I dropped the block off today at a truly trustworthy machine shop. Initially, I was hoping to just have it cleaned, reamed, and honed for 250 and then I would do the rest. However, the mechanic said there was a little wear on the cylinder walls and recommended that he bore it out and replace the pistons (oversized). He can get the pistons for $480. He did say that I could go with my initial plan and it might be fine but why take the chance. There was some scouring on the pistons and the oil rings were pretty gummed up. Anyways, I'm wondering what I should do, and where I could get cheaper pistons if possible?

No one has yet suggested another alternative. A friend was faced with this problem recently. It was much less expensive to have the machine shop install liners bored to original spec and then reuse the original pistons (provided they're usable). -- Dave

Dave,

Good idea, I had forgotten that an ol' buddy of mine took that approach on a turbo motor, it cost him $100 a hole but that was nearly 10 years ago.

jorrell
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92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

If you can see the bore marks on the cylinder walls, just change rings and bearings and you got a new engine.
Also, like someone here said, you can buy a whole engine for 300 bucks and save a lot of hasle. Then, have fun rebuilding your old engine your self for a spare.

First off, thanks agin all for the advice. I'll check on the set of Mahle oversize pistons with rings and pins from eEuroparts to see if they will do, but I also need to know what $300 will get me for an engine and where? Is that a decent engine or a possible disaster?

Hi,


You seem to have your head straight on, you've got the engine on the machinist's bench. You can always throw dice, it's time to play the ace.


Goatman

Giong to call machinist today. Using advice from everyone I decided while sleping that if there are bore marks on the cylinder walls I'll just ream and hone it. If not I'll order the pistons from Europarts, have the mech bore it, and then I'll do the rest. Ordering a rebuilt engine is not my style. I want some or partial ownership in all the work done on my brick. That is one of the any reasons I love it so much. So I guess I'll gamble a little.

How deep are the ring grooves at the top and bottom of the cylinders? If they are below about 0.004" deep (typical)and you only want a few hundred K miles out of the engine (not a million), stick with the old pistons and new rings.

If the cylinders are scored vertically from foreign junk and honing won't take care of it, then consider going oversized, otherwise she will burn a little oil.

Finally, if the cylinders are worn out of spec by a smidge and the pistons dia. is worn down out of spec by a smidge, worst case you will get some piston slap, you will hear it a bit, but it won't hurt anything.

So, back to the original question, are you looking for a few 100K miles leave as is, if you want a million miles, replace the pistons and have it bored. If you do decide to have it bored, tell your machinist to go very slow as the cylinder sleeves are thin. Going too fast will cause the cylinders to be correct at the top and bottom, but the centers will be too tight!

jorrell
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92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!

You make a great point and I'll have to sleep on it. :) I'm leaning more towards a million miles, however money is always a factor.

What are you trying to do with this engine?

A entire replacement used B230F is cheap.... though if you're doing something special with this particular engine, I'd not skimp on pistons.

-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces, Draco Wheels
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars

Also the the number I have he gave me is ry6538 which I believe is the oversize piston - .3mm. And I made a mistake on the price, it was 130 dollars each. If I can get them cheaoer I would like to, if not then I need to make the big decision. Any advive on pistons and size would be helpful. Also what is the going rate on a ring compressor?

A set of Mahle oversize pistons with rings and pins from eEuroparts is $350. You would have to see if your machinist is willing to work with parts you bring in.

I looked this price up for my car because I don't know what year you have.

A ring compressor is probably around $15 to $30.

Charley

I have thought of building one of the engines for a while just because I would like to hop it up a build and my attention to detail. When I looked into the cost If I not changing to a v8 I going to look for a low mileage used engine. That program is so much cheaper and less down time. You would sometimes find a whole car for the prices you quoted. greg

That's the cold, hard, truth of this. You can look at the odometer, hear it run, and have spare pumps, ECU' etc., etc., for the same money or less. But, if you really want to know what is in your engine, there is hardly a substitute for going from the bottom up..Irv Gordon, watch out!

Ben,

My wife and I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Irv Gordon in June 2002, the local dealership introduced us as local "celebrities" for Volvo to him. The dealership had used a letter of thanks I wrote to Volvo in Jan 2002 for six months touting the safety of the 240 after my wife survived an accident that would have been fatal in a lesser car. I won't repeat the tech details of that crash, it has been repeated too many times.

While my wife was checking out the 2 million plus mile P1800 car at the time with her neck brace on, I chatted with Irv about his car.

First question: How many times has the engine been torn apart and rebuilt?
Answer: At 250K miles I had it torn down, against advice, just to find out that all the internal parts were well within spec, it hasn't been cracked open since.

Second question: What do you use for engine oil?
Answer: Nothing but Castrol... couldn't pin him down on what flavor.

Third question: What kind of driving does this car see, city or freeway?
Answer: 99.9% Freeway, the rest is city but never less than a 10 mile trip.

After the meeting, my wife asked me what was special, except for miles about a car that has at least five layers of red paint on it? My answer was simple, the same reason that you get to remove your neck brace in two days and the same reason that I'm not putting flowers on your grave today... attention to detail.

jorrell


That was enough for her to smile and give me a big hug, simply priceless!

Thanks for you input Irv, simply priceless!

jorrell
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92 245 278K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!