Autozone -Surefire engine

[Vin-Man]

Anyone know anything about these, have experience with them, or have one? Pro's? Con's?

Thanks.


SUREFIRE Engine

Unit Price: $874.99
Core Value*: $200.00
Part No.: DF42
Weight: 300.0 lbs.
Warranty: 3 YR
Availability: Online: Not Available
Store: Special Order
Note:

Hot run power tested up to 30 minutes. Single roller timing chain, brass freeze plugs. All blocks line honed. Block & heads 100% surfaced. cam bearings line bored to standard chrome or Moly rings. Complete installation gasket set. No valley pan gasket. *** Call 1-800-790-9094 for application verification and delivery time before ordering ***

[Davesbronco]

I have known a few people who have used Autozone Long Blocks before. a couple of them had trouble I know for sure. The company made good on the warranty, but you had to go through the trouble of pulling the engine a couple of times. From I have read, for a daily driver where reliability is paramount, this is probably not the engine for you. If you are building a show vehicle that will be seldom driven and just on and off the trailer, then yes it is an affordable way to go. Here again based the info I have read as I contemplated the same issue, I wouldn't want one of them. The main reason is because of the engine rebuilders. They do not adhere to as tight a quality standard as some of thhe other builders. One other major discovery I found was the importance of your core to them. They lose money if they cannot obtain a rebuildable core from you. So they go to any lengths necessary to build cores for resale. There have been engines torn down from manufacturers just like this that have had off the wall piston sizing found in them. Like one cylinder may be bored .040 over and even on the same bank another bored .020 over just so the core block they took in could be resold. It causes many of the failings that seem to be common to these types of bargain engines. I think alot of people make sale vehicle with these motors for that very fact. Drop it in get it running, and sell the vehicle to some poor soul. Nevertheless, I thought this option through and researched it as well, and couldn't beat the confidence found in building my own engine so that I knew what was in it. Just my $.02 worth. Good luck!

[Vin-Man]

Thanks for the info. My use would be minimal (5-6K miles a year) road and light of road (dirt roads to go hunting or camping).

[Apogee]

No first hand knowledge of the Autozone engines, but you could probably inquire with them and see who is providing them to Autozone and then speak with the rebuilder(s) in question.

I'm always skeptical about mass remanufactured engines but they do have attractive price tags. Also, nothing guarantees that a $4500 crate engine will last more than the first oil change either so you pay your money and you take your chances.

Just FYI, most warrantees don't cover installation and/or removal or labor to fix beyond a certain $/hr rate, however they do typically require "professional" installation of the new parts they provide. My roommate had such a situation and they only covered up to $35.00/hr shop rate when the going rate is more like $50-$60/hr. Read the fine print if you plan on using it.

[oldiron]

A friend of mine has two of these engines, one a 360 in a highboy and the other a 200 I6 in his '74 Bronco. The 200 runs like a champ with no issues whatsoever. The 360 however ran for 9 (nine) minutes then dropped a valve. Autozone warranty only covered labor costs up to $400.00 and required that it be done by a certified mechanic (400 didn't cover it all). After replacing the cylinder head and refiring it ran 20 minutes and dropped the same valve again, luckily this time it was running at idle and was shut down immediately so no real damage occured. Turned out to be a warped rocker shaft that was letting that valve drop.
In the end he wasn't out of pocket for a kings ransom but wishes he'd read the warranty a little closer. To Autozones credit they did go above and beyond to help out, they couldn't make up the difference on the warranty claim but they fixed him up with a truck load of other free stuff.
Greg
p.s. neither of these engines were hot tested or run previous to purchase.

[Vin-Man]

These aren't the confidence inspiring, glowing reports I had hoped for, but greatly appreciated.

I guess the old saying you get what you pay for comes to mind.

I'll have to think on this one.

I emailed auto zone and asked for a detailed anyalisis of the warranty attached with several questions. I await a response.

[Davesbronco]

My local machine shop can furnish the rebuild kit and do the machine work for about $900. That is with me doing the assembly on the engine. The valvetrain will be put together on the head and the freeze plugs and cam bearings in. The block is already flushed, brushed and preped for this price. It is basically just assemble it once picked up. For what you are getting it is not a bad price. If you have issues with assembling the motor, I would suggest some reading material with some of the best visual aids I have ever seen. The first book I read was from S.A. Design titled "How to Rebuild The Small Block Ford." The Part no. of the book is SA102. And the ISBN No. is 1-932494-04-9. This a great place to start for how to do it. I bought this copy at a local Barnes and Noble book store. So if you compare the price and knowing the quality you would personally require of yourself during assembly, Seems like a better deal rebuilding. Anyway, you may already be very engine saavy and know all about the rebuild process, but if not this book is a great tool to have if you want to give it a whirl.

