2002 Sportage engine shot

Overheated, up to the H. I pulled over and it stalled and wouldn't restart. I smelled coolant.

I had it towed to a Kia dealer who said there was no coolant in the system and compression in #s 2 & 3 is shot.

Dealer says it needs an engine replacement, which will cost ~$2500. So I'm taking suggestions on how to proceed. Doing it myself isn't an option. I will go there tomorrow to find out the itemized charges (labor/engine cost) and if the replacement engine is a rebuilt or just from a boneyard.

Other than that problem, the Sportage is relatively solid and in good shape. I bought it less than a year ago for $2000 w/ 84K on it. It has 90k now. I know sinking $2500 into gives me a vehicle worth less than that, but I'm on a low budget.

Thanks for any suggestions.

For $2500, you could buy another Sporty. I think you are better off looking for a bone yard engine. You can also check eBay Motors, but look for a regional seller to keep your freight cost down. There's an outfit in San Francisco that says they sell low-mileage engines pulled from Japanese Sporties. But that might be an expensive freight bill to the east coast. And that's assuming they actually have a Sportage engine. My vote is for the bone yard.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

Here's the link to the low mileage engine place.

And... they have free domestic shipping in the continental US.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, Peabody.

You may also get away with a top end rebuild, new head gasket, cylinder head skimmed and pressure testing should come in around $600-$750 with investigation as to why it over heated in the first place.

Try a reputable independent garage, not a main stealer.

True. If he's lucky, it was just a few valves failing. If it's the piston rings, then there's a bit more involved. On that note, I was looking into the cost of replacing the cams on my engine and found it was far cheaper to get a rebuilt head complete vs the cost of replacing parts. Whooda thunk it?!? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

Given the symptoms described,I'd say failed viscous fan or thermostat caused it to overheat rather than mechanical failure, blowing the head gasket, causing loss of compression on 2 or more cylinders. Start with basics oil/coolant contamination, and a compression test.