Donkey70

Hello everyone. I’m new here but have read several post before about engine conversions and rebuilds of the 3.0 v6. My 95 just blew the head gasket on me and I just not sure should I spend the money to change the motor, change to a 3.4 or just sell it and find something else. The selling part I honestly hate the thought of. I’ve had the truck for 4-5 years and can’t stand it when it’s not running which thank god has happened very little. Engine wise other than the water pump last year this is first problem I’ve had. Thoughts anyone? Any idea of value of a daily driver with no dents or scratches with messed up motor? This has been my go to ride even over my 2009 2500 HD!!!!! This is making me sick! Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

fdp101452

Can you do the work yourself? Is there someone you trust to help or available to do a good job and knows what they are doing. I don't think you're gonna get much out of it the way it is. You're gonna find its worth more to you then anyone else pretty quick. If it were mine I wouldn't give it a second thought. I would fix it. Only you can know what it's worth to you. Im 67 yrs old and don't bend like I used to but if the gaskets went on my old 90 I would go at it. Might take me longer but it wouldn't ne for sale. Good luck whatever you do.

RJR

I'm with @fdp101452 . The truck is largely worthless in its current state.

As far as fixing the 3.0 vs swapping in a 3.4, look at it this way. The HG job on the 3.0 is a repair. Parts are readily available and the process is well documented and understood. A couple of weekends will get it done.

The 3.4 swap is a project. Probably several months unless you're really good, currently unemployed, and find all the right parts right away. Depending on your location, you may have to do extra paperwork to make the smog people happy.

If you use good parts and do a careful job on the HG replacement, you should be good for another 100,000 miles. The 3vze, while not glamorous, is a solid motor in all respects other than the original HG problem.