Engine Replacement Options on a Budget (Under $1K)

[02Pilot]

It's also worth mentioning that driving style can impact this issue as well. How often do you accelerate all the way to the redline (or close to it)? When do you normally shift? And how long have you had the car - the results of the habits of the previous owner may still be having an impact. On lightly-driven cars, rings can stick due to deposits, which can mimic the symptoms of worn rings. There are lots of things you can try to loosen them up, and there's really no harm in trying them. My personal favorite is to steam-clean them by injecting a light stream of water into the cylinders on a hot engine. Keep it running with the throttle until you've run through a quart or so. Some people use Windex instead of water, and Seafoam makes an aerosol kit that does the same thing. It will clean up deposits more effectively than any other solution that can be tried without opening the engine; if you've ever seen a cylinder with a coolant leak from the head gasket, you'll have an idea of the effect.

[xr4tic]

I'm with Toby, if the smoke isn't that bad, and the car is new to you, just drive it.

 

I'm sure you will find other things that need to be taken care of and dumping all your budget into the engine won't necessarily make for a better driving car.

 

That being said, it's still worth doing a compression and leak down test, you can rent the necessary tools from most auto parts stores for free, but you'll need an air compressor for the leak down tester.

 

If the compression and/or leak down tests prove good, or even mediocre, you can try some of the seafoam/steam clean options.  I know a few guys that swear by Marvel mystery oil, little into each cylinder, down the carb, and the rest into the oil ~500 miles before an oil change.

 

Edited December 3, 2018 by xr4tic

[MattL]

Great suggestions. Thank you. Sounds like I really need to get moving on the compression/leak down tests as a first step. 

 

I've only had the car for four months. I drove it down to the Philly area from Long Island, where I bought it. I was pretty easy on it, not least because it hadn't been driven regularly in a while. I pushed it to about 5,000 RPM on that drive, very briefly, and replicated the smoking noticed on the test drive. Since then, I've taken it out 1-2 times per week, mainly for short (10-mile or so) drives. It has a few other issues that I need to address before driving it more, I think. (Scraping sound that might be a sticking caliper; oil leak somewhere; sloppy shifter; some engine metallic noise, etc.) I'm still light on the throttle, partly because of the aforementioned issues, and partly just because I'm used to driving/shifting a modern car by ear. This car makes a lot more noise, lower in the RPM range, so I need to re-calibrate my internal tachometer. I only ever take it up to about 5,000 RPMs, really. I usually shift around 3,000, I'd say. 

 

That steam cleaning suggestion sounds like a good one, provided I can get over my reflexive queasiness about water in the engine. I've been using a little Lucas oil additive, here and there. With the colder weather here, I'm hoping to take the car out a few more times before the snows arrive. The salt on the roads out here make them a no-go until as late as March, unfortunately. So, I'll be preparing the car for hibernation soon. Other than a battery tender, more air in the tires, full tank w/ some fuel stabilizer, and maybe some mouse traps, is there anything I should be doing? "Use the search"?  

 

['76mintgrün'02]

2 minutes ago, MattL said:

I've taken it out 1-2 times per week, mainly for short (10-mile or so) drives.

condensation inside the engine seems likely with this pattern of use.  I'd suggest taking it out for a good long run prior to putting it away for the winter.

 

 

 

[02Pilot]

Ten mile drives are not going to even get the engine fully warm, so deposits are a very real possibility, but it sounds like you've got other issues as well. My suggestion is to take it off the road now and start tracking down the issues that make you reluctant to drive it. Once those are attended to, start driving it more and harder and see what happens. Your current usage is not helping the situation, and may be adding to the problem if it is indeed a deposit issue.

 

The steam cleaning technique is perfectly safe if done correctly. The key is to introduce the water through a very small diameter orifice and to let the engine vacuum draw it in rather than forcing it. As long as you don't stall the engine there's no problem. If you're still concerned, use the Seafoam spray can.

[Jimmy]

3 hours ago, Andrej said:

Ten mile drives are not going to even get the engine fully warm, so deposits are a very real possibility, but it sounds like you've got other issues as well. My suggestion is to take it off the road now and start tracking down the issues that make you reluctant to drive it. Once those are attended to, start driving it more and harder and see what happens. Your current usage is not helping the situation, and may be adding to the problem if it is indeed a deposit issue.

 

The steam cleaning technique is perfectly safe if done correctly. The key is to introduce the water through a very small diameter orifice and to let the engine vacuum draw it in rather than forcing it. As long as you don't stall the engine there's no problem. If you're still concerned, use the Seafoam spray can.

 

Steam cleaning a worn engine can result in a dead cylinder if the carbon deposits are keeping the compression up. I'd be reluctant to steam an old engine that isn't pinging.

[02Pilot]

2 hours ago, Jimmy said:

 

Steam cleaning a worn engine can result in a dead cylinder if the carbon deposits are keeping the compression up. I'd be reluctant to steam an old engine that isn't pinging.

 

If the only thing keeping the engine running at all is carbon deposits, I'd say you have very little to lose.

['76mintgrün'02]

9 hours ago, MattL said:

I usually shift around 3,000, I'd say.

 

 Down or up ?  

[MattL]

Zing! Up. I could be mis-remembering the RPMs, but I've definitely been pretty timid.

[Bibm5]

I have a 1.8l motor (minus the head) from my e21 parts car I am selling. I was told the engine ran but I never witnessed it so I cannot confirm. When I got the car pretty much everything was pulled out but the motor for an " engine bay cleanup and paint job". Somewhere along the line the po lost interest. The head had a cam in it so I'm keeping that but I don't need the bottom end. I would sell it if you want but I'm not sure how shipping would work. I'm in GA.

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[MattL]

Thanks for the offer, Bib, but I think I'm going hold off for a bit until I determine exactly what's needed. I'll get in touch, though, if I change my mind.