russ78 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Hi im in a situation with a forged engine i was going to be buying it for parts as the guy assures me it has forged pistons an Athena headbasket and arp headbolts which is all i need to complete my forged build but..........And its a big but, its freshly built but when the guy built it put in non turbo shells for some stupid reason also he says his dad when building the engine couldn't fit the oil ring on piston 3 so decided to cut a few millimeters off the oil ring what a retard my boss who has 30 years experience building engines tells me because the oil ring is cut the piston will most likely will be fucked but what im paying for the engine it won't be worth it just for the arp headbolts and Athena headgasket as he only put in steel rods when he built the engine,I know the guy who built the engine knows absolutely nothing about building an engine and why he did what he did is anyones guess but does anyone know whether my boss is right or is it possible the piston will be fine ?Any help or advise guys as im a bit stuckcheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
starletburkie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) mate you cant reuse a head gasket.. id use pistons rods and arp bolts and build your own engine but get new rings and hg Edited January 28, 2013 by starletburkie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
_shaun_ Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 id assume the piston would be fine but it would be new rings you would need depending on make it could be an absolute pain in the tits to source. is it for a 4e or 5e? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MARC MOSS Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Sounds like a massive waste of cash dude... And a disaster waiting to happen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuDoc 72 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 As said mate you should not ever re use a head gasket regardless. Also you have to ask yourself why the piston ring did not fit in the 1st place. Whether the engine was run or not has alot to do with whether the piston will be fucked or not. If it was run with a fucked piston ring chances are the piston will be damaged aswell if it was never ran im sure it will be fine. Personally sounds like an accident waiting to happen. If he knows so little about engineb building and took it upon himself to do this work theres a good chance other things will be damaged he could have over tightened the head bolts or anything. Just walk away mate will be doing yourself a favour and saving lots of hassle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
richdog Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 last post as above sounds like good advice,you are into the twilight zone here. unless it comes for free leave well alone...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
russ78 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Ok cheers guys i thought that even if i only got the piston out of it it would be worth it but now that's doubtful think ill give it a wide birth Quote Link to post Share on other sites
starletburkie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) if its cheap id take it, piston is unlikly to be damaged just because of a oil ring! its called capping the rings to the right clearance in most cases so how will it effect the piston? by the sounds of what he done it will just be an oil burner of an engine so your going to rebuild it anyways plus rings are easy got from the maker Edited January 28, 2013 by starletburkie Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuDoc 72 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I said above if the engine was never ran the pistons will more than likely be ok. But if its been run with a damaged ring then the piston could also be damged in many ways. Also thats what he knows about the builder was clearly not a competant mechanic so I wouldn't want to invest my money in something that might only be fit for the bin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
russ78 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yeah kinda my thoughts also shame though as it would complete my build Quote Link to post Share on other sites
starletburkie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 yes but if you were to rebuild it youd be able to use the parts from it cheaper than new if there ok which imo they should be, so could end up with a cheap forged engine! defo would want to be striped and rebuilt tho Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuDoc 72 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yes but what im saying is. There is no garuntee the pistons are ok. If the engine has been turned over and ran the chances are pistons are damaged. Plus if he doesnt know how to fit a piston ring and has no mechanical experience then whos to say that every part he has pitted could be damaged. You say you need it for the pistons, bolts and gasket. The gasket can be taken out the question because re using one no matter how new is asking for trouble because if a head has been tightened down onto it then its no good. The bolts.... what if he didnt torque them when fitting them they also could be damaged or stretched plus if they are used I wouldnt bother no matter what the quality. So that leave you with the pistons they could be fine which would be useful. At the same time they could have all the problems mentioned due to him not fitting a ring correctly. Plus is he used steel rods he must have fitted the pins whos to say they werent forced in wrongly. I just think the only usable part from the engine would be the pistons its not worth the risk/hassle just for cheap pistons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alan ball Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 mate above is right my rings crack did not no it happen in the end in will burn the piston out mine melted then i had to go forged do not buy them had to be something up with it rings come with the piston when you buy them so had no need to cut Quote Link to post Share on other sites
starletburkie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 fair enought then, and he metioned there arp head bolts.. the can be reused a few times Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Taggy Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 depends how cheap is cheap, no harm in splitting it and inspecting the parts if hes willing to do it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
russ78 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 na craig I asked him about splitting the block and politely got told bollox but he has said they are defo forged and if not he will refund me but basically the refund is only for that reason not if the pistons are shagged Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StuDoc 72 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 They are fucked and he knows it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AdamB Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 The piston will be fine. There is nothing wrong with grinding a piston ring to get the correct ring gap! Normally rings are pretty much spot on in terms of ring gap, but it is quite common to have to grind the ring to get the correct clearence. Depending how cheap it is, its worth a punt at tbh. Even if you split it for parts. Or if you have mechanical experience then rebuild it yourself. And using Non turbo bearing shells is fine, the 4EFE and 4EFTE cranks are the same. Although I would be using ACL bearings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
starletburkie Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 exacly my toughts on the rings, how the hell would a ring with a large gap damage a piston Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan-11 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Personally I would just leave it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Taggy Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) tell me how much your paying for it and i wil let you know if its worth a punt, at the very minimum you could split it and sell for parts head £80 - £100Block - £30 - £50Crank - £80 - £100Pistons - £300Rods £250 So thats a minimum of £750 if its all ok in parts, maybe more. Pistons you can buy individually as well as rods if one is fooked, if the engine is shagged and he wont let you split it you have to assume somthing is wrong, i wouldnt pay any more than £300 for it but certainly worth a punt if you want to build your own on the cheap Edited January 28, 2013 by Taggy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
russ78 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 ill chuck you a pm dude Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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