1000.00 to rebuild engine?

[adam833]

got an 86 trx250r..bike has been fouling a bunch of plugs lately...brought my bike to the shop today, I was riding and it died abruptly, no noises or sounds..kick starter wouldnt kick anymore and was stuck...this plug was brand NEW 4 minutes earlier... Anyway, he said the crank went, pieces of piston all over the place and in my pipe...He said it would cost roughly 1000.00 with labor to rebuild the whole motor for me...Does this sound reasonable? I am not handy at all and cannot work on my bike. Dont know anything about engines, he is going to price a few bolt on kits like esr etc and get back to me in a few days with options for me. He said he wants to rebuild it for me and would beat anyones price. I mostly ride trails, no racing or anything... WHat do you think about the price so far, is it fair?
thanks
http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/ebargaincell/plug.jpg

[deathman53]

depends what it needs and how much it destoryed. A new crank, crank bearings, bore, piston and gaskets, plus the rebuild will run you around $600. So depending on what he seen in the motor, it could be very reasonable.

[adam833]

600 with labor or 600 on parts?

[deathman53]

well a crank is $250, bearings are ~$20 each, then seals, piston is ~$100, bore ~$50 and dismantle and reassemble will be ~$300.

[Aceman]

I'd say if you don't know how to do it, then it's very reasonable.:D

Seriously though, if he does a good job, takes the time to inspect everything, and replaces parts that need it, then $1000 is probably fair. See if he'll include jetting it with that price.

[Fordtrax]

Considering the price of the parts,coolant ,oil, and that im sure he is removing the motor from the frame too!
Id say 1000 bux is pretty fair.


I can do all the top end stuff myself but when it comes to splittin cases i usually farm it out!
The last time i had cases split and new crank installed i paid close to 350 bux just for that! and that was prolly 10 years ago !!!lol

I bet you could have shaved a few hundred off just bringing him the motor!

[87250rxrider]

i'd say thats a pretty reasonable price. but, thats why i build all my own engines. i just finished building my 2nd MX 250r from the ground up, including motor and fired it up for the first time today since i'm back from college for a few days. runs great, and cost me no money for labor, just time. hah.

[chillinsk8err]

just buy a new motor. u can probley find a motor all worked up.

[RichM1983]

I agree with Chillins.....it is cheaper to buy a motor from ebay. Ive seen Pro-X motors go for less than 1000 and you could put your blown up motor on there and get $200 for it probably. Thats the way Id go.

[wilkin250r]

$1000 isn't too bad.

Just the LABOR to tear it down and put it back together is going to run $300 minimum (it could run significantly higher, depending on how much time he takes inspecting internal components).

The BASIC parts for rebuilding will run about $150. This includes bearings, seals, and gaskets.

Okay, so right away we are looking at $450, and that's before we've even replaced the bad components. That's just tear down and reassembly.

$250 for a new crank brings you to $600.

Add $100 for a new piston, and $50 for a bore/hone, that brings you to $750.






Right now, you are looking at $750, and wondering if you're getting ripped off for the other $250. Remember, the price list above is just a bare minimum, and it's only a rough guess. A new crank might be $260, a piston might be $120, ect ect. And tax on top of them.

Plus, nothing like this EVER goes easily and smoothly. A siezed bolt that needs to be replaced, new shift fork, all these things are very real and very possible, and they add cost. These motors are 20 years old, nothing comes apart and goes back together perfectly. There is also an additional charge to take it in and out of the frame.


If you bothered to read the entire post, you'll see that $1000 is fairly reasonable. It's not a great price, but it certainly isn't a bad price.

Last time I sent a motor to a shop, it cost me $3000, and it RAN before I sent it in.

[TheFontMaster]

That seems like a fair price to me. I'm going to be paying about that to rebuild my engine. And that includes re sleeving the cylinder, the sleeve itself, top end kit, porting, machine work to the head so it fits the big bore, then re assembly of all of it.

[lostsheep]

I had a crank bearing cage come apart on my '86 TRX 250R about four years ago. I removed and installed the engine myself, and had a shop rebuild it. To make a long story short; top end, bottom end and transmission a rebuild including a clutch and clutch basket was over $1800. I felt it was worth it because of the overall condition of the rest of the quad.

[trx310R#24]

fair yes.. smart no! you can get a motor off of ebay for under $700 that runs great an keep your old one for parts or sell the good parts

[All250R]

if he buys another engine, most likely he's inheriting more maintenance items he'll need/want to pay for. Almost every engine you disassemble needs something.

[XXX -rider]

Originally posted by trx310R#24
fair yes.. smart no! you can get a motor off of ebay for under $700 that runs great ..
hmm,..pretty big assumption goin on here .. & not so smart IMO ..

I see your from NJ .. why tell us who is the builder & see if anyone here knows of him or has any coments about this builder ?

BTW I am in favor ( if he knows what he is doing ) of the complete rebuild ;)

[baldathoR]

Originally posted by wilkin250r

Last time I sent a motor to a shop, it cost me $3000, and it RAN before I sent it in.

