Reading this and interested since I have been dealing with the same issue....Although I am going through Divorce so opted to keep in the garage until a decision is made.....But can offer some advice as I did some reasearch on this in the past.....
So there is an options which I came across two years ago....he is a junkyard near Orange county....and he has over 20 LR 4's, etc...on site...and he performs engine rebuilds....at the time was offering a 15k engine and another 20k engine...that has timing issues, etc....
Costs were reasonable....Cost of rebuilt engine....new parts and timing chain and guides, injectors...etc...Essentially a rebuilt engine...$8k or so.... $1.5k to swap out the engines....He keeps your original...or you can negotiate a different fee for him to machine the old...if you think that the head, etc,, is still good and you prefer to keep your own?
He basically rebuilds and engine in the shop with the new replacement parts....New cooler...water pump, connections, injectors, guides...anyhow...he could explain all that he does...including a more hefty chain than the oem....as he indicated the oem was not strong enough for the engine...
****** it on the bench then when he has a client...performs the swap and then tests for 1 to 2 weeks.... Warranty for 1 year I believe???...
Anyhow, this was the best option I came across...Although still trying to decide if I'm going through with it...as I need to negotiate if I get the LR4 in the Divorce or not....
In your situation, I would likely consider this option ....$10k or so max to replace the engine with a rebuild and new replacement parts ensuring longer life of the engine....As opposed to considering a straight swap of a working engine but no upgrades....
So there is an options which I came across two years ago....he is a junkyard near Orange county....and he has over 20 LR 4's, etc...on site...and he performs engine rebuilds....at the time was offering a 15k engine and another 20k engine...that has timing issues, etc....
Costs were reasonable....Cost of rebuilt engine....new parts and timing chain and guides, injectors...etc...Essentially a rebuilt engine...$8k or so.... $1.5k to swap out the engines....He keeps your original...or you can negotiate a different fee for him to machine the old...if you think that the head, etc,, is still good and you prefer to keep your own?
He basically rebuilds and engine in the shop with the new replacement parts....New cooler...water pump, connections, injectors, guides...anyhow...he could explain all that he does...including a more hefty chain than the oem....as he indicated the oem was not strong enough for the engine...
****** it on the bench then when he has a client...performs the swap and then tests for 1 to 2 weeks.... Warranty for 1 year I believe???...
Anyhow, this was the best option I came across...Although still trying to decide if I'm going through with it...as I need to negotiate if I get the LR4 in the Divorce or not....
In your situation, I would likely consider this option ....$10k or so max to replace the engine with a rebuild and new replacement parts ensuring longer life of the engine....As opposed to considering a straight swap of a working engine but no upgrades....