Engine Rebuild

Petah504411 said:

So my 93 LX has almost 209K miles. Still starts right up and runs good. No smoke or leaks. Just starting to worry about it from a longevity stand point. Not sure I would want to take it on any long trips. I want to do some upgrades (HCI), but I don't want to throw new stuff on an old block. Anyone know of any good shops in the Houston, TX area where I can get my motor rebuilt. This is just a weekend cruiser (heavy convertible), not a race car. This would be the first time I have done something like this. Am I better off to pull my motor and have it rebuilt or should I buy a used block and have it rebuilt? Thoughts or opinions from anyone thats been thru this?

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Several things in an engine wear out which cannot be easily or readily "rebuilt". Those are the cylinders and the crankshaft. Pistons, rings, camshafts and their bearings, valve lifters, rocker arms, pushrods, timing chain and sprockets, seals, etc., can all be replaced. The economics if it are up for grabs: Fact that your eng. lasted this long indicates it had a real good start in life: properly seasoned cylinder block, god assembly techniques used. Buying a used block, or rebuild, risks getting one which might have been overheated, highly-stressed, or otherwise inferior to your original block.

If it were me, based on what you describe as it's condition, I would simply continue driving it. As for "long trips", a breakdown 50 miles from home is no more dire than one 1000 miles from home, in reality. The one thing I would do is listen with a stethoscope carefully with the engine idling, hot, all around the bottom of the oil pan, sides of the lower part of the block, and up top on valve covers, seeking any repetitive noise indicating clearance in mating parts, bearings, rockers, etc. The one item likely well-worth replacing, if not rebuilding, would be the timing chain and sprockets. They take a beating. imp

Sounds like numbers matching! I too have a numbers matching 1993 mustang lx. Mine is a rusted pile. The car was sort of an impulse buy. Anywho... ideally I would like to restore my car to all original. This is something you should consider. At almost 25 years old original examples are becoming rare. My car has over 184,000 miles. It would be a daunting task to restore mine, but your texas car might be a better candidate.

nelzfoxes said:

Sounds like numbers matching! I too have a numbers matching 1993 mustang lx. Mine is a rusted pile. The car was sort of an impulse buy. Anywho... ideally I would like to restore my car to all original. This is something you should consider. At almost 25 years old original examples are becoming rare. My car has over 184,000 miles. It would be a daunting task to restore mine, but your texas car might be a better candidate.

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I think Texas is OK, away from the Gulf, but on the salt-water, oh my! The '94 GT I bought in May hasn't a speck of rust anywhere even underneath it, due to having spent 23 years in the Mohave Desert, where all there is to affect cars is dust. imp