bolt sawp has been coming in at $3500 with ,T-belt, water pump, BS remove including motor. In this swap you keep the best of both 1st and 2nd gen motors.

1G 14b
2G O2 and EXhaust manaflod
1G 60mm TP"

What do you guys think? I'd rather much do everything myself, but I have school and work and I'm only 18. I don't know much about cars, I'm just wondering if thats ($3900-$4000) Is alot of money to spend? I don't even have that much money, but just curious.

My car has 180k miles on it. And lost power over time.

 

[95 gsx]

If you're dead set on spending that much money, let's analyze some costs:

Complete engine: $600 on ebay, that you could provide
So let's assume that $2900 from the original $3500 is for labor costs? Let's also assume that they would charge about $70/hour for labor, which comes out to roughly 41 hours to do the swap? It could be done, by one knowledgeable person, in 1/4 that time. Do you understand my reasoning? Try to get an itemized quote that lists what they charge for everything. In my honest opinion, it can be done for a lot less.

Edit, not sure after re-reading that this makes sense.
Get your own longblock and pay somebody else $1000 to put it in your car. It's that simple. And yes, I understand that this is a 6 bolt swap and a few parts have to be modified but it is in no way an advanced procedure.

 

[nightspeed87]

its a lot considering you could just go buy a whole 1g with a 6bolt for that price.
Id say you should find someone who can do the engine swap for you cheap and you just help them so you could learn and do it yourself next time. I thought pulling the engine would hard at first too but when I learned it actually is just a matter of disconnecting stuff and having the right tools and the cherry picker to pull it and thats it. Someone who never did it before with maybe a friends help could probably have it done within 3 hrs at the most, it took me and a friend 1 hr and a half exactly and it was my first time.

 

[Black 95 TSI]

seams like a lot of money to me , i looked at JDM 6 bolts for like 700-1000 but who knows what shape the motor is in I bought a used Stage 2 motor instead and had it in my car in 30 mins, but I am an Auto Tech so i do motor jobs and trans jobs everyday and i had a lift

 

[fourreGsixty3]

So why do you want to do a 6-bolt swap? Did yours go? or is it on the way out the door? And yes that is a lot of cash to spend, and if you don't like buying off eBAY like myself, then find a 1G guy that has a 6-bolt motor thats parting ouyt his car and get it off him for cheap. Also it isnot hard at all. I have pulled my motor twice now, and I just finished helping a buddy of mine pull his motor to swap over to a different shell, and its mad easy. Here is a quick generalized run through of what to do, and what you need:
Need: (this if you dont have access to a lift)
Cherry picker
Jack (hydrolic if have it)
2 jack stands
1 breaker bar
pliers
10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm sockets, and wrenchs (best to just have a whole set from 8mm-21mm)
oil catch pans

To Do:
Pull the hood off
drain the coolant, trans fluid, and oil
unhook the DP from the o2
un-plug all plugs that are attached to both the firewall and engine/tranny
undo fuel lines, and vac lines
pull the radiator, and fans, and take the intercooler off, and pipes, and intake pipe
jack the front end up and place the jack stand along the pinch weld in the front of the car to keep the tires off the ground
take the tires off, un bolt the tie rods, and A-arms
use the breaker bar to pop the axles out of the trans
unhook PS lines, and AC line (if you still have either)
take the battery out...pretty much, anything that you can pull out of the engine bay pull it to give you more room.
Hook a chain up to the pulling points on the engine (near PS pump, and intake mani.)
use the picker to lift the engine up to take weight off the motor mounts then undo the cross member under the tranny (2G) or under the engine (1G), take the bolts out of the front, and rear MMs, then un bolt the 2 side MMs, now push down on the tranny side, and have your friend that is jacking up the motor make sure the engine side is clearing the egine bay.
That should give you a good idea of what you have to do, and trust me the first time I did it it took 2hr, the second time it took 1hr, and this last time Im not sure, because we did a lot of other stuff as well, and all time was lost.

Dustin

 

[vr4gasmtt]

My whole reasoning for wanting a 6bolt is because isn't it stronger? Also it won't crankwalk.

On top of that the shop is pretty reputable with DSM's, in fact all they do is DSM stuff. From what everyone is saying I guess $3500 is a lot. I'm not really sure what 6bolt the shop is talking about, he said "JDM 6bolt" so I'm assuming its better than the 6bolts here in the US?

Also, I guess I might be taking this on my own, but how hard is it on a AWD car? I'm curious because I've read horror stories about AWD etc etc. I think it was about the tranny, but if I do do the swap, I'll be needing to replace the clutch also. So how hard is that for someone that has no experience?

I've been having a hard time thinking about whether or not I want to keep the car, everytime I look at it, I want to keep it, but when I'm driving it, it doesn't feel like it used to. I know its a boost leak, but theres more to it. I guess I forgot to post this in the beginning post, but the car is a 99 GSX w/ 180k miles on it. Everything is bone stock from the turbo to the clutch to the tranny. So I need to fix or replace something.

