Engine Freshening Tips (long)

[Jon Pennington]

On 12/10/06, wmc2004aug at bellsouth.net <wmc2004aug at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> I didn't keep up on the later SR20 stuff...  what's a "2001 roller motor"?

Production Year 2001.  Roller motors are minor updates to the SR20
family, but big enough to be annoying, like the fact that the redline
is choked at 6600 RPM by weak-ass valve springs, and even $600 JWT
springs are only rated at 7200 by JWT with an S3 (rollerized) cam
grind.

> parts, etc.  And you are likely to end up with an engine that's
> "nothing special" at best;  at worst, it may self destruct or run like crap.

Roger that.  I really don't want to pull the pistons, but I don't know
their condition.  Since I pretty much have to pull the head off, I'll
just wait until that point to evaluate the surface condition of the
bores.  If they're clean, then I'll leave them alone.  If they're not
clean, I may have the whole thing professionally rebuilt; we'll just
have to see.  It seems clear to me that rebuilding it in my garage is
way over my head.

> The head is a big issue.  You propose using a 180Kmi head with no
> rebuilding.  [useful advice about re-con inserted here] -- that's 85% of
> a complete head rebuild.  You might sneak by under $500.

In that price ballpark, there's little reason to *not* get an SR16VE
cylinder head that's most likely in better shape than either of the
cylinder heads I already own.  It's an option.

> You didn't mention mileage on the bottom end.  But if you think the
> bores are rusty, that's BIG trouble.  I have to guess rust is going

60k miles at the time the car came to rest on a day just like today
two years ago.  It's my own fault for not being more careful when I
yanked it out of the car.

> I think you'd be better off and money ahead with a low mileage
> junkyard or JDM engine.

This *is* a low-mileage junkyard engine, but it's a junkyard engine
with a low-mass crank, low-mass accessory drive pulley,
anti-cavitation water pump, and 100-amp alternator.  And I know
exactly where it's been, what it did while it was there, and what kind
of oil went in and out of it's crank case in it's first four years on
the road.  In a nutshell, that's why I want to hang onto it.

-- 
-=|JP|=-     <//><

Yeah, I rock the mic like a cuttlefish...