Major Cylinder Problem - advice needed

[Anonymous]

Hi - just found out that my 2nd cylinder is damaged - my spark plug melted and a bi dropped into the cylinder, sticking to the piston and damaging etc. It's a 94 R with 55k miles on the clock.

I have been told I have 2 options:

1) Buy another engine or
2) Possibly re-bore the cylinders

Has anyone else had this problem or know how best to go about solving? I am in the Midlands and am thinking of getting Nissan to do the work as I will have come back etc.

I have already agreed a price to sell the car to a friend, so I really need a low cost fix (well lower cost as I am sure it will be pricey!!) whilst at the same time, not ripping him off. We have agreed a £5250 price already, which means I swallow the costs myself, or sell as a project car or the like to someone else at a cheaper cost.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tailz

 

[AJ4]

Depends exactly what the damage is... is the piston just damaged or is the cylinder wall damaged ? You have loads of options depending on what the fault is... If its the piston only, you should be able to replace it no problem. If the cylinder wall is very very slightly scuffed then you may be able to get away with having it re-honed, if its a bit deeper you will have to get it re-bored. If its really bad, you will need a new cylinder. If it is just a piece of metal stuck to the piston crown you might be able to get it machined off, but it will always be a weak spot on that piston.

Under no circumstances, ever, get Nissan to do the engine work. They will probably charge more than the value of the car to fix it There are plenty of reputable garages and tuning companies around that can do that work for you for a lot less money.

If you decide to keep the car and think you might later on be going for high power, it might be worth thinking about forged pistons etc. Also, if you are going to take the engine out then its usually worth doing all the things that you never have access to such as clutch, oil pump etc.

Depends whether you want to make the effort or not, and if you intend to keep the car for a while....

And don't run silly boost with the wrong fuelling with the wrong grade of spark plug, and they won't melt in the first place

 

[kyepan]

from what i have read over the past few months, your best bet is to get somone from the forum to help you take the engine out, get the bits to fix it from the states, then strip the engine down to a stat where you can send it to an engine builders. They will do the build, and possilby dino it at extra cost.

You will get the best build and at the lowest price from that, people on here will be able to point you in the direction of what bits to buy when rebuilding (depending on the damage and your wallet), where to have the bits balanced if you want them done, and who will build it the best..


ball park
bits 1k pistons etc
balancing +blueprinting £500
build 2k
engine removal and refitting 500 ish.

can anyone who has done it this way help give some more accurate figures.

 

[AJ4]

I re-read the post and think he just wants a quick fix so he can flog it to his mate

 

[Anonymous]

That's right AJ4. Don't want to pass on the problem to him though.

Who can you recommend in Midlands area?

If it is going to be thousands though, I may just part ex for a new car for the missus - it drives ok (ish) and they don't usually test them anyway!! She was after a new car soon anyway, so may work out cheaper?!

Cheers

Tailz

 

[Fast Guy]

If you're down south, pm Ex-Gtir and see if he can help with the labour.

Cheapest option, depending on the damage is to remove the bit that's stuck to the piston and bung it back in.
If there's any bore damage, you may need a rebore and a set of pistons.
Hopefully the head isn't damaged at all.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm told that the cylinder has damage to the side where the piece of metal was stuck to the piston, therefore I will need to rebore all the cylinders and buy new pistons.

WGT in Cheshire (RX specialists) put a probe through the engine for me and came back with the above. I get all my RX work done there and trust them totally. Geoff Bloors garage in Notts told me that my turbo was about to go and that I needed to buy a fuel defender from them to fix the overfuelling - they thought the burning oil coming through the exhaust was due to overfuelling etc and did not even spot the cylinder damage.

What a nightmare.

 

[Anonymous]

lol a fuel cut defender only defeats the factory over boost protection, you need a new garage.

When you strip the engine check there is no damage to the head or valves, but I'd opt for the rebuild.

They weren't iridium plugs that broke up by chance where they?

 

[ex-gtir]

lol a fuel cut defender only defeats the factory over boost protection, you need a new garage.

When you strip the engine check there is no damage to the head or valves, but I'd opt for the rebuild.

They weren't iridium plugs that broke up by chance where they?

ditto to what ben said fcds are bad news

 

[campbellju]

If you part ex it I'd be surprised if you got anywhere near £5250 but this might be your cheapest route out of the hole.

 

[Brett G]

just get a second hand or re-built lump fitted, you'll still make some money back that way

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice....now for the update.

Took it to a garage to part ex on a new motor for the missus - was offered £1500!! Cheeky b4rstards!!

Have decided to get the work done (properly) and sell to my mate still for £5250.

Can anyone recommend anywhere to get a rebuild or a new engine fitted. To my knowledge the damage to the cylinder wall needs reboring, so what works out cheaper??

I have seen Norris Designs and Forge here on the site - is there anyone else I should be trying.

Anyone out there had similar probs and can give a ball park on price - I am guessing at £2k??

Thanks

 

[Keira]

why dont you just get a second hand engine and fit that, sell yours and it hasn't cost that much in the end,

pointless paying out loads just to sell it

 

[Brett G]

Gary from GTi-R Spares used to do them part ex basis.
See the traders section on the forum and give him a ring

 

[Anonymous]

And you guys reckon that fitting a new engine will work out cheaper???

 

[Fast Guy]

And you guys reckon that fitting a new engine will work out cheaper???

It could be.
You'll need to rebore all 4 and fit new pistons/rings/ gaskets all round and then there's the labour for removing/stripping and rebuilding the engine.

Dpeneding on the price of the second hand engine, there's the cost of that plus the labour for the engine swap (take it to Ex-Gtir )

The only other thing to consider is that you probably won't get any gaurentee with the 2nd hand engine.

 

[Keira]

And you guys reckon that fitting a new engine will work out cheaper???

theres a breaker link thing online that e-mails breakers all over the country, my mate got an rb26 lump through them from a place in stratford, engine was gaurenteed for 3 months after sale 8)

have a look for it