Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Project RX: I'm about to cry


Recommended Posts

So... long story short, i've decided to do a full rebuild on the engine. Sourced a new block and heads from a guy for $150. Heads were immaculate, however the block is less than desirable.

 

At first it needed a new hone and new rings. Now, after taking it apart, it needs machining done to the crank. 2 pistons, as 2 of them are shot.

 

Where do I find new pistons?

 

Where do I find aftermarket larger main bearings? Because material will definately need to be removed there.

 

I'm getting very tired of pouring money into this. I'm already over the $300 mark. Thats without any maching done! Or accounting for the full gasket set I purchased or the new main and con. rod bearings!

 

How does a stock block have 2 bad pistons? This clearly shows to me the stock pistons are ****.

 

I'm starting to think of 2 letters. E. J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Contact Brian and Steve at Brian's or Tom at Aaron's. Let them know I sent you and what you need. Either one should be able to get you good parts. Try to not use oversized bearings and rings. It will cause a heat issue at some time. There are enough parts floating around to get good OEM used parts that are within spec.

 

 

You can call me if you need anything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tex, dont feel to bad. I'm on my 4th motor :-\ And I havent even got it running yet. Its really hard to find a EA82T that doesnt have scored/pitted cyl walls. Even when they run ok, and you know its got a bad HG, they still do a number on the walls. The motor I have partially completed was pitted in 2 cyl's and I honed them as best I could but, I dont trust it. I picked up another EA82T last Fri and I still have to pull the pass side head off to see what the damage is. It ran on 2 cyl before we pulled it, but it ran. The motor I took out of the XT ran better than that and it had 2 real bad cyl's.

I guess when your upping the boost, any bad spots in the cyl walls is going to leak, leading to lots of problems. I dont know how thick the walls are, meaning if you decide to bore it out any there might be some issues with that. Re-sleeving is an option, but I dont have any idea what that would run, and that involves a complete rebuild.

I hate to say it buddy, but I'm learning from your mistakes :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shadow: The last engine went because I overheated it really bad. After that, I resealed it with new used heads. However, the block was already damaged (rings on #3). My doggy feeling was caused by an utter lack of compression on cylinder #3, and very low compression on cylinder #1.

 

For some reason, the heads I put on cracked also in the exhaust ports. They both already had slight cracks between the valves.

 

This time I decided to tear it all the way down, and do it from the ground up. I wasn't anticipating needing new pistons, so I was slightly surprised when the machinist told me 2 were bad (even though they all looked fine to me). I'll be dropping the crank off there tomorrow to get it measured, and see what can be done with it. I'll also find out exactly what is bad with those pistons. The crank doesn't look in bad shape at all. Each bearing surface though (mains) has a ever so slight groove in it. Barely enough to catch with a sharp tip of a knife blade.

 

If it comes down to buying a new set of pistons, I may ended up going ahead and boring it out a bit. Machine shop said 20 over wouldn't be a problem, and is what they've done in the past. Althought i'm not likely to go that far.

 

It will be $125 for honing and decking of the block. Looks like $200 for a set of OEM pistons. Will call tomorrow and see if I can get oversized ones from the dealer aswell.

 

I'm going to ask the machine shop if just 2 of the pistons can be replaced. I know this depends on what kind of piston I get. But that would prove to be a economical solution.

 

I'd already budgeted $180 to have the engine balanced, although before the machinist spotted the bad pistons, he had me talked out of it.

 

Monster in the making... Just a long slow exspensive road.

 

Caleb: I appreciate your offer, I will keep it in mind.

 

Turbone: I'm glad all this trouble is good for something! I want to hear that black beast purrin' like a kitten. Right before I blast the doors off of it.

 

Sorry, can't help but be cocky, its the one thing that will keep me going! That and the wonderful friends I have here.

 

This post made possible by the number 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...