Im looking for a spare block to start building for turbo. I've seen a few neons in my local junk yard; however, im not too sure if using a block from one would be a wise move. Has anyone done this? If so, how did it turn out?



"Shut your mouth and open your eyes."

i got my block from a junkyard. rebuilt the whole thing with forged internals, started it last night as the matter of fact. just make sure theres no glaze on the cylinder walls, at best you still have the crosshatching (so the rings can set right)
_________
96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

congrats do0d. hows she running?

Originally posted by Uberingram
congrats do0d. hows she running?

motor is absolutely perfect. sounds like a frikkin haus too. no CEL's, no leaks at all. no problems. feels fuckin good to have the first motor you've ever built with your own hands fire right up the first try with no problems. let the fun begin :thumbsup, thanks for the congrats uberluber



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96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

Awesome, did you install everything yourself or did you take it to a shop to have it assembled? I'm still working on that detail. The only thing im not sure about are clearances. Other than that I have no problem doing it myself.



"Shut your mouth and open your eyes."

did the whole dayum thing by myself :) assembled the whole longblock...did it all from the bedplate and main bearings to the pistons and locks to the head studs and timing and crank sprocket and udp and belts, etc. holyshitballs did i learn everything you need to know. feels so good to have it turn over after all that blood, sweat and tears. my advice is to build your first block :) its fuckin fun.

a couple friends and the skrillanater himself helped me out when we got in a jam, thanks guys

its funny how many cool toosl i have now too....i mean i have an air ratchet, badass torque wrench, feeler gauges, micrometer, etc etc etc. and more than enough anaerobic sealer/loctite/threadlock/grey rtv/black rtv/teflon tape/teflon paste...etc, lmao..wow yea i have a lot of shit now :thumbsup
_________
96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

Congrats man, that rocks. I'm heading to the Junk yard this weekend, then it's time to start picking up the internal goodies :thumbsup



"Shut your mouth and open your eyes."

damn turbo, thats awesome, makes me want to build my own engine lol... then again i dunno jack shit about them yet :) i suppose i could start w/ an engine rebuilding class. how did u get it back down those stairs?

Dave-

Originally posted by SanJacinto6404
how did u get it back down those stairs?

haha, cant believe you remember that. i ended up just carrying it all down in sections and piling it all into my car. i "technically" had a 12 cylinder all the way to the shop, lol. 4 pistons that were driving us, 4 in the new block that were rebuilt and 4 forged, lol

dude if you want to build your block all you need is the desire to learn



_________
96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

Damn dude. Congrats. What's your set up now anyway?

-------jezreel
hrc stage 1, sfmu, ml, prokits, egt, boost gauge, apexi tt, costum dp, dynotune fp gauge. gst muff, turbo spoiler

nothing like driving with the windows down and the music low: i love hearing the turbo spool, swwwhhhttt!!!!
thanks for www.kaptainmyke.com for the sig hosting :thumbsup

Originally posted by DarkOne
Dino's dating tips, in 3 easy steps:
1) Club them over the head.
2) drag them home.
3) introduce myself in the morning.

get it bored and you should be good IMO. i woudlnt reuse a junkyard block with the stock bore. could be damaged. crosshatching is a good idea too. just about any machinist should be able to do this.

Turbo8u, did you use stock bore? did you touch the bore at all? were you just saying to see if the cylindar walls still had cross hatching, and if they did that you should be good with stock bore? i thought ive heard that before...
doug

congrats man.. yeah it does feel good.. I finished my rebuild over the summer.. my first as well. I learned so freakin much from this board, my chiltons manual and a few guys on aim. I would have taken mine to a shop to do, but I couldnt afford it really.. So I rebuilt the whole thing and I'm basically doin it again. the one in my car now I'm redoing the bottom end (spun bearing) and my spare block out of my parts car I'm building for when I'm boostin (hopefully if everything goes right and Justin does all the work for me haha by May-June area). Good job though, its a thrill especially when it turns over the first time. The only real problem I had was when I first pulled the ac lines. Hell I didnt know what I was doing then, it was even before I planned on rebuilding it, I was just pissed at my car and was playing around.. Anyways freon went everywhere, I thought it was gonna blow so I took off running and in the meantime, I lost a ratchet and a few sockets I was holding. haha.. I'm sure the neighbors got a laugh out of it, I know I did after I realized what happened. I definately made a "note to self" that day haha.. g'luck w/ your junkyard block rebuild. Our blocks are tough, I'm sure it's fine, but yes definately look for crosshatching in the cylinders. depending on the location of the block (in the weather) you might wanna hone all the cylinders. I did anyways b/c a local mechanic recommended it for all rebuilds.. Just dont do it too much, b/c then you will be boring it yourself haha, dont wanna do that.

