hey h-t i just got a call from a friend that there is a k20a3 base for sale...$1000 flat. Problem one piston ring is blown possibly two.

My question: Is it worth it to replace the rings?

and could you guys give me an estimate of how much it would cost to bring it to a shop to refit the rings?

Thanks.

 

K20A3... not sure why you would bother really? 2 lobe VTEC and even if you put a K20A2 head on it you still can not rev the car to 8,000rpm cause the bottom end just won't take it... i'm not sure about the K's but from my experience, it's not usually the pistons rings but the ring lands that go bad which in short means the pistons are merely only good for paper weights... but if you really only want to do rings, bearings, the block heat tanked and cylinders cleaned up i would expect to spend atleast $500 and needing a full gasket set... but the cost from shop to shop varies largely...

and this i dunno... does a K20 fit in an EF?

either way good luck with it man i would just ran with a B16... get a good low milage B16 from http://www.hmotorsonline.com for what they want for the K end up with same power, more tunable power, and 3 lobe VTEC...

 

Im not going to disrespect the K20A3, because a good, working A3 would be a great upgrade from the d-series.

But the reality is the bottom-end rebuild of a $1000 K20A3 would end up costing you nearly as much as a working K20A2 unless you are an experienced engine builder who can DIY it.

The OTHER reality is the REST of the $$ you'd put into the swap outweights the savings you might find on the engine.

 

yeah the current going rate for a k swap is $10,000ish according to ryan from rywire's cost sheet in his thread. hasport makes a mount kit so it does work in an ef, but you end up needing a lot of parts that arent really being mass produced at this point.. like headers, and a shift linkage adapter.. its not cheap. there are several examples of k20 swaps on this board, and even more on k20a.org i think it is.

i would do it if i know someone who worked at a good machine shop that could do the work for or with me for free, and if i had the money to do the swap correctly. any k series in an ef is a HUGE upgrade if you ask me..