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.
James

 

[GreddyGst]

My whole reasoning for wanting a 6bolt is because isn't it stronger? Also it won't crankwalk.

On top of that the shop is pretty reputable with DSM's, in fact all they do is DSM stuff. From what everyone is saying I guess $3500 is a lot. I'm not really sure what 6bolt the shop is talking about, he said "JDM 6bolt" so I'm assuming its better than the 6bolts here in the US?

Also, I guess I might be taking this on my own, but how hard is it on a AWD car? I'm curious because I've read horror stories about AWD etc etc. I think it was about the tranny, but if I do do the swap, I'll be needing to replace the clutch also. So how hard is that for someone that has no experience?

I've been having a hard time thinking about whether or not I want to keep the car, everytime I look at it, I want to keep it, but when I'm driving it, it doesn't feel like it used to. I know its a boost leak, but theres more to it. I guess I forgot to post this in the beginning post, but the car is a 99 GSX w/ 180k miles on it. Everything is bone stock from the turbo to the clutch to the tranny. So I need to fix or replace something.

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it.
James

Do a compression test, is possible you have low compressions in one or all cylinders. That should help you determine whether you need to look for a 6bolt motor. Don't give into spending so much cash on a motor that you probably don't need yet. Is possible you have a really bad boost leak or a dying turbo and makes you believe is motor related. My car has about 120k miles and is a stock motor from 97' 7bolt with 450power so don't give in. Don't shed the cash yet and check what's wrong with the car first.

 

[HustlerTalon]

My buddy is selling his 97 gst with a 6bolt swap, 14b turbo, full 3" exhaust, TRE tranny with Quaife LSD & 2100lb ACT clutch with ACT flywheel for around $4000-4500 if I remember correctly.

All Im saying is that you would be better off buying a car that already has the swap on it so you wont have any headaches.

 

[vr4gasmtt]

Do a compression test, is possible you have low compressions in one or all cylinders. That should help you determine whether you need to look for a 6bolt motor. Don't give into spending so much cash on a motor that you probably don't need yet. Is possible you have a really bad boost leak or a dying turbo and makes you believe is motor related. My car has about 120k miles and is a stock motor from 97' 7bolt with 450power so don't give in. Don't shed the cash yet and check what's wrong with the car first.

I have done a compression test on the car, it came up 170, 130, 170, 130. I believe that is worn rings? I did the test twice when the car was fully warmed up. I was looking to replace the turbo, but I'm on a budget at the moment. I've been wanting to do a boost leak test, but I haven't had the time to buy the materials to make a boost leak tester.

My buddy is selling his 97 gst with a 6bolt swap, 14b turbo, full 3" exhaust, TRE tranny with Quaife LSD & 2100lb ACT clutch with ACT flywheel for around $4000-4500 if I remember correctly.

All Im saying is that you would be better off buying a car that already has the swap on it so you wont have any headaches.

Why is he selling for so low? Whats wrong with it? He could be asking for more.

 

[Splitpi]

I have done a compression test on the car, it came up 170, 130, 170, 130. I believe that is worn rings? I did the test twice when the car was fully warmed up. I was looking to replace the turbo, but I'm on a budget at the moment. I've been wanting to do a boost leak test, but I haven't had the time to buy the materials to make a boost leak tester.



Why is he selling for so low? Whats wrong with it? He could be asking for more.

Add a half cap or so of oil in cylinders 2 and 4 (130 psi) and see if the compressions raises. If it stays the same or roughly the same, then it is most likely your Head Gasket or a valve issue (intake or exhaust... a leak down test will figure that out).

If the compression raises with the oil, then its most likely the rings.

 

[vr4gasmtt]

Add a half cap or so of oil in cylinders 2 and 4 (130 psi) and see if the compressions raises. If it stays the same or roughly the same, then it is most likely your Head Gasket or a valve issue (intake or exhaust... a leak down test will figure that out).

If the compression raises with the oil, then its most likely the rings.

Headgasket? Wouldn't my car be overheating if it was my headgasket? I will try the oil test when I finally get a compression tester from my friend.

 

[vr4gasmtt]

Okay well, I don't think it can be a dying turbo, because, wouldn't my car be smoking? How do I check for shaft play? I already checked from the intake side but isn't there another place that I have to check for shaft play? The is no shaft play ont he intake side at all.

My BOV, which is a Greddy RS (recircalated) sounded really stock but loud everytime I let off the throttle at heavy load, but now it sounds like a HKS type sound when I let off the throttle, so what do you guys think that is?

 

[1990talon]

Also what shop was it?

 

[vr4gasmtt]

English Racing.

 

[timloomis]

Jdm=Usdm minus the US + a J.Thats about it.It has the cyclone intake,but that doesnt matter since your ecu cant control it.You could have a built 6 bolt for 3500 bucks too.A basic rebuild is only 500 or so anyway,so if you build it yourself you'd save a lot.