i think it time for a new motor

[Bdub215]

just under 186k and when i happen to rev it today and it throws out a cloud of blue smoke from the muffler. not good. eating way to much oil.
so i pull it into my garage and do a compression check

Compression pressure:
1,500 kPa (15.3 kgf/cm2, 218 psi)
Minimum pressure:
1,000 kPa (10.2 kgf/cm2, 145 psi)
Difference between each cylinder:
100 kPa (1.0 kgf/cm2, 15 psi) or less

^ as my refrence

first run across
150,150,150,160
then w/ a little oil
150, 160,170,160

still in spec but from the RM "If adding oil helps the compression, it is likely that
the piston rings and/or cylinder bore are worn or
damaged." willing to bet i have all 3. and my bumper is black now. and ideas on how to proceed from here?

[Milky]

rebuild it; cheaper than it would cost to get a good used engine. thats what i am doing. but mine had less mileage and was a junkyard engine.

a basic rebuild isnt too bad when you price it out. here are the main parts you will need:

Piston Rings - i am using a set of NPR piston rings off of ebay.
Rod Bearings - ACL alumaglide or duraglide. i recommend the duraglide. ive used them before. good stuff.
Main Bearings - again, ACL duraglide.
Head Gasket - OEM toyota or Cometic. either or. both are MLS headgaskets.
Head Bolts - DO NOT REUSE the stock bolts. they are torque to yeild bolts and can snap. buy a new set from rockauto, or drop some coin on ARP headstuds like i did. the mains are NOT torque to yield from what i remember. so as long as they come out clean (no metal shavings) you will be fine.
Front/Rear Main seals - Rock Auto.com for those.
intake/exhaust gaskets - the current stock ones should be fine. the intake deffinatly. the exhaust is MLS and more than likely is fine. mine has been reused 3-4 times with no leaks.

then all you need is some Right stuff black rtv, timing chain guides, timing chain tentioner and go to town.
in all reality, a rebuild like this shouldnt take more than a week. if your lazy like i am, then it could drag on for a while... like mine has. find a good machine shop, take the block and head there. have the block honed, and hot tanked. have the head hot tanked. have both the head and block resurfaced for a MLS gasket. this machine work is actually pretty cheap. i paid about 180 for all of that at my local napa machine shop. other than that, its a whole lot of cleaning and assembling with a FSM handy for torque specs.

[boxer4luvr]

Hi guys.

Not trying to be argumentative or abrasive, but I disagree with Milky. I don't think there is any way in this universe that you could do a solid rebuild for less than $400 when you include everything. Again...Milky... I'm not trying to be a jerk or a smart-a$$ towards you.. I just disagree.

I think you find an updated engine (2003+) preferably really low mileage, etc... which you should be able to find for around $1k... swap it in and swap the various pieces and parts like we did... so the ecm and harness aren't impacted... and now your 186k motor is back down to a low mileage motor. this can be done in a day, no problem. If we'd known now what we didn't then we could have done my swap in about 5 hours.

Here's the thread we provided abotu swapping in the 2006 motor into the 1998 Prizm.

8th Gen Motor Swap under way!

Just my two cents... and providing info.

Good luck!!
Jon

[Bdub215]

Originally Posted by Milky

rebuild it; cheaper than it would cost to get a good used engine. thats what i am doing. but mine had less mileage and was a junkyard engine.

a basic rebuild isnt too bad when you price it out. here are the main parts you will need:

Piston Rings - i am using a set of NPR piston rings off of ebay.
Rod Bearings - ACL alumaglide or duraglide. i recommend the duraglide. ive used them before. good stuff.
Main Bearings - again, ACL duraglide.
Head Gasket - OEM toyota or Cometic. either or. both are MLS headgaskets.
Head Bolts - DO NOT REUSE the stock bolts. they are torque to yeild bolts and can snap. buy a new set from rockauto, or drop some coin on ARP headstuds like i did. the mains are NOT torque to yield from what i remember. so as long as they come out clean (no metal shavings) you will be fine.
Front/Rear Main seals - Rock Auto.com for those.
intake/exhaust gaskets - the current stock ones should be fine. the intake deffinatly. the exhaust is MLS and more than likely is fine. mine has been reused 3-4 times with no leaks.

then all you need is some Right stuff black rtv, timing chain guides, timing chain tentioner and go to town.
in all reality, a rebuild like this shouldnt take more than a week. if your lazy like i am, then it could drag on for a while... like mine has. find a good machine shop, take the block and head there. have the block honed, and hot tanked. have the head hot tanked. have both the head and block resurfaced for a MLS gasket. this machine work is actually pretty cheap. i paid about 180 for all of that at my local napa machine shop. other than that, its a whole lot of cleaning and assembling with a FSM handy for torque specs.

i'd need new sleeves to cause i know mine are shot. having piston slap for who knows how long and i've only been paying attention to it for 30k or so and idk if they can be machined or not. this is gonna be on the table.

[Milky]

i wouldn't make the assumption that the sleeves are shot, simply because it has not been torn down and measured yet. if you have to, order a set of oversized pistons & rings.


and yes, it is possible to do a rebuild for less than 400 on this engine. a rebuild will ALWAYS be more reliable than some unknown history junkyard engine. period. its not hard to assemble, infact i find it quite relaxing assembling an engine. the only labor i ever pay for is honing/boring/hot tanking. that being said:

Engine Gasket Set - 105-137$ from rockauto.com
Cylinder Head Bolts - 22.89-63.79$ from rockauto.com
Rod/Main/Thrust Bearings & pistons & rings - 135$ (acl bearings & Nippon pistons and rings aval in oversized as well .20 & .40 over) found on ebay as a package deal, with free shipping.

336 bucks for everything needed minus machine shop work. if you can hone your own block and it didnt need overbore, then yes it can be done for less than 400 bucks.

the swap to a 2000+ vvti engine is nice. but not everyone has access to the 00+ vvti engines or even the cars in their local junkyards. i know because i have had to get all of my parts mostly from members of newcelica.org except for 2 piece i snagged on ebay. the few junkyards here that DO have the parts i want, charge outrageous prices. and to make it worse, its not a you pull yard. ive been quoted 500 for just the vvti head! the point im trying to make, is that sometimes a rebuild is just plain better. it is cheaper. it will be more reliable. it will last longer.

if his current engine went to 189k and he swap in an identical replacement with say.. 50k on it. sure it still has 139k or so to go before he should expect any problems.. or so you would think. the truth is you have no clue how that previous engine was treated or maintained. it could have been driven by the most attentive 80+ year old lady who always had routine maintained done... or it could have been driven by a fast and furious imbecile that doesn't give a shit about their car, but yet thinks its a race car and trys to race everything on the road.


rebuild >>>>>>>>>>>>>> junkyard engine. 24/7/365

[Bdub215]

i think im just gonna sell the car. maybe do a small part-out. keep you guys posted.

[zythr]

Originally Posted by Bdub215

i think im just gonna sell the car. maybe do a small part-out. keep you guys posted.

Good call