Never had an engine replaced myself, so this may be incorrect, but I think the standard procedure is to transfer the accessories that were attached to the old engine directly to the new. It’s possible however that some of those accessories are faulty. Good idea to consult w/your mechanic so that the necessary common sense testing and inspection are done to avoid damaging the replacement engine by a faulty accessory.
I got the feeling that the term “dealer” was being used loosely and it was actually at a private shop.
Nope, not a private shop. Actual dealer.
First I’ll see if I can address your questions/comments.
I still don’t understand how you can drive a car if the alternator is not connected.
Did dealer fill up the cooling system and run a test(s)? - have no idea. Wasn’t told that and it’s not on the receipt.
Wasn’t losing much oil at all. Nowhere near a quart between gas fills. Initially when I started this thread there was nothing on the driveway. Eventually a few drops of oil started showing up on the driveway, but certainly not a puddle or a lot. Dealer told me I needed valve cover gaskets and oil control valve seals because there’s an oil leak that’s going down behind the engine somewhere but it’s not bad enough to leave oil on the ground (initially). Said they couldn’t get them from Mazda because they don’t sell them anymore so I got them online and they installed them. See the receipt I posted. That seemed to have fixed the leak because I didn’t see any oil on the ground anymore.
The car is now at the place where they will install another engine if needed. Spoke with couple guys from there today and they said they won’t just install another engine, they’ll remove mine (they said a lot and I THINK they said the engine would be removed. I’m gonna have to start recording these conversations since I can’t remember 9/10ths of what’s said) and check to see if the head gasket is really blown or warped and check everything to see if I really do need another engine, but … and I’m sure I’m getting this wrong so don’t yell at me - that if some part was warped? that they’d take it out and grind it or machine it and they talked about other stuff having to do with that. I remember something about taking the top half of a cover off. That they would check everything in the engine to make sure it’s all ok and not just put another engine in. And yes, it’s a 90 day warranty, but if they can’t fix the original what option do I have? I know very little about cars and when someone starts talking about seals and gaskets and timing belts, etc., my eyes glaze over. Which is why the dealer (and anyone else) can BS me about what’s wrong or how to fix something because I have no idea what to ask or look for or tests that should be done.
I found out they have a good reputation so I’m trusting them. They could have just said yeah, we’ll put another engine in, instead of saying - without me asking - no, we don’t do that, we’ll check the one that’s in the car to see if we can fix it first. So that made me feel like I wasn’t just being taken advantage of.
So just in case, what if they do say I need a valve grind? What do I say to that? Don’t grind it, put a new one in? What about needing new rings? What do I say to that?
This would be SO much easier if I knew someone who knew about cars that I could take with me.
I’ll ask about that if they say I need a new engine.
IMHO, that shop is doing the right thing. They are going to find out what is actually wrong with your current engine rather than just replace it with an engine from a junkyard.
I can’t comment without going back over the whole story again (45 comments later). They aren’t going to disect the old engine for free. So they pull it out and then start taking it apart, then what? I wouldn’t want to spend money on the old engine unless I intended to fix it. I’m not saying you can’t do a reasonable cursory evaluation quckly before pulling the engine, but removing heads, etc.? Fish or cut bait.
When I replaced my diesel engine, it just started knocking. I listened to it, my FIL listened to it, and it went to the dealer for a new engine. No pulling the engine to take it apart to find out exactly where the knock was coming from. They could do that on their own time not while I’m paying $100 per hour.
I don’t understand why they would pull the engine before checking the head gaskets. Maybe they said they would check the head gaskets before pulling the engine and you may not have heard it right or not remembered it right. Most of the checks would have to be done with the engine in place.
If the head gaskets are blown, there is a chance the head(s) could be warped. Many people believe that the head gets warped because of overheating but that is not true. Most cylinder heads are machined right after casting, assembled and then attached to the block. After running the engine, the head develops stresses as it “heat treats (seasons)” in place. The block and the head bolts hold the head in shape. Once the head bolts are removed, the head is free to change shape to relieve internal stresses.
This generally only happens once. Once seasoned, it does not change again. The warp that develops is usually only one or two 10,000th of an inch (0001" - 0002"). The head is placed on a lathe and the minimum amount of the head is shaved to make it flat again. It is not a big deal and doesn’t cost much, but it will make it harder for the head gasket to blow in the future. It will probably add a day to the repair time because it is usually sent out to a machine shop.
The top half of the cover would be the timing belt/chain cover to inspect the belt/chain.
