need help wit my b18a1 please!!!

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eg6turboLs

New Member
Sup friends I just copped a b18a1 from some dude on Craigslists, and today I decided to clean the motor up a bit cuz it was all covered in grease/oil(dirty as hell). So after removing parts I don't need and cleaning the hell out of it then I decided to remove the coolant plug thingy that's located in front of the block. Once it was remove I saw something inside that hole??? Tell u the truth, it looks like dirt, ALOT OF DIRT! So what am I working with here. Am I right? Is it dirt or rusted stuff like coolant and stuff?? I need a motor that runs so I can slap it in and use it for school (UTI ).

So am I f***?? Or there's a way out nd I'm good??, BTW I'm using a different head not vtec just plain ol Ls. So please let me know because I'm planning to slap it in this weekend but don't want to do all the work just to find out it won't start. So please any advice would be greatly appreciated.......

Another thing how would the engine run if 1 cam cap bolt is missing? The intake side and the #3 cap. Just 1 bolt but I have all the other cam cap bolts...
Thank u in advance
 
Probably corrosion from the engine sitting still... or could have had a blown head gasket and has chunks of oil floating around in the coolant.

Rip the whole thing open and see what it looks like inside- you already paid for it. There's really no way to tell until you start to rebuild it.

Missing cam cap- NO WAY. Get another bolt. Engines are under a lot of stress, and cams spin quite fast. Asking if you would be ok with one of those bolts missing would almost be like asking if the car would be ok to drive with only 3 wheels.
 
Probably corrosion from the engine sitting still... or could have had a blown head gasket and has chunks of oil floating around in the coolant.

Rip the whole thing open and see what it looks like inside- you already paid for it. There's really no way to Ptell until you start to rebuild it.

Missing cam cap- NO WAY. Get another bolt. Engines are under a lot of stress, and cams spin quite fast. Asking if you would be ok with one of those bolts missing would almost be like asking if the car would be ok to drive with only 3 wheels.


Damn I didn't want to take it apart. And do u mean removing pistons nd rod, etc..?? Or just da oil pan.

With the cam cap bolt situation was that I snap the bolt nd when I try tapping it out, I think I f***ed it up. So even wit 1 bolt on the cam cap it won't hold?PLus the rest of the bolts?
 
I guess you could just try and remove the oil pan to see what you might find- but that's not going to tell you much since you found the sludge when you opened the coolant drain plug.

Seriously though- you're asking these questions and you're going to UTI? Either you haven't been in class much or you're just starting and haven't thought to ask your instructors. Nobody graduating from UTI would even think about using an engine that had those issues at first look.

Take the engine to school and ask the instructors what they would do. Me, I would tear it down and rebuild it.
 
I guess you could just try and remove the oil pan to see what you might find- but that's not going to tell you much since you found the sludge when you opened the coolant drain plug.

Seriously though- you're asking these questions and you're going to UTI? Either you haven't been in class much or you're just starting and haven't thought to ask your instructors. Nobody graduating from UTI would even think about using an engine that had those issues at first look.

Take the engine to school and ask the instructors what they would do. Me, I would tear it down and rebuild it.

I understand every word u wrote but, I didn't start school yet, I need da car, and yes i would rebuild it but already got 1 in the process. A b18b1 fully built for turbo, almost done but lost my job(had for 4yrs) and life took a turn. So now I'm tryin to go do what I love to do, but have no motor. So I got this b18a1 to use for now and still try to finish my project.BTW this is what I have so far on my turbo build

B18b1-

Head- full PnP, 3 angle valve job, BC dual valve springs & titanium retainers, Supertech oversized valve.

Block- honed, hot tanked/cleaned, bored over, 81.50mm Wiseco pistons, Eagle H-beam rods, Acl race bearings, knife edge/ micro polished stock Ls crank, STOCK SLEEVES!!! NO BLOCK GUARD,....

Not really fully built but close enough, still need a few things for it to be complete like, 402-T cams or 403s (not sure), adjustable cam gears, Arp headstud, and the head gasket.

Stuff I have already for the b18b1 build.

Skunk2 TB, Skunk2 IM, AEM fuel rail, B&M fpr, MSD cap/rotor/wires, new Type R oil pump(oem), Gsr water pump, and timing belt(oem), and Hondata s300, maybe more I can't remember.

For b18a1, I got nothing but problems...
 
I guess you could try and throw the engine into the car in hopes that it'll last long enough for you to get a good engine- it'll probably run- but who knows how long it'll last..
 
I guess you could try and throw the engine into the car in hopes that it'll last long enough for you to get a good engine- it'll probably run- but who knows how long it'll last..

Your oppinion what u think will go first?, the missing cam cap bolt.
What will happen with all the stuff I see inside the coolant plug? It will float around the whole engine rite, causing wat?.

So thanks with all ur advice, I'm just gonna take that chance and put it in, hopefully it starts and run till my real motor is ready.

I got another question, can I use stock rods wit aftermarket forge pistons?......just curious
 
Which will go first? No clue.
Yup, float all around the engine.
You're welcome.
Depends on the pistons and how they require the wrist pin to be mounted. Most forged aftermarket pistons use floating pins with clip to hold them in; the factory setup is almost always a press fit pin with no retainer.
 
Which will go first? No clue.
Yup, float all around the engine.
You're welcome.
Depends on the pistons and how they require the wrist pin to be mounted. Most forged aftermarket pistons use floating pins with clip to hold them in; the factory setup is almost always a press fit pin with no retainer.

Thanks again, my plan went on hold cuz I mess my left thumb up bad. But Wen its in ill let u kno da result.
 
get cap bolt, put a cup of atf in it run it change oil and lear proper english da car the is only 1 more letter
 
get cap bolt, put a cup of atf in it run it change oil and lear proper english da car the is only 1 more letter

Don't need cap bolt, just that that 1 is snapped in there and I try tapping it out and failed. I couldn't line up in the middle cuz I couldn't see, so I end up drilling the side of the bolt and damage the side were the threads is at. Is there still a way to get it out or its done?.


ATF? Auto trans fluids?? Why put it in the oil? What does it do?

And I do know proper English buddy, its just I messed up my thumb and I'm posting it through my phone, so I'm use to texting style if u wanna call it that. So how's my English now?...lol
 
Probably corrosion from the engine sitting still... or could have had a blown head gasket and has chunks of oil floating around in the coolant.

or maybe they put in some type of gasket repair crap in it like stop leak and its only a matter of time before you get rod knock from the coolant that got into the oil... just a thought:confused:
 
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