i'm in a bit of a dilemma guys. okay long story short, my engine is in bad shape. cylinder 4 has 10psi and all i know is the valves are bent. i took it to my usual mechanic and turns out he's a total incompetent jackass who thinks i am retarded. he said to fix the damages alone would excess of 3k and said a replacement would cost 8 effin k. what a bastard. i didn't even pay 8k for my car. been busy with a lot of things and now i have the time to finally fix my car. I've narrowed it down to these choices but am open to what you think. please make them reasonable ones, i simply want my motor to run at this point.

1) simply find another h22a4 motor - $1800-2200
pro: less miles: avg 40-60k, cheaper than rebuild
cons: history unknown, most likely startup warranty only.

OR

2) rebuild my 170k h22a4 at USENGINE

* this is from their site *

"At U.S. Engines your Car, Truck, and Boat engine is critical to driving performance and safety. And when it’s time to have your engine rebuilt, no one takes that fact more seriously than U.S. Engines. We rebuild your motor to the most exacting standards in the industry, using the most advanced techniques available. And when we’re finished, we offer an unheard of 8-year or 80,000-mile warranty that gives you complete peace of mind.

Most companies use chemicals to clean engines before the rebuilding process. This leaves particles that can later dislodge and damage your engine. At U.S. Engines, we bake the engine for 12 hours at 800 degrees, leaving nothing to chance.

Once the engine is clean, we bore each cylinder to the next size larger, increasing capacity and power. Next we replace bearings, pistons, rings and plugs and straighten the crankshaft and rods. Then your engine is rinsed clean with hot anti-rust formula for 15 minutes.

Finally, we test each engine to ensure that when you put it back in your car, it will give you years of trouble-free service. With our 8 year – 80,000-mile, no nonsense warranty, you can be confident that our company stands behind our work. "

pros: read above, costs $2100!!, effin' 8 yr / 80k mile warranty!!
cons: still 170k motor, R&I [removal nd installation] will cost 1700 extra!

OR

3) replace valves&etc and resleeve w/ darton - $1100 + labor
pros: cost 650 for dry sleeve + more to hone etc.
cons: still running the 170k motor.

so i've already dropped 2400 on this stupid motor.. i was a complete fool. i should have just swapped a new motor in at that time but my dad didn't have the time. i've had ppl tell me that a motor runs like new after a rebuild so would that be the case for me here? i just want my motor to last for awhile now. i don't race nd shiz and don't plan on it. my goal for this car is 250whp but that's later on. i just want my motor running now.

oh btw my old mechanic charged us 150 for a stupid compression test and he didn't even look inside my block.. so technically i don't know the extent of the damage. i plan on getting it thoroughly inspected this week. depending on the severity i might go with the swap or rebuild. but i would really like to get some input from my fellow luders. sorry for the long post. thanks a lot guys.

 

judging from your sig you have a second car to drive......

yeah it sucks not having the lude up and running, but this may be a good time to rip the engine out yourself and choose to send it off to be sleeved and start to rip the head apart, or send it to that company to rebuild it.

You want to make power with the engine...go for it with what you have, or just put her down for the count for a while, save for a new engine and do the work to that.

I say full rebuild to get what you want out of the engine in the long run. Just suck it up and drive the windstar for a while. Cant look pretty all the time can we?

 

im feeling the rebuild a lot because it seems like the guys at usengine really know their stuff if they're going to offer 8 yr / 80k mile warranty including 5 yrs of labor. i would jump at this but i run into another problem. im not tryna pay 850 to remove the engine and another 850 to install it. that's a 2/3 of the rebuild price right there.. all of this is blowing my mind.. hah.. including the items replaced w/ the rebuild mentioned above, is there anything else i should replace while im at it? things that would be vital to keeping my car from breaking down again soon. im trying to keep my car running for a few more years before it decides to die on me again. haha im just going to take a long shot on this but.. does anybody near the seattle/kent/auburn/tacoma/fw/etc area wna remove nd install my motor for $1000? haha.. but im serious.

