Long or Short Block? 1993 5sfe replacement.

[emanon085]

I recently blew the engine in my 93 Camry (slung a rod through the side of my engine block). I'm looking at just replacing the engine, however, I don't know if I need to get a Short Block or a Long Block engine. It's a 1993 Camry LE if that helps at all. I just don't know very much about cars and I'm fairly attached to this one so I would like to get it fixed.

[BMR]

Short block = everything below the head.

Long block = that, plus the cylinder head.

So if your cylinder head is OK, you can go with a short block and reuse your old head. Before you buy either, you might wanna take off the head and get it inspected by an automotive machine shop. They'll check it for cracks, warping, stuff that's hard to tell just by looking at it.

[emanon085]

Thanks for the info, like I said, I know next to nothing about this kind of stuff. Any idea about how much it would cost to get the head checked out?

[BMR]

If you remove it and take it in, I think it's about $50. But, I'm guessing you're going to want to take it to a mechanic to do the whole job. In that case, it might be about the same money to get a long block. Best thing to do would be to go to an auto repair shop and ask them what the costs would be either way.

[JohnGD]

I'd suggest checking with your local AERA Engine Rebuilders Association member shop. Some are duds, so check references:

http://www.aera.org/member-services/...machine-shops/

Many use a lower miles junkyard engine without problems, however it can be like a crapshoot. Most of the AERA only do machine shop work, but they can give you references to local repair shops that pull/install engines.

Long block:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_block

Short block:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_block