w1151228

iTrader: (1)

Here's my situation.
I got an LS3 long block out of a 2008 Corvette with 23k on it. The owner put a supercharger on it at 17k and ran it at 8psi or so I was told. The motor came from back east and I only had plans of putting a cam in it and calling it a day. Well I had the motor sent to a local machine shop so they could look it over to make sure everything was good to go before the cam swap. They pulled the motor apart to find that two of the pistons were cracked under the oil ring and told me that they motor had been ran a little harder that I was told. Other than the pistons being cracked they said everything else looks good, block needs to be honed slightly and two pistons.

They charged me $900 to pull the motor apart and inspect it which comes out to 12 man hours. I have no idea how long something like that takes but it seems a little high to me. The second part of the question is that the custom cam i got requires different pistons due to a valve clearance issue. They are telling me that for a new set of pistons and connecting rods I'm looking at $1700 plus another $2500 to put it all back into a long block. As I'm looking around I see piston/rod sets from sponcers like TSP for much less than $1700. Is It just me or is this shop trying to take advantage of me as they know I don't know much about motors and what is needed and not needed. Does 33 hours to build a motor to a long block seem a bit much? The guys who build the motors in the back are in their late 60's so I don't know if they are added time because these guys work slow or if it really takes that long. If anyone can please chime in that would be a huge help to me.

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

sheesh, for that money look into a rebuilt shortblock from a forum sponsor.

i'll sometimes throw a highball bid at customers i don't wanna work for. not saying that's whats going on here. maybe that's going shop rate in your area.

w1151228

iTrader: (1)

This is actually the mid level shop In my area in terms of hourly rate. On average how many hours does it take to build a long block with the heads already done? I know it will depend from job to job but what does "average" look like?

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

well, see, to me it sounds a bit different than a short block machine, prep and assembly

one way read your post is like they're just hanging new pistons and then bolting on finished heads.

another way to read it could be that they must finish the new rods and hang new pistons, rings, bearings full assembly etc… that would be closer inline with the number you gave

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

tearing a motor down takes some time. if they stand behind their work have them fix it.

sepsis

iTrader: (7)

Maybe buy the pistons and rods yourself, and have the shop do the rest for you?

That could be an option to cut the cost a bit.

spordee1

iTrader: (22)

Sell the cam, find a cam that will compliment the motor. I do not know a lot about mechanical work. Send the block out to be machined. Accept labor cost. The guy that sold the engine already knew the cost.