Water in the oil

[Ziggy1621]

I just bought a 90 tt with a bad motor. I'm looking at replacing the motor, but wanted opinions on a rebuild. The car has a Texas inspection sticker that expired in late 2010, so the car has been sitting around 2 years with water in the oil. I'm guessing a blown gasket or warped heads got it there. So my question is, would it be worth rebuilding this one or going with a swap? I'm speaking in terms of price. A jdm motor (after confirmed compression tests... So don't turn this thread into a rant on jdm), 60k timing kit, oil pump, belts, fluids would be around $2200.

[nissanfreak12]

You should be able to get a rebuild, if you did most of the work yourself, for about the same price. You still need a machine shop to hone the cylinders and true the head. You can also have them measure the bearings and rings and get them from the shop. It could cost a bit more but you will have a known good engine that will last you a long while. A good rebuild if using stock internals and the crank is in good shape, could be 1500-2000, dependent on the shop.

I have a JDM in my car, I do have zero issues with it, runs great. I have no idea how many miles are in the engine. Mine was a TT swap, BTW.

Bottom line, if I do it again, I would rebuild for the peace of mind.

[Ziggy1621]

cool, thanks for the info

[t.mcginley.jr]

Yes. Most people will recommend you rebuild the current engine so that you know exactly what condition it is in, compared to buying a JDM one that you are clueless about.