I've got an '01 Z24 Cavalier with the 2.4L DOHC engine. It has had a ticking sound that sounded like a lifter for a couple of months now which has iritated me to death. Saturday I passed some cars and just kept the thing floored and ran it out for a couple miles. After I returned to normal speed the engine was quiet?!?!?! So I thought, well the lifter must have come unstuck as I did add some marvel mystery oil on my last oil change. I've been babying the car since it started ticking. When I got the car home the engine was idling smoother than it had been, but if you revved it out to say 3500 rpm it'd start knocking slightly in the bottom end. My heart sank as I knew that was the end for the little 2.4L, and just a short drive to town and back yesterday really verified this as now it will start knocking at an even lower RPM. So I am not going to drive it anymore and risk throwing a rod and damaging a repairable engine.

I've been looking online at replacement longblocks. So far the best deals I've found are a remanufactured engine with a 3yr. 50K mile warranty for $2k, and a salvaged engine with 33k miles on it for $1400. I have no idea of what it'd cost to get a shop to pull my motor and rebuild it, and I doubt that they'd warranty it. The car isn't in mint condition, but it is too nice to just junk. I just put a new set of Toyo tires on it, new front wheel bearings, and had the widows professionally tinted. It still looks pretty good, and everything works on the car, so I want to repair it. But I want to do so as economically as possible.

You guys got any suggestions?

i got a motor w/ 40k on it for $400
$1400 is retarded...they are trying to rape you
if you want economical, go with a junkyard motor.....just not the yard that told you 1400

1400 for a salvaged 2.4 is quite expensive, even at such low mileage. And any shop worth its salt darn well better warrant their work for at least SOME period of time. Look on car-part.com, theres likely salvage engines listed on there that will cost you considerably less than the $1400 you mentioned.

check shops around your area, i had the same thing happen to my 01 2.4.. cooked main bearings.. you should have no problems finding one under 500 with a 1 year warranty.. when you get your new one.. do the 2.3l oil pump conversion.. so you wont have the same problem again, or get your crank cross drilled

"Z24 Dustbunny"

Good to know that I can find a motor cheaper. What is this 2.3L oil pump conversion? Is it just a simple pump swap?

no its not simple........do a search and you'll find out

You can get a brand new motor from summit racing or GM for about $1700.



PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO