Little help on engine rebuild

[rwood585]

First of all, I have searched quite a bit and have found very useful information that has answered most of my questions so please don't tell me to search. I just purchased a 95 TSi AWD that has roughly 150K miles on it. It has a few mods already (EVO III 16G, EVO III O2 housing, 550cc injectors, 255 fuel pump, hard upper piping w/1G BOV, SAFC, MBC and a few other minor things)

I'm looking to rebuild the engine because 150K miles is quite a bit and I'm quite sure the previous owner didn't do any kind of rebuild. My goal is to be around 350-400hp. I guess I would like to know what am I looking at as far as top/bottom end work? Even if I don't need much bottom end work for this HP range what SHOULD I do to keep it from breaking down all the time. What type of work should be done to the cylinder head to achieve this goal?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Backinajiffy12]

Well your stock internals should be able to take 350-400hp but I wouldnt push it. so upgrade the rods and pistons. as for you head its up to you ARP studs just have it refreshed maybe a port and polishing but just having a stock head should be fine.

 

[96mitsugsx]

You should already have 350-400 hp with your set up. If I were you, just do your preventive maintenance and tuning first before you rebuild the engine. If it's not broken, why fix it. Just spend your money somewhere else like a better clutch, flywheel, dsmlink or ems, cams, intercooler and so on.

 

[BoredDSM]

If it's not broken, why fix it. Just spend your money somewhere else like a better clutch, flywheel, dsmlink or ems, cams, intercooler and so on.

Ems is 1.7k definatly a motor build over ems.

You should look at a 2g piston 1g big rod combo. That and a stock 1g head with some cams would bring you to 350-400 easily if not more. 6-bolt block is a must if your doing a swap also considering you have a 95 which are supposedly more prone to crank walk than any of the other years. Everyone goes 6 bolt just to be safe.

 

[96mitsugsx]

Ems is 1.7k definatly a motor build over ems.

You should look at a 2g piston 1g big rod combo. That and a stock 1g head with some cams would bring you to 350-400 easily if not more. 6-bolt block is a must if your doing a swap also considering you have a 95 which are supposedly more prone to crank walk than any of the other years. Everyone goes 6 bolt just to be safe.

I know how much it costs because I have one. Tuning is very important. If are you short on money, you can always get dsmlink. Stock 7 bolt internals can make tremendous amounts of power. I don't know why people like you spend your money on things that are not needed for the moment. You are just confusing yourselves even more because you deal with a lot of variables regarding your set ups.

 

[oVaBoost]

i would rebuild it and get a set of rods and pistons im sure you can get rods and pistons for 700 bucks because if you wait till your motor blow it will take more money because then you would have to check that block and all that bull crap since its a 7 bolt you never know when it will crankwalk so spending money on other thing will not be the choice because what about if your motor blow within who knows after you did more mods. for crank i would get it poshiled and checked out and build up the bottom end and then just get cams for your head or get it rebuild to while your at it but up to you and a good timing supplies ect. so dont wait until it engine blows if you got the money go for it. For tuning get dsmlink it works really good for the price it will get you up to 300-400hp just gotta have the mods, fuel, ect. good luck

 

[rwood585]

Thanks for the responses, they are great help. Is buying a 6 bolt a better route to go in the long run? If I just bought one and built it up then dropped it in would that make more sense rather than building the 7 bolt? I want a strong engine that will also produce some power for my weekend fun

 

[95 'clipse RS]

6 bolt blocks are supposedly immune to crankwalk, and thats the advantage of that. yes to me it makes alot of sense to build a 6 bolt if you can get one for a good price, and build it while you can still drive your car, and then just drop it in. your car would have less down time and you wouldn't be in much of a rush and you could take your time and do things right. as stated before, you should probably get a 6 bolt, pistons, rods, polish and maybe balance the crank, ARP head and main studs, cams but don't forget the supporting mods with cams, valve springs, retainers, maybe a port and polish (but the 1G head flows better than the 2G), make sure all the valves are seating properly, maybe even get a 3 angle valve job, all bearings, gaskets, rings, and don't for get the water and oil pump. a rebuild could be pointless and ruined if you use the old one and it goes bad and you lock your engine up or warp a head. its all up to you about what you want to get though. but i hope this helps you out a bit.

 

[BoredDSM]

I know how much it costs because I have one. Tuning is very important. If are you short on money, you can always get dsmlink. Stock 7 bolt internals can make tremendous amounts of power. I don't know why people like you spend your money on things that are not needed for the moment. You are just confusing yourselves even more because you deal with a lot of variables regarding your set ups.

Yes, tuning is very important but like you said spending money on things that aren't needed only make things more confusing. Stock 7 bolt internals have weak rods which are important to making more power and are a weak area in the motor. You could get more power out of a set of 1g rods instead.

 

[T is for TURBO]

You should already have 350-400 hp with your set up. If I were you, just do your preventive maintenance and tuning first before you rebuild the engine. If it's not broken, why fix it. Just spend your money somewhere else like a better clutch, flywheel, dsmlink or ems, cams, intercooler and so on.

I'm going to say no. There is no mention of an upgraded IC... Pushing the EVO III 16G to 350-400 on the stock sidemount is not going to be easy. Even with an FMIC, getting that kind of power out of that turbo is going to be a little tough, especially with just an AFC. I'm not saying it hasn't been done. But lets be realistic here.

For the thread starter... My advice is, if it's not broken, don't fix it. I have a friend in the 11's on his stock ass bottom end with 160K + engine (6bolt). Yes, the 7bolts are a little weaker, but 350-400 hp has been done many times before. However, It's never a bad idea to have parts ready for a rebuild sitting around. Plus you don't take such a hit to the pocket book when you buy stuff over time.

When you do get to the point of rebuilding, I would suggest eagle/manely/ross rods and pistons. They aren't going to run you an arm and a leg and they are pretty tough. Get the block cleaned up, machined, and have the tolerances checked, get the crank inspected. Also make sure you get tri metal bearings for the mains and rods. I would go with ARP mains and ARP head studs, along with a Mistu metal head gasket. Throw some CAMS in and your ready to rock! Also, make sure you inspect the oil pump. Oh, and eliminate the balance shafts right away.

Then tune that sucker!

But remember, it's your car, do what you will with it.