Purchased a cheap(ish) '91 Monte as a fun 4x4'er to fix up, despite it burning noticeable amounts of oil. Of course, nothing is ever as easy/simple as you think it's going to be. Currently we are considering getting an ATK reman, as it is significantly cheaper than having one rebuilt locally, but then the old saying, "You get what you pay for" comes to mind.

Reman is about $2100, tear out/install at our local shop is $1200. Rebuild locally would be $3-3300, plus the $1200 tear out/install. What I've read on ATK seems to be really back and forth; half the people saying theirs was great, and the other half saying theirs crapped out in 2 years or less. Anyone here have experience with putting one in a Monte specifically?

 

My guess the 3-3000 range depends on what is wrong and how much machining needs to be done. Do you have an ability to pull the engine out yourself? You can buy or rent an engine hoist if you do not have one. I'm sure it is going to be much less than $1200 you'd have to pay the shot to do it.

 

Yes, the shop gave us a range and said it depending on what needed to be done. They're a long-standing and reputable shop, the owners of which my husband has known professionally for years, so we trust them to do good work and not charge anything unnecessarily.

My husband is a former mechanic, but he moved up to management many years ago and at this point he doesn't want to take on the hassle of pulling and replacing the engine (besides the fact that he's got back & elbow issues). So, while I have the enthusiasm and would *love* to take the engine out myself, I don't have adequate mechanical knowledge to manage. So, paying a shop is unfortunately the only option.