Non-running '94 Suburban value?

[surfinsriguy]

There's a '94 Suburban for sale locally with coolant in the cylinders, was being driven then lots of white smoke and KAPUT! Does not start or drive, and dealer says not worth fixing. With all the work I've been doing on my '95 Suburban, I find myself interested in bringing this '94 back to life.

Vehicle has 128k miles and is in good shape. Is it worth taking this project on for $1000 or less?

What do used engines go for?

Thanks in advance...

[Sasquatch]

If you plan to keep it as daily driver that you can depend on then I would say it is worth the money. If you want sell it after you fix it then probably not worth your time. A cheap reman would run around $1800 for a 350. If you are lucky you may be able to rebuild that motor yourself for around $500. A salvage yard usually wants half the price of new or rebuilt and they don’t give a good warranty. Remember that your time has to be worth something.
Thats my two cents!
Good luck

[torque454]

I think he meant that it has a 6.5 in it since he posted on this forum, in the main catergory. A used 6.5 will probably run you another 1000-1500. To rebuild a 6.5 would cost atleast that much even doing it yourself, i looked it up once, there are about $1,000 in pistons alone. $125/each! Id buy it for that price and fix it. If its in mint condition, never ben wrecked, not rusty, etc you might be able to resell it for a good profit. My 96 is has a bluebook value of around 5500 and diesel burbs typically go for 5000 to 6000 on ebay.

[grancito]

It probably only needs head gaskets.

[surfinsriguy]

Good feedback guys. Thanks!

I'm hoping the scenario Grant laid out is more along the lines of what the repair would be, cracked heads and/or bad gaskets, and not a cracked block/new motor.

There's no way to tell whether its heads/gasket issue vs a block issue without getting down into the engine, yes?

[grancito]

Unlikely a cracked head. they only blow a little gas into the coolant. Head gasket lets coolant into the cylinder. So long as it did not hydraulic from the coolant in the cylinder, then it is an easy fix.

[surfinsriguy]

Hey Grant


What did you mean by "hydraulic?" In you last post...
So long as it did not hydraulic from the coolant in the cylinder, then it is an easy fix.

Thanks again for your help.

[torque454]

Hey Grant


What did you mean by "hydraulic?" In you last post...
So long as it did not hydraulic from the coolant in the cylinder, then it is an easy fix.

Thanks again for your help.

Hydro Lock.

Engine locks up due to liquid in the cylinders. Liquids, especially water, do not compress. Therefor when hydrolock occurs, something breaks. Rods bend, etc. Results = trashed engine.

[murd450]

and as long as you dident over heat it , even iit is cracked heads you can always buy new heads , if you have the money fix it even if it cost $4000 where can you find the same truck for that price ????:cool:

[grancito]

$4,000 sounds high for a sick truck of that year. I had a VW diesel hydraulic from a lung full of water and it did no damage, but it is a light engine, a big CAT engine here bent rods when it was cranked over full of water.

[torque454]

I *think* he mean $4,000 to fix it.

[grancito]

OK understand, could be much less.

[DieselFreak]

woooow... If only I could buy 6.5 (burb or not to burb) for around $1000 - even if its busted, even if it's in half-bad condition - I wouldn't even THINK about it. I would simply RUN to get my money :D
But this is Europe... *sigh*... Prices on UScars are ALOT higher.
Actually one could make quite a lucrative business out of buying a 6.5 like that, ship it here, get "OverHaul'ed", and then sold.

A 6.5 (burb or not) good running and in ok condition will most likely set me back 20 grand overhere PLUS taxes that might run to be as high as 9 or 10 grand on top of that.:eek:
Anybody want to set up a trading business *ggg* :D ??

More info: Just saw one for sale locally... It's a gasser '94 454 K2500 Burb with 250K km on it. Leather seats... $19.500 PLUS those darn taxes at $9.122 :eek:

[Chevylover]

Allan, did you receive my last email ?

A friend of mine is selling his 1998 4-door Tahoe.
177.000 kilometers
5,7l Vortec Gasser
Black with grey leather
4WD, A/C, and so on
He wants 9000 Euro, but if your good perhaps you can push him down to 8000 Euro.

What about that ?

Cu,
Sven

[DieselFreak]

Hey Sven,

Just saw the mail and replied :) Unfortunately - that's a gasser :-(

[CAdiesel]

I find 6.5 suburbans (just haven't looked for other trucks) every once and a while on craigslist and many of them have been in Cali their entire life and have zero rust (I just pulled the heads off mine and it was a snap). Anyway my neighbor looks at cars, buys them and arranges shipping for a customer in Denmark regularly. He also ships nation wide. If anyone is interested I can look into it.
-Mike