Engine Rebuild Or Second Hand Motor

[r33747]

Just done a piston ring and was wondering what i was better off doing. i have sourced out a second hand engine for $1500 + 500 to put the thing in. Would that be better than rebuilding because i know rebuilds are very expensive and i also have the drama if there is a damaged block or valves, just a waste of time i think. correct me if im wrong.

Also can anyone tell me of there experences and how they got out of it. Where they went how much?. How much would a full rebuild with forgies,bored and balanced be.

[ArBe20]

Id say do a rebuild.

You have the option of getting all the extras ie forgies etc etc and at the end of the day you know the engine is basically going to be new. Whereas buying secondhand... well its second hand. Guess it depends apon your budget etc too.

[r33747]

Does any know any good places in melbourne. What kind of price am i looking at ?

[VB-]

what comes with the second hand engine? you might be able to sell off leftovers to recoup money ie turbo/loom/head (always people wanting to go RB30DET) or was it 1500 for the bottom end only? (rip off if it is)

[gtst4d]

If you are going to get a rebuild done by someone else and do nothing yourself then you wont get any change out of 6 GRAND, now that is 3 second hand motors fitted. The other thing is the type of power you are (or planning to) make. If your car is mostly stock and going to stay that way then a rebuilt motor is going to be a waste of money. I was in the same boat about 4 years ago and went for a full rebuild with plans of a monster engine but it never happened and I sold the car with the motor in it and did not make any extra money out of it. So you have to be realistic about what you want to do in the future and use that as the basis for the new engine. I wish I had taken the cheap option as that would of given me more money to do some of the basic mods like computer and front mount and high flow instead I ended up having a car with a built motor and nothing to make it go fast.

All the best with the decisions.

Andrew

[rich flavour]

  gtst4d said:

If you are going to get a rebuild done by someone else and do nothing yourself then you wont get any change out of 6 GRAND, now that is 3 second hand motors fitted. The other thing is the type of power you are (or planning to) make. If your car is mostly stock and going to stay that way then a rebuilt motor is going to be a waste of money. I was in the same boat about 4 years ago and went for a full rebuild with plans of a monster engine but it never happened and I sold the car with the motor in it and did not make any extra money out of it. So you have to be realistic about what you want to do in the future and use that as the basis for the new engine. I wish I had taken the cheap option as that would of given me more money to do some of the basic mods like computer and front mount and high flow instead I ended up having a car with a built motor and nothing to make it go fast.

All the best with the decisions.

Andrew

$6000 to rebuild a motor your f**king crazy.

R33747 pm me i have a number for you to get rebuild wont cost much at all

Edited February 9, 2008 by rich flavour

[r33747]

1500 for a complete motor minus loom and ecu . i have an afermarket turboand power fc that ill be using so i could sell the stock turbo here for a couple of hunderd bucks. Not bad considering how much a rebuild would cost. ive spoken to my mechanics i use a both said that the better option because stuff can go wrong with a rebuilds.

Also wondering how can i tell if a motor is in good condition. Can you do a comp test when the motor is out of the car? Ive got 5 to choose from but have do i decide which is the best one?

[Duncan]

basically - the rebuild is a better option if you can afford it, and you are planning to keep the car long term.

but the difference between rebuild and second had is literally thousands $$$ so if you can't afford it just grab the second hand one.

I've done both - second hand into the road car and rebuild the race car. the second hand motor was fine.

[SPINR33GTS]

Um im surprised noones susgested it yet but wouldn't u atleast pull old motor out pull the head off etc and inspect engine damage before writing the old engine off im sure a new set of pistons and getting the cylinder bored, 2nd hand gtr rods etc wouldnt cost a hell of alot more then 2nd hand motor and atleast u no if u looked after the old motor ur not getting another motor which has already doen some work as opposed to rebuilt orginal motor thats been looked after. But if the motors bad needs headwork etc to repair mayaswell throw it away.

thanks just my opnion Rory

[r33747]

does anyone know of good places in melbourne that do good cheap rebuilds?

[bnr#@]

  r33747 said:

does anyone know of good places in melbourne that do good cheap rebuilds?

Good and cheap will never go together...

Cheap, reliable, fast. Pick any two...

That statement is as true as you can get

[arep3]

2nd hand way cheaper. rebuild takes time and money. you cant say that rebuilt motors are always more reliable then 2nd hand. whats if the bloke building the motor does fantastic work but comes in 1 morning after a hard night and stuffs something without realizing it. bang goes the motor and ur back to square 1. it has happened before. you might get a crappy 2nd hand 1 as well. just gotta check out the motor before buying it if u go 2nd hand.

[VB-]

  SPINR33GTS said:

Um im surprised noones susgested it yet but wouldn't u atleast pull old motor out pull the head off etc and inspect engine damage before writing the old engine off im sure a new set of pistons and getting the cylinder bored, 2nd hand gtr rods etc wouldnt cost a hell of alot more then 2nd hand motor and atleast u no if u looked after the old motor ur not getting another motor which has already doen some work as opposed to rebuilt orginal motor thats been looked after. But if the motors bad needs headwork etc to repair mayaswell throw it away.

thanks just my opnion Rory

hahaha thats called a 'rebuild' dude, have you actully been reading the thread?

[johnGTS-t]

just rebuild mine. done a big end bearing.

replaced the crankshaft, bearings, rings, conrod, cleaned head, gasket kit. all done at repco just over 2 grand.

also had the comptuter chiped by Dr Drift and my rb20 turbo now with steel wheels and inlarged.

could of got a engine for a grand, which is about what i thought it would of cost but cost double!!

seem to have a loose tappet and a noise coming from the front cam wheel cover (unrelated i know) that we cant pin point.

started removal work on xmas day and turned the key friday (8th)

JBR

Edited February 10, 2008 by johnGTS-t

[STATUS]

  r33747 said:

does anyone know of good places in melbourne that do good cheap rebuilds?

i do them, usually only by reference, but you will have to drop the engine off to me in keysborough. i will strip and photograph your eng and only replace what is needed or i can do some killler monster engine... whatever your budget or choice. If you want refferences i can give you the number of guys whose engines ive built.

[R34GTFOUR]

  rich flavour said:

$6000 to rebuild a motor your f**king crazy.

R33747 pm me i have a number for you to get rebuild wont cost much at all

he had a fully built engine, so i'm assuming forged pistons/rods etc etc you will EASILY spend 6k if you take it to a workshop for a "tough" rebuild

pistons, bearings, headstuds, gasket kit, timing belt, water pump etc etc all those things should be done while its torn down, and when your paying for labour it adds up very quickly, or you can go cheap and replace only the broken piston but that wont be any better than a second hand engine anyway.

If your not planning on making over 400rwhp get a nice low km engine, they can do a compression test on them outside the car, and buy the one that pulls the highest and most even numbers

or take it to URAS, it seems he knows something about skylines haha jks

Edited February 10, 2008 by R34GTFOUR

[r33747]

Thanks guy really been helpful. ill let you know how i go

[r32_Gts4]

i have a mate that works at Top Torque in Nunawading. don't know how much they charge, but theres no harm in asking. they've done a few cars from Chasers Motorsports. so im guessing they're pretty good

heres the link

http://www.aussieweb.com.au/details.aspx?id=2009642

[Wogboy]

I've just re-built an RB25DET, Rings, bearings, one piston, gasket kit, timing belt, tensioner, idler, faced flywheel, relined 5 puck clutch plate, faced pressure plate & fitted new fingers, filters and oils. Just under $1500.