30 replies to this topic

[creakyjaws5533]

Hi
Bought an engine off of someone off of here and the big end and main bearings and timing chain have gone within 200miles of me collecting it, out of interest what would the labour cost be to get this work done to the engine? And are the any other potential problems that may be found when the work is being done? Also would this cause a loss of about 20bhp? This was diagnosed by Slark Race Engineering
Cheers Jack

[Guess-Works.com]

the costs of parts is not much, but you could be looking at an expensive labour and machining bill

[creakyjaws5533]

That what I was worried about worse case scenario phone much do you think it would be?

the costs of parts is not much, but you could be looking at an expensive labour and machining bill

[Guess-Works.com]

are you paying to get the engine removed and stripped ?

 

plus after a very premature shell failure I would expect the cause to be investigated so it does not happen again...

 

chain & shells should be somewhere between 50 and 100 depending on brand. crank regrind, somewhere about 15 a journal, so 100-120, then labour and time to investigate will depend upon your engineers hourly rate but I'd put 4-5 hours down as a guide + any parts required, 200-250 labour...

 

So anywhere between 350 and 500 ( +VAT ) and you still have to remove/refit the engine to the car and break the engine down to the short motor.

Edited by Guess-Works.com, 01 March 2015 - 08:41 AM.

[creakyjaws5533]

If I keep the engine I'll strip it myself to the block and get it out of the car, I think the engine was poorly assembled by the previous engine builder as it's only been 1200 miles since it was supposedly 'rebuilt'

[Fast Ivan]

I would have thought that with the bearings gone along with the timing chain the engine wouldn't even start let alone lose 20 bhp

have slark actually seen it? does the engine run? any oil pressure?

[creakyjaws5533]

Yes i took it to them yesterday and he said he heard the car before i arrived and knew there was something wrong with it. The chain main bearing haven't gone completely but are on the way out according to Slark. It ran on the dyno yesterday and struggled to make 50bhp (was sold to me making 68bhp)

[Stu.]

If you needed a shop to do it, and to strip the engine to get to the crankshaft it'd be well over £500 I recon, but much less if you take it to them as a stripped block with just the crankshaft and pistons in.

If the bearing shells are shot due to normal wear, it may possibly need a re-bore & new pistons too if they're original. Other things to consider and cost in are new gaskets, seals, replacement of other worn components etc.

It'd be uneconomical just to outlay the cost of stripping the engine just to replace the bearing shells if the piston bores are worn.

I recently got a price to have a re-bore, new pistons, crankshaft polish and new main & big end bearings supplied and installed to a block I'll be overhauling and it was about £500. That was for me taking the stripped block, crankshaft and con rods to them to do the work.

Prices will always be variable depending on where you go and what you want them to do, but obviously the more time consuming stuff you can do yourself, the less the bill is going to be.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck with it.

[Fast Ivan]

you must be gutted having been sold it as a rebuilt engine, I trust the "engineer" in question is prepared to pay for the rebuild? someone on here you say?

[Guess-Works.com]

That difference could quite easily be the difference between one persons set of rollers and anothers

[Guess-Works.com]

I recently got a price to have a re-bore, new pistons, crankshaft polish and new main & big end bearings supplied and installed to a block I'll be overhauling and it was about £500. That was for me taking the stripped block, crankshaft and con rods to them to do the work.

 

That's cheap... too cheap IMO..

[creakyjaws5533]

you must be gutted having been sold it as a rebuilt engine, I trust the "engineer" in question is prepared to pay for the rebuild? someone on here you say?

After all the problems I've got at home at the moment yes its was gutting to find out its knackered especially as I've now not got a garage to do the work in. Then theres the cost of insurance/tax/mot that jve just paid for. The person who sold it too me is ignoring my messages so I don't think they will but if they don't reply I will take it further. Slark said the engine was seriously struggling to make the 53bhp they squeezed out yesterday.

[Fast Ivan]

I guess the important questions here are did it come with a warranty, did it come with specific running in instructions, did you follow them and was it set up properly initially?  

[Stu.]

I recently got a price to have a re-bore, new pistons, crankshaft polish and new main & big end bearings supplied and installed to a block I'll be overhauling and it was about £500. That was for me taking the stripped block, crankshaft and con rods to them to do the work.

 
That's cheap... too cheap IMO..

It was Park Engineering in Malton, Yorkshire Guess-Works. The quote was from about 12 months ago and I think it was for a re-bore, new pistons and rings installed on my existing con rods all assembled. If I remember correctly it didnt include the crankshaft journal work or bearing shells though.

At the time I spoke at length to a chap there on the phone who was very helpful and not in a rush to 'get on' and he left me feeling confident my block would be in good hands.

I think Keith Calvers place is / was just up the road and they have done work for him in the past. Just what I've been told and don't know for sure though.

[Guess-Works.com]

I s'pose it does depend on the size of things, but just doing the basic maths, a reasonable piston will cost you £50, so £200 on pistons, rebore £120, and shells £50-£60, that's almost £400, once Mr VAT Man's had his slice there's very little for left for the cost of putting it together.

May just be their business model.