6.5,no oil pressure, chuffing noise in the air box

[mjd_2]

Hi Guys,

After many years of tlc my 98 K2500 has left me. I got to work and heard this chuffing noise from under the hood,parking the truck.Then I saw the "check guages " light,no oil pressure...damn. I have no idea how far I drove it like that,could have been 7 miles.Most people think the the noise is a stuck valve,I think I'm looking at a rebuild. It's now waiting it's turn at a local engine shop, and the owner estimated $2500.
There's 150k on the engine, mostly highway miles and a little plowing. I'v used Mobil 1 since 12k miles.The spooky part is that the 4L80E was shifting hard into OD.
First question, what does a typical rebuild cost?Can we all pray the block is fine? 2nd the rest of the truck is in good shape so I will rebuild or long block the engine and I'm not sure what the best fix for the tranny is,but doing both is still cheaper than swapping for a new truck.So, what should I do to the engine, parts wise. for longevity? I doubt I'll have the money for upgrades,but I've read about pistons,glow plugs,injectors.etc. and I haven't found a post covering this question, just bits and pieces. I also need opinions on the tranny and overall cost of fixing engine and tranny.


Thanks,Mitch

[Robyn]

Howdy
My deepest sympathies for your loss.

First off the post mortem has to be completed to see why it died.
The "chuffing" is most likely due to lifters collapsing and messing up the valve action.
The why of the loss of oil pressure could be a broken or stripped oil pump drive or many more things.

Its impossible at this time to tell what you have left to work with.
Most definately the truck is worth fixing.
I recently did the engine on my 94 and did all the work myself except the hot tanking and magnafluxing.
I replaced the rings, bearings, lifters, timing chain, water pump, and all the soft parts as well as the core plugs.
I bolted on a new set of after market heads and replaced the injectors.

I also replaced the engine wiring harness and some of the sensors too, such as the crank sensor, coolant temp, temp gauge, oil pressure.

Cost was in the 2K range

Once its apart you can see if the block is good, then comes the crank, rods and pistons and the cam.
Depending on the length of time it ran without oil the condition can be very good to UMMMMM OH SH%^

Give us more details as they become available and we will all offer suggestions and help if we can.

Best to ya
Robyn

[mjd_2]

Robyn,

I just saw my bare block:-(. The oil pump broke a gear tooth and spiralled the shaft that drives it... It's the 2nd failure like that my engine builder has seen in 35 years! He says I couldn't have driven far because the bearings and piston were not melted, both were scuffed up. Anyway I gave him the ok to rebuild,new lifterrs,water pump,glow plugs,injectors maybe timing chain too.The crank has been sent out to another shop. I see you did sending units and wiring harness, I'll think about that. The turbo had a slow leak as did the oil cooler lines and the 4L80e was shifting hard into OD.My mechanic said get a tranny from GM, 5 yr/50k warranty. I can't seem to find a price for these online.Then I saw a thread mentioning a solenoid... What are your thoughts?

Mitch

[Robyn]

If you can manage it do it all while the sucker is apart.
Its much easier to do it all now and not have to pay for mutiple labor charges.
The wiring is a nasty sucker to replace on the engine as it lays under the manifold.
Get a fresh one as well as a new filter harness (Small wiring set that plugs into the pump at the back with a square plug)

Once the engine is out its all a snap to work on but once back in the truck it gets real tight real quick.

Rule number (1) if its at all questionable replace it and be worry free.

Good luck
Robyn

[mjd_2]

boil and flush block 50
grind crank 90
bore and hone cyl 120
install cam bearings30
check con rods 48
change pistons 48
v8 valve job 85
resize valve guides 40
plane heads 60
master overhaul kit 1095
8 injectors 672
8 glow plugs 165
oil and filter 37
oil pump shaft 16
oil sending unit 30
reman water pump 70
oil lines and fittings 400
1 antifreeze 15

total labor 1500
total parts 3066

grand total $4934.41 it runs like new... and i hope the tranny holds up:-)

Mitch