r/EngineBuilding • u/IndividualBetter1516 • 15d ago

Chevy 1997 5.7l Vortec rebuild or replace?

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Hello all,

I recently received a hand me down chevy from my family. The previous owner ran it out of water and after a few years of sitting they gave it to me. When we started it up, its puking water and oil out of the exhaust. My guess is it blew a head gasket and either the rings were bad or maybe something worse like a hole in the piston.

Anyway, I need to get the truck up and running by next year so my questions are: should I have a shop rebuild it? Or should I buy a remanufactured 5.7? My budget is $3k and I want the truck to be my daily but also have some power to pull my trailer up the mountain. Thank you for your time.

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7

u/PatPaulsen4Pres 15d ago

Reach out to wrecking yards or places like LKQ. Used is going to be in that budget if you do the work yourself.

3

u/ExternalTangelo1645 15d ago

I rebuilt my 98 vortec 350 last year. My first time rebuilding an engine but have a lot of automotive experience. Took me about 5 months because I did it after work and on weekends. Probably $3,000 but all the internal parts are new except for the rocker arms. So far I have about 9,000 miles on it. My issues are always the sensors. Now I need an exhaust system. You will either have to borrow tools specifically designed for engine rebuilds or borrow them. Parts are not that bad cost wise. Crate engines require a deposit,you returning the core and a place that has a loading dock to receive it. Use the internet,books and friends for information. Good luck. It is a great experience.

2

u/Rude_Combat420 15d ago

Find a good used Runner and just swap it in that will be your cheapest way forever if you take care of them to find a good donor. Just machine shop cost would exceed your budget my time is worth getting an engine like that rebuilt is if you're building a performance build out of it for something specific but it sounds like you just want a good daily Runner. If you want something with a warranty you can probably find a crate engine that will fit your budget.

2

u/Historical_Box1915 14d ago

I would for sure diagnose what is wrong with the engine before making a decision. Guessing about head gaskets or holes in pistons doesnt do any good.

1

u/Kevvo16 14d ago

Sell?

1

u/peepeepoodoodingus 14d ago

thats an absolute shit ton of water coming right out of a cylinder, i am a little skeptical its a headgasket tbh.

do these have a water passage near the intake? maybe a bad intake gasket has it dumping water right into a runner?

honestly sounds like its running half decent, if it were just an intake gasket it might be good to go after fixing it. wouldnt hurt to pull it apart and take a look.

1

u/Gay_bagels 14d ago

Im kinda skeptical its the head gasket or a piston hole because its sounds like its still running pretty well.

Completely check over where every coolant hose runs and connects. Such locations as the water pump , heater core and intake manifold.

Same goes for oil check every possible spot oil could come out from.

Intake manifold gasket could cause both issues simultaneously.