Yeah, but I bet that thing SCREAMED when you got it back.

[86 Quad R]

a grand is a fair price for a complete rebuild if its done thorough. you can buy a running engine as mentioned but it's been my experience that nothing is for certain. the last three engines that i've split the cases on were no(2 on "turn key" bikes and 1 on a "bolt on en go") exception. every one of them needed something done to them. people will tell you anything to make a sale.

[peeping TOM]

Originally posted by trx310R#24
fair yes.. smart no! you can get a motor off of ebay for under $700 that runs great an keep your old one for parts or sell the good parts

very true. if u gonna stick with the 250r then u cant beat having spares ie u old motor.if u do get another motor ,then strip u old motor as much as u can remembering to label lots of parts and take photos ,then get a shop to split the cases .even though u aint good with spannners u,ll learn pretty quick.250r motors aint really complicated.

[All250R]

Generally speaking, the cost to rebuild an engine depends on a lot of factors. For one, the same engine could vary hundreds of dollars depending on how strict you are with wear items. An engine can run well on a bad crank, or with a couple gears showing heavy shift dog wear. Someone may not even know how to tell what is bad about the crank. I have yet to see a crank on ebay that listed all if any of the specs that makes it a "good crank" as advertised. Spins freely though! If the crank is deemed good, then the bill is smaller. Each gear costs maybe average of $70 a piece. 2nd is the notorious one. Some bearings at least almost always can stand to be replaced if they've been in the motor for a while. Some guys say, well it ran great until the countershaft bearing blew out... Then... do you replace the gears that the metal deformed the teeth on? Were the bearings an acceptable tolerance fit in those well used cases? It goes on and on.

My recommendation for anyone with enough money up front is to do it right the first time. If the builder is looking out for you, the motor should last a good while, particularly the bottom end and that should save money and down time over the long haul.

Once the motor is mechanically sound, the next chapter is performance mods and is an almost completely separate set of considerations and price tags. Maintenance first though - there's nothing more fun than hating your bike because the crank bearing went out not long after your builder pumped your compression up.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by baldathoR
Yeah, but I bet that thing SCREAMED when you got it back.

Heh. Yeah, it does.

To be honest, if I had to do it over again, I'd probably pick a different engine, smaller. This thing is so fast, I almost can't ride it anywhere but the sand.

You know how, if you ride at low RPMs for an extended period of time, your engine starts to bog, chug, and generally doesn't run until you open it up and let it clean out? I like to call that "pouting", like a spoiled child. If you don't run it the way it wants, it pouts.

My engine pouts if the overall average speed is less than 30mph. I can't ride trails, my engine just starts pouting. I need to run it in really wide open areas. So I find myself riding my Grizzly more and more around my house, and saving the 250r for the dunes.

[the dude]

Originally posted by All250R
if he buys another engine, most likely he's inheriting more maintenance items he'll need/want to pay for. Almost every engine you disassemble needs something.

The absolute BEST ADVICE posted!
I am dealing with the repercussions of buying a different motor instead of rebuilding mine... I figured 1k to buy a different, more hopped up, running engine is better than spending 1k rebuilding mine, but no it is not! after the 'new' engine lost the crank after 2 dune trips.. I am in the same place I was, just out twice the money... Rebuild what you have, and rebuild it right. you will be happiest in the long run for sure. 1k was what i was quoted here in AZ as well.

[peeping TOM]

id say its a hard choice,speaking from experience. ive had a shop not relieve the exhaust port , so obvious seize there. ive had a bolt come loose on the counter balance bearing ,not tightened and so trashing my stator, and both were after total rebuilds from so called experienced shops, and i know both shops have been in the business for atleast 25 years . so be wary

[knobbyboy]

Most of the stock ebay engines you see are 85-87 units, either ATC or TRX. You rarely see an 88/89 on there unless its a built up unit. Some of these look good. I personally have an 86 motor that the previous owner had fully rebuilt less than a year before I got it. I have receipts for $1660 in this motor, which included the complete bottom end plus a 295cc sleeve kit in the top end. I believe Neil does some real nice motors on a flat rate plus parts. If mine ever goes I'm taking it to him for sure.

[All250R]

Originally posted by peeping TOM
id say its a hard choice,speaking from experience. ive had a shop not relieve the exhaust port , so obvious seize there. ive had a bolt come loose on the counter balance bearing ,not tightened and so trashing my stator, and both were after total rebuilds from so called experienced shops, and i know both shops have been in the business for atleast 25 years . so be wary

The thing I don't like about some big shops is that the experience that originally built the business isn't guaranteed to hit your motor. I started my business not too long ago because I felt there was a need for better consistency from engine shops. It's a challenge to grow a big business and maintain top notch work as well. Running a business and engineering are two different disciplines. After a while you will want to hire employees and managers. Once that happens you're not necessarily getting the same product unless you ensure quality systems that can support the original engineering and craftsmanship.

Having said that, everyone makes mistakes. It's going to happen somewhere along the line at some interval. What separates the good from the bad is how often and how the mistake is handled and how painless its made for the customer.