is a rebuild necessary?

[wildacexxx]

i've seen alot of posts on here about guys having problems with running on 3 cyl. and smoking. is a full rebuild on the ca really necessary? this can really be a deterent.

[c-rad]

Think of it this way.... What's worse...putting a motor you think is okay into the car and after having spent hours maybe even a weekend installing it, having it **** the bed on startup. Or... waiting a week or two and having a shop (or yourself) disassemble the motor and inspect the internals for severe wear or damage? I would go with option 2 only because I go by the saying, "Do it once, do it right."

[boost_boy]

i've seen alot of posts on here about guys having problems with running on 3 cyl. and smoking. is a full rebuild on the ca really necessary? this can really be a deterent.

A full rebuild is not always necessary. First of all, you spent X amount of money to buy an engine nearly ready for direct installation into your US spec S12,S13,S14. Of course you may want to check and or change the little things such as water pumps, timing belts, cam seals, front crankshaft seals, and rear main seals. If you're one of those people that purchased a motor/motorset and left it sitting in your garage past the amount of time alotted for warranty by your engine supplier, then you go a step further from what I previously stated and inspect the rod and main bearings. Rarely do CA18DE/DET oil pumps fail, but if you want to get technical, change it as well.

If you immediately open up an engine that has warranty, you've just voided it ! And maybe when you open it, you find some melted pistons, etc, etc, etc. It is best to do your compression test 1st, then leak down test and if they both yield good results, enjoy what you've spent your money on. Don't be foolish and go tearing the thing apart because you want peace of mind. That same desire for peace of mind is gonna cost you more down time and more money out of your pocket for what was supposed to be a budget install.

I've had the distinguished opportunity of owning about 5 of them and I can say that the worst of the bunch is the one that is in my g/f's sentra right now. The only reason why I say it's the worst one is because it was a RWD unit that I had to convert to FWD and since it had the fan clutch on its water pump, changing it to the FWD scheme caused the water pump to fail within 10 miles of driving. I actually boost this thing recklessly to 20psi of boost when I do drive it and it's all done on pump gas. That's right! A virgin CA18DET that never had it's oil pan opened or it's head popped-off is withstanding the abuse that I'm offering. Coupled with over 55 nasty dyno runs, I would say why mess with something that isn't broken. Howeverm it is your choice........

Dee

[wildacexxx]

wat goes on during a leak down test and can it be done by a regular person ie. me, and not a shop. i've done compression tests before but never on a engine thats out of a car. how would i go by doing that as well.?

[boost_boy]

Here ya go! http://www.vclassics.com/archive/leakdown.htm

Dee

[NeedCAforS13]

wat goes on during a leak down test and can it be done by a regular person ie. me, and not a shop. i've done compression tests before but never on a engine thats out of a car. how would i go by doing that as well.?

you can't really test it out of the car... you have to be able to turn over the motor.

Sean

[wildacexxx]

you can't really test it out of the car... you have to be able to turn over the motor.

Sean

are u talking about compression? i thought u can do it outside of a motor?

also that link says that the engine has to be warm, meaning it has to be in a car, meaning that if a rebuild is necessary i would have to take the damn engine out again. is there a way to do it outside the car?

[ca18detsilvia]

or you could just buy my motor and have an already rebuilt CA, w/ a SR t-25 turbo, and be done....haha, e-mail me [email protected]

[wildacexxx]

lol i did but u're out of my price range right now . im [email protected].

[themadscientist]

seeing the condition these engines are usually in and how bad japanese guys maintain them i would recommend it unless you have already seen it run and know for a fact it is good as is.

[float_6969]

IMHO, it's kinda hit and miss. If compression and leakdown tests yeild good results, then I say screw the rebuild and enjoy. Otherwise, an $80 set of rings will solve that problem.

[wildacexxx]

how much would a shop charge to replace rings? will i have to machine the piston walls? if the rings are bad does that also mean the pistons should go as well?

[c-rad]

Machine them? You mean hone them? Honing is dirt cheap. If the walls are scored badly then you may need to have it bored and honed and that's when the price jumps up a little bit. If the walls look good, remove the pan, unbolt the crank and rod caps (keep them in order), inspect the bearings and journals, pull out the girdle and crank. Rod and piston comes out through the bottom. You just need a special piston ring compressor tool that you can rent from Autozone. May as well replace the bearings while you are in there seeing as they are very inexpensive ($50 if I remember for both the main and rod bearings).

[wildacexxx]

holly crap thats alot of work. i dont think i can do that myself.

[8ggalant]

seeing the condition these engines are usually in and how bad japanese guys maintain them i would recommend it unless you have already seen it run and know for a fact it is good as is.

i dont agree w/ that statement tms...my bro-in-law is a "japanese guy" who took very good car of his ca's (plural cuz someone hit him and totalled one car)....just didnt like the blanket statement about japanese guys.....now that my panties arnt in a bunch....BTT