Fireman_DJ
23rd October 2019, 11:24 PM
Long story short.
Mum was driving my '89 GQ, overheated the engine and cooked it good.
Bought a used "as is" engine that "had great compression" and "no noise or smoke" on an Adelaide to Melb trip driven by the wrecker. Had a quick look at and it appeared rough externally. Didn't have a thermostat, was missing a couple of bolts etc.
Decided to pull the engine apart and do a dodgy rebuild. New bearings, lap the valves etc, all the stuff I can do at home without paying some shop to machine.
Anyways, got stripped down to the con-rod bearings tonight and am somewhat surprised.
They appear almost brand new. The included picture is of the bottom, the top bearing was slightly more worn but only slightly and only in the middle of it.
The bore too appears to have been recently honed. Can still feel the grooves with my fingernails.
Couldn't even remove the piston, the rings are catching on the small build up of carbon at the top of the bore.
I can spin the crank with all pistons attached by turning the belt pulley with two hands pretty easily.
So given that the verbal history seems to be aligning with the internal condition, should I bother removing the pistons and crank just to check and maybe replace the crankcase bearings or just start putting it back together?
Don't currently have a 41mm socket or ring compressors, so would save some money (and time) by rebuilding now. But on the other hand, I'll kick myself if I have to pull it out and strip it a month after installing it in my car.
Would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Pictures:
Bearing 1 (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13ohwJSRaB53h1dRGh_DDMrlF_izYLG85)
Bearing 2 (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13npJc0Yxt-5RCxUpCEyvswxDKbDhIuvV)
Bore (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13kbGvxfRWSR1hHuDxblxolT1WbrzJVll)
Edit: Btw, located in Darwin. So parts are super expensive and near non-existent. I had this engine shipped up from Tasmania because I couldn't find any in the area (AT ALL) and previous prices for engines were over double the price.
Mum was driving my '89 GQ, overheated the engine and cooked it good.
Bought a used "as is" engine that "had great compression" and "no noise or smoke" on an Adelaide to Melb trip driven by the wrecker. Had a quick look at and it appeared rough externally. Didn't have a thermostat, was missing a couple of bolts etc.
Decided to pull the engine apart and do a dodgy rebuild. New bearings, lap the valves etc, all the stuff I can do at home without paying some shop to machine.
Anyways, got stripped down to the con-rod bearings tonight and am somewhat surprised.
They appear almost brand new. The included picture is of the bottom, the top bearing was slightly more worn but only slightly and only in the middle of it.
The bore too appears to have been recently honed. Can still feel the grooves with my fingernails.
Couldn't even remove the piston, the rings are catching on the small build up of carbon at the top of the bore.
I can spin the crank with all pistons attached by turning the belt pulley with two hands pretty easily.
So given that the verbal history seems to be aligning with the internal condition, should I bother removing the pistons and crank just to check and maybe replace the crankcase bearings or just start putting it back together?
Don't currently have a 41mm socket or ring compressors, so would save some money (and time) by rebuilding now. But on the other hand, I'll kick myself if I have to pull it out and strip it a month after installing it in my car.
Would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Pictures:
Bearing 1 (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13ohwJSRaB53h1dRGh_DDMrlF_izYLG85)
Bearing 2 (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13npJc0Yxt-5RCxUpCEyvswxDKbDhIuvV)
Bore (https://drive.google.com/open?id=13kbGvxfRWSR1hHuDxblxolT1WbrzJVll)
Edit: Btw, located in Darwin. So parts are super expensive and near non-existent. I had this engine shipped up from Tasmania because I couldn't find any in the area (AT ALL) and previous prices for engines were over double the price.