If you had a burned valve, you would have known it because the engine would rub very rough. It might be possible for a valve to be at the very beginning of burning. Grinding an intake valve in this case is OK, but my experience that grinding exhaust valves is asking for trouble. The valve can just be replaced with a new one, they really don’t cost that much and the labor for replacement is less than for grinding. But I really don’t see you having an issue with this or needing new rings for that matter.
If you had been ignoring oil changes or using sub-standard oil or making it habit of running very low on oil or ran it with the red oil light on, then I could see where rings might be needed, but as long as you followed even the bare minimum maintenance schedule, the rings should be good for at least another 100k+ miles, maybe even 200k+.
It sounds like you got a good shop, I wish you the best of luck.
I don’t doubt your expertise, however I had head gaskets replaced on my diesel but only got maybe 50K out of it again. They had checked for cracks, planed it, etc. and of course new $10 head bolts. May be a special case and not usual for gassers.
As a foot note, when I finally gave up and sold the car to the mechanic (I won’t go into the details but he worked exclusively on diesels), he called me up and said he had put new head gaskets on (different engine now) and it still did the same cool hot cycle like a head gasket problem. He wanted to know if I knew what to do? Me? Why the heck did I sell it to him? The only thing I could tell him is what the transmission crook and also a diesel repair person told me, that the radiators were known to cause that problem. Never heard from him again until I got my parking ticket summons 6 months after I sold it. He wasn’t talking to me anymore. What did he expect for $200?
Just mentioned this as possibly to add to the general body of head gasket knowledge but confirmed my position to never open up a high mileage engine for repair. Dump it.
@bing, his engine only has 89K on it. At the Subaru forum I used to belong to before I got kicked off for daring to say anything bad about Subaru engineering, there were a lot of people who attested to the fact that they had to have the original head gaskets replaced at around 100k, but then went on for another 200k without blowing another set. They did no other work other than timing chain tensioners.
My Subaru is at 125k. 
That’s the key to finding a shop, someone you have a personal relationship with has used them also recommends their work. You can’t be expected an expert at auto repair, that’s the shop’s job. Yours is to ask friends, relatives, co-workers etc who they’d used & recommend, interview 2-3 from that list, get quotes and decide based on your objectives.
Some types of work are standard fare, and how much that’s going cost can usually be accurately estimated. Other types, not so much. The more the second type, the more budget risk you are taking on.
Whatever the case, whether they fix the old or put in the new, it’s getting done one way or the other.
And thanks again very much for your advice.
“someone you have a personal relationship with has used them also recommends their work.” I wish that were the case. Just found out randomly, not by being recommended by anyone.
If you end up deciding on replacing, and I hope you don’t, at least get a quote on a quality remanufactured engine. Be sure the reman is coming from a reputable company. Junkyard engines usually run about 75% of the cost of a reman and only have a 90 day warranty vs one year for a quality reman, some remans have even longer warranties, longer even than a new vehicle but they will cost a little more.
Installing a reman usually costs a little also because all the old external parts have to be installed. But, if that were my car, I would repair the engine if it really needed it.
Reminds me of the Pawn Stars episode where a guy with a junkyard-found Porsche engine in the bed of his pickup truck, brought it to the pawn shop, trying to sell the engine for something like $7,000. Rick seemed interested, but asked his car-expert Danny to drop by & evaluate. Danny: “it’s covered in rust, no way to know what’s going on inside”. Rick: Sorry, based on Danny’s evaluation, I can’t even make an offer. Seller: That’s guy is a terrible mechanic, doesn’t know what he’s talking about!! … lol
“The Count” was a monster movie host like Svengoolie.
Will ask about remanufactured tomorrow (today) when I call to find out what’s going on.
But can you explain what a remanufactured engine is? I’d assume it’s like a junkyard engine that’s been fixed - like vacuum cleaners and appliances. The same applies to car engines? I’m leery of remanufactured things, having had bad experiences with them - small appliances, etc. - so when you say remanufactured engine…
And how am I supposed to know if the company is reputable? Just get the name and google it?
I’d certainly want to get the better option. Maybe they already installed the engine. Will find out tomorrow/today.
If you remanufacture a vacuum cleaner, it would get a new bag, new cord, new brushes, commutator turned down, new belt, new pulley, new fan probably, new beater bar, new accessories if used, exterior cleaned and polished, and everything like switches tested and replaced. My mom had her Kirby sent back to the factory for reconditioning and it came back like brand new with a new box even. I talked her into letting me use the HVLP paint sprayer to paint my bike but I had to be super careful not to get any paint one her Kirby.
Glad that worked for your mom. The one -not a Kirby - that I bought reconditioned lasted just under 2 weeks.