Skipping rebuild?

[SpectralSamurai]

I previously said I was going to do a full teardown and rebuild on my engine, however I'm begginning to second guess myself. At this point, I would like to just get it installed in my car and worry about all the power adders later. From what Stinger has said in the past you can pretty much just bolt these in from the donor car without doing anything, so that's the basis for the question of just leaving it alone.

As of this time, I have an assembled shortblock, all other parts on standby for install. Will the main/rod bearings and piston rings be allright as they are or should I replace them? I have no idea how many miles are on the engine, the factory crosshatching is still clearly visible, and the cylinder walls appear to be in perfect condition, so...what? Is there a way to check the piston rings without ripping apart the whole thing and creating even more work for myself or should I just go ahead and take it apart anyway?

My main concern is taking the whole thing apart and screwing up the install: improper torque settings, improper technique, etc. So what is the general consensus? Should I leave it alone and just re-assemble the engine and put it in, or should I get some tools and go ahead and rebuild the bottom end?

 

[Asha'man]

I would say that if it looks good from what you can see (crosshatch, etc), just put everything back on it and get it going. That's probably what I'll end up doing.

Ash

 

[JamesBaumann]

The only risk you run when you just put in an engine without checking to see if it needs internal work is then, if it does, you have to take it out, rebuild it and do it all over again. If I were in your shoes then I would probably take it apart and rebuild the bottom end, and if you are worried about not being able to put it back together properly then just get a machinist to do it. If you clean everything up yourself then it really wont be too expensive just to get a machinist put it back together for you, all you're paying for is his labour. I know that when I got my engine rebuilt, you could still see all the factory cross-hatching, but my first piston was blown and the rings on #'s 2 & 3 were in about a thousand pieces. I guess it's just a risk you run. Also, don't forget that if you want to get it rebuilt it's not impossible to take the engine out later and do it that way, just a little more work, but who on this forum ever complained about having to do some work? Well, thats just my two cents for ya.

 

[Red_LX]

How many miles are on the engine? I got a 145K engine for a complete rebuild, and it ran fine and everything looked good, but some of the bearings were worn to the copper, and the rings were fairly worn as well (which probably would have caused plenty of blowby). It would probably be a good idea to do the bottom end at the very least.

 

[Stinger]

If you have a torque wrench, pull one main bearing cap and one rod bearing cap and inspect the bearings. If they are to the copper, replace the bearings (can be done without pulling the pistons/rings). If they aren't to the copper, make sure they are clean, put a little oil on them and torque them back down to spec.

The rings/pistons are fine if the walls look as you say.

I've got any SVO with 130k miles on it...previous owners beat the crap out of it. I just threw a bunch of go fast goodies on it...didn't even think about pulling it/rebuilding it for a second.

Stinger

 

[SpectralSamurai]

If you have a torque wrench, pull one main bearing cap and one rod bearing cap and inspect the bearings. If they are to the copper, replace the bearings (can be done without pulling the pistons/rings). If they aren't to the copper, make sure they are clean, put a little oil on them and torque them back down to spec.

The rings/pistons are fine if the walls look as you say.

I've got any SVO with 130k miles on it...previous owners beat the crap out of it. I just threw a bunch of go fast goodies on it...didn't even think about pulling it/rebuilding it for a second.

Stinger

I don't have (a good) one, but I have access to one, I'll do that. I'm going to be buying gaskets and such today, and its significantly cheaper without piston rings and such. Originally I was going to rebuild the bottom end for strength purposes, but since I'm not going to immediately be adding mods to it, I don't see the need to.

My general plan is to play with go fast goodies later. I recently came back from Thailand (If interest is shown I'll throw a thread on the talk forums later) and something about drving a 100cc 2 stroke Honda moped for a week does wonders for your perception of "fast". Like I said, I originally was going to do all this stuff to it, but right now I'm just going to throw it in there and have fun.

 

[svoman2300]

I got an engine from an 87 Turbocoupe with 175,000 miles to put in while I build up my original engine. I took a couple of the bearing caps off and it was worn to the copper. All I did is replace the oil pan gasket and put on a rebuilt head that I had laying around. It runs great with a little blowby. But I know I am replacing the engine soon so I didn't care if lasted. I beat the crap out of it and it's still running strong 10 months later.