Just got some bad news from the mechanic. I have a rod knock and there is some water in my oil. So it's new engine time at a price of $3,000. That would be with an AEB engine; apparently that's not what I have right now. He has a newly machined block and head already. He just needs to assemble everything.

He says my car is in good shape otherwise. The suspension is in good shape and the interior is in good shape.

I am thinking an engine warranty of some sort is in order. Is that something I should expect out of the mechanic? How long should the warranty cover?

The other option is to get another car. I'd prefer to keep this one and save my money. But...this may be a terrible financial decision. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

You could probably get another B5 with 3k, seems pricey to me, personally.

 

Why not get a used motor and freshen it up? (new gaskets, seals, plastic pieces, etc) It'll cost less than a third of the price and it should still last the life of the car.

 

How much do you think that would cost, including installation? The peace of mind of having something warrantied really appeals to me.

 

im more concerned about this. what engine do you have? using the wrong engine can be done, but if you have a 2001 its way more work than its worth

 

The car is a 1999 1.8T. I guess the current engine is an ATW; not sure. I have never looked - the mechanic just said he has a rebuilt AEB lying around, which would be a different engine. He made it sound like it was simpler/more reliable but he wasn't pushing it as far superior or anything. Something about how my engine had a secondary air intake or something. Is that true?

Thanks for your input, gentlemen.

 

if you have a 99 it should be an aeb engine. look at the tab on cylinder head for the three letter code. ive never heard of a atw being in a 2000. if it is a atw, your car is probably a 2000. if your engine is an atw and you want to put the aeb in there, the only thing i can think of that would need to be swapped over is the vvt

 

Oh good. Thank you. So do you think it's a good idea? $3000 for fully rebuilt engine with new parts (as in bearings/lifters/etc.) installed. I'm going to insist on some sort of guarantee/warranty.

 

its not a terrible deal, but it isnt awesome. id have to have a list of all the brand new parts. if he gives you a one year warranty, that woulds sway me towards it. but like mentioned earlier, you could easily find a whole other car for $3000. rebuilding engines is usually only worth it if you want to upgrade the internals, are indepenantly wealthy, or are doing the work yourself

 

If it's a '99 then it's an AEB for sure but you mentioned what I assume is secondary air injection or SAI, which stater with the ATW, there are quite a few differences between the 2 motors. The biggest is the intake ports, which are bigger on an AEB. ATW also has SAI, which you physically can't add to the AEB because the head doesn't have the port for it. The majority of the sensors will be different too, along with some of the vacuum system. So realistically you'd be best off getting your ATW head rebuilt and put on the new AEB bottom end if you want a new motor., you'll never get it running 100% otherwise.

A good used motor on the other hand can be had for less than $700, plus another say 500 - 600 on top to freshen it up and you'll have a motor that will last a long time. I personally picked up a very clean ATW for $450 and it runs beautifully.