I want to thank you all for your advice. Here is where this sits at the moment:
1. I took the car back from my mechanic who wanted to rebuild the engine. He doesn't have a machine shop and I am not sure he can do the job.
2. I have a few options for a re-man engine. a) There is a dismantler out here who claims to have the engine. (I now know that the '89 had a single cam and I should be wary.) Assuming it is correct, he wants $650 for the re-man engine and $1100 installed. 3 month parts and labor warranty. All cash transaction. b) There is an outfit here called K. Watanabe. Rebuilding engines are their business. They would give me a re-man engine for $1420 installed. 1 year on engine. 3 months on labor. There I guess I can use a credit card or check. The thought of putting down over a grand cash scares me a little on the other place.
3. l phoned a 240 shop out here that does upgrades. He offered me $1500 for the car, but said if I could probably get $2000 for it. He said it has everything people want, it's black, hatchback SE, superclean, with 68,000 miles. People in the Mid-west want them but there they are all rusted and such. And they would toss my engine for an upgrade anyways. On what to do if I want to keep it, he suggested NOT buying the reman engine from the dismantler and actually having a good machine shop work on mine to make sure it's REALLY as close to new as possible. He also said that he could sell me an old engine which he takes out for between 200 and 400. The only problem is the single cams are rare and usually have 200K on them.
That's my story. I thank you all for all the tips. I actually feel for the first time I know a little about cars. I won't be driving Mom's car for long.
Chadguy
Where I stand now with the 1989 240SX Possible Engine Rebuild
650 is good for a re-man, but I wouldn't waste 1100 for an install. do it urself. depending on what all has been replaced, i would say that you could barely rebuild an engine yourself and source the parts for 650.
SOHC's aren't rare at all. there are more SOHC's than DOHC's. you could probably find one w/100k that'll run for 3-4 years.
SOHC's aren't rare at all. there are more SOHC's than DOHC's. you could probably find one w/100k that'll run for 3-4 years.
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powerdrifter
- Posts: 56
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:56 pm
- Car: drifting, engine tuning, music
When removing a motor, it's a simple remove, inspect/repair, and reinstall process. The only difficult part is knowing afterwards where the vacuum hoses are supposed to go. For those of you who have not done it but are willing to do it, I highly recommend having a small compressor handy if possible. I've done several SOHC 12V motors. From my personal experience, do it with friends because it makes the day go by faster, you enjoy the working together bit, and if you get stuck, they can help and offer suggestions or ideas. Do it somewhere where you won't get distracted and can concentrate on what you're doing (which why a backyard garage comes in so handy). If you buy the repair manual, it will show you everything you need to know, but YOU have to know how to navigate through it and go back and forth from one section to the other. I highly recommend the Chiltons book because the other ones tend to get difficult to read when you get to the wiring and vacuum sections, and the writing becomes so small, it's no longer legible.