517 replies to this topic

[Lymitliss]

I ended up not using the catch can. The steel wool was so air could pass through but theoretically catch the residue.

[regularguy]

seems like theres the possibility that all that fuel that was being delivered during the vtec fiasco could be the culprit. i havent seen a car yet that was running so rich that vtec didnt engage- if the tuner really just brought fuel down 30%, i would suspect that as a possible cause of the engine failure. too much fuel will wash out the cylinders and prevent oil from keeping the pistons and rings off the cylinders. try smelling the oil/dipstick- depending on how long and severe the rich condition was, there might still be some fuel in the oil.

[DEIVIONCRX]

That is very true, i forgot about that deal. It is very easy that you washed out the rings.

[Lymitliss]

The oil had smelled "like vtec" (or gas) since I got it in. However, two cylinders are still good remember. Wouldn't washing them ruin them all evenly?

[Lymitliss]

Well, Sunday I took the engine out and apart. As of now it's an hour south at a speed shop with me awaiting their call to decide what my next move is.

I liked the idea of building it myself, but after doing it once and having the one part I didn't change screw me, I think I'll just have them do it so I can guarantee it's done right all around (not to mention I don't have the machine to bore it).


Basically over the next couple days they are going to tear it apart, measure everything and let me know what needs to be replaced, and what I can fit in it. Which I think is worth paying for since I've always wanted to know more about the head work that was done. I discussed a few options with them keeping in mind I would like to do a turbo someday, but it's all guesses until I hear back from them.


Now I wait!

[zakats]

news?

[Lymitliss]

Well as we suspected, the pistons/rings are garbage. Whoever had this engine (before me and Zakats) put a turbo on it and either didn't care, or didn't know what they were doing because they blew chunks out of the piston lands. Cylinders 2 and 3 were good, but 1 and 4 were destroyed. So basically I had been driving with it unknowingly falling apart. A turbo explains why some of the webbing on the block was notched out next to the exhaust manifold.

Good news- Pistons and rings are garbage, but everything else is useable. So I'm having it bored to 81.5mm and getting PR3 pistons with fresh rings and reusing the bearings I had just put in. The head is also decked like I suspected, so I should be around 11/11.5:1 when it's all done. He said the head is in great shape also.

Where I am right now- I've ordered all the gaskets I need to redo the engine, and I'm waiting for the shop to do the machine work and I'll just let them assemble it all when they get it back.

It sucks, but at the end of the day I wanted the engine this way in the beginning, I just didn't have the money or time for it.

This Rex is with me for life, so it's money well spent.




P.S. There WILL be piston pictures.

[DEIVIONCRX]

Now you know its 0 miles tho.

[regularguy]

i personally am not a fan of stock pistons. if you are going into the engine and boring it and changing stuff, why not put a little more money into it and do pistons and rods? i realize that it is a bit more money, but in the long run it will be worth it more often than not. if you keep the compression around 11 or a little lower, any kind of boost is always a viable endeavor. if you plan on staying naturally aspirated for sure, bring the compression up to 12-12.5. the car is going to get tuned anyway, and it is a good pump gas compression that will definitely add to the fun factor of the car.

there are a couple scenarios where oem pistons will be warranted, but as i have gone through the thread before, i would recommend doing it right the first time. if you require oem because you are absolutely set on keeping things stock, just for the reason of keeping it stock, go with oem pistons. if you are racing in a class that is restricted to oem parts, you have no choice. if you are building on a budget that is extremely tight, oem is a little cheaper. ultimately, the car will perform better, last longer and probably get better gas mileage on forged stuff if the tune is good. i havent come across many arguments during a complete bottom end rebuild that would make me recommend stock.

if you are really set on oem stuff, skip the machine shop altogether and buy an hmotors shortblock. their engines come silly clean and i havent had any complaints with the many different setups i have seen, tuned, and bought for myself. that is just about always a sound bet in my book-

Edited by regularguy, 21 April 2011 - 04:53 PM.

[Lymitliss]

i personally am not a fan of stock pistons. if you are going into the engine and boring it and changing stuff, why not put a little more money into it and do pistons and rods? i realize that it is a bit more money, but in the long run it will be worth it more often than not. if you keep the compression around 11 or a little lower, any kind of boost is always a viable endeavor. if you plan on staying naturally aspirated for sure, bring the compression up to 12-12.5. the car is going to get tuned anyway, and it is a good pump gas compression that will definitely add to the fun factor of the car.

there are a couple scenarios where oem pistons will be warranted, but as i have gone through the thread before, i would recommend doing it right the first time. if you require oem because you are absolutely set on keeping things stock, just for the reason of keeping it stock, go with oem pistons. if you are racing in a class that is restricted to oem parts, you have no choice. if you are building on a budget that is extremely tight, oem is a little cheaper. ultimately, the car will perform better, last longer and probably get better gas mileage on forged stuff if the tune is good. i havent come across many arguments during a complete bottom end rebuild that would make me recommend stock.

if you are really set on oem stuff, skip the machine shop altogether and buy an hmotors shortblock. their engines come silly clean and i havent had any complaints with the many different setups i have seen, tuned, and bought for myself. that is just about always a sound bet in my book-

They are PR3 style, but not made by Honda.
The work is already being done, and I'll be much happier with it than if I bought another used engine.

[Old School REX]

This is actually great news if you think about it. You barely had time to break in the work you did, and no real dammage was done; so win win right? Like devion said, the motor will be at 0 miles and you KNOW the condition of the internals Very excited to hear your driving impression with that freshly build B. its just gonna make me want one even more.

[zakats]

I wish I'd pulled the pistons when I shipped it.

[Lymitliss]

More bad news!

After two months of it sitting at the performance shop/machine shop, they finally got around to my engine. After all that, it turns out the machine shop didn't notice the hairline crack in one of the cylinders, so they bored it and fortunately it was noticed by the guy assembling it when he was about to start. So the block is garbage.


This has been nothing but bad news so far...

[Lymitliss]

Update!

Found a new long block yesterday for a deal. I stripped it the same day and it's now at the shop waiting to be machined...

So far it looks good, so hopefully it remains that way.

Fortunately I now have some parts to sell to help make some money back...

[Lymitliss]

Got my new suspension today! I think most of you will recognize these-