Ebay rebuild kit

[carayan]

With my b18 out, I'm deciding what to do with it. Either just service it (belts, pumps, etc) or do a rebuild. It's done about 160-170k kms from what I know, and early indicators don't look like it was super healthy (oil in spark plug chambers etc) but in saying that, the head itself is free of grime and gunk and stuff like that.

In terms of rebuilding it, I have been watching this item for a long time:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151042734792

About ~$400 for an entire rebuild kit, which seems logical, considering I don't swim in money. But would it be worth it?

Or would I be better off slowly buying OEM spec things from Honda and maybe some Type R bits along the way (I've seen pistons, valve springs stuff like that going pretty cheap in the marketplace).

I've got plenty of help and I can get access to tools and whatever I may not have so that's not a problem.

[z3lda]

Timing Belt get Honda
water Pump get Honda
Tensioner get Honda

Gaskets and Seals aftermarket ones work well.
Alt and P/S belt can get from repco


you don't need pistons and rings or bearings unless you wanna rebuild your motor and if you are going to do so, you would want to get branded sh!et

[curtis265]

Timing Belt get Honda
water Pump get Honda
Tensioner get Honda

Gaskets and Seals aftermarket ones work well.
Alt and P/S belt can get from repco


you don't need pistons and rings or bearings unless you wanna rebuild your motor and if you are going to do so, you would want to get branded sh!et

Agree with this.

[stndrd]

I have the reverse opinion.

Timing belt - Gates or Dayco
Water pump - GMB, Repco brand (still made by GMB just cheaper)
Tensioner - Get it in a Gates or Dayco timing belt kit

Gaskets & seals - Genuine last longer and seal nicer than aftermarket

Drive belts - Gates, Dayco or Repco


Have been doing things this way for years and have not had any issue's.

If you are going to rebuild the motor (new rings, bearings etc) do not order a single item until you have stripped the complete motor, measured everything and made sure that you do not need to linish the crank or bore the motor and run oversize pistons/rings as you will end up paying for things twice

[carayan]

Timing Belt get Honda
water Pump get Honda
Tensioner get Honda

Gaskets and Seals aftermarket ones work well.
Alt and P/S belt can get from repco


you don't need pistons and rings or bearings unless you wanna rebuild your motor and if you are going to do so, you would want to get branded sh!et


I have the reverse opinion.

Timing belt - Gates or Dayco
Water pump - GMB, Repco brand (still made by GMB just cheaper)
Tensioner - Get it in a Gates or Dayco timing belt kit

Gaskets & seals - Genuine last longer and seal nicer than aftermarket

Drive belts - Gates, Dayco or Repco


Have been doing things this way for years and have not had any issue's.

If you are going to rebuild the motor (new rings, bearings etc) do not order a single item until you have stripped the complete motor, measured everything and made sure that you do not need to linish the crank or bore the motor and run oversize pistons/rings as you will end up paying for things twice

I'll take your advice on board before I place money somewhere.

Would it be worth rebuilding considering the age of the motor, or would I be better off just doing a major service on it?

[grifty]

You dont have to get all OEM honda....

I totally agree with stndrd, try to get OEM seals, if not then aftermarket is fine. I would just get a genuine rear main seal.

for things like timing belt, tensioner, water pump & oil pump aftermarket is fine.

Do a compression or leakdown test on the motor to check its condition.

[carayan]

You dont have to get all OEM honda....

I totally agree with stndrd, try to get OEM seals, if not then aftermarket is fine. I would just get a genuine rear main seal.

for things like timing belt, tensioner, water pump & oil pump aftermarket is fine.

Do a compression or leakdown test on the motor to check its condition.

Was looking at doing a leakdown test but the spark plug chambers are filled with oil, would pulling out the spark plugs cause damage with the oil draining out?

[curtis265]

Would it be worth rebuilding considering the age of the motor, or would I be better off just doing a major service on it?

you don't strip a motor down cos it's old, you strip a motor down because you're sick of burning oil, want some more grunt back and can see it financially viable.

[stndrd]

If you have oil in the spark plug tubes, it means your spark plug tube seals are leaking.

