Question about Engine Rebuild
 

All right. My engine is officially blown. I need to get the sucker rebuilt.

Of the places I've called, only one seems confident in doing it. However, they said they could not either line hone or line bore, but what they could do instead is go in and bore it out to the next size.

Is this an acceptable alternative to a line hone/line bore?

Typically when someone talks about "Line boring" we are talking about the main bearing journals for the crank. If you are installing ARP studs for the mains then you MUST line bore them since the extra clamping force distorts the caps and the bearings will be egg shaped and no longer round. Unfortunately there really is no way for us to tell you whether or not you need the line boring if you don't intend to install the studs without having your new bearings and checking oil clearances. In most cases if you are not installing studs the engine builder can adjust caps to get the oil clearances you request.

I hope I have helped a little but fear I may not have really answered your question completely.

If a machine shop says no to some of the most basic processes that you've asked for, move to the next one.

Damn, thank you.

That is the only machine shop in the area that is willing to do what I need done.

Is having the engine rebuilt right worth two round trips to Seattle for a known commodity? (Assuming there is quality machine shop in Seattle)

Yes. Although I'm 99% certain I'm going to have TSE build my engine at this point assuming a reasonable build time, as their reputation speaks for itself and I've not really been able to find a quality machine shop in the state.

Sounds like a good option to me. I've spoken with him before about adding custom work to their engine package prices and it's been very reasonable.

Good luck.

Leafy has a TSE built engine, I assume he'd be able to give a review.

12 weeks backlog on TSE built engine's.

Seriously debating on if I should get one or not.

That could be terrifying. I ordered with a 6-8 week lead time (as in, I should have an engine sitting in my garage in 8 weeks tops) that turned into 9 months to get an engine that was strapped to a pallet with 2 ratchet straps (only 1 was tight) and had a couple layers of bubble wrap taped over it, as in it wasnt in a crate. It looked like it was never cleaned, the valve cover and the oil pan certainly werent. And it leaked oil out of the back of the pan and the oil cooler to block connection. To be fair, they gave me a small discount for the lateness and paid for materials to fix the leaks. Which I failed at fixing. And also to be fair, the price is 1-3k less than it would have cost me to have it done locally, even when you include the cost of shipping. Would I get another knowing what I know now? Fuck no, I went that way initially because they had a good reputation, the lead time worked perfectly, and they would have had it done much faster than I could have. But now I have the time and the space to do engine assembly and wouldn't have to pay a couple grand for assembly. But if I didnt have the ability to assembly, they still are 1-3k less than getting it done locally, and if I didn't have a specific time I needed the engine and didnt mind having to clean the engine, strip the pealing paint off the block and get the rust off the block (or didnt care what it looked like) I'd probably go with them again. The worst was getting told that it would be done next week or in two weeks for months on end.

1-3k less??

How much are you / did you pay, and what did you get????

3k is about as much as i have into my engine total.... Maybe a little more.

Wut. I'm in 4k in parts alone and still needs machining/assembly, waterpump, alternator, gaskets and small parts.

All said and done the engine from TSE cost just over 5k. I was getting quoted 3k-5k for machining and assembly (shits fucking expensive in new england yo) and then theres over 3k worth of parts in the thing including the super miata damper. Their standard bill is still like 2k worth of parts to build, they pay wholesale for the parts, but still their labor rate is pretty damn low. Of course, if I assembled it myself it would have only been 600-1k for all the machine work locally. AND their VVT engine core charge is $700, around here they're all over 1k for a core from the junk yard. Everything adds up.

In my engine (which I've confirmed when I had the pan off)
omponent list:
-Supertech forged pistons 84mm 8.6:1
-Manley forged H-beam connecting rods
-ARP2000 Rod Bolts
-ACL Race main, rod, and thrust bearings
-ARP head studs
-ARP main studs
-Boundary Engineering "Street/Strip" oil pump with billet gears
-Supertech Viton valve seals
-Gates Racing timing belt
-OEM Mazda seals and gaskets
-Full cylinder head refresh (hot tank, new manganese/bronze valve guides, 3-angle valve job, pressure test, and resurface)
-Balanced and Blueprinted
super miata balancer with 12+1 wheel
supertech dual valve springs
4-5 tubes of RTV gray

That is terrifying and inexcusable.

I have more stuff going in mine, with a bunch of headwork, and am still at a lower price.


Though, i am in the motor city. I can get parts from suppliers, and an engine built for a good price.

Sounds like they need some experience shipping engines and maybe some help around the shop, but I wouldn't call it terrifying. If Andrew only has himself building engines, I could see why he's a little behind. Remember, that is NOT a job you want to hand off to some monkey with a wrench. I'll rather wait 5 months for an engine than have them rush it.

Blaen, check these guys out. If it's worth the trip down here...
Clackamas Auto Parts

I don't see line boring on the list, however if you call Art up, he's an incredibly friendly helpful guy, just say you were checking out their price list and didn't see line boring, see if he can do it for you. He usually has a recommendation if they can't do it. For instance, I've dropped all my stuff off there, he's cleaned half a dozen parts, sent it out for balancing, ball honed the block, and left me a friendly voice mail when it was all done. All for sub-$400 if I remember correctly. Good people.

Not sure what power level you're after. If you are in the sub-250 club, you might consider a stock, crate engine from a volume remanufacturer. I recently swapped in a remanufactured long block for $1800. Arrived within two weeks of ordering. I even have a warranty! I did have to fix an oil leak from the cam seals after install, but that was the only issue. Pictures in my build thread.

There's also the low-mileage JDM engine option.

If you're looking for the high-dollar built engine option, I think FM does those too.

Has anyone on here actually broken a main cap/bolt?

or are you all trying to spend money on extra arp studs and line honeing