Silverado Engine Replacement Labor Cost - Expensive?

The labor cost for engine replacement in the Silverado should be from $700 in small shops to $1500 or even more in bigger specialized repair shops. If you consider doing the job on your own, you should only give it a go if you are an experienced car mechanic Otherwise, this process is too complicated and easy to fail.

Engine swap highlights

• Commonreasons:more power, death of the original engine
• Average prices:$1,500 - $7,500
• Average waiting time:10 - 18 days
• Common problems:additional upgrades, higher costs, finding proper engine
• DIY mods:impossible, in this case
• Level of satisfaction:medium

The cost of engine replacement in the Silverado

Chevy Silverado has wonderful engines that offer big displacement, a lot of power, and a lot of miles to go. They are durable and high-quality. But any machine has its lifespan. Most Silverado engines are good to go for at least 250,000 miles, but after that, they may show some fatal problems that are too expensive to repair.

When it comes to the solution for such a problem, many mechanics will offer to replace the engine in the Silverado truck.

Here's what the price of such an event consists of:

• the price of the crate engine or used engine that you find for your Silverado ($500 to $5000 depending on the type, condition, mileage, age, etc.);
• the labor prices ($500 to $1500 or even more if you go to the Chevy dealership, for example);
• additional expenses - you may count at least $500 for some unpredictable expenses in the process of replacing the engine;
• new oil, belts, water pump, pulleys, coolant, etc. - all these will also cost you quite some money - up to $700, this is needed for used engines mostly.

Also, you may want to include transmission inspection and maybe even rebuild in the process of engine replacement. If your Silverado already has more than 250K miles on it, the transmission is likely in the last stages of its life and it also needs some attention.

It's hard to count the eventual price because it depends on so many factors. But I believe that the minimal cost of replacing the engine in your Silverado is about $1,300 if you just take the old engine from the scrapyard and have it installed by a mechanic in a small shop. But this is quite a risky choice, so I believe the optimal starting price is about $2,000 and more depending on the condition of your car and the engine you bought.

Available types of engines to buy for your Silverado

Now, if you decided to replace the engine in your Chevy truck, what kind of engine can you buy and how much is it going to cost you?

In most cases, the best thing you can come up with is to buy the same type of engine - the same displacement, power, and even code. It's easier for you because there is no need to legalize such engine replacement - you can just have it installed and drive your truck further.

If you decide to swap engines, which means installing an engine that has different displacement, power, and other specs from your original engine, this may take more time and money. The eventual procedure will depend on the state you are in, but in most states, it's not going to be that easy.

Anyway, you have several options when choosing the new engine for your Silverado:

• The new crate engine. These engines are manufactured by Chevy and sold in dealerships or on the official websites of the dealers. These engines come covered by a warranty and they have all kinds of other important advantages. But they are expensive - they may cost you $5K-20K depending on the model.
• The used engine from a scrapyard. Or you can find one from a private seller. Anyway, this is the riskiest way to buy a replacement engine. You never know what exactly you buy and the engine may be in the same condition as your old one. But the price starts at $500 or so.
• Used rebuilt engine. A good idea if you know who was rebuilding this engine and how well the work was completed. The price of a rebuilt engine for the Silverado may be around $1500-$2000 and more depending on the model.
• Crashed car from an auction. You may find a crashed Silverado with low mileage on it and buy it at a cheap price, take the engine, and then sell the remaining parts of the vehicle to some scrapyard. In such a way, you know the history records of the engine, and its mileage, and can even look at how it was maintained.

Also, you have another option - to repair your engine. You can avoid buying the expensive new or the risky old engine for your Silverado but find a mechanic who will want to rebuild the engine in your car. Of course, this may cost you a little more than buying an old used engine and installing it. But after a thorough rebuild with block honing, rod bearings replacement, and piston rings replacement, the block will be able to live another 200K miles.

When is it time to replace your engine in the Silverado?

There are several important signs that your engine needs replacement or rebuilding. For big and reliable Silverado engines, these signs are the following:

• extensive oil consumption - usually, piston rings and valve seals are worn after 200K miles and the oil consumption develops quickly after that;
• loss of power - this also means that some important parts of the engine are worn out, and the compression is not stable;
• long driving with technical problems - if you have been driving your Silverado with low oil level, high temperature in the engine, or with other issues, chances are the engine is dead now;
• stuck engine - very often, this will mean that the engine is more expensive to repair than to replace;
• broken timing belt or chain - whenever this happens, your pistons meet the valves and bend them which leads to very expensive head problems;
• the engine is over 400K miles and start showing signs of serious problems - repairing it at this point is not a good idea for your budget.

Whenever you have these issues in your vehicle, you better find a way to replace the engine. Of course, it very often will require more expenses on transmission rebuilding, new starter, alternator, belts, fluids, etc. But this is the only chance to let your marvelous Silverado drive 200,000 miles more without causing serious problems.

Signs that the engine replacement is a bad idea

Sometimes, your Silverado may hint that replacing the engine will only take some money out of your pocket and will not prolong the life of the truck.

Here are the signs of that:

• numerous other units are broken or require serious repairs, especially the transmission;
• the body of your truck is covered in rust or there are even corrosion holes on some parts;
• the truck has more than 500K miles on it - you never know what else can happen with it the next moment.

If something else is broken in the truck, you should have it inspected thoroughly before you agree to pay for an engine replacement. Otherwise, you can end up investing in the truck more than it actually costs. The residual value of old Silverados is not huge and it doesn't give you a lot of place for maneuver in terms of budget for repairs.

Also, sometimes, it's really cheaper and wiser to sell the old truck and buy the new one (or at least the one with much lower mileage on it). In the end, this may cost you less money and give you more miles to drive in your Silverado or any other truck of the kind you will find on the market.

Final thoughts

Replacing the engine in your Chevy Silverado truck is not that easy. This is a complex and pretty expensive task and the labor itself will cost you $500 to $1500, and we are not talking about the dealership, for this price range. Also, the engine itself will cost you some money and the situation with other parts and units remains unclear when you make your decision.

So, it may seem like a good solution, at first sight. But you should always weigh in all the pros and cons of replacing the engine in your Silverado so that you didn't spend thousands of dollars more than you are planning.