Engine Rebuilding

mxysxy · Post by **mxysxy** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:10 pm

I always heard about the term â€œrebuilding the engineâ€

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:29 pm

Engine rebuild is a very general term, it basically cover everything inside the engine & other bits & pieces around it.

So i think what you doing is a major service, not engine rebuild, as most people use engine rebuild when they completely pull the engine apart, & replace major parts like cam, piston....etc

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:30 pm

There's much more to it than that my good man.
Engine out - broken down, crank bearing shells, crank machine if need be, piston rings, hone the cylinders, head services including valve guides and decking, new cam belt, complete gasket kit, and the list goes on and on depending on how nice you've been to your engine....

Best bet - find a second hand motor in reasonable condition. Like 40K old.
You local importer can get em off the docks in japan for a good price.

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:32 pm

Sorry FTO338 - that was directed at mxysxy... you beat me to it!

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:45 pm

Thats alright Bennoz, i know what you mean hehehehe

BuCkEt · Post by **BuCkEt** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:59 pm

My engine is at 143k damnit.......is there any easy way to tell if this is something that has to be done?

Luca · Post by **Luca** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:29 pm

Depends on if you engine is humming along nicely, with no oil leaks, etc. If so you don't need to do anything that drastic.

If there is an identifiable problem, then yes ... but if that was the case you'd probably know about it already anyway.

certainly don't think that because people rebuild engines ... that you will need to do the same

FTO338 · Post by **FTO338** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:49 pm

hahhah yeah bucket, does your engine have a problem? or its running fine? If its fine then don't worry about it untill you break down ehehe

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:56 pm

Or until the smoke coming out your exhaust is so thick you cant see the car behind you!

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:21 pm

if you service it regularly and use good oil, follow the manufacters recommended services, you can get 200 thousand Kms and more.
I have seen engines that have done over 300 thousand Ks and still run good. If you look after it fix oil leaks when they start and service it when specified, it could last you till you sell the car.

If you thrash it when it is cold and leave servicing it till you got the time or money and not when it should be done, dont replace filters, then expect to need a new engine or a rebuild eventually. Probably sooner than later.

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:46 pm

im pretty sure my car had the tacho wound back, or was badly serviced (bad oils etc).

I have lost compression in one cylinder which is causing blow by etc.. They suggested the engine would need to be taken apart to review teh extent of the damage - whether that just be rings etc or more... I was told that whilst the engine is apart it makes sense to review everything, rods what have you, measure them up, and then decide what needs replacing and what can stay...

your talking biiiiig dollars....

my only issue with getting a 2nd hand issue with supposed low kms, is that the same thing could happen to that one. you dont know who had it, whether its done the kms they say it has, whether its been serviced well, what oils etc were used..

at least with a rebuild (and only if you know it needs one) you will get almost a 'new engine' that can be trusted and will be reliable hopefully for another 200000kms

Post by **smorison** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:37 pm

for the cost of an engine rebuilt you should be able to buy a used lower K one and do some substantial work on it for the same price

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:46 pm

smorison wrote:for the cost of an engine rebuilt you should be able to buy a used lower K one and do some substantial work on it for the same price

so doesnt it then make sense to jsut keep your own engine? or are you saying substantial work as in (strengthen and modify the engine?)

Post by **smorison** » Wed May 04, 2005 9:17 pm

nah the engine itself is pretty cheap... you spend what you've saved on the rebuild making it better

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:18 pm

sorry steve still confused...

I understand what your saying, but what if the 2nd hand engine (has had irregular servicing etc) you buy develops the same problems that you had with the original or worse? It may have better modifications done to it but, Then your back to the drawing board with the possibility of having to rebuild that one too (in a certain time down the track)....???

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:21 am

if you are doing engine rebuild because your engine has become tired and is blowing smoke, you will have to replace a lot more than just a set of rings.

Think for a minute if the engine has not been looked after properly, the dirty oil would have been bypassing the clogged oil filter by way of the bypass valve.

This dirty oil would have been causing accelerated wear in all bearing surfaces and any metal to metal surfaces,

This could include and would not be confinned too, valve guides, valve stems, valve seats, cam journals,camshafts, lifters, big end bearings, mains bearings, rings, cylinder walls, mains journals, bigend journals.

Then there are the parts that could also need replacing, water pump, timing belt tensioner, timing belt idler bearing, oil pump, full gasket set and seals.

Also consider the time your car is off the road while it is being rebuilt, they will have to order the parts in and you need the enigine to be out of the car and in bits to be able to order the right big ends and mains bearings for the motor, They match the bearings to the motor in the factory then stamp the block and crankshaft with numbers so you can identify which bearings you need when you do a rebuild.

sometimes it is much easier to buy a second hand motor from a wrecker, if you got a mate who is a mechanic they can usually tell by loooking at and doing a couple of tests if the motor is ok or should be left alone.

Of course a rebuild will normally be a better motor, if it is rebuilt properly and all the clearances are right and the right parts used. But you could usually buy 2 or 3 motors for the cost of one proper rebuild.

Leigh · Post by **Leigh** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:43 am

my car has simmilar Km's to yours (138k). yet runs just as good as when I got it (71k) maybe even better if you consider getting the tappets adjusted. guess those 5k oil changes paid off!

EURO · Post by **EURO** » Thu May 05, 2005 9:39 am

thanks dannyboy - get it now

I guess I need a second opinion on my car...

My original mechanic says I have blow by and that I am losing compression in one cylinder (thus the oil sweats). Yet to take the engine apart to have a look, it may only be the rings that are gone, but its worth while measuring up other parts whilst its open to do a full review of the engine and replace parts that are worn etc..

My problem was that he wouldnt give me a ball park figure of cost (best case scenario or worst case) so I dont want to get myself in shiat when a bill arrives for 10G.

at the moment its still driving fine so, I think I will get more advice before any work is done.

dannyboyau · Post by **dannyboyau** » Thu May 05, 2005 4:20 pm

it can be very expensive when rebuilding an engine, unless you are trying to build a engine for power gains over the original engine. EG turbo or bombed N/A i would find a good used engine and drop it in. Keep the other for parts till you get rid of the motor.

I also believe Jeff might have a 6A12 engine for sale soon

pagan · Post by **pagan** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:17 pm

and what are used 6a12's worth exactly, ball park figure of course?