.075 overbore ! ???

[kwiksilver]

bought an 89 lebaron GT off craigslist with a dead motor.
Previous owner claims a Jasper reman engine was recently installed, then it started skipping and blowing oil out. shop that did the work told him there was hole in a piston and refused to warranty the motor.

finally got around to pulling the motor out and the head off. found a nice size hole in #1 piston. all the pistons are stamped .075 on top. I assume this means the overbore size. I have rebuilt several engines have never heard of or needed to overbore an engine that much.

where do I find a replacement piston for this thing?

http://www.85merk.com/members/eric_s/Piston01.jpg

[kwiksilver]

Heh... just realized this is .75mm overbore

:bowl:

[Big_P]

:thumb:

[Chris W]

So, you are looking to replace 1 piston or all of them?? The pistons used in that block are most likely not capable of handling more then stock boost. Were you planning on hanging on to the vehicle?

Chris-TU

[raccoon]

metric ftw!

[kwiksilver]

So, you are looking to replace 1 piston or all of them?? The pistons used in that block are most likely not capable of handling more then stock boost. Were you planning on hanging on to the vehicle?

Chris-TU

Yeah, Chris.... I realize the pistons in the motor are junk.
this is something the father in law picked up cheap for something to putter around town in. I doubt the motor will ever see more than stock boost levels.
at this point he just wants to repair it and get it running.

the motor is a reman of some sort. the previous owner claims it was Jasper motor. who ever installed it did a poor job. most of the hardware is wrong or missing. only 2 bolts holding the turbo the the manifold, had carriage/bumper bolts holding the down pipe on to the swing valve, with a bunch of washers/spacers and double nuts locking together. (had to cut those to get them off) the bracket to the block for the front motor mount had 2 of the 4 bolts holding it on and they were loose... whole motor was rocking back and forth.

The vaccum system was rigged at best and the hoses for the boost control were disconnected. engine oil and coolant leaks everywhere.
I am sure the engine overboosted more than several times on top of being low on engine oil and coolant.

[Reaper1]

Jasper engines SUCK! I HATE them! I used to deal with them all the time when I was working on boats. I'd say find an OK JY engine and rebuild that yourself. It'll be right and probably last longer too! :thumb:

BTW, that silver 'Baron in my garage is going to need a new home..and it's got a LOT of parts to go along with it! :D Not everything on it will go with it, but it'll be a good, straight, rust free shell with a good title! :thumb:

[Juggy]

fin dyourself mahle .030" over pistons. i ran a block like that and it was a champ. if u can afford fordged slugs all the power to ya

[kwiksilver]

Got the engine torn down completely
#1 piston is trashed, cylinder wall is scratched and gouged.
#1 rod bearing is spun, rod and rod cap are discolored black, crank journal is discolored
#1 and #2 main bearing are flaking and crank journal is scored.

block got dropped off at the machine shop today, gonna take the cylinders .040"/1mm over bore
and crank will ground and polished.

guy at the machine shop says if .040" overbore doesn't clean up the #1 cylinder wall, he will bore and sleeve the cylinder, which I am NOT crazy about.

Trying to talk to the father in law into better pistons however forged units are rather expensive.
any suggestions? are the Mahl cast pistons any better quality than the normal parts store/speed pro cast pistons?

[kwiksilver]

Jasper engines SUCK! I HATE them! I used to deal with them all the time when I was working on boats. I'd say find an OK JY engine and rebuild that yourself. It'll be right and probably last longer too! :thumb:



personally, I havent had any dealing with Jasper engines, but I have heard some bad experiences from other people. however still no indication if this is acutally a Jasper engine. I was only told it was.

the rebuilt engine as a whole looks ok, I am pretty sure the people installing the engine was the source of the problem... specifically not installing the boost control correctly, I am also not sure if the cam and/or igntion timing was set correctly. From what I can see... an overboost condition happened, which might have been accelerated by a incorrect timing, the engine detonated repeatedly and fried the piston.

[Chris W]

Got the engine torn down completely
#1 piston is trashed, cylinder wall is scratched and gouged.
#1 rod bearing is spun, rod and rod cap are discolored black, crank journal is discolored
#1 and #2 main bearing are flaking and crank journal is scored.

block got dropped off at the machine shop today, gonna take the cylinders .040"/1mm over bore
and crank will ground and polished.

guy at the machine shop says if .040" overbore doesn't clean up the #1 cylinder wall, he will bore and sleeve the cylinder, which I am NOT crazy about.

Trying to talk to the father in law into better pistons however forged units are rather expensive.
any suggestions? are the Mahl cast pistons any better quality than the normal parts store/speed pro cast pistons?

Mahles were used from the factory and are very durable in comparison to other cast brands available today. The problem is the Mahles are not available in all sizes. Hopefully the size you need will still be available. We carry the Forged Wiseco .040" overbore in stock for both 2.2 and 2.5 engines. In our opinion, these are the best pistons available for these engines. On a side note, stay away from any Hypereutectic piston. They have been known to fail in turbo applications.

Good Luck and let us know if there is anything we can do to help,

Chris-TU

[kwiksilver]

Thanks for your input on this, Chris.

I found a set of Mahles in .040"..... just waiting to hear from the machine shop, if the cylinder will clean up.

[kwiksilver]

BTW..... father in law almost had a panic attack when the machine shop quoted $350 for a overhaul kit (pistons, rings, bearings, gaskets, etc...) so I doubt he will go for forged pistons.

still working on the talking him into the Mahle pistons... I think we can do better on the price of the parts we need, also I don't like crappy cork gaskets most of the kits come with.

[A.J.]

