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I ended up buying a 6.0 today, from a wrecking yard that was pretty close. Picked it up and the exterior looked perfect. Spent $650 and they told me it is a rebuildable core.
Well, I ran it home and put it on the stand. And then I tried turning it by hand. It moved, then got stuck. Uh-oh... So I decided to remove the heads, and that's when I noticed that cylinder 7 and 8 were both free moving in the bore. Removed the oil pan, and there were chunks of rod everywhere. Boo. I removed 7 and 8 out of the bore, and removed the rods from the crank.
So here's the deal.. Cylinder 7 is nearly perfect. A hone and it would be fine. The issue cylinder is 8. It had a part of it's rod thrown into the side of the bore and has some other nicks and marks in the cylinder. I am pretty sure that the nicks and marks can be bored and honed and be fine. My question is about the chunk taken from the cylinder. It's down at the very bottom. What I noticed is that the top of the missing piece is about 1/8" below the sealing part of the bore. So the lower sealing ring doesn't go that low. Do you think that bit can be machined down, bored out and honed?
The crankshaft bearing surfaces of 7 and 8 are perfect, the only issue is that the crank had some of the bits and pieces nick the counterweights, but not too bad at all. And then I was actually able to spin the motor over by hand after I removed both of the problem pistons. It spins very smooth and all but cylinder 8 are beautiful and smooth still with crosshatching. Feeling a bit dumb for this purchase, so I am hoping to save what I can.
What do you guys think? Bore and reuse, or is my block trash?
This x2. They will either refund you or exchange it for another.
Originally Posted by CattleAc
x3. They should sure make it right, most reputable places wouldn't even question it.
Well, I called them back, and the salesman said he is going to find me a short block to replace my busted one! He has a friend with three motors that they are going to look at. He said it would also be a core, but it would be one that actually turns over and is rebuildable. My plan was to build up a fresh motor with new bearings and whatnot, which is why I went for a core in the first place. Super happy about this, makes me feel a whole lot better!
Just wanted to give an update: I was able to pick up my replacement short block today. They told me just to keep the first 6.0 for parts, which is pretty cool of them. It's a very sludgy motor, but I'm able to turn the engine by hand by rotating the balancer. Still has light crosshatching in the cylinders. And no broken rods this time! My next step is talking to the local machine shop and getting it cleaned up. I think I am going to end up putting in some flat top cylinders as opposed to 243/799 heads since I am rebuilding the engine, anyway.
Man I feel sorry for guys like you that have to pay that much for a rebuildable core. In my neck of the woods that kind of money gets you a complete 6.0 engine that you can hear run before you buy it. The local pull your own yard sells engines for $275 and they have 6.0's every few weeks. You can't hear them run but they will replace it if it's non running.
Glad they made it right for you.
Last edited by LLLosingit; Nov 9, 2020 at 10:40 PM.
Man I feel sorry for guys like you that have to pay that much for a rebuildable core. In my neck of the woods that kind of money gets you a complete 6.0 engine that you can hear run before you buy it.
Yeah, I read some of these prices for 6.0's...crazy! Up here if your patient, you can buy running 5.3/6.0 clapped out Suburbans for between $500- $1000. you can usually sell off enough parts to recoup your initial investment...
Man I feel sorry for guys like you that have to pay that much for a rebuildable core. In my neck of the woods that kind of money gets you a complete 6.0 engine that you can hear run before you buy it. The local pull your own yard sells engines for $275 and they have 6.0's every few weeks. You can't hear them run but they will replace it if it's non running.
Glad they made it right for you.
Originally Posted by CattleAc
Yeah, I read some of these prices for 6.0's...crazy! Up here if your patient, you can buy running 5.3/6.0 clapped out Suburbans for between $500- $1000. you can usually sell off enough parts to recoup your initial investment...
Yeah, buying a 6.0 for a somewhat okay price is just ridiculous here. In the last three months, I think the cheapest running 6.0 was $1200. And anything around that price is high mileage!
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Is My 6.0 Block Any Good? 
