engine rebuild.

[Muertoloco]

what is the average cost to rebuild and engine if i can assemble it myself?? Just a stock rebuild.

[zin]

It depends on what kind of re-build you want to do, and what kind of shape your engine is in to begin with... Worn bores = new pistons, and a bore and hone job at a minimum... Valve job for the head w/new guides, hopefully you can re-use the valve-train (springs, etc).

I've got my own concept of what a good engine rebuild would entail, but it is much more involved than many would consider needed...

How much $$ do you have to spend? If not much, you might be better off finding a lower mile replacement rather than a re-build...

Sorry I can't give you a $$ figure, but it can vary wildly depending on what is needed/desired, and what the intended purpose is or even how long you plan to keep the car/engine...

As for doing it yourself, probably, but if it is your 1st, don't expect to have it go quick or especially smooth, there's always something to challenge you the 1st time you do something... But it is very rewarding to complete and drive your own engine, so I'm in no way discouraging you from trying, unless you simply cannot afford for something to wrong or not happen quickly.

If you are doing it for fun/education, I'd suggest getting another engine either to build or to put in place of yours while you build it, that way you aren't out your transportation, etc.

Mike

[Muertoloco]

i posted an ad in the need section but i probably live too far from someone who actually has an engine. My #1 cylinder is eating oil badly.

[zin]

i posted an ad in the need section but i probably live too far from someone who actually has an engine. My #1 cylinder is eating oil badly.

1st thing to do would be to try and diagnose why... If it isn't the rings, it's probably a valve guide... That would be the desired situation as you can pull the head, have it fixed or replaced and put it back together, done!

If the rings are shot, you're going to be up to your elbows with a full-on rebuild as the bore is likely toast too, so just installing new rings would just get them eaten-up in short order...

If you can run the car up to operating temp to clear out as much oil as possible, you can then do a compression test (or better a leak-down test), to see where the problem is... A compression test can give you an idea as to the rings condition by running it "dry" and then adding a teaspoon or so of oil in the plug hole, then re-running the test, if the pressure shown goes up, the rings were sealed a bit better by the oil and so that's where the problem is likely to be...

A leak-down tester will put 100PSI of air into the cylinder (@ TDC) and a second gauge will read as a percent of what went in, or more accurately what stays in... If you have more than XX percent leakage you'd want to fix it. The big advantage of the leak-down is that you can listen for where the air is escaping, if you hear it in the exhaust, it's a burnt exhaust valve, through the intake, maybe a dropped seat or guide, bubbles in the coolant and it's a head-gasket for sure, if it's coming out the valve cover, the rings are done...

Hopefully someone who has recently built an engine will chime with what they had to spend...

Now, I'm off to home!

Mike

[5sp. mini]

got to say head job 250.00 to 350.00 if you do the work your self on the block hone job with tanking it might be 75.00 to 100..now you will have to add rings bearings and gaskets i will say 100.00 have the shop install dist. drive bearings the rest you can do. someone ring in if i missed something been doing v8 latey.

[Muertoloco]

well i pulled the valve cover off and the #1 intake valve guide was shot, the rocker arm recently jumped off, but i was leaking oil in the cylinder b4 that, so i'm not sure if the valve guide got messed up from the rocker arm jumpping off or it being messed up was the reason it jumped off. My compression test was good i never did a leak down since it could't diagnos a bad oiling ring. Its an 85` 2.2 with a g-head.

[5sp. mini]

there got to be some pap yards down there, tampa area for sure.pull a good looking one and have it redone.or swap a whole motor for that fact.

[Muertoloco]

i found an engine in the junk yard, with 70k on the odo, what are some things i should do to determine if it's worth pulling from the car.

[zin]

i found an engine in the junk yard, with 70k on the odo, what are some things i should do to determine if it's worth pulling from the car.

That's a tough one... Just use your best judgment, if it looks like it wasn't abused and really is just 70K, it's probably worth pulling... Though until you can do a compression or leak-down test, it's a crap shoot...

I'd bet the guide has been the problem all along, as the oil was only a problem in the one cylinder, the rocker was probably the straw that broke the camel's back...

Mike

[turbovanman²]

Look down the bore, if the piston is clean at 12 and 6 oclock, rings, if the whole piston is black, valves.

Average price for a rebuild, IE head job, rebore, is around $1000-1500 plus parts.

[Muertoloco]

when i pulled the head off the cylinder had a puddle of oil in it, and the top of the piston was just burnt oil colored .

[zin]

when i pulled the head off the cylinder had a puddle of oil in it, and the top of the piston was just burnt oil colored .

If it was clean oil, it can only be coming from the head, and most likely the intake as the exhaust would probably cook it a bit giving it a "dirty" color... It is sounding more and more like you may just need a new/rebuilt head... To possibly confirm, look into the intake port to see if there is oil standing/coating the valve... At this point I'd probably gamble that its the head, and replace/fix it. You'll be out your time and a headgasket, but you might save yourself a ton of $$, just depends on your situation and if you can afford to be wrong, mostly from a time/effort viewpoint...

Mike

[Mopar318]

What sucks is you cant just pull a low mileage 2.2. I got a 2.4 turbo for 1200 bucks with low miles.

For some extra work you could have a 2.4 turbo with the same monies.

[turbovanman²]

when i pulled the head off the cylinder had a puddle of oil in it, and the top of the piston was just burnt oil colored .

Looks like a head issue.

[Muertoloco]

ima take the gamble, i'm really tired of sharing a car. How can i tell if the car at the junkyard is a 2.2? I may take the engine bay harness and ecu, but i won't if its a 2.5. It has a mitsu turbo.

[RoadWarrior222]

I think that's 8th digit of the VIN is a C for a 2.2, or is that a carbed 2.2. Well it's the 8th digit.. check what yours is and match it.

[Juggy]

ima take the gamble, i'm really tired of sharing a car. How can i tell if the car at the junkyard is a 2.2? I may take the engine bay harness and ecu, but i won't if its a 2.5. It has a mitsu turbo.

what year is the car?

[Muertoloco]

ima have to find a way back to the junkyard to look, i could call them but i'm sure you know customer service isn't a junk yards strength. The only questions they answer is about prices, and then most of the time they'll just point to the wall with them posted, not knowing they don't have the price for EVERY part

[zin]

ima take the gamble, i'm really tired of sharing a car. How can i tell if the car at the junkyard is a 2.2? I may take the engine bay harness and ecu, but i won't if its a 2.5. It has a mitsu turbo.

The pan would be different, the 2.5 would be deeper to accommodate the balance shafts...

Mike

[5sp. mini]

good call on the pan. year would help out some too.get the vin.# we can tell unless it been swaped. oil pan is the best bet.