Sounds good... are you doing the work yourself?

Nah, I don't have the equipment or tools to do it. After studying the forums, there is more than enough info on how to do it though.... part of me wishes I had the tools. On the other hand, I'm about stir crazy (Havn't really left the house since the 'incident') and I'm anxious for it to be done quickly.

Also I don't really have the patience for this kind of work, I tend to get in a hurry..... this causes things to go wrong quickly, and then I'm kicking myself for having attempted it in the first place.

Through a great deal of luck, I found a mechanic through a friend of a friend who works at a Cadillac dealership and does work on the side as well. He'* going to do the swap for $500, although I'm going to go ahead and have him do some light work on the tranny, and then there will be costs for belts, plugs, wires, etc... I'm guessing the total bill from him will run around $700. He'* coming over tonight to pick up the motor, and then tomorrow I'll have the car towed to his place. Hopefully have it back Saturday or Sunday.

Hmm...you asked the question on what else needed to be done before installing, right?

With 50k-ish miles on the donor motor, there really isn't much to look at twice. I *would* inspect the rear main oil seal, since it will be much easier to replace now than later. Take a look at your exhaust manifolds. Are they cracked? If so, again now would be a good time to replace them or weld up the cracks. Perhaps changing out the water pump at this time, though probably not needed, will also save headaches later.

You didn't mention if this engine was complete. As in, all manifolds included. If so, I would recommend replacing the lower intake gaskets. You would have to replace them anyways if your motor came as an incomplete long block.

OH CRAP. I forgot to mention one thing....and it'* important....be VERY careful with that new engine as far as transportation is concerned. With as few miles as it has, I would not be surprised if it has alot of carbon buildup in the chambers. When jrs3800 and myself first installed my replacement engine, we could not get it to go one full revolution when hand-cranking it. Knowing that could have been a very bad thing, we tore apart the motor until we had the heads off...and found...loose carbon in one of the cylinders.

Thanks much for the tips - I'll pass 'em on to the mechanic. I really appreciate the help -

Matt

Actually in 94 the intake gaskets are probably not an issue. The carbon build up "we" (thanks Goose) found in Sandrocks motor was odd duckling and very odd to say the least. That one injector must have been bad and dumping fuel by the gallon.

Well, here'* the latest.

Engine is in, starts up fine. One small problem.

Oil pressure gauge (in dash) reads zero.

But.... when the engine starts, the lifters are noticebaly loud, then quiet down after about 30 secs and the motor sounds normal.

The mechanic has swapped oil pressure switches, same result.

Another data point: He says the oil pan is dented, and thinks that perhaps the oil pickup is damaged as well.

He'* going to put a mech. gauge on it and we'll go from there.

OK, the mechanical gauge inidcates normal pressure, so the car is on the way back to me, and my 3 week imprisonment comes to an end. I'll post final costs later tonight.

Now a question - the gauge was working before the last motor seized. We've tried 3 different oil pressure switches on the new motor (the one that came with it, the one from my old motor, and finally with a new one). No dice, the gauge stays at zero.

I don't like the thought of driving around without some sort of monitoring on oil pressure, if I have to I'll put a mechanical gauge in, but I like to keep my car as stock as possible.

Can anyone point me to an oil gauge troubleshooting post (94 SSE), or perhaps any tips on what to look at?

Thanks
Matt

Update - question moved to electrical section:

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...=852136#852136

Well, she'* back home in the garage now.

Final costs I incurred to swap a motor on a '94 SSE:

Tow: $75
Used Motor, 51K Miles: $500
Freight: $320 (Includes a $75 residential delivery fee)
Labor/Misc parts: $750 (Includes some transmission work)

Total: $1645.

And now it'* off to research my oil gage problem.

Thanks everyone .....!

Matt