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Finally took the head off the engine and found that the issue is with the bottom end.
I pressed down down on each piston, cylinder 4 dropped about an 8th of an inch and has side to side play. So now I need a short block.
You can usually find a car that runs cheaper than you can buy an engine or even a short block. I bought the last 2 for $400 and they both ran. But, then you have to pull the engine and do something with the roller that is left which a lot of people either don't want to or can't. The guy I bought the last $400 one from said somebody called and said all wanted was the engine how much for that? He said $700, pissed the guy off, I told him I fully understood where he was coming from.
I assume from what you are saying the cylinder wall is damaged. If it's not, I think I have some stock pistons if you think that does you any good, I would have to look at what I have left.
You can usually find a car that runs cheaper than you can buy an engine or even a short block. I bought the last 2 for $400 and they both ran. But, then you have to pull the engine and do something with the roller that is left which a lot of people either don't want to or can't. The guy I bought the last $400 one from said somebody called and said all wanted was the engine how much for that? He said $700, pissed the guy off, I told him I fully understood where he was coming from.
I assume from what you are saying the cylinder wall is damaged. If it's not, I think I have some stock pistons if you think that does you any good, I would have to look at what I have left.
Thanks for the offer! I went outside to check the cylinder wall and it actually looks pretty good. I'm not sure if it is still round. My real worry is whether or not the crank shaft is going to need to be worked on. Gonna pull the block and take it to the machine shop to have it all checked out. I really want this thing to work well and be as reliable as a 26 year old boosted car can be. My garage is so small, i'm not sure how i'm going to get all this done... smh
sorry to hear you are having problem on the build ...hope you get it sorted out buddy .
check the bearing on that cylinder 4 if it went down 1/8 by pressing the piston down.
Yeah, the bearing has to be completely missing at this point. I have not pulled the engine yet due to my tight single car garage.
Found another engine (94,000 miles) for really cheap. I'm going to get that to reduce the variables (crank shaft cracks, crank shaft out of spec, piston out of round, etc.), then put my new built head on it. I'll also replace the rod, main, and thrust bearings, the timing belt and as many seals as possible.
The question I have though is how do you all recommend replacing the engine? Attached to the transmission or disconnected from it? Many of the images I've seen of ones replacing engines here on CL have the transmission attached...
Yeah, the bearing has to be completely missing at this point. I have not pulled the engine yet due to my tight single car garage.
Found another engine (94,000 miles) for really cheap. I'm going to get that to reduce the variables (crank shaft cracks, crank shaft out of spec, piston out of round, etc.), then put my new built head on it. I'll also replace the rod, main, and thrust bearings, the timing belt and as many seals as possible.
The question I have though is how do you all recommend replacing the engine? Attached to the transmission or disconnected from it? Many of the images I've seen of ones replacing engines here on CL have the transmission attached...
If the engine only has 94k on it and if it looks reasonably well taken care of, I would skip the bottom end work, but that's me. The bearings are probably fine and within wear specs, but I get how you would want to make sure.
Depending on how high you get the car and the overhead room, I would say pull it with the trans on it. I have done it both ways, there are pluses/minuses on each but if you have the car high enough it will come out as one. I never take the front of the car off, some on here say to do that but it just isn't necessary.
Thanks Rodger! I took your advice... Once I looked into the engine, I was immediately worried. The top of the pistons was completely black. The inside of the head was very clean though. I was pretty impressed. Took the oil pan off since i have to swap it with the pan on the engine in the car anyway and checked movement on the pistons. There is a bit of movement there, so I have new bearings to install. Here are some pictures of my progress:
After the initial cleaning of the top of the block and the pistons.
I know it's not much, but I'm working as fast as I can considering my migraines and other responsibilities... Thanks for the kind words so far.
Next to do:
- Finish cleaning block deck
- Remove crank shaft timing gear
- Remove oil pump
- Remove oil filter thing
- Paint block - Black??
- Replace main and rod bearings
- Replace thrust washers
- Install main crank studs
- Install new water pump
- Install new oil pump
- Reinstall crank timing gear
- Install billet timing belt tensioner
Tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to get the rod bearings in place and then clean the other side of the block up, tape it and paint it! New oil pump arrives Wednesday.
While installing new bearings and main studs, it is imperative that you measure the bearing clearances to make sure that your studs haven't warped your main caps. My machine shop recommended that I measure in three places per cap, 12, 3 and 9 o'clock. All of my measurements came out to be about .038mm which is within spec.
Check that new oil pump closely to make sure it is the same. I once bought a new Toyota oem pump and installed on a rebuilt engine and had oil pressure issues with the car. As it turned out luckily it also had a small casting defect that seeped oil and when i removed it and compared to one of my old ones the oil passages were smaller. Not sure what it was for but definitely was different. Other pump has had no pressure issues like that one with mo other change on the engine. Really odd. You had to look carefully because the differences weren’t obvious at first glance.
Check that new oil pump closely to make sure it is the same. I once bought a new Toyota oem pump and installed on a rebuilt engine and had oil pressure issues with the car. As it turned out luckily it also had a small casting defect that seeped oil and when i removed it and compared to one of my old ones the oil passages were smaller. Not sure what it was for but definitely was different. Other pump has had no pressure issues like that one with mo other change on the engine. Really odd. You had to look carefully because the differences weren’t obvious at first glance.
Had the day off so I tackled the block again. Replaced the rod bearings and torqued the main studs, and rod bolts. Then finished cleaning the block up and painted it. Also pulled the head studs from the old engine and put them on the new one. Tomorrow the o-rings for the water pump and oil pump will arrive and I'll get to start the reinstallation of everything. If all goes to plan, I should have much of it back together tomorrow.