Props to you dude. I don't have the tools, the know how, or the help to take on something like that. Wish I lived in Socal, I'd have other 2GNTers knocking down my door to help. Stupid Illinois...

Originally posted by EclipseRST
Props to you dude. I don't have the tools, the know how, or the help to take on something like that. Wish I lived in Socal, I'd have other 2GNTers knocking down my door to help. Stupid Illinois...

I didnt have any special tools, hell I pulled my engine out w/ a garden hoe and chain by myself no help. Before I rebuilt my engine, I knew how to change the oil that was is. Thanks to threads on here and chiltons and a few people on aim, it was a piece of cake. Too bad I'm doing all over again right now haha.. damn hole in the road busted my oil pan.. peace

Originally posted by lickscissors
Turbo8u, did you use stock bore? did you touch the bore at all? were you just saying to see if the cylindar walls still had cross hatching, and if they did that you should be good with stock bore? i thought ive heard that before... doug

yea i used stock bore. i just got a rebuilt longblock from a junkyard, when motors are rebuilt they hone all the glaze out of the cylinders, i just so happened to stumble across a brand new 97 block with all the crosshatching still in it, slid in my standard bore wisecos and that was it, easy as pie. the bores were all perfect, i measured them all even with a micrometer for shits and giggles, all to spec. if you guys have any questions or whatever shoot me a PM



_________
96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

some of the older cars guys go to junk yards for motors because the iron is seasons meaning heat cycled so many times it is often harder then a fresh block outa the factory would be..

not that anyone here is gonna be stressing the block enough for that but its just something i thought id add.

Originally posted by MotoFool
some of the older cars guys go to junk yards for motors because the iron is seasons meaning heat cycled so many times it is often harder then a fresh block outa the factory would be.. not that anyone here is gonna be stressing the block enough for that but its just something i thought id add.

seasons = seasoned. all seasoned means is used. It didnt' break under abuse people think it will handle abuse. I think given the choice everybody would build up on a fresh new block. It's a matter of cost.

No there is no problem building an old block as long as it's in good condition.



Exile Racing Technologies: http://www.exileracing.com
una salus victus
Mods List: http://highlander.dsmpower.com/sig.htm

Originally posted by Michael_97RS
No there is no problem building an old block as long as it's in good condition.

exactly. you can also check the bores in the middle, top and bottom to check to see if they're in spec



_________
96 talon esi-t
san clemente, ca

as needles of ice
are the ill winds' talons
the coldest of shadows
they seep unto the bone

Things to check on a junkyard motor (or any used motor):

1) The waterpump housing, if you drop or crash a block, it will crack here. Unfixable.

2) Seized pistons - if they won't come out of the bore with hand force, they were probably waterlocked or overheated, and you will need at least an overbore, plus it will likely be cracked somewhere.

3) Spun bearing - check the crank for spun bearings. Most will have at least one spun bearing from oil starvation. This means the crank is junk, or at least you have to have the crank re-machined and order correctly undersized bearing replacements. You will also see flakes of metal on the pickup and in the oil. Often it's cheaper to pass and go find another block.

4) Cracked webs - The little support webs between the cylinder and the block (water jacket) like to have tiny hairline cracks from overheating or collision.

5) Rust in bores - If there's standing water in the bores for long enough, it will rust deep enough to ruin them. You will have to overbore so much that the cylinder wall strength will be compromised. Surface rust is fine, but if it's bubbling and flaking, its dead.

All these flaws are visible by just removing the head and oilpan. Always magnaflux to check for cracks. Bore and hone whenever possible. Junkyard shortblocks run $100-500, typically $300. All neon shortblocks 95-99+ are fine, the 95 sohc neons look a little funny but they're all fine. (See link below)

More info: http://www.tomorrowstechnician.com/tt/tt110238.htm