shuiend

iTrader: (24)

Expect to spend $500-1000 at the machine shop depending on how much work you have them do. At a minimum you will need them to bore and hone the block. Since you sound like you have never been in a motor before, I would highly suggest you have them put together the complete bottom end.

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

Yea it goes up if they magneflux, linebore, or do ring filing etc. If you weren't already going to do the reassembly yourself, the automotive machinists do this for a living, and may be worth the piece of mind.

I'd say you look pretty handy for a novice, but there are some particulars that come with experience.

slowcarfast

Any suggestions on how best to acquire the experience? I've also never opened up a motor, although I've always done all the work on my cars. A compression test appears to indicate my rings are going south so I've been contemplating doing a rebuild. It's something I've always wanted to learn to do, and I would likely grab a spare block to build, or a good engine to swap and build my current one, so I could take my time and not stress about getting the car back on the road. Thoughts? Sorry for the slight threadjack!

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

If you have time, space and funds:

Option 1: Replace your current motor with a running one for a couple hundred bux. Tear down your old motor and slowly build it up

Option 2: If your engine is fine but you want to replace it eventually, start sourcing parts and piece together a new motor so when yours does fail, you have a backup.

Option 3: Run your motor blissfully into the ground, when **** hits the fan, rebuild your existing motor and get a second car

I did a combination option 2 and 3 as my car catastrophically failed and had to rebuild a completely different motor.

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

There are a lot of little things that will trip you up on building a motor yourself. Things a competent machinist will know, but you being a newb will not. Unless you know someone who has built a few motors I would highly suggest just paying a machine shop to put together the bottom end. Destroying a motor because you did something stupid sucks and is not really a path you want to go down.

For an example on my first motor build a friend and I built it. I installed an oil pump, but did not install the relief valve. So when I got the motor running I had zero oil pressure. I then had to pull the motor again to install it. A machine shop would have caught that and installed the relief valve at the start.

psyber_0ptix

iTrader: (4)

Girz0r, I think we should be friends.

slowcarfast

You're telling me. I have progressed like this: initial goals of a nice reasonable 220whp on stock bottom end/5 speed -> engine's bad, need to rebuild, have e85 nearby, why not shoot for 275-300 -> well if I'm gonna have to buy a 6 speed and 3.9 rear anyway might as well buy a whole new low mileage car that already has those pieces attached and build my current motor while I drive that...

All this while I've been waiting for months to install my turbo cause I have 3 little kids and only have time to buy parts and talk about it on the internet, not actually work on my car.

Given the aforementioned lack of time this makes a loooot of sense.

Jmanwork

Hey guys, I'm 100% set on doing the work myself. Even though this is my first time in a Miata engine I have done a lot of research. I've been in smaller engines before and I have also watched a lot of videos on the YouTube's. I have kept all my hardware in order based on the order it was disassembled. I also have taken pictures to help me reference things.
However, $500-1000 sounds like a lot to me. I was pretty set on only doing a bore/hone. Based what I've seen in my engine I don't think it needs a line bore, crank polished, ect. But I could be wrong. The only real thing I'm confused about is assuming I go with 83.5mm supertech's do I get the cylinder's bored to the piston+the ring?

Girz0r

iTrader: (1)

Monk

iTrader: (3)

Yes, have the pistons in hand to give to the machinist first