$4,000 to Remanufacture a VX Engine?!?

[user removed]

I was at a Nissan dealership and overheard a customer ranting at a service writer about his 83 diesel Maxima which used the same basic block as a 240Z. The car did not have enough compression to start without boosting the battery. Once it got hot it ran and started normally.

The car was 9 years old.

The odometer read 864,000 miles.

The cold compression was less than half the proper amount of close to 400 PSI.

regards
Mech

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Has anyone heard of OE Engines Direct or Powertrain Products?


OE Engines Direct - Remanufactured Engines for Mechanics and Automotive Professionals

Power Train Products Rebuilt Car Engines- Transfer Cases- Transmission-Differentials and Cylinder Heads

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Davo53209@yahoo.com

Recently I'd asked what everyone thought about taking my 94 Civic VX to the local speed shop to have my engine completely remanufactured to OEM specs.

I've spoken with two local shops that specialize in Hondas; but one shop is asking $3,000 for just the labor alone while the other shop is asking $4000 for both labor and parts, plus accessory components if required. They did however ask if I was pulling out and installing the engine, so that may make the difference in the price.

In lieu of all of that, I'm considering other options. For example, has anyone ever heard of OE Engines Direct? OE Engines Direct - Remanufactured Engines for Mechanics and Automotive Professionals. They claim to provide better service than Jasper Engines in addition to sending out their work to professional shops throughout the country. They quoted me roughly $2100 to remanufacture my engine to OEM specs, plus a 12,000 mile warranty. I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks of them.

http://oeenginesdirect.com/

The other option provide to me by a local mechanic was to have the cylinder bores cleaned,the piston rings replaced, the the head worked on and to get a valve job. However; an engine building instructor at the local technical college once said to me that completely remanufacturing the engine is the only way to go.....that too, I'd like to hear what everyone thinks.

My sincere apologies for clogging up your thread Davo. I've been out of the business for over a decade but I think Jasper has a better warranty. Others have posted about buying a used VX engine. I think there is even an ad in this forum for a quantity of used VX parts for sale, and if my old memory is still working they are close to your location.

Assuming your engine is not burning excess oil right now, my suggestion would be to pick up another engine and transmission. Imput shaft bearings seem to be the weak point in Honda transmissions, but Mista Bone has greater experience in that field. With another engine you could check it out, even not installed and running and have a spare, both engine and transmission.

pgfpro stated that boring a Honda block is not a good idea. He is probably right if the cylinder walls are thin enough to cause problems. Lots of VX engines were removed for no other reason than someone wanted to install a more powerful or potentially more powerful engine for performance instead of economy.

regards
Mech

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

My sincere apologies for clogging up your thread Davo. I've been out of the business for over a decade but I think Jasper has a better warranty. Others have posted about buying a used VX engine. I think there is even an ad in this forum for a quantity of used VX parts for sale, and if my old memory is still working they are close to your location.

Assuming your engine is not burning excess oil right now, my suggestion would be to pick up another engine and transmission. Imput shaft bearings seem to be the weak point in Honda transmissions, but Mista Bone has greater experience in that field. With another engine you could check it out, even not installed and running and have a spare, both engine and transmission.

pgfpro stated that boring a Honda block is not a good idea. He is probably right if the cylinder walls are thin enough to cause problems. Lots of VX engines were removed for no other reason than someone wanted to install a more powerful or potentially more powerful engine for performance instead of economy.

regards
Mech

No problem at all. In fact I like candid answers. To clarify, my engine doesn't appear to be giving me any problems as of YET. There are no signs or symptoms of burning any oil or the such, when in fact, it could probably go for another 100,000 miles. The point to any of this is to find the best options for myself ahead of time in preparation of worst case scenario.

For the most part, I'm first to trust the members of this forum, over some potentially shady mechanic who has no experience with these engines, who may in fact being trying to sell me a service, give me the business, and then try to send me up the creek. As far as I'm concerned, everyone's opinion here as merit.

[pgfpro]

Davo53209@yahoo.com

I'm very sorry for all the thread jacking.

I did not mean to personally attack Old Mech.
I thought Mech said he had a destroyed piston from someone else's build that Mech had to fix

I had a piston on my shop counter

. I didn't know he was the one who built the engine with the broken piston and piston ring. As fir me grammar and spelling sorry I'm trying to do my best.

I have had great luck with a ridge removal tool on certain types of engines with no engine failure. My point in my above post was on a Honda engine if there is any ridge... IMHO the block is done throw it away. Now on a engine like my 4G63 you could use a ridge removal tool and it would work for a low $$ build. Would it be the same if you were to bore the block absolutely not!!! But done right you could get another 100k out of it.

But back to you. If I were you I would do a leak down to see whats up??? You said its not using oil so the oil rings and valve guides and valve seals are doing their job. I would also do a compression test. This can show you things that the leak down can't and vice versa.

It sounds like the engine is down on power... correct??? Have you check to see if the timing is correct by finding TDC and checking it to the dist. and cam gear. Don't trust the crank pulley marks they have been known to move inside the hub. This happens a lot on the D-Series engines. There are some great write ups on this on D-Series.com.

Anyway good luck.

[oil pan 4]

I am not suprized.
A new or rebuilt diesel long block for my suburban would have been $4000 to $5000 and would not have been built to my specifications.
I did it my self and have less than $2000 in it.

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

I FOUND MY ENGINE EVERYONE!!! The place is local too. Initially, what I ended up doing was calling the dealership as sort of a last resort and more so out of curiosity. They interestingly enough quoted the same price as the speed shops, but kept referring to a company that was local to me in my area. It was at this point that I thought, "perhaps I'm being middle maned by the dealership". Sorry to be vague upon the name; but I can't let this engine slip away...no offense.

It was then when I contacted the company and got a quote for a completely remanufactured 94 Civic Vx engine for $2300 and change. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and In addition to that, I get a 3year no fault unlimited warranty, plus free shipping, provided that I have the engine shipped to a recommended installer in my area. Best of all, I get to approve the installer for my new engine. I'm a happy guy! In the meantime, I just can't wait to get the tax return quick enough.

[user removed]

Staying ahead of a potential issue gives you time to exercise due diligence and I really like the idea that is's a local operation with excellent references.

regards
Mech

[Davo53209@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Staying ahead of a potential issue gives you time to exercise due diligence and I really like the idea that is's a local operation with excellent references.

regards
Mech

And that really was the whole idea. However; I have to admit that it's tempting to act on it right away. Naturally, accessory components are extra, so I'm trying to determine which used components I should have the installer swap over to the new engine. Typically speaking, is it likely that the installer would allow such things? What should I not expect them to do?

[Frank Lee]

If it ain't broke don't fix it!