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Bought this XC at 140K with a bad engine. Had convinced myself that it was the stuck lifter problem that the 960's suffer from. Found out in short order that I was wrong. Did manage to rack up 20K before it finally went bad. Among what the PO did, the coolant went from a nice green color to an orange brown. And that was it.
Found a 138K engine that had not been opened up in any way, was quiet & clean inside. The guy that was to do the install for me developed some health issues & was not able to do the job. I went to his place for 8 days & did the job myself using his advice (& lift) where needed for doing this swap. I've done many engine swaps over the years, but pulling this AWD lump in the XC Was more than I wanted to tackle.
The replacement engine has given this Cross Country a new life. Has better & smoother acceleration and generally feels better than it ever did. While out was able to address all vacuum lines, PVC lines, intake gasket, RMS, ect... And anything needing attention. This took a couple of those days.
Was certainly worth the $1,000 spent (including engine) to get a new car. It's in the testing stage & about to get an alignment. Then ready to hand back over to the wife. She has a 120 mile round trip commute alone & it needs to be ready & reliable.
Don't junk those cars because of a major issue if you can keep from it. If the rest of the car is in decent shape it just may be worth the repair. Was for me. Plus knowing the right people is of great importance.
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