 

DIY FTW....yanking an engine out isnt the hard part.....neither is putting it in......now doing it correctly is where it gets complicated....or fun, depending on what side of the story your on
I know of a Service Manual for 30.00 on PO.com
Helms baby...helms

that or buy a new one....its only like 70 I think shipped.....dont quote me on that though

 

Pick yourself up a helms, grab a knowledgable friend, a good set of hand tools, and an engine hoise and have at it, the book descibes in good detail how to remove and reinstall. think about it, it saves a ton of money-

 

If you're positive that your problems are just bent valves than you can definitely do it yourself.

Don't bother pulling the engine out, just yank off the head and have it rebuilt and install it back.

I just did this myself and it was not hard at all. Only down time I had was having to stop and buying tools.

I had 90 psi compression in cylinder 3 and about 210 in the other cylinders, this morning I did a compression check on my engine after putting everything back together and I got ~230 in all 4. It's definitely a DIY, just pick up a helms manual and make sure you know the procedures.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by l2yanE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Pick yourself up a helms, grab a knowledgable friend, a good set of hand tools, and an engine hoise and have at it, the book descibes in good detail how to remove and reinstall. think about it, it saves a ton of money-</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah i've been seriously considering this. i'm a bit inexperienced and im lacking all of the above besides a good set of tools. my cars been nothing but trouble since i got it.. but i still love it. ha.. watch me change my mind next week..

 

I'd definitely go with the build if you have that second car. I don't see any sense in just getting your car running now with $2000+ and then spending more later to get 250whp. Build it.

 

If your on a budget and and simply want a strong motor that runs , I would look into a jdm longblock , they go for about $1200 plus shipping/taxhttp://www.hmotorsonline.com/s...it=25 , and they come with 30k or less. A rebuild will cost way too much for what your looking for. I see your out of fed way.........let me know if you want to sell your old setup.

 

i know this is going to sound ridiculous but my dad will not allow me to use a motor that isn't 98+ since it's apparently "illegal". if it wasn't for that i'd have swapped out for a jdm h22a half a year ago. my question still remains.

with the rebuild would i be set? i want my motor to last me as dd for awhile so is there anything else vital i should replace?

 

Mike I agree with your dad to an extent.

I dont think they are Illegal, less you have to do emmisions testing, then yes since pre 96 was OBD1

But also on that you change your motor, 97 and before was a 50mm crank and the 98 up is a 55mm crank.

Thats the major difference I know of. I would just get your block up and running, rather than get to your 250 goal. Send it to the company that will rebuild and give you the warranty, after taking it out yourself. Once you take it out you will have a better understanding of your car and a lil more respect as to what you want to do in the future if you so choose to.

Do what you need to do, but if your adamant about what we talked about in PM, just get her back on the road....you dont need the headache of trying to fix problems down the road on a limited budget. Ill expalin in a reply via PM

 

10 psi?

you sure you did the test right? piston at TDC?

 

according to what my very competent *cough* mechanic.. err prev. mechanic.. but i guess you're right, seeing as how he tried to screw me over that information isn't very reliable huh.. i heard that sears does compression tests for free? or they lend you the tools to do it? anyone know about this?

 

do it yourself man.

i believe you can rent the tester at autozone.

 

yeah that's what im planning to do now. first i need to get a myself a helms. prolly buy a hoist since renting one costs like 32/day which is bs since i could get a used one for 100. now i just need to find a place to work at. my garage is way to cramped. our two cars barely fit in there. and my driveway is literally 70 degrees. i have to park my car on the sidewalk since im on the bottom of the food chain. problems after problems. i guess we all can't live easy lives.

 

if you have any plans for building up the motor...then pull it apart and build it...if you just want a stock H motor daily driven get a new motor with less miles..