Holy S.... that's a lot. $2k? I always feel mechanics are grossly overpaid. That's bull....
How many mechanics have you spoken to? Rates vary a lot... it's criminal.

Here's a short story.
I had some really nice nitrogen shocks put on a truck & then removed. I had to find someone to put them back on. They have auxiliary tanks, but it takes an extra 5 minutes per tank, if that (only 2 so 10). The selling company quoted 45 minutes to remove old shocks & install all 4 new ones (hardware was in place). So, I went to the referred Firestone down the road to get a quote.

$700! I told them they were full of it & could call the company who provided the lift & shocks. I explained how easy it was & they told me if it's so easy, I should do it myself. That guy came close to getting fired & then the manager kinda gave me more **** about it & I told him off.

A second mechanic quoted $198 + tax for the same work (2 hours total) which is double a fair rate, but acceptable. They finally told me they wouldn't do it last minute as it's a "liability."

Long story short, they all will feed you crap & all the quotes are BS. My neighbor helped me install the front shocks for free (it's a 2 person job) in about 30 min. I did the rear myself. So, back to the point; don't let them feed you any bull & try to get quotes. The more the better. It gives you negotiating room.



Sorry for the long story, but I think it'll give you perspective.

One thing to note. You're in Cali & I wish you would have said that earlier. Your emissions inspections (from what I've heard) are nuts. Be very careful what engine you put in there. They can flag you & not pass your inspection due to that alone as it will fail emissions. The Duramax engines that pass in H2s are documentation from the truck it was pulled from, along with tons of other info to present. Predator & Duraburb advertise that they have a work around for it. As for gas engines, I couldn't tell you. I don't know if a modified 6.0L will pass or not. I'm just not well read on emission standards for your State. We have no emissions testing here, luckily.

If anyone in a State w/ ridiculous emissions standards can chime in on this, that would be great.

 

I hope that they are not going to rip me off but it's impossible to know without a comparison price

Yes emissions are tough and the prices for everything are jacked up I guess due to higher cost of living ?!? Always amazed to see what a dollar can get elsewhere in the country.

Someone on this thread mentioned $3k for an Engine Rebuild would that be including or excluding parts?

Also based on the last H2 item I ordered (drivers door panel) there were only three left in the country it seems the parts are getting scarce I am thinking I should ask to keep the original engine too may need it one day!!

 

California & NYC are probably the two most expensive places to live.
It blows my mind what the cost of living is out there.
I worked with a guy just before Hurricane Katrina who ended up getting a job doing medical research in Chicago not too long after. He went from making about 35K to 40k a year by himself to making 50K with his wife making 50K as well & living in the same if not worse conditions there. Most big cities & certain areas of the country are just crazy. The dollar just doesn't stretch as far as it used to.

For the engine rebuild, I'd assume you could reuse most of everything. If a few parts need replacing, you might as well since it's a "pay me now or pay me later" type of situation. Far less labor if it's a rebuild than to bring it in for a new part in 2 months.

There's nothing wrong with an engine rebuild & is a great solution. Just do your homework (IE: read read read!) & get quotes. It won't hurt to speak to 3 or 4 more mechanics at least. You never know what you'll run into. You could get enough info about the situation from all 4 or 5 to make a better educated decision & sift through the BS.

As for the LQ4, that's a standard engine you can order as a crate, turnkey or what have you, stock or suped up. Nothing special about the power plant in the H2. Same w/ the 6.2L in mine & even the 6.6L Duramax. Door panels on the other hand are very hard to find! Hold onto any trim!


I'd find a website about rebuilding small block chevy engines & post a few questions. Explain your situation & see if they can offer any help & advice.

 

I would talk to another mechanic. These motors are good for 300,000 if taken care of. The tick could be the exhaust manifold or gasket. These are known for cracking exhaust manifolds and blowing gaskets. A GM motor ticking is not usually a sign of death. My wifes 5.3 Tahoe has ticked for 6 years and no problem running.

 

Yes, the ticking should not be terminal......

 

the ticking cAN USUALLY be traced to a broken exhaust manifold bolt. Any competent exhaust guy can fix that and the repair cost to repair and replace the bolt for 200 bucks. Dont change your engine.

 

Hey Dr. Drew the "Hummer Certified" mechanic at my dealer is telling me that it's $1,500+ of labor to pull the engine apart and find the issue and then I'm up for whatever parts needed - how do you get $200 for the labor do they not need to dismantle the engine to replace that bolt?

(yep, confessions of a complete Engine noob, I have no idea)

 

No a source of a ticking sound could be the exhaust manifold leaking due to the heads of the bolts snapping off. When the bolts stretch out and the heads snap off it allows exhaust to shoot out of the gap between the block and the exhaust manifold rather than flowing all the way through the exhaust system. The big problem is the sound comes from the front of the truck so people believe that it is engine related. The $200 quote is the labor to add new studs and remove the broken ones. The engine never comes out of the truck, it's a job any exhaust guy can do. My H2 has been ticking for at least 6 months now. I can clearly see the absence of a bolt head on the drivers side towards the cab. I'm not in any hurry to replace them, besides people claiming I have engine knock I don't see a downside.

 

Thanks for the clarification Dr. Drew I can look to see if that's a cause


The ticking seems to go away once the engine has been running for a little while which had originally led me to wonder if it was related to the oil pump; if it's the bolt/exhaust manifold does the ticking go away when it all warms up or does it remain?


Many thanks


--m3cruz

 

That leads me to believe that it is an exhaust manifold problem. When the engine heats up the metal expands and seals up the leak. I believe we have all had this problem. I wish you were closer, I would fix this for you.{FREE]