calling all gear heads

[Chris.M]

sooo for lack of being able to find a good forum to put this in, and this being the just talk area... i have a question

i'v noticed we have a few car people round this site, so i just got a car. my step sister drove this car without changing the oil until it just died. so now its on cinderblocks beside my mom's house

so what would need to be fixed/replaced before this machine will live again? until my step sister killed it by not changing the oil, it worked fine.

[Icicle]

Buy a rebuilt motor and put in it, or try to rebuild it yourself.
If you go the route on rebuilding it have the block mag-a-flux.
if it just quite running, it might be an easy fix for you. or you could do an in-frame. take the heads off, take the oil pan off. put new rings on the pistons, put new bearings in it. or take it to a shop and have it done for you.

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[Chris.M]

ok so assuming i dont have to rebuild it, how difficult is the fix, or how much would a mechanic do it for?

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Chris.M

ok so assuming i dont have to rebuild it, how difficult is the fix, or how much would a mechanic do it for?

Just have to call around to different shops.
Depends on how much time you have and how much money you want to spend.
Oh do not go with chrome moly rings they don't seat good.
What type of rig are you working on?

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[Chris.M]

94-96 Chevrolet cavalier. sorry, i cant be specific about the year

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

Originally Posted by Chris.M

94-96 Chevrolet cavalier. sorry, i cant be specific about the year

With all the wiring harness and emmission crap on newer cars take it to a shop and have them do it.
if it was something older like mid 80 and older do it yourself.

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[Chris.M]

thanks. i'll grab an auto repair manual for the car and have a look at the complexity. i'll have to re-wire the sterio anyway, and i have to get familiar with all the other garbage in that car

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[Icicle]

If you do an in frame, you probably get away from taking the heads off, have a buddy help you. first take the spark plugs out and blow compressed air into the hole and it should pop out the pistons, Make sure you hone the clynder walls.
Once you get all the unnesserary crap out of the way it should only take a couple of days to do it.
EDIT:
Take the oil pan off, take out the crankshaft, The bearing are probably toast by now, then blow air in to the spark plug holes, just don't use too much pressure just enough to move them.

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[Chris.M]

this may sound like a stupid question, but its been a while since i did any real fixing on a car.... what do you mean by "honing" the cylinder walls?

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[SquirrelCV]

Originally Posted by Chris.M

this may sound like a stupid question, but its been a while since i did any real fixing on a car.... what do you mean by "honing" the cylinder walls?

Honing cylinder walls is a process that gets the cylinder walls concentric, smooth, and uniform throughout. If you were to just install a new rotating assembly, there would be a lot of blow-by (poor sealing).

Typically when an engine dies because of a lack of oil or extremely dirty oil, the bearings are shot. When the bearings are on their way out, nothing can remain balanced and everything wears extremely quickly.

It might just be easier to buy a used engine from a junkyard. Going through the hassle of rebuilding an old one is not worth the time unless you enjoy doing it. The only time building an engine by hand is worth it is when you want to make sure things are precise and meant for the track (IMHO).

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[Icicle]

Yes it might be cheaper to but a used one, but you don't get a warrenty with them.

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[Chris.M]

allright so update it's a 2 door 6 cylinder 1992 Chevrolet Z24 Cavalier. the real reason it died was because it ran out of coolant and fried. i cant get a new motor because nobody has one from that model and year. so new question, could i find other motors from a different car that would work? and if no, would changing out the heads and other small repairs still be a suitible fix?

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[ChadRamsey]

id start doing the salvage yard shuffle looking for one if i was you.


google Advanced Adapters. I have put a few small blocks in Jeeps and they SHOULD have what you need to put a motor in your car.

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[Icicle]

Does the motor turn over at all. if so add coolant and try to start the motor.
It kinda sounds like it might be fixable.
Might of warp the heads.

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[Chris.M]

thanks chad, i'll google it right now. and yea i called up the auto wreckers. all the yards in the area run off the same inventory, and none of them have my model

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[Chris.M]

from what i'v heard it does not turn over at all. ut i'll take a look tommorow when the sun comes up and check it out more... its surrounded my a foot of snow and its snowing now so i'll have to dig it out lol

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[Icicle]

How long has it been sitting?
A couple of old farmer tricks. get some WD-40 and pour down the spark plug holes and allow to soak over night.
then using a big breaking bar and socket try to turn over the crankshaft to break it free.

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[Chris.M]

its been sitting for about a year... but its still in surprisingly good condition. motor is not rusted, paint job's still good... so just to confirm, the WD 40 trick will work on a car that overheated?

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[Icicle]

50/50 chance.
basicly the only this that really gets damage due to over heating is the heads, piston rings, a couple of other small details.
Since the motor has not been ran in over a year condensation froms inside the cylinder's and create rust.
which in turns freezes a motor from turning over.
Sometimes when you pour any type of lubication oil will weaken the rust.
depending on how bad it is.

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[Chris.M]

OK thanks ice, i'll give it a shot tomorrow and see how well it works. seriously, i love the people on this site =D

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