Jasper engines SUCK! I HATE them! I used to deal with them all the time when I was working on boats.

I've installed many Jasper engines and have never had problems. Mostly V-8 Chevys and Fords. They are the ones I prefer to install if the customer can afford a reman engine.

A.J.

[Ondonti]

Get the junkyard engine like Reaper said and I would just try running it till you decide if you really want to rebuild a motor. If its just a put put car then :P

[Reaper1]

The experiences I've had with Jasper have been with marine small-block Chevy's and 4.3L V6's.

I never had one go "smoothly" and had to replace 2 4.3L V6's after only about 30 hours of use due to rod knock(and the customer was very meticulous about servicing).

I just got left with a bad impression of them. They might be fine for other things...I dunno...YMMV

[kwiksilver]

Machine shop finally called.... #1 cylinder will clean up with .040" overbore. crank is turned and polished already, rods will get resized and cleaned up.
Father in law decided to order the Fel-pro/sealed power engine kit with the crappy pistons. Guess I can't complain too much.. its his money.
should have the engine/parts back by the end of the week, assemble it over the weekend and put in the car by next week.

[1FastCSX289]

I would at least ditch the head gasket in that kit and install a Mopar Performance gasket. Well, unless you LIKE changing the headgasket with every oil change. Its 20 bucks well spent.

[kwiksilver]

I would at least ditch the head gasket in that kit and install a Mopar Performance gasket. Well, unless you LIKE changing the headgasket with every oil change. Its 20 bucks well spent.

Yes, I know... there are probably a few gaskets I wont use in the kit.
I will be the one assembling the motor, so I may be able to "sneak" in a few extra parts.

I have made progress with him though, already talked him into MP head bolts.
he wanted to re-use the old ones.

according to him "this performance stuff is a waste of money".

[cordes]

These can be relatively expensive motors to build depending on the machine work you have done.

+1 for the JY motor. They are a good way to go for sure.

Also, there is no way I would have a block sleeved when you could pick up another one for dirt cheap.

[turbovanman²]

according to him "this performance stuff is a waste of money".

I would have that framed when he overboosts and damages something, ;)

[turbo84voyager]

I second the comment about not using the felpro. I got 8K out of the last one I will ever use.

As for Jasper a friend of mine needed a motor in his Grand National. He sent the engine and told them he wants the same engine back (Numbers Matching) they rebuilt it and sent it back. He installed it and started it up. It sounded good. The engine got up to temp and the oil pressure dropped to almost nothing. After verifying the pressure with another good mechanical gauge there was almost no oil pressure. He sent the engine back to jasper. A few weeks later he got the engine back. To his surprise it was not his original engine. He called jasper and they gave him a line of BS something like the cam broke and destroyed the block and they no longer have the engine. The engine they sent had low pressure as well. It was better than the previous but still lower than normal. He gave up and left it in the car.

[kwiksilver]

I would have that framed when he overboosts and damages something, ;)

that shouldn't happen.... I have a G-valve set up ready to install.
boost will be limited to 7-8psi.

[kwiksilver]

Engine is back from the machine shop.
The cylinders cleaned up nicely at .040" over.
To my surprise the re-build kit came with Mahle pistons, Hastings piston rings, Speed pro bearings and a Victor gasket set.

at .040" over and the cam advanced 4 degrees, it should be torque monster. :thumb:

[cordes]

Engine is back from the machine shop.
The cylinders cleaned up nicely at .040" over.
To my surprise the re-build kit came with Mahle pistons, Hastings piston rings, Speed pro bearings and a Victor gasket set.

at .040" over and the cam advanced 4 degrees, it should be torque monster. :thumb:

Don't forget to pitch all of the cork gasket material you may have received with the kit. Use RTV and it won't leak all over the place.

[kwiksilver]

Don't forget to pitch all of the cork gasket material you may have received with the kit. Use RTV and it won't leak all over the place.


that was the point I was trying to make... NO cork gaskets in this kit, all rubber.

[cordes]

that was the point I was trying to make... NO cork gaskets in this kit, all rubber.

That's great. Perhaps the makers of the gasket kits have finally figured it out.

[kwiksilver]

short block went together with out an issue. shiny new parts !!! :nod:

waiting on some new head bolts and exhaust studs to be delivered so I can put the rest of it together... still lots of parts cleaning to do.

[kwiksilver]

woo hooo..... it finally runs!

after a few parts delays and other things going, we finally got the engine in the car and running yesterday.
started easily, no leaks and runs smoothly with no funky noises.
Ignition timing is set and I will hook up a boost gauge so I can set the G-valve.

still need to figure out why the brakes dont work. Pedal is soft, and the BRAKE warning light is on.
I suspect the master cylinder went buh-bye

[Reaper1]

Cool! Congrats :thumb:

So...you want a straight '89 LeBaron convertible shell with a bunch of spare parts and a clean title? I'll give you one heck of a deal! :thumb:

[kwiksilver]

Cool! Congrats :thumb:

So...you want a straight '89 LeBaron convertible shell with a bunch of spare parts and a clean title? I'll give you one heck of a deal! :thumb:

sent you a PM.

[kwiksilver]

Ok... got the brakes working and took the car for a spin
it pulls hard up to 3/4 throttle up to 4K then looses power and surges. full throttle is even worse, wont pull if you floor it from a dead stop or any other speed.

fuel pressure? faulty HEP?

going out to check fuel pressure now.

[kwiksilver]

ok.. fuel pressure is where its supposed to be.
I guess the next step is replacing the fuel filter with un-known miles on it.

[Reaper1]

PM sent back! :thumb: