ATTN: Nissan gurus and car performance gurus

[yne721 10+ year member]

ok quick summary...

i bought this car from a friend of my dads. $2000 with 132k miles...

turns out cylinders 3 and 5 are getting zero compression, and he did not know about it. he offered to help me pay to get it fixed in return because he feels really bad.

so after about a month of checking ebay, local junkyards and car-parts.com i cannot find a motor to do a swap with, so a buddy of mine knows a guy that owns a shop and he said he'll "hook me up" with a decent price on a COMPLETE rebuild.

quoted at 2500 to 3000 dollars...

now the question is, my buddy suggested since i'm already having them take apart the engine and everything, i should just have him bore it out an extra 20 and just order all the new parts based on the new bore, not the stock bore, because he would probably only charge like an extra 200 since he's getting all new parts anyway...

do you think it's worth it? he said i'd notice a huge difference in performance, and if i pass up on it, then later on decide that i want to do it, i'll just get charged up the *** in labor for something i could've had done while it was all apart?

also, does that sound like a decent price on a complete rebuild with 100k mile warranty? especially assuming i'd only be paying about 1k to 1.5k depending on the final price? i can probably get the seller to put 1.5k towards whatever i do..

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[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

IMO $2K to $3K for a complete teardown and rebuild is reasonable. This is assuming two things, though:

(a) The process includes removal and replacement of the engine as part of the labor agreement.

(b) Your friend really knows what he's doing and isn't some half-assed shadetree mechanic who isn't much more than a "parts-changer" as I like to call mechanics who know nothing about auto mechanics.

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

IMO $2K to $3K for a complete teardown and rebuild is reasonable. This is assuming two things, thougha) The process includes removal and replacement of the engine as part of the labor agreement.

(b) Your friend really knows what he's doing and isn't some half-assed shadetree mechanic who isn't much more than a "parts-changer" as I like to call mechanics who know nothing about auto mechanics.

a. yes it does.

b. he's certified as a master mechanic through asc(ase, i don't know people say it so fast i can never hear which letter it is lol)

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

a. yes it does.b. he's certified as a master mechanic through asc(ase, i don't know people say it so fast i can never hear which letter it is lol)

Then I'd have to say full steam ahead!

It's ASE, by the way, the certification given out by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

If my memory isn't failing you can either get general certs for Master Mechanic (like your buddy, obviously) or system-specific certs like brakes, A/C, etc.

Edit:

And 100K mile warranty on a reman engine, assuming the friend will stand behind that, is pretty freggin amazing.

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

Then I'd have to say full steam ahead!It's ASE, by the way, the certification given out by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

If my memory isn't failing you can either get general certs for Master Mechanic (like your buddy, obviously) or system-specific certs like brakes, A/C, etc.

Edit:

And 100K mile warranty on a reman engine, assuming the friend will stand behind that, is pretty freggin amazing.

yeah i got lucky. here's how the conversation between jeff(my buddy) and isaac(the mechanic) went.

he was on the phone that's why only jeff is talking...

j: hey it's jeff, i got a buddy with an 87 Z that needs a rebuild, how much?

j: ok well he's a really good friend of mine can you go lower?

j: his dad is the union rep, so if you do a really good job at a low price, his dad will tell everyone to come to you for anything they need, but he'll say a higher price so you don't have to keep doing it for cheap

j: no, non turbo

j: ok thanks man

so basically i got lucky that my dad holds power over peoples jobs lol

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

yeah i got lucky. here's how the conversation between jeff(my buddy) and isaac(the mechanic) went.

he was on the phone that's why only jeff is talking...

j: hey it's jeff, i got a buddy with an 87 Z that needs a rebuild, how much?

j: ok well he's a really good friend of mine can you go lower?

j: his dad is the union rep, so if you do a really good job at a low price, his dad will tell everyone to come to you for anything they need, but he'll say a higher price so you don't have to keep doing it for cheap

j: no, non turbo

j: ok thanks man

so basically i got lucky that my dad holds power over peoples jobs lol

In some situations it truly is moreso who you know rather than what you know. It's handy when you're on the right end of that. Sux when you aren't.

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

In some situations it truly is moreso who you know rather than what you know. It's handy when you're on the right end of that. Sux when you aren't.

like the old saying goes

it's not what you know it's who you know, and it's not who you know it's who you blow

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

bump before i go to work just for some more opinions

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

contact jmac iirc he knows nissan cars real well

 

[yne721 10+ year member]

Well, if I were doing an engine swap, I wouldn't swap in another VG30E ...
Overall, though, the price seems reasonable ...

Then again, as the old saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, you're probably going to get ***** in the *** ...

i was trying to find a VG30ET but i couldn't locate one anywhere near me. so even if i paid 700 for one, then paid 200 on shipping, then paid labor to get it swapped in and out, it'd be a little under 2k, plus i'd still have to fine tune it and all. and in the end, it would still be a used motor and who knows what would happen when you know?

as for other motors, i want to keep it nissan. and not go and drop like a 350 in it or something lol. some guy i work with keeps telling me "we'll put a 350 in it, with a huge as blower, you'll be doing wheelies man" and i'm just like "uh you're dumb?" lol

but everyone keeps telling me this price is reasonable. and if it sounds reasonable, i'm probably not getting ***** in the ***. now if everyone was like "HOLY SHIT THAT'S IT?!??!" then i'd be a little worried. i don't know i guess we'll find out.

edit: thanks for bumping my thread. right after i made it i realized i should've put it in here but never asked lol

 

[joebangaa 10+ year member]

get rid of it, just get a z32... believe me....

 

[Coonhound]

Tp rebild that engine would be half that much around here anywhere .