If you are going to do a leak down test, I would pull the spark plugs out, let the oil go into the cylinders, put it back together then run the car to burn off the oil. Once you have done that let the car cool down then carry out the leak down test.

Rebuilding is purely up to you. If you want to extract some more power, why not stick a set of new pistons and camshafts in and go from there. It really depends on how much you are willing to spend and what you want from the engine

[carayan]

If you have oil in the spark plug tubes, it means your spark plug tube seals are leaking.

If you are going to do a leak down test, I would pull the spark plugs out, let the oil go into the cylinders, put it back together then run the car to burn off the oil. Once you have done that let the car cool down then carry out the leak down test.

Rebuilding is purely up to you. If you want to extract some more power, why not stick a set of new pistons and camshafts in and go from there. It really depends on how much you are willing to spend and what you want from the engine

oh forgot to mention the engine isn't in a car, I bought a wreck and only recently pulled it out.

I was looking at some new cams and pistons at least type r (or equiv) but i figured for its age maybe rebuilding would be better.

[grifty]

Was looking at doing a leakdown test but the spark plug chambers are filled with oil, would pulling out the spark plugs cause damage with the oil draining out?

shove a rag on a screwdriver to soak up the oil

Also i wouldnt use the pistons from that kit.

[carayan]

shove a rag on a screwdriver to soak up the oil

Also i wouldnt use the pistons from that kit.

Will do.

At this stage I'm not going to be buying that kit, see how the leak down goes (just waiting on the leak down device) and yeah go from there.

[Super-DA9]

Definitely leakdown before making any decisions on rebuilding.

However leakdown unfortunately won't tell you if the valve guides/seals are good or shot. So if the leakdown results are good, I would still suggest popping the head off and getting a head service done, it should save you any worries of burning oil and blue smoke.

In regards to your first post, I would not touch an ebay no-name rebuild kit ever. Yes, the value appears to be excellent considering you get everything you need in a kit at an awesome price, but engine rebuilding (be it full rebuild or part rebuild) is not something you want to have back track if something crucial fails. I can tell you from experience doing it twice is very expensive.

If you are chasing more power you could even get yourself an up-rated valvetrain while the head is off so it will be ready for bigger cams.

[dougie_504]

What you do is get an air compressor and shoot air into the plug hole with a rag wrapped around the air gun so the oil splashes up and gets stuck in the rag. When it's sufficiently clean, remove your rocker cover and replace the spark plug seals ($20/ea at Honda). Then compression test the engine so you don't go wasting your money rebuilding a potentially perfetly healthy motor.

A full rebuild is many times more expensive than the $400 kit. Factor in machinist work (decking, cleaning, honing, possible re-boring/crack testing), new bearings and rings obviously, gaskets, seals, belts, fluids and labor to top it all off.

[carayan]

What you do is get an air compressor and shoot air into the plug hole with a rag wrapped around the air gun so the oil splashes up and gets stuck in the rag. When it's sufficiently clean, remove your rocker cover and replace the spark plug seals ($20/ea at Honda). Then compression test the engine so you don't go wasting your money rebuilding a potentially perfetly healthy motor.

A full rebuild is many times more expensive than the $400 kit. Factor in machinist work (decking, cleaning, honing, possible re-boring/crack testing), new bearings and rings obviously, gaskets, seals, belts, fluids and labor to top it all off.

Thanks for all the tips guys, just bought a leak down tester, waiting on it to arrive and I'll get to seeing if this is healthy or not. If I don't have to rebuild/compression is good it'll be happy sailing, if not we will see what happens from there.

[Daveho1]

i know im late on this but personaly i would use oem timing gear (belt and tensioner), water pump is fine after market imho, im using a gmb with no issues. do yourself a favor and redo the sump gasket oem and prolly the valve cover ( since its leaking already) id also change the distributer o ring. have you done a compresion test yet??

[carayan]

i know im late on this but personaly i would use oem timing gear (belt and tensioner), water pump is fine after market imho, im using a gmb with no issues. do yourself a favor and redo the sump gasket oem and prolly the valve cover ( since its leaking already) id also change the distributer o ring. have you done a compresion test yet??

Yeah as I said in the post above just waiting on the tester.