Yea I think you should have done what Temjinx2 said. Should have gotten more for the money. Sure it would have cost a bit more, but it would have been better in the long run.

 

True, thats why I think I'm going to stick with the second shop I went to. Its nearly half the price and it has a 6 month warranty. This has been a nightmare, I appreciate the replies though.

 

Consider this for thought...

I had Stillen (which is not exactly a cheap shop when it comes to labor rates) install a fully blue printed and balanced, port and polished VQ35 (non-rev-up, but I was curious and asked at the time and they said rev-up's are the same price) with ACL race bearings throughout for about $7500 all inclusive (the engine itself, labor, and tax).

I figured I'd throw that out there so you have some sort of gauge. Stillen is a pretty reputable shop and they definitely know what they are doing.

 

That seems like a good price for a brand new performance turn key engine install with warranty from a very reputable shop with brand recognition. Are you in Socal? Did you use Stillen up in Orange County near the airport?

I had no idea they offered this sort of service. Does the new motor feel alot stronger than stock? Any hiccups/problems since?

 

Yes. Stillen by John Wayne Airport. This Stillen: https://www.stillen.com/ I live about 7 miles away from them.

I'll admit that it was a very good price that came together partially due to luck, and that you would be hard pressed to get that price. In the end, I got the motor at cost and was charged only 2/3 of the typical labor hours for an engine swap. Granted, I'm a pretty loyal customer and am in there almost every other month for something or another. I was in a bad spot of needing a new engine (my brother blew mine...you can find the thread if you search for it) and the parts specialist who I always speak to pulled some strings and helped me out.

I do still believe the price point is relevant because he shouldn't expect to pay anything more than that for a completely stock rebuild with no performance enhancements installed by a more "run of the mill" shop rather than a reputable shop with deep knowledge of the car.

Stillen offers anything from standard service like oil changes and other fluid flushes to full builds. Many times I have gone in and seen GT-R's and Ford GT's getting serious work done to them. My dad's friend had a Ford GT that was fully race prepped by Stillen. It was putting down 750rwhp.

The new engine runs absolutely fantastic. I thought some of it was placebo from the general joy of having my car back after 2 months, but even after a while, my feelings regarding the engine did not change. However, I did not just have a new engine put in. While the engine was being swapped, I took advantage of everything being taken apart and also had them add headers, a larger oil pan, a dedicated oil cooler, a motordyne isothermal plenum spacer and new pulleys (I already had lightweight pulleys on the car - but the set was incomplete). I ended up paying just 1 hour of labor extra. This obviously added to the cost but as none of them were required to get my engine back up and running, I did not include them in the price above.

So, while a bit of the power gains can be attributed to the other bolt on modifications I had installed, how smooth the engine runs can only be attributed to the engine build. The engine now runs like silk. Literally better than brand new. At 5000RPM there is no more vibration than there is at 2000RPM. Many times I have found myself driving down the freeway in 4th because I didn't notice (music was too loud and drowned out the engine). Never would I have made that oversight with the factory built engine. It's just a great testament to how nicely the new engine runs. Haven't had a single problem since and have put over 20K on the new engine.

I'm planning on going back in the next month or two for a tune to take advantage of everything that's been done (yes, that's right - I don't even have a tune and it runs this well!).

 

Sound test of my car since the rebuild if you're interested.

 

Sounds good. So does Stillen offer a standard crate engine type of package, or do they pull your existing motor and rebuild? If a rebuild, are they upgrading anything like CAMs, Pistons, etc ?

Did you also call the Infiniti Dealer in Tustin or Riverside to see what they would charge? I've often wondered what a new engine from Infiniti would cost. 6-7k?

 

I was quoted 12K for a new long block from OC Infiniti. I'm not sure whether that was with or without install but at that point, it didn't matter, I said thanks and started looking elsewhere.

In my case, part of the reason I scored such a good deal is because they had the engine already built (someone commissioned it and backed out), so they just swapped that in and took my old engine as a core.

I'm sure Stillen can do whatever you like in terms of camshafts, pistons, etc. But we're now at a point where I can't answer you effectively anymore - it's best to give them a call.

 

No problem Revo. I was just curious as I expect many others are as well since most of the first gen Gs on the road are now in the 100k+ mile club.

This was excellent information. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks everybody for the input again, I just picked up my car from the shop today. The whole thing total was about $4700.00. The motor has about 44K miles on it and it seems to be ok. A couple of issues I have noticed are just that it has a rough idle and the VDC and SLIP lights stay on. I'm going to take it back next week after the holiday when I'm off to have them check it out. I'm happy to have my car back.

 

Damn, that sounds good, wish I could have got that.

 

Sounds like your throttle body is bad.

 

Where are you getting it Installed at

 

I had it replaced at a local repair shop here in my town. A friend recommended it to me so I went there. The motor has a 6 month warranty on it and a 90 parts and labor from the shop. I hope it is something as simple as the throttle body(I've done some searching around here and it looks pretty easy to clean, if thats the issue) but if not I'll just keep driving it until next week when I take it back. I think I may have an exhaust leak too but thats no biggie, when my engine seized on me I blew a hole through the block on the side and back and threw a rod. But I remember when it happened I heard a huge boom then smoke but something weird happened with my exhaust so I'll need to check it out, I have a feeling that those guys don't know what they were doing when they put the exhaust back on. But I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again.

 

Well its been a week now since i've had it back again, idle is fine, vdc light and button working like it should and everything seems fine. Happy to have my G back!!!