Thanks for the advice everyone,
I just wanted to make sure that I don't miss anything while I am re-building
the engine.
My clutch components looks good, I installed new clutch/plate/bearing 10-15
years ago, but the car has been garaged 10 years of that time.
I do plan to look inside the tranny, I might even re-build after I am done
with the engine. Or I might just replace a few gaskets and new oil and throw
it back in the car. The tranny was working fine last time I drove (4 years
ago) I changed the oil way back when I replaced the clutch/plate/bearing.
As far as the engine re-build goes, I currently have the engine on the stand
and will be tearing it apart this weekend. I will clean everything and take
measurements per the manuals and whatever parts are out of spec, I will
replace or have machined. I know my crank is going to need grinding, I'm
hoping my cam is ok. I planned on just replacing the piston rings, no the
pistons, but I will have to wait and see how everything looks.
I thought I would be automatically replacing the valves, guides and seats
due to the unleaded fuel used today, but from what I am hearing on this
list, if these parts are ok, then why not re-use them (sounds good to me).
I do not want to spend a fortune on the re-build, I do not plan on replacing
parts if I can re-use them. I am new to engine re-building, and I have
enjoyed restoring everything else on the car in the 20 years I have owned
her. I am doing the re-build myself not only to save money but also beacause
I know that I will love doing it. :)
I simply wanted to know what MUST be done during an engine rebuild.
Thanks,
Wayne
Westport, MA
1973 TR6 (Mallard)
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert M. Lang [mailto:lang@isis.mit.edu]
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 12:20 PM
To: Michael Lupynec
Cc: Wayne Ross; 6pack
Subject: Re: Engine re-build must-do's
On Fri, 13 Sep 2002, Michael Lupynec wrote:
> Has anybody mentioned boring and going to the next oversize
> pistons? If you are rebuilding an engine you will rarely find the
> current pistons within factory new spec.
I will not disagree that worn pistons should be replaced. But once again,
don't assume that you need to replace them as a matter of course. I have a
set in my street car now with about 130K miles on them and the bores are
still round and the pistons have negligible "scuffing" on them. I
re-ringed the motor last winter and honed the cylinders. Next time, for
sure, I'll have to go oversize, but at the current rate of usage, I could
get 300,000+ miles from the block by doing reborees in .010 increments.
> And if it's typically within wear limits why do up a rebuild with
> a half life on reliability and good tune?
What's half the life? 20k miles? 50k miles?
Most folks with these cars put maybe 3000 miles a years on them. Do the
math. A rebuild with new pistons has a return on investment of practically
ZERO. We're talking $300 for pistons and then another $300 for a bore/hone
and then (theorectically a balance job - maybe another $250 or more). So
you spend $1k when you could have merely re-ringed the pistons ($50).
I took the initial message to indicate that the person wanted to know
_what must I absolutely do?_, not how many things can I replace on my
motor.
It turns out that this topic is a hot-button for me. Too many folks go out
and do _everything_ to thier motor when in fact they don't really need
to. But heck - it's your money... spend it as you wish.
> Mike L
> 60A,67E,59Bug,74TR6
regards,
rml
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