LV675 To rebuild or not to rebuild, that is the question.

[Gordonfan24]

Neighbor (elderly man) ran his Aegis LV675 without water. It didn't "overheat" as in shutdown or lock up but when I went to put coolant in it, it comes out as fast as I can put it in. Looks to be where the head meets the block on both sides. I've never done a small engine, only V8's. On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most difficult, what would a rebuild of the LV675 be considered? Would it be worth it or should I just get him to re power the mower? Is it cost effective to do a rebuild? I have a machine shop readily available and all the tools necessary at my disposal. Just wondering and I'd appreciate some advice. Thanks, you all have been very helpful already.

 

[ILENGINE]

If done correctly it would be worth rebuilding. If charging labor, you could be in the range of $1000-1200 depending what parts you need to do the overhaul. Most likely the head gaskets are blown where the head meets the block. If ran very hot, chances are the heads are warped which with a machine shop you may be able to plane them off a little bit. There is only a .003 warpage tolerance, which isn't much.