engine rebuild
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 92
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engine rebuild
i took my car in to get the carburetor rebuilt and the mechanic told me my compression was all over the place something like 140 130 100 120 140 130 120 130. he recommended a valve job but is charging 1000$. after opening up the head he said the camshaft is bad as well so thats about another $450. So i called around and found an engine rebuilding shop that will do a full rebuild with water pump and all for $2000 with a warranty which is a much better deal. anyone have ideas on good rebuild shops or ideas?im in the los angeles area. also if im spending all this money on the engine I want to at least swap the cam out for something that gives a little more performance, any ideas?my car is a 79 automatic
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
Your compression numbers are a tad low but not alarmingly so.... what led the shop to quote a valve job? Did they do a "leakdown" test... if so what were the numbers? A "wet" compression test? If not, ask why not. If I were buying these repairs I would want to know why they were required... in plain english, data printed to back it up.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
What led the repair shop to the compression problem is that the mechanic needed to make a car payment on that Escalade. 
If you leave your car there, he will 'eat' you out of house and home. Drive it, tow it, drag it anywhere else. Those compression numbers do not warrant an engine overhaul...especially if you are not burning/using oil. Dump that guy....quick!!!
If you leave your car there, he will 'eat' you out of house and home. Drive it, tow it, drag it anywhere else. Those compression numbers do not warrant an engine overhaul...especially if you are not burning/using oil. Dump that guy....quick!!!
Former Vendor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 766
Likes: 3
From: Charlotte North Carolina 704-394-5150
socal79,
STOP!!!!!!!!! Look at what markids77 posted. How did the shop come to the determination that the heads needed servicing without doing a "leakdown test."
How and the heck can a shop do a rebuild on an engine for $2000.00? Get a list of parts and procedures that are going to be performed on your engine and post this information. BECAUSE...if you get this list of parts and go online and check the same parts but those parts that are of top quality...you will soon realize that the parts that MAY be used in your engine are CRAP!!!!! REGARDLESS if they give you a warranty, get a copy of it and READ IT THROUGHLY. You may now be on the road to DESTRUCTION! The time is NOW for you to do some "leg work" and get this information. For $2000...something has to give and I do not know where they are "taking it from". BE CAREFUL!!!!
"DUB"
STOP!!!!!!!!! Look at what markids77 posted. How did the shop come to the determination that the heads needed servicing without doing a "leakdown test."
How and the heck can a shop do a rebuild on an engine for $2000.00? Get a list of parts and procedures that are going to be performed on your engine and post this information. BECAUSE...if you get this list of parts and go online and check the same parts but those parts that are of top quality...you will soon realize that the parts that MAY be used in your engine are CRAP!!!!! REGARDLESS if they give you a warranty, get a copy of it and READ IT THROUGHLY. You may now be on the road to DESTRUCTION! The time is NOW for you to do some "leg work" and get this information. For $2000...something has to give and I do not know where they are "taking it from". BE CAREFUL!!!!
"DUB"
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
I agree, those numbers do not warrent a rebuild. Also from opening up the heads there would be nothing there to indicate that the cam has wiped a lobe. He should have pulles a valve cover and checked cam lift while he did compression testing to see why your "compression was all over the place "
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
i took my car in to get the carburetor rebuilt and the mechanic told me my compression was all over the place something like 140 130 100 120 140 130 120 130. he recommended a valve job but is charging 1000$. after opening up the head he said the camshaft is bad as well so thats about another $450. So i called around and found an engine rebuilding shop that will do a full rebuild with water pump and all for $2000 with a warranty which is a much better deal. anyone have ideas on good rebuild shops or ideas?im in the los angeles area. also if im spending all this money on the engine I want to at least swap the cam out for something that gives a little more performance, any ideas?my car is a 79 automatic
How much did he want for the Carb Rebuild?
P.S. 7T1vette is wrong, he really needed funding for a Las Vegas trip (IMO).
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 923
Likes: 37
From: Green Bay Wisconsin
Hello,
Rule of thumb is that the highest and lowest cylinder should not differ by more than 10%. Your test obviously does.
Your wiped out cam would also lower the compression numbers and could be the culprit here.
Having someone remove and rebuild the engine and put it back in the car for $2,000 and warranty the work is on the low end of the scale. I would go to a reputable place and pay alittle more and get it done right.
If it were my car I would go all stock with a new oil pump, new timing chain set with gears, valve job and new rings and bearings and a slightly larger camshaft and call it a day. You don't really need the best rings and gaskets available, as long as your not planning to race it regularly.
Good Luck,
Douglas in Green Bay
Rule of thumb is that the highest and lowest cylinder should not differ by more than 10%. Your test obviously does.
Your wiped out cam would also lower the compression numbers and could be the culprit here.
