Engine died today. Making checklist for rebuild but need help

[Lord Khan]

My car had been losing power this week. Felt like a boost leak, or my clutch slipping, but wasn't sure. Checked all my vacuum hoses, and intercooler couplers, and such this morning and took it for a drive. Boosted hard at about 15lbs, and was driving better. Then took it back home and started noticing a loud knocking sound when mashing the gas. Put my ear to the engine and hit the throttle and heard the knocking coming from the engine LOUDLY. Drove it slowly to a local Satan whose shop was open today to get a second opinion, and he pretty much confirmed my suspicions. He said it sound like I broke a rod, and that while the car was driveable would eventually stop working. Well, thats just what happened on the way home. I was even taking it slow, but the knocking turned into a grinding, and then the car would stall out unless I kept my foot on the gas. So I've been sitting here seaching through the forums for rebuild info, and I've made thsi list so far:

- Topline Rebuild kit from Slowboy Racing - $499
- Eagle Rods - $359

I just had my timing belt done by the dealership back in August. Can you guys tell me what else I might need or is this it? Also, I live in the Baltimore, MD area, and only know of Extreme Motorsports to do the work, and I know their pretty pricey but can someone give me a ballpark figure of how much I should be looking at for labor from them?


Edit: BTW, I just want the engine back to a fairly "new" state if I'm going to put some cash into it, so I'm not looking at anything fancy. Just getting it back to stock would be nice.

 

[95GSXBLUR]

I would suggest finding a 6 bolt full motor or at least bottom end. same thing just happend to my 95. I'm swapping in a JDM 6bolt as we speak.

 

[Lord Khan]

Do you need to change any transmission components to put in a 6-bolt? If not, then I'll probably just do that. I've seen some good prices on some.

 

[95GSXBLUR]

no you don't. the only thing you have to do is wire in the CAS, knock sensor, swap some parts from one to the other, and modify the driver side mount to fit the cover on the 6 blot. then you're done.

I'm poor, so i'm just waiting for parts.. not to mention my car is 2 hours away in my friends garage so it;s hard to get back and forth. it's an over the weekend swap if you have the all the parts and know-how.

 

[Lord Khan]

Thanks for the advice. I have no experience in engine work like this, so I'm at the mercy of the speed shop. I'll talk to them about that swap. Thanks again.

 

[iwantawd]

i think you are pretty close to jackson auto machine and i hear they do great work. ill be taking my 6 bolt there soon. some people recommend the topline stuff but im going to stay away from it. heres my list so you can compare...
eagle rods
wiseco pistons
oem or acl rod and main bearings
oem front cover and timing assembly
balance shaft eliminator kit


not much to it, but make sure you have the machine shop check youre crank. you said there was grinding so you might have to get a new crank or clean up yours and get oversized bearings.

i also think there are some 6 bolt shortblocks for sale on philly dsm you may wanna check out.

 

[Bastard1g]

Is this for a daily driver? If so I would reccomend my setup.......

topline rebuild kit .020 over
topline rod beaings
topline main bearings
topline oil pump and front cover kit
topline bottom end gasket set
arp rod bolts
arp head studs
balance shaft eliminator kit
mitsu 4 layer metal hg
block cleaned
block bored and honed
micro polished crank shaft
balanced rotating assembly
connecting rods reconned when using arp rod bolts
Thats all I can think of right now. Also make sure you get a new clutch while you are in there and have the fly wheel stepped properly. If you have any questions, pm me.

 

[anconover]

jackson has a reputation of being very good from some people. Others ive heard will say 100% the total opposite. But either way they are expensive.

And stay away from topline stuff. There is a thread right now on the topline oil case/gears. SBR will swear by topline, but just in that thread alone u can see the people who have had topline products fail after 200-2,000miles. Ive seen ALOT more ppl have topline products fail than ive seen have good luck. For the little extra money, OEM mitsu is the way to go. You may as well get some construction paper and make your own gaskets if you plan on using topline.

Also, other than ARP headstuds, arp hardware is 100% not necessary. Use new OEM hardware.

 

[destruckeclipse]

OEM is always best bet on belts / gaskets. I have had no problems with it, and neither should you on a daily driver.

 

[Lord Khan]

I actually prefer the OEM stuff anyway. Guess I'll probably just have to piece everything together, but I'm not sure. Right now, I just have to wait to call the place you guys talked about, and Extreme also to compare labor prices. Then I'll take it from there, and yeah this is for a daily driver. I was almost ready to go try to get a used EVO from Carmax today, but Eclipse 2G has not only always been my favorite body style, but I also only owe about $6k on the car. A rebuild will be a hell of a lot cheaper than a new car.

 

[Bastard1g]

Well, I am just posting by experience, so there it is. I have the stuff, no leaks. If you want to be confident, then I dont have anything againts oem though.

 

[talon96tsi]

stemar motorsports, up in york pa, does great work, and steve marlow is a great guy to deal with. http://stemarmotorsports.com/

 

[alexg1323]

im all the way behind you on stock rods with ARP bolts! i dont waste money on undo parts whenit could be spent producing power elsewhere. Id say 95% of the people on here this is more then adiquit for their set up. The bolts are the weak spot not the rods. (most cases) Save $300 bucks on getting new ones.

 

[Lord Khan]

Thanks again for the repies guys. I'm considering going with one of these stock short blocks from Slowboyracing for $1499.
http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=1040



Or, for $400 more they have a stage 1 race block, but I have to ask about shipping costs first to see if I could afford it, as I will most likely need other parts to get my 2G head on it.
http://www.slowboyracing.com/more.php?id=1027

 

[anconover]

you can get an OEM rebuilt shortblock for 750$ shipped from www.karking.com My friend just got 1. Came with oil case/gears, new bearings, new pistons, new rings, big rods, new freeze plugs etc.

 

[Bostedquest]

when I rebuilt my 6 bolt last summer I did...

.020 over wisecos with rings (390)
cleavite bearings (90)
Timing belt and related parts (approx 200)
ARP main and head (140 combined)
Headgasket is your choice (MLS for 100)
various little parts like assembly lube and stuff (75)
Machine shop charged (140) to deck, bore and hone to Wiseco piston specs

then a litle time on your own to do it.
It can be done in under a day. Just take your time, do one thing at a time and do not look at the entire engine. Just do one item at a time and before you know it you'll be done.