1991 Civic Si, 160,000
I posted a week ago about my civic having issues.
It has become very apparent that the previous owner overheated the engine so bad that I feel it is FUBAR. Water pump gasket was rock solid, my most recent change, as well as every other gasket I've pulled off the engine.
Changed the valve stem seals and I still lose 1/2 quart of oil per day, roughly 1 hour of driving. It doesn't appear to be leaking and there isn't a plume of smoke behind me, but it is smoking. If I floor it, it billows smoke, black/grayish.
Leak down on cylinder 4 is roughly 40% loss through the rings, other cylinders seem to be leaking ~10-15% through the intake.
Compression was ~120 with less than 10% variance
Got home today and borescoped the cylinders. I have oil on the top of the cylinder and, what appeared to be, ashe on the valve.
Since I changed the valve stem oil seals, is it possible to lose/burn that much oil due to the rings?
Would it be more cost effective to fix the bottom end personally or just end the fight and purchase a short block?
I am leaning towards a short block unless someone can convince me of another solution.
Does anyone know where I can purchase one near Atlanta?
probably easier to shortblock it.
Do a leakdown test first. Not a compresion test. Force air into the cylinder through the sparkplug and see where it is leaking out. Chances are, if you put your ear to the oil fill opening (with the cap off) you will hear the air hissing out
In reply to mad_machine:
I've done the leak down. Rings on cyl 4 is the worst of them all but they all have oil on the piston. Valve stem oil seals changed.
I did the short block option on the MR2 and I highly recommend it. It eliminated a lot of engine voodoo and special tools that I did not want to mess with, and ensured that everything was properly balanced and torqued and assembled.
With that engine however, I wonder if a complete JDM motor (ZC?) or even a B-Series swap wouldn't be less work and only slightly more money?
In reply to pinchvalve:
I cannot find a ZC from a jap dealer in ATL. The only one I've found is in Japan and that is if it is really there.
How complicated is a D16B swap. I do not want to futs with the comp or wiring. This car has cost enough without investing in an upgrade.
d16z6. used, complete for around 500 from most yards.
p28 ECU and boomslang conversion harness.
ebay special header
drive it at 35+MPG and a ton more power than the old a6.
did it on my 89 crx si. never, never look back.
and oh yeah, the aluminum flywheel was worth its weight in gold. incredible boost in throttle response, acceleration, and milage. im getting 38 around town beating the piss outta that car.
michael
Second the Z6. I can't speak highly enough about that motor, especially considering how much abuse it took before it went.
ive killed three of them. all due to far too many revsand laps. i did 400 miles in one day around cmp on one ofthe, and got about 125 in the next before #4 went searching for daylight.
+1 vote for shortblock. Especially if you don't feel like fooling with a conversion. My $.02. Although the otherwise rock-stock Z6 in the s00p3rturd took a ton of abuse at (???) PSI of boost. I think the (also a mystery) shot of nitrous is what killed it. They are stout motors.
My vote - B18B or B20Z from a running-when-crashed car. Cheap at the junkyards, 140 "big" horsepower.
The swap isn't the cheapest option, but you can either do it now or do it later. You probably need a new engine wiring harness by now too.
I am leaning towards the Z6 at this point. I guess it is impossible to find a reman'd A6 short block on this peticular planet.
If I buy a Z6 that is not complete, meaning it lacks the intake and dizzy, I was told that I could attach my A6 intake, dizzy (might not bolt right but would work?) and leave the VTEC unattached. Thus staving off some of the upfront costs of doing the swap. I would be able to swap the remaning A6 items (dizzy, ecu, intake, wiring, ect.) out when I had them all in hand.
Please say this is possible.
One more thing: Has anyone ever paid someone to overhaul the block? Cost$
Because I sure don't feel like spending the money and messing it up solo. Then who would I get to blame?!
