So about two days ago I was just getting on the main road less than a mile from my house and all of a sudden I hear a very loud clunk and the truck started vibrating violently. When I pulled over I saw the oil leaking and realized I had just blown the engine. It seems to have thrown a rod which made a hole in the side of the block (see picture) and made a mess of the oil! I have a few questions that maybe you guys could help with.

Is this common because it only has 65k miles?
Is it best to find a used one or rebuilt? ( I plan on doing the work myself and I plan to keep it for a long time)
Depending on the question above, where is the best place to find an engine?
Lastly, is there anything particularly tricky about removing the engine from the H3?

Thanks, I really hope that I can get this done without too many issues!


Hole in the Block

 

No it is not common at any miles.

Stick with the same year I5 if you can find one and the swap will be easier. Used & rebuilt can both be a crap shoot, rebuilds are in short supply.

Good luck.

 

Wow, that was aired out quickly. the is pretty wild. I'd be interested to know what gave way first? Tear it down and do rebuild with a replacement block.

 

if you just got it take it back. let them sort it out or refund your money.

 

I just ordered a reman engine from Jasper engines, it was the last one they had in stock and it is supposed to arrive this upcoming Monday. When I removed the skid plate under the engine I found the part of the block that had broken along with remains of two broken screws that seem to be from the connecting rod (picture below). I have never seen this happen to a stock motor that has no form of forced induction, I wonder if there was maybe a defect in the metals?

 

what year h3 is it?

 

It is a 2009

 

Whoever went in forgot to properly torque the crankshaft main bearing cap bolts. Scrap the engine and start over, although the head should still be good. Just order a short block, and you will have to pay for the core charge, since yours is Fvcked.

 

I finally got the engine out and the new one in, hopefully I'll be done by this weekend!


Old engine coming out

Another hole that I had not seen before

The original hole

New engine in

 

Damn good job done man, hope all is doing fine at first start.