Having someone remove and rebuild the engine and put it back in the car for $2,000 and warranty the work is on the low end of the scale. I would go to a reputable place and pay alittle more and get it done right.
If it were my car I would go all stock with a new oil pump, new timing chain set with gears, valve job and new rings and bearings and a slightly larger camshaft and call it a day. You don't really need the best rings and gaskets available, as long as your not planning to race it regularly.
Good Luck,
Douglas in Green Bay
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
Likes: 122
From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
$2000 don't get you a decent rebuild let alone R&R. You can slap in rings and bearings and a valve grinding with a new cheap cam and lifters and call it a rebuild. There are a lot of other things that go into a quality build. Every spec in the engine needs to be within certain tolerances to get a long life out of a build. This takes a lot of time, measuring and attention to detail. Very rarely will the above minimal freshen up be a long lasting solution. Find a good shop for R&R and a better machine shop to do a quality build. If it is good it is not cheap. If it is cheap it is not good.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
I agree with whoever noticed the compression numbers were not in line with what is normally acceptable. I would look at how many miles are on the motor. How it runs, how much oil it uses etc etc etc. and if it had a couple hundred thousand miles on it and used oil, it's time to rebuild it, these things don't last forever.
$2000 job if that's including re and re of the motor then it will probably come back in worse shape than when you took it in.
$2000 job if that's including re and re of the motor then it will probably come back in worse shape than when you took it in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,231
Likes: 65
From: Seattle WA
St. Jude Donor '14
Any guy that wants $1000 for a "valve job" obviously didn't do a decent compression check and I wouldn't take any action until a competent mechanic looks it over 
It's certainly possible to do a decent overhaul for around $2K; I've attached the parts list from a couple that I've done. But this is definitely a "grocery getter" or "parts chaser" pickup build.
Lots of cleaning, painting and reusing parts 
It's certainly possible to do a decent overhaul for around $2K; I've attached the parts list from a couple that I've done. But this is definitely a "grocery getter" or "parts chaser" pickup build.
Lots of cleaning, painting and reusing parts
Last edited by billla; Sep 6, 2009 at 11:03 PM.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
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he did a wet compression test and he said the readings were ok so it was not the rings, but apparently its 2 or 3 of the valves that are messed up. I only looked into the rebuild because of the price comparison of what he is charging me.the bad part is I have to pay this guy 500 bucks for the compression check and taking the head off : / tuesday im going to tow the car home and find either a better shop or do the 2k rebuild which includes new pistons, bearings, rings,crank and cam grind,oil pump lifters,timing chain and new guides. what would you say is my best bet? do the full rebuild for 2k or look around and spend a few hundred on a valve job and cam?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,422
Likes: 591
From: McHenry Illinois
he did a wet compression test and he said the readings were ok so it was not the rings, but apparently its 2 or 3 of the valves that are messed up. I only looked into the rebuild because of the price comparison of what he is charging me.the bad part is I have to pay this guy 500 bucks for the compression check and taking the head off : / tuesday im going to tow the car home and find either a better shop or do the 2k rebuild which includes new pistons, bearings, rings,crank and cam grind,oil pump lifters,timing chain and new guides. what would you say is my best bet? do the full rebuild for 2k or look around and spend a few hundred on a valve job and cam?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,231
Likes: 65
From: Seattle WA
St. Jude Donor '14
You need to just clear your brain of everything this guy told you as he's either incompetent or unethical. Sorry, but there it is 
$500 for a compression check and pulling a head...although I have no idea why he felt he needed to do this...is a rip-off.Seriously - is the engine running OK? Using a ton of oil? This was brought up before by a smart guy on the thread and it's worth backing up a bit to think about this more generally. You can do a compression and leak-down test yourself at home with some pretty simple and cheap tools.
With a bit more background on what drove you to go to a mechanic in the first place, and a better diagnosis of what's going on I think you'll get better answers.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
Regardless of the technical details surround the interpretation of a compression test, you brought this guy a running vehicle and now it doesn't run. Once the head was off, this guy probably thought he had the job. The current $500 he wants to charge you, does his labor rate and time add up to that?
Do you have anybody (friends, coworkers,outlaws) that can help you out and properly re-install the head? If so, you could start planning your rebuild for later in the winter.
Do you have anybody (friends, coworkers,outlaws) that can help you out and properly re-install the head? If so, you could start planning your rebuild for later in the winter.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2009
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yea the reading were the same so its not the rings. he wanted 250 for the carb rebuild which is why i went in the shop for the first place. the carb has a vacuum leak,and the pan gasket on the trans needs replacing but i can do that myself. so i had him look at the carb and he said it was bad and apparently he ran a compression check and started this whole mess. my mistake was agreeing to let him take the head off.
