ENGINE TROUBLE

boltz · Post by **boltz** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:28 am

hi guys i am finally back from holiday and if you guys remeber i had probs with my injectors near the end of last year, my probs have gotten considerably worse since then, i had the engine checked out and it seems that my rings are completely screwed. what i want to know is how long does it take to replace, what else has to be replaced or checked whilst under the bonnet, so far im gonna do the injectors, mapping(perfect power), and port and flow the head(vanderlinde). Also is it worth attemting the the job myself, i have access to a workshop with all the toys.
any help is greatly appreciated!

ChemCool · Post by **ChemCool** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:35 pm

So, you have got no excuses then. Go for it.

WooHaa · Post by **WooHaa** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:07 pm

If you got the toosl then that's great. If the rings are gone, I don't think its just a case of just replacing them. The pistons have to be pulled out, & the block rebored. While you at it, might as well put in new bearings.
Your whole motor must come out & do as Vlade is doing.
That's the best.
Is the car in the randburg area? Also who told you the rings are gone & what tests did they perform to find this out?

I'd hate it for someone to screw over a fellow sx owner.

boltz · Post by **boltz** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:26 pm

yup the car is in the randburg area, the workshop is in fourways. they just basically revved it to around 4000 and keep it there, then it just pisses smoke out the exhaust, looks to me like they are screwed 2. will know for sure when the head comes off, should i take the block to vanderlinde aswell? any idea how much it costs to rebore the block?

should i replace the pistons aswell, or just fit oversizedrings?, which bearings do you mean( crankshaft or which ones)

WooHaa · Post by **WooHaa** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:54 pm

Reving to 4000rpm & it pisses out smoke could be valve stem seals. If the turbo kicked in, then it might be turbo seals.
A compression test will be a little more accurate.

The bearings that should be changed are for the crank & pistons. Try & get the block re-sleeved so that you don't have to get other sized pistons, or you can try & get over sized pistons.

While you are doing all this, maybe consider ceramic coating the piston & valves, & getting a stronger head gasket.
Don't forget to get everything balanced.....motor runs smoother & revs better.

that's a big job up ahead. How much are the guys charging you? Another guy on this forum paid about R9000.00 to redo his motor, so I would say look around that figure.

boltz · Post by **boltz** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:07 pm

they did a compression test and they said that all looks good compression wise, only paying for the floor space that my car uses seeing as im gonna attempt all the labour myself (my buddy runs the shop), the technical work ill get the pros to do, so ill take the motor to them and leave the car at the shop. mapping is about 2500 and the injectors 2300, head is about 2500 no idea on the block or the other parts will have to see. if all else fails ill get Nxgen to do the work, it will cost alot but ill have warranty

where can i do balancing?

WooHaa · Post by **WooHaa** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:17 pm

boltz wrote:where can i do balancing?

Sorry dude...no idea.

boltz · Post by **boltz** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:19 pm

thanks, ill let know how the repairs go and ill post some pics!

johansx · Post by **johansx** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:21 pm

WooHaa wrote:
boltz wrote:where can i do balancing?
Sorry dude...no idea.

Lambco in Pretoria, sorry, don't have their number.

The Calibrator · Post by **The Calibrator** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 6:48 pm

Last sr20det engine I built pistons were R4000(my cost) engineering of the block and recon cyl head with balancing was R5500 Gasket set was R2400 so I am amazed that someone got it done for R9000.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only use top quality components and the best engineers and offer a guarantee.

Toby · Post by **Toby** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:23 am

Dudes, is all that really necessary? I mean, can't you just replace the piston rings, hone the cylinder, replace bearings as Woohaa suggested, and be done with it? Maybe do the ceramic coating too if it's reasonably priced. I am contemplating doing this, now that my engine is half stripped, but people are scaring me with prices for new pistons, etc.

johansx · Post by **johansx** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:37 am

If I am cash strapped (like most people are in January), I would buy a Jap Import... You need to know what to look for off course

Dislex666 · Post by **Dislex666** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:09 am

Toby wrote:Dudes, is all that really necessary? I mean, can't you just replace the piston rings, hone the cylinder, replace bearings as Woohaa suggested, and be done with it? Maybe do the ceramic coating too if it's reasonably priced. I am contemplating doing this, now that my engine is half stripped, but people are scaring me with prices for new pistons, etc.

I think you ask a valid question, and i also think it has a very grey answer:

You take your engine to (for example) mr calibrator here, and you spend your 9k on rings and all. Then you get your car back and scheme "right, now this puppy is sorted" you then up the boost to a bar, and soon you pop summing, doesn't matter what, and you blame his 'poor workmanship' for it.

Option number 2, you don't cheap it. You get all the right stuff, and you do it properly - thereby giving you another 150k of life on the motor.

Option number 3, as johansx said, is just get an import motor. Take someone knowledgable with and try make sure you get summing really decent (like an SR20

)

bottomline - goedkoop is duurkoop. Opening an engine is (and should always be) expensive. Because there's a whole heap of stuff that is close to end of life round the 150-200k+ mark.

The Calibrator · Post by **The Calibrator** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:29 am

Its simple.
I put my rep on the line with every engine I build I also like to sleep at night and not worry about shit every time my phone rings. Therefore I dont do the lets hone it and put new rings in. Especially on turbo engines and at the mileage you guys are talking about.

There are plenty of other people who wil do fongkong jobs for you I am not one of them.

Example. Friend of mine turbod his Renault diesel conrods machined stock pistons etc. Done by one of the famous tuners.
15 000km engine blew a hole in a piston. The rings on cyl 4 wer'nt sealing and it built carbon up on the head this caused detonation.

I rebuilt the motor properly and fitted a XMS dynoed it yesterday it makes more in KW than it used to make in HP. 168wkw at 0.8bar 190wkw@1bar

Moral of the story
Dont cut corners.

AS for Jap import engines I am busy rebuilding a very clean low mileage det motor because the valves dont seal and NO 1 cyl has huge score marks in the bore.
Bostons reply "we dont guarantee turbo engines"

Ero_sennin · Post by **Ero_sennin** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:47 am

Do you get the engines or do your clients go and buy the engines, you would know what to look out for on an import engine, possibly minimizing the problems.