Is it cheaper to replace the engine or replace the rings due to heavy blue smoke from a 86 Ford Ranger?

Answer 1

It dependsok this is one of those "it depends" asnwers because "it depends"...There are some questions that you need to ask yourself before you can figure out the answer.

1. How good of a mechanic are you and do you like to take on MAJOR repair/rebuild automotive projects?2. If you can Honestly answer yes to both parts of question #1 then I would guess that you wouldn't have asked the original question....you'd already have weighed the pros and cons of taking on an EXTENSIVE INTRICATE and TIME CONSUMING as well as COSTLY project such as a ring and valve job.3. If you are like most people that do all of their own maintenance to your vehicle (oil changes replaceing shocks ,put in stereos ,replace an alternator starter or radiator, etc) then you might want to try it yourself. You'd probably be alright as long as you did everything properly and didn't try to save a dollar here and there and cutting too many corners only to ultimately cut your throat. Which brings us to #4.4.are you prepared to spend some money? Because even doing it yourself, ajob like that is going to cost you between $300 and as much as $1000 or maybe more. Of course that "all depends" too. Some things to consider : YOU WILL NEED SPECIALTY TOOLS. Some can be rented but even so you'd have to give the $$$ first and refunded later. You will also have to employ a machine shop to grind valves clean magnaflux and generally rebuild the cylinder heads as well, because why have your lower end rebuilt without rebuilding the top end too.... If you do either one without doing the other at the same time, more times than not you will be right back under the hood real soon fixing which ever one you thought "it'd be allright." Also asuuming there are alot of miles on the vehicle some otheer stuff you might want to consider doing would be things like replaceing the timing belt or chain and if it has a manual transmission you may want to take a peek at the clutch pressure plat and flywheel. If you've never hade to replace those babies before then this would be the perfect time to replace them --- they do wearout.

If you were to do all of the things that I just mentioned above you'd be looking at probably in the neighborhood of $1300. If you took your car to a shop and the guy doing the work was a personal friend it would cost my guess about $2000 -- most likely $2500 and he probably would let you know about the other things like the timing belt and clutch and etc. meaning he would inspect them and advise you if he felt you should bring it back to him within a month or two and he'd "be glad to fix those for you too." But that's because he is your friend. If you take the car to the local Ford dealership,You could count on AT LEAST $3000 MORE LIKE $3500 AND ALL THEY WILL DO IS WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THE WORK ORDER!!! They WILL NOT do anything above or beyond what is written on that contract that you sign!!

The easiest and most cost effective thing to do would be to look into an engine exchange shop and get a rebuilt short block for about $800 or I would recommend a long block for about $1200. A short block is just the engine block crank and camshafts pistons connecting rods and piston rings. And a long block is the same thing with the addition of the cylinder heads included. you give them your old engine and heads in rebuildable condition and they send you the rebuilt engine and heads and about $300 core money and you get about a 90 day warranty only good if you follow their specific instructions:)

So there you have it. It is a lot to think about. You may even want to consicer just donateing the truck to a charity and writing it off on your taxes and using the engine money to buy another used truck you may get lucky and find a sweet running truck for about $2000. Its all up to you.

because of time and cost i would change the motor. unless you are a nascar mechanic and can do that kind of job in a hurry.