[whincup]

i know theres already like 1001 threads on this already, i've just spent the last hour flicking through them... answered quite a few of my questions, but not all of them... my sierra engine is badly in need of a rebuild. blows no smoke, uses no oil, runs cool, is relatively quiet, but incredibly gutless, rarely reaches 100 and sucks more than 13L/100km granny-style driving onroad (stock gearing, 215/75 tyres). my uncle and i are going to do do the work ourselves, but im wanting to know how much money its going to cost to rebuild it properly properly, as in re-bored, new pistons and seals, etc, getting the cam machined or replaced, whatever it needs doing to it, and where the cheapest or best place is to get a QUALITY kit. ive only been able to find costs for professional rebuilds. ignoring costs like clutch replacement or carby, just the engine itself.

yes, i know a G16 engine is not much more cost and gives more power, but i dont want to replace the engine. being a p-plater its not legal plus at least i know that this engine is in (relatively) good condition.

[Fatzook]

$1000 including a tidy up of the head and all new belts/ tensioner/ leads etc. IF you do the work yourself!

[whincup]

i plan to not reuse anything like spark plugs & leads, belts, hoses, etc. i want to do it properly

$1000 is good, i was hoping for about that but expected more

[Fatzook]

unfortunately it IS a case of 'how long is a piece of string'....

I'd budget $1500 and hope for $1000.

[fordem]

If it blows no smoke & uses no oil and is in "relatively good condition", why do you think it's in need of a rebuild?

Have you done wet & dry compression tests - what are the numbers like?

I'd expect any piston engine with enough wear on the bores that it was sufficiently down on power to need a rebuild, to use oil & possibly blow smoke - I just rebuilt a G13BA, dry compression ~100 psi, wet ~180 psi, and long before it reached a point where it could be described as gutless (almost two years), it was using oil, albiet with very little smoke.

[JrZook]

whincup wrote:

i know theres already like 1001 threads on this already, i've just spent the last hour flicking through them... answered quite a few of my questions, but not all of them... my sierra engine is badly in need of a rebuild. blows no smoke, uses no oil, runs cool, is relatively quiet, but incredibly gutless, rarely reaches 100 and sucks more than 13L/100km granny-style driving onroad (stock gearing, 215/75 tyres). my uncle and i are going to do do the work ourselves, but im wanting to know how much money its going to cost to rebuild it properly properly, as in re-bored, new pistons and seals, etc, getting the cam machined or replaced, whatever it needs doing to it, and where the cheapest or best place is to get a QUALITY kit. ive only been able to find costs for professional rebuilds. ignoring costs like clutch replacement or carby, just the engine itself.

yes, i know a G16 engine is not much more cost and gives more power, but i dont want to replace the engine. being a p-plater its not legal plus at least i know that this engine is in (relatively) good condition.

When was the last time you got the carby rebuilt and set up properly?

[whincup]

so u guys reckon try a carby rebuild/tune first? i just assumed one of the cylinders was stuffed, number 2 (assuming #1 is the closest to the front) always had a problem with one of the spark plug tips being black with the rest being a light brown color... but maybe i should try a compression test, are they easy to do? how much are the tester thingys, and what sort of numbers should i be getting?

[fordem]

I have no idea what a compression tester would sell for in Austrailia, but stateside you can pick them for around $25, so it doesn't make sense not checking the compression before doing a rebuild.

Is it easy - you decide ...

Start with a warm engine and a fully charged battery, transmission in neutral, handbrake up and wheels chocked.

Remove all four plugs, and screw the tester into #1, wedge the throttle open and crank the engine over for 3~4 cycles, you'll see the needle on the tester jump with each cycle and go a little higher on every jump - after 3 or 4 jumps, it'll stop rising - note that reading as the "dry" reading for that cylinder and repeat for the other three.

Ideally what you're looking for is all four bores to have similar numbers of around 200 psi - but expect them to be lower, the more worn the engine the lower the numbers will be, 150 psi is what Suzuki considers the lowest acceptable, with no more than a 10% variation between the bores..

If you're lower than say 170 psi, do a wet test.

Pour about a teaspoon of engine oil into the #1 plug hole, and connect the tester again, crank another 3~4 cycles, and make a note of the reading as the "wet" reading for that cylinder, and repeat for the other three - what you're doing is adding oil to help the rings seal - if the wet numbers are higher than the dry numbers it indicates leakage past the rings, if the wet numbers are similar to the dry numbers, that would indicate that the leakage is elsewhere - past the valves, head gasket, cracked head, possible incorrect valve timing, etc.

There is another test - a leak down test that can help identify the area of the leak.

A point to note - these engines will run surprisingly well with dry compression numbers in the 120~150 psi range.

On a engine with significant wear, I had dry readings in the 90 psi area and wet readings in the 190 psi area

A black plug tip could indicate a problem with mixture (is it dry black) or burning oil (wet black), and even the plug itself.