cheapest 3l

[svt2sho]

i currently have a 1998 svtc i was wondering if someone could give me an estimate of what the total cost would be after doing a 3l swap....... i found a mortor with 30k on it for $550 and i will be doing the swap myself.

 

[SVT SNOB]

If you look in the old threads there is a sticky that has break down of doing all yourself. Good luck with the project . Hope the motor is an 01+ 3L.

Aaron

 

[posthuman63t]

you can find the engine for cheaper.

What Kind of swap are you doing?
Are you just looking for the engine swap or additional performance Mods (headers, etc)
What are your goals?
What is your budget?

 

[MLuko]

i currently have a 1998 svtc i was wondering if someone could give me an estimate of what the total cost would be after doing a 3l swap....... i found a mortor with 30k on it for $550 and i will be doing the swap myself.

1800 for tranny
350 or so for a spec stage one
550 for the 3L
400 for a pair of headers (estimate)
350 for a decent tune
250 or so for misc. bolts and gaskets
Lots of hours of you own labor..

ads up to around $3,700 ish.. thats just a ball park guess tho..

 

[Smokeshow]

1800 for tranny? What is entailed in the $1800 tranny mod? Just curious...

 

[MLuko]

1800 for tranny? What is entailed in the $1800 tranny mod? Just curious...

LSD, roller bearing shift forks.. syncros... and a new shift tower that is un-breakable.. a mod thats well worth it IMHO.. i got a ride in one that had the tranny and oh man was it ever nice

 

[dairdevyld]

Where are you going to get a tranny like that for 1800? I wanna know cuz I was just gonna buy a BAT euro spec and throw lsd in it and that alone is 1600 and I know terry doesn't do all that for 1800 unless its your old tranny? I really would buy one if I could find a place for that price.

 

[posthuman63t]

1800 for tranny
350 or so for a spec stage one
550 for the 3L
400 for a pair of headers (estimate)
350 for a decent tune
250 or so for misc. bolts and gaskets
Lots of hours of you own labor..

ads up to around $3,700 ish.. thats just a ball park guess tho..

$292 for a spec stage 1 shipped from SVT Cuervo
$350 for a low mileage 3L
$200 for headers
$200 for a decent tune
>$200 for new bearings, bolts, gaskets

Tranny is well worth the money. Price fluctuates with what all you want done. HMS trans are the best you will find for this platform. $1800 is a bargain.

 

[chrisl311]

im debating the tranny if i do the 3l, its just a dd thats never raced or autox'd

 

[stilov]

i shattered my diff daily driver with the 2.5 as many others. Do the tranny while you're there...along with the rear main seal on the motor!!! It saves about 1000-1200 worth of labor if you have to do it later, plus with the LSD...the car drives better.

 

[MLuko]

$292 for a spec stage 1 shipped from SVT Cuervo
$350 for a low mileage 3L
$200 for headers
$200 for a decent tune
>$200 for new bearings, bolts, gaskets

Tranny is well worth the money. Price fluctuates with what all you want done. HMS trans are the best you will find for this platform. $1800 is a bargain.

How much for a tranny then?? I was just going off from what i heard.. i guess i heard wrong

 

[posthuman63t]

How much for a tranny then?? I was just going off from what i heard.. i guess i heard wrong

You have to contact Terry haines for an up-to-date price on HMS Trans. I remember the total cost of mine was around 1600-1700 using the Torsen Dif. From what I know, the Torsen is no longer available so the only other choice for a LSD is QUAIFE which costs about $300 more than the Torsen.

But it's easy for me to say its a must have, after all, I only had to pay $100 for my HMS Trans.

 

[Blackcoog]

$292 for a spec stage 1 shipped from SVT Cuervo
$350 for a low mileage 3L
$200 for headers
$200 for a decent tune
>$200 for new bearings, bolts, gaskets

Tranny is well worth the money. Price fluctuates with what all you want done. HMS trans are the best you will find for this platform. $1800 is a bargain.

Is that US dollars? Where do you get a tune for $200? Every dyno tune, which is what you should get, is going to cost you near $500.

You might be able to get a 3L for that cheap if you are lucky and don't care about milage. Even if you do get a 3L for $350 lots of places charge $100+ core charge so add that on. I'd say $500 is a better estimate for a low milage 3L.

I'm not trying to argue but the guy will be surprised if he goes into it thinking he will get everything that cheap. Better to start with an average price and be happy when you find out you can get it cheaper.

 

[dairdevyld]

Start high. Blackcoog has the right idea. I plan on spending 4500 total in the end. It's definitely not gonna be cut and dry. You still have to factor in gaskets, injectors(if you have an se not an svt), any wiring or sensors that need to be replaced, plus coolant, oil or those stupid odds and end bolts. I say start at like 3grand-1200 for tranny/lsd, used or however, then the rest for engine and miscellaneous. You also might want to consider new axles and motor mounts dependant on how many miles you have on your car.

P.S. Blackcoog, I'm gonna need an engine from you soon. Can't wait!!

 

[posthuman63t]

The price on the engine is accurate.

I found my 03' Taurus engine with 8K on it for $320. Picked it up myself and $320 is exactly what I paid. No core charges or anything else.

I say $350 for a low mileage engine because there are tons of them out there. Just because most people wind up paying close to $500 doesn't mean thats what this guy has to pay. There are cheaper ones out there, and there are several guys floating around that have gotten them as cheap as mine, if not cheaper.

On the tune, I apologize on that. I never should have made that comment based soley on "what I've heard". So don't take that charge to heart. I was told $100 an hr for dyno tuning by someone at one point in time, and was told that you need a couple hours. Of course every case is unique and you might need some more time.

Also, yea, i don't want to start any arguements, I'm just saying the average price that people pay, isn't really what you have to pay for something or to get something done. It is merely what people have been known to pay in the past. As time goes on, prices get cheaper (engines)

 

[bnoon]

I had my 3L done for less than 800 bucks. Skip the trans mods unless you beat on it or the stock trans has any existing problems. Gut the stock cats while the manifolds are out and skip the headers as well.

Hey, he said he wanted cheap!

 

[bradSVT]

I just had my car dyno tuned a couple months ago after my 3L swap. It was 600 including price of the Xcal2. I had called ALOT of places too and this was the most resonable price. If you can find a shop that has tuned our cars before it would probably not be as much. Most places said they needed to buy the software for the car and no one has done one before so they would be more expensive for a longer time on the dyno.

Make sure you add $100 at least for fluids.

My total was around 4200. I planned on around 3000. It is to good of a time to change all the other things on your car to miss out on.

 

[Bugzuki]

I got a 2003 3L with 3000 miles for 700 including core charge - would have been 550. We are kind of limited on what is available over here, the Washington Government is getting hard on Wrecking Yards. I had to pick my engine up in Portland - 3 hours away.

 

[muntus]

I didn't replace my alternator when it was easy to get to. 50 miles later, I regretted it.

I would definately replace it if you have easy access to it, and the extra $200.

p.s. It was a new alternator with 3500 miles on it, as well.