The other day my oil cooler line broke and the car stalled. Before i realized the issue I tried restarting it a few times. Once i realized i had the car towed to my shop and I'm waiting on new oil lines to see what the damage is. I am thinking worst case scenario here and I'm assuming that i will need to rebuild/buy a new short block.

The shop i deal with does not have a machine shop to rebuild my existing motor but they would be willing to install a new shortblock. Does anyone have any suggestions for where to get a semi built short block from? Right now the car has the following mods and i dont plan to do a whole lot more to it besides fix up the body.
Kelford 272 Cams
3in Downpipe
Turbo dump to atmospher
Cobbs Exhaust with test pipe
Cusco intake
Head Studs
ETS LICP
Walbro 255
Hallman MBC

I forget what PSI im running but i want to say 25-26ish on the stock turbo. The last time it was on a dyno (which was about 10 years ago) it put down 380/380 to the wheels.

This is a street car and i basically never track it, just spirited driving and enjoying the car, i dont need high RPM id rather the lower end torque. I always wanted to do a 2.4 stroker but from what I'm reading they have reliability issues so Im trying to decide between a 2.0 or a 2.2. If i have to get a new short block i figure why not get the 2.2. I was looking at english racing, their short blocks seemed decently priced for the street version. Im also located in NJ/NYC area.

 

Depending on the damage, you might be able to get away with a pretty simple bearing change if they are damaged but the crank and rods are alright. Has the oil been drained and checked for metal?

If you have to go the shortblock route, sending off your 2.0 or using it as a core is going to be cheaper than the 2.2 assuming the crank survived. The 2.2 would provide a little more low end torque but that stock turbo will be choking out up top.

As for suggestions on shop, I don't have any experience with them so I'm not going to chime in on that aspect.

 

what was the failure mode of the oil cooler line breaking?

 

Have you pulled the filter off and cut it to see if it has bearing material in it? While we would love to build an engine for you we want to make sure that you need it first

 

The oil cooler line separated/broke off of the fitting.. crazy and something i could have never knowing about.

 

I have not yet. Its at the mechanics now. Im waiting to hear back from them, should be sometime next week. I ideally dont want to have to do a rebuilt..but if i have to i might as well make it bulletproof.

 

I hear ya. Im waiting on the shop to tell me. The oil hasnt been drained yet. I should hear back next week.

 

I will add destroked 2.4 > 2.0 stroked in my opinion just for the fact you can run 162mm rod with a 94 mm crank and rev that thing to Pluto . The 2.0 will have its limits being stroked out and if I remember correctly has about the same rod ratio as a 2.3.

 

Yea no need to trash a good block. Check for metal shavings in the oil filter. Evo engines are tough. Delete the oil cooler and just use plugs in the ports. Do a couple oil changes and check the oil filter before you make any more assumptions.

 

So the shop finally got around to removing the head. It looks like the timing belt shredded when all the oil dumped out and it broke the 7 valves off. Right now they said it looks like minimal damage to the head and block. the crank moves freely in the block. My next steps are most likely going to be have them remove the block and Im planning to take the block, head and turbo to MP Built in NJ to go over everything in detail. If everything is good i will probably have them send it out to the machine shop and get the head and block cleaned up and hot dipped and the turbo oil side flushed out. If the black and head are reuseable i will probably do a rebuild and keep it a 2.0 and stock turbo.

Does anyone have an comments based on the pictures?

Does anyone have any suggested shops in jersey/NYC other than MP built?

Any suggestions on the types of valves pistons and any other components i will need for the rebuild? This is just a weekend car that i have fun driving, no true racing or tracking the car. It was originally tuned and putting down about 380/380 to the wheels on a stock turbo with cams, intercooler upgrade, LICP, headstuds, MBC and straight through exhaust. I would like to replace the parts with upgrades just to make it bulletproof.

 

I mean I hate to see and hear this. I went with Manly Pro rods and turbo tuff rods with my build. I know those survived 1800hp engine at the shop i had my car built. As for valves you have a bunch of options. Ferrea makes really good and light valves. Supertech, Itm I have used in the past with my dsm stuff lasted forever and was pretty good I mean its endless. If your going to keep it stockish or with a black why not just stock rebuild to save some cash. Up to you but my food for thought. Oh Kevlar belt, make sure you use one of those and all new timing stuff.

 

Thank you! yea its tough to look at in an otherwise perfect car before this. I stupidly let teh car sit in a salt environment and didnt check it before it was driven.

Basically, i know nothing about engine internals and i figured, while i have the engine opened up it would be worth upgrading the internals but if stock is sufficient maybe ill go that route since im going to already pay out of the *** for the work being done. In the future the most i would probably do would be a different turbo but im not a high revver, i like more of the lower end street power. Im also going to ask the shop their opinion but i dont want to be oversold as well.

 

I mean it never hurts to upgrade internals, but a lot of keeping the car together is tuning. I would make sure you get a good set of main studs and head studs as well. As far as rods and pistons let's be honest there aren't really a better option from one to another. If your goals aren't 1000plus hp then I would say any aftermarket piston and rod combo will be sufficient. Problem is it starts to add up and can get pricey, specially if you pulling out all the stops.

 

I personally like Beanfab in Central Jersey. Their machine shop built my shortblock and it's been unusually reliable despite my abuse. Next to no oil consumption after 4000 miles even when tracked. RRT in NW CT and Chameleon in LI are other good choices, I had the Chameleon tune my car recently and I'm very happy. There's not too many shops that really deal with these cars, they're old and Subarus/BMWs make more money.

Consider DIYing it if you have the room and time. You'll save a decent chunk of change if you can drop a motor and do it yourself. Hardest part is timing these motors imo if you don't have a feel for it (eccentric tensioner pulley specifically)...rest is like legos. Other than that I would build the car for the power goals you have in mind...go with the rod/piston combo your machine shop or shop prefers to work with. In my case it was Wiseco 1400HDs and Manley TTs (which I already had)

 

For a pretty similar setup, 2.0 with an FP Red being the biggest turbo in the plan, I went with Wiseco 1400HD pistons and Eagle H-beam rods. It has been super solid over the last 4 years and 20k miles ish.

Like Curse said though, its totally up to you. I wouldn't personally build a stock bottom end again if its already out but it does start to add up.