My advice on engine rebuild.

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
113
I had some engine problems a couple of yrs ago. Well my engine problems bagan many years ago because my car was old. I am talking about my old 1990 tercel with a 1.5 liter engine 4 cylinders. The oil used to wet the spark plugs and the compression used to leak so I never had enough power and the gasoline consumption was way high for a small engine car.
I used oil resistant spark plugs for a while and bought some time but the problem just got worse over time to a point where I had a serious shake in the engine and no power.
I went to see a mechanic recommended by a good friend. The mechanic charged me 13K pesos and offered to rebuild the whole engine, the seals and gaskits, cut the engine block and bore cylinders in machine shop and put rings inside and also rebuild my power steering system and other minor work in transmission (sealing a huge leak). This price sounded good for the moment so I went ahead and bit the bullet. The car was given back to me after 5 days in perfect working condition. I was content for the first 2 days untill I saw a huge oil leak and again engine shake. I went back to see him and I discovered that the same old problem was there and worse. Now the guarantee of the work went out the window as he didn't want to take the blame and simply took the easy way out. He blamed the machine shop and told me to go see them. I knew the work had to be redone again and I wasn't going to get a penny out of the mechanic who had already spent my money. We fought and exchanged words. I only heard from him "no era yo, no es mi culpa, blah blah etc" typical dominican.
I was then referred to another well known mechanic. He assured me the real problem and told me that he would fix it. It cost me about 12K and the car seemed good.
Now fast forward 1.5 yrs.
The car worked good but still consumed oil. Now today (after roughly 1.5 yrs) the car is doing it all over again. The spark plugs are wet again from worn out rings. Its shooting oil on almost 3 spark plugs. The car has a shake and missing one cylinder.
Now I have talked to a good mechanic. He has told me to stay away from engine rebuilt repair jobs and simply buy a nice engine from a japanese import shop. This will solve my problems. This makes alot of sense as the engine will cost me around 8-10 K pesos and 1500 pesos to install it. Maybe 2 days work. The engine is told to be in perfect condition and comes straight from japan. I am thinking about this option because if I sell the old car as it is, I will get almost nothing but if I invest 11k pesos into the car, then I have a car that could be used as a second car which consumes almost no gas. 500 pesos and I run circles all week in santiago.
So the moral of the story is this: If you burn your engine or damage it to a point where you need a complete rebuild, don't bother, simply buy a japanese engine from a japanese import shop and be happy. I have seen people done this in ther past and have come out as winners. I was stupid at the time and didn't explore that option.
Good luck.
AZB
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
4,169
58
48
You are able to get a new engine for under $350US including installation? I know very little about cars, but that price seems too good to be true.
 

El Diego

New member
Apr 24, 2006
191
2
0
i have an old '94 mitsu diamante and it's burning oil in the states... prior to this car i had another one to which i had engine swap but got a worse engine than the original one. So now i'm just adding more oil as needed instead of doing engine swap or engine rebuilt. I know it's hurting the engine and eventually the car will die but adding more oil as needed is cheaper than gambling on rebuilt engine or engine swap. Replacing seals will cost around 800 dollars... and eventually problem will comeback.... so this time i'm just adding oil as needed.
 

mountainfrog

On Vacation!
Dec 8, 2003
3,146
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www.domrep-info.com
Japanese Option

... engine swap but got a worse engine than the original one....

To buy a second hand engine is always a gamble.
On the other hand there are many dealers on the market here who will give you some guarantee (usually one month) to exchange the engine for another one if not satisfied.
During this time a good mechanic can check compression and detect leaks and flaws.
I for one would rather go for an imported used engine than for a Dominican rebuilt.

m'frog
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
113
We get imported japanese engines for japanese cars here directly from japan. Its a huge market in this country and most engines are prechecked for quality prior to shipping. A good mechanic will check the compression, listen to noise of the engine and see the spark plugs inside for are wear and tear. I have seen many friends install these engines into their cars and are extremely satisfied.
AZB
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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A quality rebuild should have given you many miles of service. I speculate no machine work was done. Additionally, if machine work HAD been done, they would haver had to put in oversized pistons, and had the block or heads "redecked" to eliminate warp-and might have given a tad more compression.

Just putting in new rings and bearings is NOT a rebuild. New rings in a rebored cylinder will blow oil past the rings because of piston "slop"-and be noisy. And totally rebuilding the heads should be part of the engine rebuild process. MOST engine problems come from the valves and not necessarily the cylinders.

I don't see how a real rebuild could be done for 10,000 pesos even in the DR.

(FWIW-my handle has to do with my enthusiasm for muscle cars, especially AC Cobras).
 

GKC

New member
Mar 1, 2006
56
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The parts are the problem.

A quality rebuild should have given you many miles of service. I speculate no machine work was done. Additionally, if machine work HAD been done, they would haver had to put in oversized pistons, and had the block or heads "redecked" to eliminate warp-and might have given a tad more compression.

Just putting in new rings and bearings is NOT a rebuild. New rings in a rebored cylinder will blow oil past the rings because of piston "slop"-and be noisy. And totally rebuilding the heads should be part of the engine rebuild process. MOST engine problems come from the valves and not necessarily the cylinders.

I don't see how a real rebuild could be done for 10,000 pesos even in the DR.

(FWIW-my handle has to do with my enthusiasm for muscle cars, especially AC Cobras).

Very true cobraboy. Like most things here, the labor is inexpensive, the parts are very expensive. The gasket set alone for a rebuild would most likely surpass 10,000 RD, not to mention the rings and bearings. for example, head gaskets that I have bought in the past are usually around $ 4000, valve cover gasket about the same. For this reason, many of our criolla mechanics will reuse gaskets. Ditto with bearings, timing belts and chains, cams, cranks and valves. You need to see them installed to assure that they are not used.

On the bright side, there are some very good "labs" that plane heads, bore cylinders, etc. for a very good price and with very good results. It's buying the parts that kill you.

Greg
 

GKC

New member
Mar 1, 2006
56
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0
Great ! I'll take three.

Oh Please, Over $100 us for a valve cover gasket, tell me how many you need, I'll make them for you for half that!!!

I will buy three. They are for a six cylinder in-line Perkins diesel. I am located at Km 3.5 Sosua-Cabarete. My phone number is (809) 571-2422 or (809) 571-2421.

Please contact me asap as I would like to install them this weekend. If they are hand-made, you must guarantee no leaks.

Thanks in advance,

Greg