I have the stock block sitting in my car awaiting the head to be put back on...and my friend told me to fill the cylinders up with a little oil to keep the rings from rusting...then siphon it out when I put the head back on, and just burn off the excess...

The oil depletes itself rather quickly in cyl 4. I realize all motors lose a little compression, but the other 3 dont drain the oil as quickly. How worried should I be that a block rebuild is in the near future?

As soon as it is together again, I will do a compression test to see how its doing..

 

Why not just fix the problem now while the engine is apart?It will cheaper and easier to do it now....Just bore the cyliners a little and slap some new pistons and rings in.....then you won't have to worry about the bottom end...

 

How would it be cheaper? Ive done all the work myself up till this point... I dont have any more money to spend on the bottom end, and I am in dire need of a car. If I had all the loot to do it now, I would...and if I had the machines to bore it, I would.

I think I am just going to put it back together, save some dough for the bottom end...I was just asking if the leaking oil is a sign of lost compression when I reassemble it...

 

I would take the time to do it. Heres what i would do and its not too expensive. I would pull the pistons and reuse them. Jsut get a set of rings and do a real light hone on the cylinders. Cost for the rings are around 70 bucks. If the bearings are new then jsut take them out and slap them back in but im lead to beleive that they are not. You can reuse bearings (come on admit it we all probably have) and it will be ok. If you have high milage though replace them. I would take a little more downtime and do it right and not have to tear it apart again.

 

I would "take the time to do it now" but my car would not be running again untill next christmas. and, seeing how I need this car to get places during the day, I m trying to use it while possible.

How long can I expect these rings to last? How much oil should leak through?

 

it would take you a year to save up for $70? hell you can get airtools lent for free from most autoparts stores (so long as you have a cc) i dont know if your already boosted man but if your finances cant handle a few hundred bucks just to get a bottom end rebuild you might want to put your FI project on hold for the moment.

seeing as $$$ is tight you might want to spend a little NOW instead of alot later. trust me you will spend alot later if the rings are that bad.

it's hard to tell how bad that cyl is w/ the head off cause you cant do a comp test like that but i would just shell out the dough for new rings and bearings now, do a slight hone to clean up the walls and patch it all up...

 

Like everybody else has said, plus it will save you from tearing the engine down again....time = money

 

Ok so since it seems like the general consensus is that I do not reassemble everything unless it is in tip top shape. I suppose patience will pay off in the end.

My new questions are:
Is it safe to hone it yourself? Should I fear I will hone it a little too much?

Do I need to get new rod bolts such as ARP?




[Modified by B18EG6, 4:44 PM 12/29/2002]

 

Unless you have the proper equiptment and know how i wouldn't recomend doing it yourself.You may not need arp bolts stock should work fine....unless you have the money...

In the end you will be thankful...patience does pay off

 

As for equipment, I have access to everything. As for know how, I deem myself pretty knowledgable, compared to most others. I have done everything on my car, and succeeded without any hitches. I have a very helpful friend of mine who runs a shop, and I am sure I can get lots of help from him.

Thanks for the help!

 

put new rings and rod bearings in. you can push the pistons and rods out the top if you have the head off. like one of the other guys said just hone the cylinders lightly and check to see if you have ridges on the top of your cylinder walls if you can catch it with your fingernail then buy a ridge reamer to remove the ridge. you are making a mistake if you do not fix this now. unless you enjoy pulling your motor apart all the time