GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Thanks for adding me to the forum!
Just bought a 2003 Vibe (vin #8) attempted a tensioner replacement on a loose/stretched chain. Put it out of time and locked up the engine. SUCKS!
I found 2 engines that fit for a replacement were doing this weekend. One is from a 2004 Vibe with 141k miles for $399 and the other is an 05 Matrix with 136k miles for $399. The site for the engine says both are a exact fit. My question is should it be exact for the both engines? Part of me thinks just to get the 04 Vibe because it should surely be the same just wasnt sure if the Matrix may have some things slighly diff with the same engine.

Thanks!

h0ckeyplayer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 9:50 am Thanks for adding me to the forum!

From my perspective its more like, Thanks for joining us! welcome to genvibe


www.car-part.com is an online tool to look for parts at salvage yards, and they use one of the industry standard references for interchangeability. A search there for a base 2003 Vibe engine turns up lots of Vibes and Matrixes, from 03 08, so you should be good with either. $400 is a good price. Hopefully you'll get at least a token warranty, to make sure you don't buy a dead engine.

i was a little upset with how the call went with the salvage yard. the guy i talked to when i stopped in earlier showed me both cars on the computer and said they both fit. When i called to verify my vin for the engine i asked about the two. the guy just said it just depends which one they pull. Kind of annoying but as long as it looks okay and crank spins i'll be happy for the price.

Thanks!

website says Engines are guaranteed against knocking and smoking but at the end it says they charge a 25% restocking fee. I need to talk to them about that cuz if me and 2 guys waste a day putting an engine in and it knocks that should be on them but idk, part of me thinks they would still was like $100 to return.

h0ckeyplayer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:46 pm website says Engines are guaranteed against knocking and smoking but at the end it says they charge a 25% restocking fee. I need to talk to them about that cuz if me and 2 guys waste a day putting an engine in and it knocks that should be on them but idk, part of me thinks they would still was like $100 to return.

I would say that if they guarantee it against knocking or smoking, and it does that, the restocking fee does not apply.

Bookworm wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2019 12:25 am

h0ckeyplayer wrote: ↑Tue Sep 24, 2019 2:46 pm website says Engines are guaranteed against knocking and smoking but at the end it says they charge a 25% restocking fee. I need to talk to them about that cuz if me and 2 guys waste a day putting an engine in and it knocks that should be on them but idk, part of me thinks they would still was like $100 to return.

I would say that if they guarantee it against knocking or smoking, and it does that, the restocking fee does not apply.

agreed.