reliable 16 year old engines?

[skate1968]

I'm considering buying a used low-miles jdm d16 (1989-1991) from a reputable importer for my daily driver. I have very little mechanical knowledge.

Could this engine be nearly as reliable as a 1999 or 2001 with the same amount of mileage? (i do know to look at the warranty)

I've browsed many 'how-to' posts and articles. But I still have questions.

How dependable will the 16 year old rubber/plastic be in the seals/gaskets?

What do you think of this idea? please read:

"2. New seals. ALL new seals. Main seals, cam seals, valve cover gasket, spark plug grommets, etc. You can replace them now while it’s easy or wait to spring a leak because the 10 year old rubber deteriorated."

-- post from honda-tech.com


If you replace all the seals does that remove ALL worries with the 16 year old engine? Does it remove most of the worries? (i assume it'd be a fairly inexpensive to do while the engine is out)

What about the piston rings/oil control rings? Do these deteriorate with age? Or if the engine has low miles and was properly treated/maintained can you safely assume the rings will be fine? (i wasn't planning on paying for a rebuild)

I'm thinking that if 16 year old engines can be used for racing then they're probably be fine for daily driving. I could get several happy years out of one. What do you think?

Thanks for reading. I welcome your comments.






Background: I thought my oil consumption would go down after i got the leaky valve cover gasket replaced. I'm still consuming oil. I'm certain that the rings are worn.

The car's undercarriage is good -- undercoated, no worry of rust. I just got a low miles jdm stock 91 DX manual transmission for 150 bucks and I am very happy with it.

I've already have a decent idea of what I should pay to have an engine swapped. Swapping a stock 91 engine won't have the wiring concerns/issues that latter model OBD3, VTEC engines will have.

 

[skate1968]

Thanks

Thanks for reading Blanco,

That was a very longwinded question that i wrote up. And you addressed it well.

2) Yes, piston rings deteriorate with age. However, milage is a far better indicator of piston wear. The best thing to do is a leakdown test to make sure compression is good.

Excellent. This addresses my question. I forgot about such a test in which I can identify bad rings/compression before I pay to have the engine swapped in.

If I can be reasonably confident in the quality of a used engine then a rebuild won't be necessary. (or so i hope)

4) If you're consuming oil, it's not your valve cover gasket. It's most likely piston rings or valve seals.

As i said before i'm certain that my car has bad rings. But I was hoping that when i fixed the gasket which was leaking oil that I would not need to top off so often. Unfortuneately it's still pretty bad. But i've already been over the scenario of rings/vavle seals, restore, 20W50, smoke-away, motor honey, Lucas, emissions, etc.

5) You paid way too much for a DX transmission. You can find USDM Si transmissions for $75-125 and they have the same gear ratios as the JDM units. They just don't have the OMG JDM cool factor.

Blanco,
I have absolutely no doubt that you would be able to get a DX trans for much less or for free. Even the guy that sold it said that everyone had them in stock.

However people outside that Honda circle thought it was incredibly risky to pay for the installation of a used transmission that i bought from ebay for 150 dollars. Others have suggested 1200 rebuilds and or brand new trans from the stealership would have been better.

If I spent extra money because one supplier made me feel more assured than others, so be it. It's possible that i could've paid someone else a lot more money to install a used tranny that didn't work.

6) OBD3 doesn't exist yet, so you don't have to worry about that. If you're going to pay someone else to do all of this for you, expect to pay near $2k all said and done for a bone stock D16 installation. This is not worth the price of swapping a D16.

Blanco,
I'm not a mechanic. But i know mechanics. I was thinking of renting a crane and then paying someone to do the swap in my aunt's garage. I'd buy the MPFI wiring kit to make it an easier swap. I would try to help the mechanic with simple stuff like passing him tools, etc. This would be less than 2k.

Worst case scenario: I over estimate my mechanic's ability, my car won't run. I have to pay to tow my ride to the speed shop and I'll end up paying 1850. (not likely)

 

[skate1968]

At least do a full tune up while the engine's out.

This seems to be the smart way to go.

Lots of blue smoke from the exhuast on acceleration?

Yes, tons of blue smoke.

EDIT Not really a ton of blue smoke. But certainly enough to bother me.



A few months ago I switched to a thinner oil for the cold weather. Now that it's getting warmer I'll switch back to a thicker oil. Hopefully this will show improvement.

 

[skate1968]

2) Yes, piston rings deteriorate with age. However, milage is a far better indicator of piston wear. The best thing to do is a leakdown test to make sure compression is good. If you're planning on a rebuild, there's absolutely no point to not reringing the pistons.

I just called Japanese Engines of North New Jersey. They said they'd perform a leakdown and/or compression test on their low-miles engine before selling to me. This company is reputable-- a pretty solid seller rating on ebay. I've dealt with them before. I feel that they are trustworthy.

Japanese Engines Inc. Toll Free- 1-888-886-8898

They also said they could load the engine into my civic and I could ship it myself.