my sick 01...

[xyoung347x]

My 01 spit a rod and know I'm in a big jam... I don't have big bucks to spend on a real shop...
Any suggestions my fellow L owners???

[L8 APEX]

There are a few choices I know of I am sure more guys will post up theirs.
Are you going to keep the L or fix and trade it off? Your future plans for the truck have a lot to do with the road to repair. How bad do you need the truck to make a living, get around etc?
You can redo it with stock parts which is cheap unless it blows again.. A few members may volunteer to help you do it yourself. But that can take forever if you know what I mean. You can let it set and save the money to do it right. If you put it back to stock you need to detune it or change the habit that blew it in the first place or it WILL happen again. You likely need another block along with rod and piston etc. Then there is a gasket set, head repair etc..

[xyoung347x]

There are a few choices I know of I am sure more guys will post up theirs.
Are you going to keep the L or fix and trade it off? Your future plans for the truck have a lot to do with the road to repair. How bad do you need the truck to make a living, get around etc?
You can redo it with stock parts which is cheap unless it blows again.. A few members may volunteer to help you do it yourself. But that can take forever if you know what I mean. You can let it set and save the money to do it right. If you put it back to stock you need to detune it or change the habit that blew it in the first place or it WILL happen again. You likely need another block along with rod and piston etc. Then there is a gasket set, head repair etc..
I definitly want to keep it because I love the truck... I'm a 21 year kid living on my own with a roomate... My folks already done way too much for me and I just can't ask for 5-10g to help fix it... As of right now its my only way of transportation... My money is extra tight but I really don't know how to get out of this...

[charlie]

If you can afford it . I find decent daily beaters all the time for less than a grand.

Charlie

[L8 APEX]

Sign up for a new credit card and charge it, pay for it 100 bucks a month forever. Or go ahead and get mom and pop to bail you out again. I have even seen some insurance companies cover engine damage. But that was on Corvettes which hydrolocked while driving in deep water. If you go back with stock stuff you need to change your habits or history will repeat itself.
How long can you bum rides before you have to make a decision? Another option is to tow it to a dealership and trade it in, once again financing the damage...
I don't see anyone offering to help you R&R it for free yet, maybe PoorSVTman will chime in.

[RUNVS]

Sorry to hear about your predicament. I'm constantly amazed by how many young adults (17-23) have found the means to own a modded Lightning as their sole mode of transportation. Lightnings don't exactly get the best gas mileage to begin with, and when modded, get worse mileage and are sometimes known to experience major engine failure.... as you well know.

There's no way I could have afforded something along the lines of a Lightning at 21 years old, and I made a pretty decent salary at that age. I was 41 when I bought my '01 Lightning and had to save up through the '99 and '00 model years to get one.

Even now, if I suffered a major engine failure, my truck would have to sit in the garage for a long time before I'd have the funds to repair the damage. The difference is mine is not a daily driver and I now have several back-up vehicles to drive if I need to.

Option 1: If you're dead set on keeping the Lightning, buy a cheap beater to get you around for the time being. Get a second job or start working a lot of overtime.... as much as your company will let you. Cut back on unnecessary expenses (dining out, dating, clubbing,...etc.) and start saving for a built motor.

Option 2: Sell the truck with the blown motor for whatever you can get for it. With any luck, you'll get enough to wash the title out and still have a little left over for a replacement vehicle. You can always buy another L after your economic situation has improved.

Option 3: Take out a line of credit with the financial intitution of your choice and pay the loan off over 4 or 5 years. $7K-$8K should be enough to get a basic built shortblock installed.

Best of luck to you!

[L8 APEX]

Here is mine setting for months waiting for the JDM long block to arrive $9400 for engine, and 1000 bucks for headers, 300 fuel pumps etc.. What was funny was three thousand miles later the JDM engine failed and sat another 5 months before I put it back to stock and sold it... I got the built motor back from JDM almost 8 months later. He charged me $3200 cash to fix my three month old engine... There are no guarantees no matter how much you spend.

[RUNVS]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
Was the JDM replacement motor warranteed?

[BigBobsL]

HALO has a couple of members with VERY low mile long blocks that could be dropped right in for minimal total expense. They both installed built motors in excellent running, low mile trucks and kept their original motors.

One of the motors is in Waco and sure owner would work with you on delivery. Whether a friend or Terry does the install, a good long block is the cheapest way to go.

As Terry merntioned, you probably need to de-tune a bit. Running on the ragged edge will take a toll and as you explain, you (and most others) can not afford expensive problems with their sole means of transport. I will ask Phil and Greg (both of HALO) to give drop you a note with what they would want for their long blocks or you can post an inquiry on our board.

[liteitup]

note dropped (pm sent)

Phil

[1stlightning]

Sorry to hear about the truck. I was in the same situation last year. I was able to find a complete motor, with the brain, on ebay. Fortunate for me, it was at a junk yard in Grand Prarie. I picked it up for 2,800.00 and it had 30k less miles on it. Then a friend of mine who works at Accura put it in for free. Took him a couple of months, but it had to be done on his spare time. You might see if you can hunt down a complete motor somewhere then see if someone can hook you up doing it on the side. Either way, good luck.

[PoorSvtman]

Pretty much all the posts here are good advice... I have built and installed my motor. All work was done by me minus machine work. Like terry says building a motor isnt something you can do in a weekend. It takes time. My build took me 8 months, 5 months didnt have a job tho. But last 3 months it was balls to the wall getting the last of the parts and the motor in. The gaskets alone will make you want to cry, they arent cheap. I do have an account at ford which helped me some. But once it was all together tex,myself and a friend droped my motor in, had it bolted up to the tranny and enigne mounts in 15-20mins or so. Took some jiggling and such. Then took me bout a week to reinstall all the wire connectors and such just working on it a few hours after work.

If you need any help or anything id be more than willing to help out. Not realy sure id build another built motor for someone just yet. This was my first modular motor build with all new parts, etc. Only have around 6k miles on mine and want to make sure mine lasts before i build one for someone else lol. I also wouldnt be able to warranty it or anything like that.

But either way id be willing to help out.....

[PoorSvtman]

Option 1: If you're dead set on keeping the Lightning, buy a cheap beater to get you around for the time being. Get a second job or start working a lot of overtime.... as much as your company will let you. Cut back on unnecessary expenses (dining out, dating, clubbing,...etc.) and start saving for a built motor.




Yea, my truck being down was part of the reason my 5year relationship ended... bad job with bad pay, then no job,then No truck, and when i got a job most if all money went to the truck. I had no beater to get around. Had to beg to use moms truck.. Which with all that made me one grouchy bastard and hard to be around...:throw:

And i just turned 23, had my L when i was 21.. Job i had payed well then went to crap and ended in no job...

[xyoung347x]

Thanks for all the input... I think I found a solution for the transportation part... Its the truck part I'm still having problems... I can work on it my own and knows what it takes to replace a mod motor especially a L... I replace a couple when working at ford helping a line tech out... Its been awhile since I did it so I know for sure I would need some supervision... Its the time and money thing is my only problem...