Quick basic question...

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
02/04/2015 at 08:13 • Filed to: None

What does "rebuilding" an engine entail, and how difficult is it to to on a 98 non-VTEC Honda I4? I'm asking for... a friend. Yeah. His engine has low compression and could use, at the very least, new piston rings.

DISCUSSION (15)

CalzoneGolem > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:16

Trading the Sofa for a MurderSivic?

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:19

Depends on a lot of things really.

1. Do you have access to all the tools you'll likely need?

2. Have you ever done mechanical work?

3. Have you considered buying another engine?

Rebuilding an engine is not that hard, but you need the right tools, and you need patience and/or experience.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:20

Literally taking it apart and rebuilding it, usually with new components as needed. It's expensive, and not something that can be done to a car by yourselves if you're asking what it entails. Buy a broken lawnmower or scooter and rebuild that first.

BJ > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:21

Generally, a rebuild would entail:

pull the motor from the engine bay

remove the cams and heads

remove the crank and pistons

get stuff machined or cleaned or replaced

put it all back together

set the timing, tune, etc

If you have a good selection of tools, a shop manual, and a motor stand, it's not rocket science. But your "friend" needs to be willing to spend some time on it, and organisation is key - keep notes, bag related parts together, etc.

Nobi > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:23

Assuming it's a D-Series, you've got one of the easiest Hondas to rebuild on your hands. Also, if you want to hop it up some, heads, pistons, intakes, and a few other parts mix and match and none of them are very expensive. Are you just re-ringing the pistons? If so, you might want to look into new pistons altogether. IIRC Suzuki Vitara pistons not only fit, but have better compression ratios than the stock Honda units provide to give a little extra kick. Get some good connecting rods too as that's the weak point on a Honda D-series. Either way, ripping the head off will take a few hours, and the oil pan basically falls off. If you're in a hurry, you can do this with basic tools in a day.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > BJ
02/04/2015 at 08:27

I would also add getting your engine "balanced" and by that I mean weighing out things like your connecting rods and pistons so that the weight of the rotating mass is "balanced" if you will. Try and buy a pre-balanced set (they just make sure the parts for all four cylinders are almost equal) then you don't have to worry about positioning thigns or mathing out what piece to use where. It will work jut fine without being balanced, but it helps your engine run smoother and makes it more stable at higher RPM.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nobi
02/04/2015 at 08:31

Awesome, the owner has a shop and knows it's super easy to rebuild (or, at least cheap) but not much more than that. I'm looking at putting a turbo on it down the road, so I will definitely upgrade the connecting rods to prep it for boost.

BJ > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/04/2015 at 08:32

Excellent point for when you're replacing rotating parts.

If you're just going to replace the rings and put in some new bearings, it's not really necessary, because you'll be re-using all the existing equipment and hopefully you'll be re-installing it in the same position it come out of.

You took notes and marked your parts, right? :)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > CalzoneGolem
02/04/2015 at 08:33

Actually I'm buying a Civic to supplement the MurderSofa in light of the electrical gremlins plauging the Sofa. Since It's Japanese, I was going to dub the Civic the Couch of the Rising Sun.

CalzoneGolem > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:33

You're an animal.

McMike > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:37

What does "rebuilding" an engine entail?

It depends who you ask.

Some people* consider a head gasket job a "rebuild" because it was expensive and the engine had to be "opened" to do it.

To me, in involves new heads, new main bearings, and the crank inspected. New rings (and pistons if needed) and cylinder honing or a slight bore if needed. New chain, new tensioners, etc..

It's expensive, which is why you need to ask everyone that says "rebuilt" for details.

*usually shared in CL ads.

Nobi > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 08:44

Only advice I can give about that is avoid the Bisimoto stuff. While it is well engineered, you can buy comparative stuff, or make it just as good for way less that what they charge.

Rock Bottom > CalzoneGolem
02/04/2015 at 08:44

We see what you did there.

crowmolly > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/04/2015 at 09:03

Jake,

IMO this question is too general, and the term "rebuild" is used pretty loosely. Some use it for a typical re-ring job while others use it to describe complete tear downs.

From my experience it's very much a "we will have to see when we get in there" deal.

You don't know how bad the cylinder walls are and if/how big the overbore has to be, you don't know how much carbon buildup you've got, or what the valves look like, or the crank journals, and so on.

Did you do a leak down test? Or just a compression test? What do the numbers look like?

crowmolly > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
02/04/2015 at 09:17

If your shop will do it, get your clutch balanced with the RA/flywheel as well.