Hey everyone,

I've got an ef 6cyl fairmont ghia and i'm faced with a decision at the moment, should i replace my blown head gasket or just throw in a low k engine? At the same i'm planning on converting to 5 speed as well as possibly throwing a big cam in!

So, my questions being thus...

Is there much more work involved to do an engine swap compared to a head gasket replacement noting that the bellhousing etc will need to be removed and replaced too.

I know that my head may be warped and need replacing too, how costly are reco heads vs low k engines?

Money wise, being all professionally done, which would be more costly?

I'm just weighing everything up at the moment and trying to get a good idea about what the best route of action would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, i'm faced with a lot of decisions!

Cheers fellas,
Rob

800 for a AU motor with modded sump all ready to drop in. too easy

or

buy one unmodified for 500 and get someone to weld it (alloy)

you dont need a new head if the old one is warped. Just take it to an engine reconditioner and they will reface it for $50-60. Even if its not warped you should do it anyway.

You only need to look at getting a new head when yours is cracked or corroded.

i went throught this ... a couple of weeks ago. ive decided to put a whole new engine in. im gonna get a recod one with cam headwork ect or maybe a v8 if i can get one with looms trans ect for an ok price.
but anyway ur looking at $900 installed 2nd hand motor from wreckers (prob not low klm) $2000 for a reconditioned engine installed and for the head gasget ect ur looking around $1000 depending if anything else is stuffed. or u could stuff around trying to put an low klm au engine in which will prob and up ~ 1200-1500

my 2 cents ... btw im not 100% sure on the au's, correct me if im wrong

ben

to get a mechanic to do it they'd be fairly close price wise,,if you can do it yourself just recohead would be the way to go..

Oh ok! Thanks for that stockstandard! I didnt realise that warping could be machined off that easily.

old_mate, are there any major differences with au's to ef's other than the sump conflicting with the k frame and needing modding? T know they both run coil packs, but will everything else bolt up and plug in? Looms, AC compressor, alternator etc etc etc?