Joe Curry wrote:
> It's probably time for a complete rebuild.
I must say something here, and that is I think
a lot of people on the list have hair triggers
for engine rebuilds.
"Powder in oil pan" is not, IMHO, just cause
for a $2000 expense. It is an indication that the
engine might not be in as-new condition, but that's
a long way from unusable. It might go for tens of
thousands of miles without a hiccup.
Perhaps the engine has problems, but in my
view, rebuilds are only necessary when it
blows smoke or lacks power, and even then a quick
refresh is often cost effective.
Rebuilding an engine should really be looked
upon as a last resort. Almost anything is rebuildable. If
the engine is fine, who cares what's in the oil, drive
it. If it later REALLY starts showing it's flaws with
clouds of smoke or intolerable power, THEN rebuild.
Too many people end up making WAY expensive repairs
to cars to completely rebuild assemblies that frankly
work fine. This is where those cars come from that
say "for sale, TRx, asking $5000, invested $25000 have
receipts".
I missed the first post, but if you have gas in your
oil it is usually carb related like a stuck float, or
a holed diaphragm in the mechanical fuel pump which
leaks into the block.
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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