Rebuild, or New Motor?

[99sidude]

The guy that I sold my old si to a few months back called me today with a problem. He drove through high water and sucked in water though the CAI. He said it immediately died, and won't crank. He said that the started just clicks when he turns the key. He pulled the spark plug wires to find the plugs submerged in the holes. Doesn't sound very good to me.

The engine has 110k on it, and will prolly need new pistons and rods. Would he be better off getting this rebuilt, or buying a b16a2 long block and just swaping that in?

 

[TurboMirage]

swap!

 

[phyregod]

Depends..

Did he puke/bend a rod or no? Get a shop vac and a small tube and suck ALL of the water out of there, clean everything up and see if it still runs good. That happens on rare occasion.

Otherwise, it would be cheaper to swap in a used motor than to repair that.

 

[reikoshea]

i say swap...the price of parts is not worth tearing the motor down (if you cant get it running that is)

 

[99sidude]

Hes gonna try sucking the water out of the motor....hopefully hes lucky enough not to have any damage. Also, he said that he checked the oil, and that it also had water in it..... Another thing is that I don't think this guy has very much money to spend fixing it. I was thinking if he can't get it running, to go ahead and get an LS block, and use the b16 head to do an ls/vtec. Would it be more economical to find another b16 block rather than doing a reliable LS/Vtec setup?

 

[99sidude]

I just found out that he had it at 7500rpm's when he went through the water and it died. Im thinking he is going to be one luck dude if its OK

 

[phunky.buddha]

If the oil had water in it, chances are the engine's dead. Water probably went in through the intake and broke his pistons, then settled in the pan.

It's probably more economical and reliable to drop a B16 straight in rather than half-ass an LS/VTEC. How much money is he willing to spend on it?

 

[99sidude]

Well, i think he wants to get back to where he was for as little as possible, without comprising relliability, meaning a b16 sounds the most logical. I was thinking of either suggesting a whole long block, or just getting the short block and transferring everything over. I just wonder if its worth reusing a head with 110k on it without doing any expensive machining/ refurbishing.

He doesn't know the ins and outs of hondas very well so I am helping him out. I think that once I tell him of all the possibilities he has now, maybe he will get excited and do something sweet (b18c5?!?!?!) I'd love to see my old ride resurrected. Theres alot of sentimental value in it still!

 

[vjace]

i say swap, save you alot of $$$ and labor. thats what i would do unless you wanna make one nasty motor were you would put in new low compresion pistons rods, bearings and turbo to go with that low compression setup if the cylinder walls havent been damaged of course.

 

[phyregod]

b16 short block should be cheapest in the long run.. LS block would be initially the cheapest, and would give better HP in the long run, but all the little bits and pieces would make it more $$ than the b16. a gsr short block would rock ass..

and a head rebuild is less than $200 if you dont have anything special done.. at least around here it is. Its a worth while investment.

p.s. Your friend is a moron for running through 12+ inch deep water at 7500 rpms with a CAI.

 

[99sidude]

One of my friends has a b16a2 with 30k laying around his house (current setup sleeved JRSC b20 EM1) He says that he will drive 1 1/2 hours with a flatbed to pick up the other guys busted ass car in pittsburg, take it back to his garage in akron and swap in the motor, and bring it back for $2000. I think it can be done for $1700-1800. Is this a good deal?

 

[phunky.buddha]

I think that's a pretty good deal. Most good shops charge you $700-1000 for labor alone to swap an engine. Pickup, delivery, parts and labor all for $2000 is a steal in comparison.

 

[divisii]

So doing just a bottom end rebuild would be too much? Take it apart. If the block (and crank aint damaged) use the motor .. & use the money to upgrade to quality internals?

 

[99sidude]

The thing is, just the labor for a shop to rebuild the bottom end is going to be very expensive. Add that onto pulling everything out and putting it back in. They settled at $1750 for the deal I mentioned earlier. That seems like an amazing deal to me... as long as that motor is in good condition

 

[phyregod]

Wow, for a 30k long block? That is a good deal, long block, swap, pickup, delivery, etc..

But, $1750 could go $600 for a short block, $200 for a head rebuild, and that leaves $950 for a home grown turbo or wallet stuffing.

*edit* well, minus $200 for an engine gasket set, timing belt, water pump, etc..

 

[99sidude]

True True.... But then how much of that $950 will go towards labor for the swap and for flatbeding his car from his house in the boonies? Either way it will work out for him. He needs the car fixed ASAP he said. I think strait up swaping everything will be the quickest....?

 

[phunky.buddha]

Yup, a straight swap will be the quickest. $1750 is a hell of a deal for something like that.

 

[bertcall]

Im in the same situation....

Hello people, my name is Bert. Last week i bought a del sol, b16a engine in it, full breathing, real nice car. thing is i was on third gear, shifting to fourth (at 8500 rpm ... i think) i heard a grinding noise, thinking i was on fourth i pressed the gas, and BOOM!! white smoke coming out of my exhaust. Now my car wont start, i have oil/water coming out of the exhaust/intake. (man that sucked)............. seems like im almost on the same page he is............... Now i cant decide whether i should swap or rebuild. If i swap what are my prices looking like engine/ labor????

 

[99sidude]

Check your head gasket first. Hopefully it is 'just' that

 

[divisii]

The swap sounds like a good deal at that price.
I think the point is, when an engine gets reved too high, takes a dump, then shows problems .. expect your options'll usually be expensive.