[bmc69]

Speaking as an old engine rebuilder with 30 years of experience..do not go that route. Those cheap reman engines are a hodge-podge of parts..no attempt is made to make sure castings match, the heads are the same casting number, etc. because that would add a major cost to assembly-line remanning. Sweat shop rebuilding, we call it...

[jdub1233]

I'd call around to your local machine shops. Ask around and find out who has a good reputation in your area first. I think you'll be surprised at some prices you'll find. I was tempted on going that route but glad I didnt. just my 2 cents

[SteveL]

The couple people I know who bought those cheap reman. motors had issues with them. The various vendors honored their warranties but who wants to pull the motor out 3 times to get one that works. It's not much more to have a good shop rebuild yours. Then at least you know it's right.

[bronco italiano]

I personally know it is a bad idea. I restored my buddies bronco. He said the motor had less than 10k miles on it. I did a leak down and couln't figure out what the hell was wrong with the valves. Took it to a well respected machine shop and when they took it apart and showed me the inner parts I was in awe/disbelief. The cylinder head had 1 hardened seat and the others were the flame hardened type. They said the vlaves were all junk. I asked who makes a motor like this and he said "Probably Kragen or Autozone". I would not put trust in a poorly made motor no matter what the use. Do it right and you will be happy. Good Luck, BI

[Gummi Bear]

I don't trust Auto Zone to give me the right part off of the shelf, there's no way in hell I'd trust them to build an engine.

I put a Jasper engine in my Bronc, and it's been running like a champ for a few years. It's a good bit spendier, but they have an excellent reputation, a great warranty, and nationwide coverage should something happen. My warranty's long gone now, but it runs just as strong as the day I had it put in. Their warranty is contingent upon having a professional installer, there is a lesser warranty if you do it yourself.

www.jasperengines.com

[Mikey]

I had the same decision to make years ago on my 68 Cougar. What I did was buy the above recommended book, then bought a rebuildible core engine. I spent a year carefully rebuilding the core in the garage. When I was done, I swapped out the old engine with my new engine.

I was able to enjoy my Cougar during the rebuild and I learned things that only experience can teach you! Would I do it again? You bet! In fact, I have 79 van that I will pull the engine and rebuild one day and swap it with the Bronco's engine...only thing is the Bronco's 302 is fine right now.

Now....if this isn't your bag, the only way I'd go is a Ford Racing crate engine. Ya can't beat the quality and price for a new engine! Since I never bought a crate, anyone out there comment on that idea? My 86 Capri has over 268,000 miles and may one day need a transplant.

At the time I rebuilt my engine, I was an average mechanic and very carefully followed the books details. I learned stuff that serves me to this day in ways you wouldn't think. Wouldn't trade an opportunity to learn something new.

Good luck with your decision!
Mikey

[Mikey]

Oh....as to Autozone, if it ain't new name brand or something like oil, I would rather order a part via snail mail than use a rebuilt part from them. My 86 Capri needed a new smog pump due to siezed bearing and Autozone was the only open shop. Had to go that route as I was moving from Arkansas to Kommiefornia and was stranded in Needles, AZ. Hotel was expensive so had to go that route.

Anyway, that pump made noise right away and continued to get louder over the next few months. So, out it went. Cruised to Autozone for my warranty, got a new one. This one siezed in a month. Went back again. While installing it, I only needed to install one last bolt...a tiny one that holds the elbow on. The bolt slipped all the way in. The morons had sand blasted the fine threads out of the housing. Out it came again. They had four units left and only one had good threads! So far, this one is working fine 2 years later.

When this one fails, will I go for a warranty return with Autozone? Not a chance in heck! I'll go to the new NAPA. Before they were around I would have bought a used one off eBay, slapped it on, and tore the Autozone one apart to get the bearing number and see if I could get a high quality double-sealed bearing. In Arkansas, I would have bought a new eliminator kit.

[elkarcher]

Call checkers if you have one and ask them to get a quote from Global engines in Wa state. They are the best I have used and the warrenty is awesome. Tim