Rebuilt engine - how reliable?

[Mercv8]

Chaps,

Im sourcing an M119 engine to have completely rebuilt and rebored etc.

But could some of those in the know, shed some light for me on the reliability of complete engine rebuilts etc? Ive been told im effectively getting a brand new engine.

 

[television]

You are asking something very hard, who is doing it. Most of the engines advertised often do not have much done to them. The only safe way is to take an engine to a known re builder

 

[Mercv8]

Its being done buy a company that Ian Works uses all the time.

Its going to be a complete rebuild, and Ian recommends them, and from what i have heard of Ian he seems very good.

 

[wscheffer]

Replace parts

A rebuilt motor can be a good thing as long as it is done correctly.

As Malcolm said:

Most of the engines advertised often do not have much done to them. The only safe way is to take an engine to a known re builder

Make sure the builder is going to replace parts and not take short cuts that will en richen his profits and add to your sorrows.

Ensure that heads will be machined and worked properly along with the crank shaft. Put in new cams, lifters, guides etc...

How can you say it spare no expense except within reason!

Most of all keep in mind that a rebuilt engine will not fix all of your problems present and future. What I mean is that a new motor out of the factory in a new car has all new parts and an old car with a rebuilt motor still has the same old parts attached to it.

With that in mind with a good quality rebuilt engine you should be quite happy with the result.

 

[carabind]

Ask one question - what warranty do I get ?
A good one will come with some sort of warranty (ideally 1 year/12k miles +.)
If not, then you know you need to rapidly walk away.... ask Ian , he may well know.

If it's done bya professional (as opposed to DIY or backstreet merchant), it should be reliable and give you a few years of service - all moving worn parts should replaced, so these should be brand new. The cheap one replace as little as possible, the dearer/good ones replace a set list regardless of wear.

 

[Andy Wr]

A mate of mine has just had a very expensive engine rebuild on a Mazda RX7, I was shocked when he said how much! Basically they remove it from the car, strip it and completely rebuild it with new parts with out cutting corners, they also changed some of the ancillaries and the radiator to protect the new engine, cost, nearly £5k with VAT! The engine is a rotary by the way.

 

[eric242340]

The 119 is one of the best engines Mercedes built, and on rebuild should be perfect for many years. They must change the valve guides and valves, plain the heads, re-bore and change the pistons. Crankshaft re-grind and oversize shells, and new camshaft adjusters, also new timing chain and guides and timing chain adjuster, cleaned and tested injectrors and new spark plugs. the camshafts should be checked for wear but not changed unless they are bad. As an add on check the distributor caps, rotors, and HT leads.
PS, I love the 119 and 120 engines. Best they ever made.

 

[Ian B Walker]

For clarification. The engine is being re built by me. The people who do the heads and block boring are Blackpool Road and Rally. They offer a 12 month warranty on their work. The will also supply me with new pistons, new small ends, new mains, new thrust washers, new big ends, new valve seals, complete gasket sets to include all "O" rings and oil seals and inspect the valve guides and notify me accordingly. They will skim and pressure test the heads. I have a lot of experience rebuilding engines and so far (touch wood) not had a failure yet. I have recently done a V6 Mitsubishi Shogun. Engine work and gaskets came to £718 and a few pence. This included a welded head, both heads pressure tested and skimmed, re bore, crank re grind and all the bits and bobs needed to rebuild and run the engine.

 

[television]

And I have heard many times that you are a very good honest engineer,used to working on MBs and a very genuine guy

 

[Mercv8]

And I have heard many times that you are a very good honest engineer,used to working on MBs and a very genuine guy

Yep, as have i.

So once Ian is done with my car, it should be a very unique bit of Kit, and produce some very good power.

We are still discussing if we should go for a gearbox from an M119 or stick with the current M117 model.

Will probably go for the latter for now, unless a good gearbox pops up in the mean time.

Hopfully, with the new engine in, sub 6 second 0-60 times should be achievable.

My current engine is rated at 265 BHP and 298 lbft of Torque.
The new engine should produce over 326 BHP and 354 lbft of Torque.

 

[angus falconer]

A mate of mine has just had a very expensive engine rebuild on a Mazda RX7. The engine is a rotary by the way.

Well that should last him till next year then (I hear these engines rarely make it past 50k miles, especially if tuned)

 

[Andy Wr]

Well that should last him till next year then (I hear these engines rarely make it past 50k miles, especially if tuned)

He has only recently purchased the car as well, he did not know at the time that the engine was goosed, has now turned into a very expensive car!

 

[eric242340]

Great engine the 119 but do be careful the valve guides