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Has anyone done it to a C4? Yeah sounds hokey but us 80's kids did it all the time in our Novas and Dusters. Rings, bearings, and rear mains (except rope seals), put a lopey cam in, a high rise with Holley, and good to go for the Saturday night runs. All in the car.
My new to me C4 is a rescued beater so everything I do will be budget minded. Rings and gaskets run less than $80 from Rockauto.
Everyone will say pull the engine and I agree if you are actually competent mechanic enough to do this type of service you would already know that.
The issue is, everyone is not as good as they think. There are levels to this ****. Successfully rebuilding an engine on the back of a pickup truck or in the grass is not the same as building one in a clean room even though they both result with a technically running engine at the end. The question is whether you can elevate yourself to the level where the clean room suddenly becomes the only option and rebuilding an engine which you previously thought of as a simple device suddenly turns into a nightmare you will avoid at all costs, leading you to seek a more successfully, less risky plan of action
I've replaced the pistons, rings, rods, rod bearings and cylinder heads in my 88 with the engine (and crankshaft) in the car. Also cam, timing chain, lifters, rockers, valve springs...you name it, on other occasions.
You may want to consider new valve springs, seals, head bolts, oil, and coolant. You may also find some broken parts like piston skirts, so the parts list may grow, who knows. What year car? Mileage?
1984, miles high with some ring smoke but no other mechanical issues found thus far. Frankly the engine bay is a mess see pic. I want to rering, replace timing chain, cam & lifters, water pump while there, check heads & valve lap + valve seals, and replace that cease fire injection junk with a short intake and carb.
Damn...that's a lot of work, in the car. Have you done a leak down? What's the oil pressure? Could the rings be "gummed" from sitting...and clean up w/some running and oil changes?
I agree with those who said that it CAN be done in the car. I helped a buddy of mine do this in his '84, back in the early '90's. His car didn't need it, but it ran great afterward, for years.
I certainly get wanting to do it cheap - but you're going to have to glazebust the cylinders, and more importantly - you're going to have to dig through all that crap in the picture to just get the heads off. Why not just pull the motor - and do crank & rod bearings while you're at it (if the rings are worn to the point of oil smoke - the bearings are probably worn as well...)???
I believe $50 will rent an engine hoist - or you can typically buy a low end one for a bit over $150.
1984, miles high with some ring smoke but no other mechanical issues found thus far. Frankly the engine bay is a mess see pic. I want to rering, replace timing chain, cam & lifters, water pump while there, check heads & valve lap + valve seals, and replace that cease fire injection junk with a short intake and carb.
Kudos for ditching the cease-fire, and just pull the motor. It’s easier and faster, because you’re not a kid in the 80s anymore. You need to clean all that **** out of the motor after you hone it for the new rings. What do you think the timing chain looks like?
Kudos for ditching the cease-fire, and just pull the motor. It’s easier and faster, because you’re not a kid in the 80s anymore. You need to clean all that **** out of the motor after you hone it for the new rings. What do you think the timing chain looks like?
Going back to first things first with a power washing, oil and antifreeze change, then a few starts & idling sessions to see if the oil rings loosen up. The car was parked by a road being dug up and repaved hence the coat of caliche dust. I was just curious if there were any obstacles to doing the rering in the car. The smoke isn't bad. I have a Honda GL1200 Gold Wing needing carb parts and a Kawasaki overbore also to do so my plate is full.
Just pull the engine as you'll never get all the grit from disassembling and honing and removing cylinder ridge it there is one. You'll put new rings on it only to ruin the bearings from all the gunk left over. If you can rebuild an engine in the car then you should know there's 5 bolts on the back, 3 torque converter bolts if automatic,two engine mount bolts, exhaust manifolds to pipes bolts, two rad hoses, two heater hoses,a fuel line, a few wires to the starter, and sensors and its out. You can rent an engine houist cheap and a used engine stand is only around thirty bucks. Just my opinion though.
Because it’s a nearly 38 year old pos that chokes the motor over 4500 rpm, that’s why.
Ouch 😅 Fact. If the car was a restoration candidate then yeah keep it but obviously it's not. Currently the car runs and will leave the CFI for the near term if IF the light oil smoke goes away after a soaking with penetrating lubricant down the spark plug holes and Marvel in the oil. If it stays smoking then the original heads and cease fire come off. Permanently.
Soooo what's the alternative? What's that cost? Does it start in the cold? Get 25 mpg?
Can you make the CFI not "choke the motor over 4500 RPM"? How much does that cost?
Pretty cheap with swap meet parts. And 25 mpg is easily attained, I drove my 350 700r4 swapped S10 for years as a daily with a Eddy 650 electric choke because it got better fuel mileage than my ‘89 tbi Camaro. My latest 350 that I just fired up a couple of weeks ago, middle of Connecticut winter, starts instantly and drives great. It’s very similar to that S10 motor except for the cam. Cheap Jegs intake, used Eddy 650, and a very old HEI. Not registered yet so fuel mileage will have to wait. Now that we are done hijacking this guys thread why don’t you pm me so I can answer any more of your stupid questions.
When i was a young man working in GM dealers, 80s to the end of 90s it was typical while under warranty to remove the least amount of parts to access or repair and as quickly as possible.
As others say it can be done, but today i would not enjoy that method on my own vette. I removed my engine and disassembled inspected and sent it off to a machine shop. I enjoyed the task more then doing it in frame with 2000k. But working on cars today is just a hobby now for me not a living. there was a time 35 yrs ago i could do the task in two days 8 tearing down and 8 building up. How ever you feel about doing the task in or out of frame is your choice.
Engine re-ring in the car
How much does that cost? 
