Q: Misfire, mechanic wants to replace whole cylinder

asked by on June 03, 2016

My truck has driven nicely for the last 120,000 miles or so, but now I'm getting misfires on cylinder 2. When I took it to the garage, they checked the spark plugs, and said the valves aren't sealing. Apparently, to repair this, they need to take apart the head, get the rings sent off for repair, and then replace the whole 2nd cylinder. Does that sound accurate? Should I get a second opinion before paying $2000, minimum, in repairs, not even counting parts?

I suggest getting a second opinion. I would get a quote to replace the entire engine with a remanufactured one. You will pay less in labor but more in parts. This way you will have a new motor, not a partly fixed motor with a new #2 cylinder. In my experience with issues like this, if one cylinder is failing it won’t be long before other cylinders start failing too. Choosing a remanufactured engine will more likely prevent additional long-term repairs.

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