what would you consider better? its got 214,000 on it now and i need to get it back to running like new. Anybody done an engine rebuild or a used engine swap? Whats a good place to get one?

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1993 400e
Charlotte

Their is no reason the bottom end of a M119 V8 should be tired at 214k. Unless the po never changed the oil. Maybe, maybe, it will need a valve job. As far as a rebuild you would be better off getting a long block from the dealer. I doubt it will be under 10K. What makes you think your engine is shot? Did a mechanic do a compression and leakdown test?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Yeah, how about some diagnostics - like rate of oil consumption and compression or leakdown numbers.

Obviously there is some wear on an engine with 214K miles, but if the compression and/or leakdown numbers are decent and oil consumption is reasonable, the internals don't need any attention. At best if the compression/leakdown is okay, but oil consumption is high, it may just need some new valve guide seals, and at worst it might need the heads refreshed including new guides.

A proper rebuild is going to cost far more than the car will ever be worth and a used engine is just inheriting someone else's problems.

Duke

I agree. Never heard of an M119 needing wholesale replacement unless mistreated. If so, Metric offers a 400E 119.975 long block for $9800 US. Not shipped or installed. Figure a total bill would be in the range of $12-13K by the time you finished up.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

9800 bucks for a motor is insane. Id rather drop a 600 hp crate engine in it. I havnt done a comp test yet but to give you an idea, i changed the oil about 3 months ago. The oil light goes on, and i put a quart and a half in about 3 weeks later. Basically it takes about 1/2 a quart per week. There is also alot of stuff that shoots out of the exaust at full throttle. I ran 100 octane/93 mix and it seems to be running alot smoother. With this much oil being burned thogh i know there has to be a blown seal or gasket somewhere. I was just thinking would i be better off getting an engine with >100,000 miles on it out of a junkyard or changing all the gaskets and hoping it will run for another 100,000 miles. If i couldnt find a motor for 4-5,000 i would definately do a rebuild, or just run it till it dies and save the 10,000 for my other project

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1993 400e
Charlotte

Got to a mechanic and figure out what it is. Do you have the history on the car? If the oil was changed the engine is fine. Most likely a valve stem seal or something like that went bad. It wouldn't cost much to fix the problem.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Valve guides and seals would probably make you happy.

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2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

As suggested by previous posters you are flying blind. You need to do a leakdown test and listen for where the air is escaping. If it is not heard through the oil filler cap, then the compression loss (assuming there is a loss) is valve related and the bottom end of the engine is probably pretty good.

The oil light bothers me though. Do you mean the low level light, or the low oil pressure light? If it is just the low level light, then it is probably not worn out down below. These engines typically respond VERY well to a valve job including new valve stem seals.

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Diagnose before you act, hopefully your doctor does.

Good luck,

Better idea, I'll give you $1,000 for it in it's present state. Just offering.
Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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