Stocker

Paying to replace an engine on a car this old is possibly not an economical solution. If you pay the shop to find the engine also, it could be a write-off. That's the very reason I was able to get my parts car for cheap. Using Internet Explorer, get a free login at hyundaitechinfo.com and read up on the task, and search here as well. It is work but it is doable with a helper.

onecrazyfoo4u

Well the shop called back and this is what they quoted me:



$2000 total for a used engine swap with an engine with around 110-130k miles. Comes with 3 month/3000 mile warranty. That's the lowest mileage engine they can find nearby.



$3000 for an engine rebuild with a 12 month/12000 mile warranty. Pretty much a brand new engine, but more expensive.



I can find engines on ebay for about $900 shipped with 80-90k miles. That's the lowest mileage I can find. Still kind of hesitant cause who knows what problems those engines would have. I may just continue to have to dump money and time (which I don't have with 2 young kids at home) into the thing.



I'm thinking about either trying to sell the car as is or parting it out and selling it to a junkyard. Then just picking up a different $2000 commuter vehicle. What do you guys think is the best option? How much could I sell it for as it sits right now? What about parting it out and how much would a junkyard pay for it?

2FastElantra

Dont feel discouraged. You can probably still find a head that will have your car running. Did you check car-parts.com? they have local listings of all sorts of part. I found a motor that was a good price, low miles, and less then two hours away. You might come out cheaper paying just labor or swapping it yourself. Honestly its not that hard. With a helping hand, space and tools, and a couple of day dedicated to it, it can be done.



As for parting or selling : you still have a good engine block and trans that are worth a couple hundred a piece. If the car looks good the junkyard might give you around $500 if your lucky they are real low ballers!

Stocker

I got I think $300 for a shell with no drivetrain from the recyclers. And I got a couple hundred more selling stuff that came off the car, and kept some for spare parts.



You've heard the big numbers. Now how about the small numbers: valves are ~$10-20/each new on eBay, plus <$100 for a gasket set and <$100 for tools, some fluids, and a long weekend working on your car. For those of us who intend to keep our cars a long time, this sort of math makes DIY the no-brainer option. The consolation line: "Still cheaper than a car payment every month!" If you get another $2k car, it will also have problems to fix.



One of the very good reasons to buy a new car: the warranty. If you can get nearly-free money from a credit union, you can get a new bottom-of-the-line Hyundai or Kia for what, $8-9k? WITH 10 year/100,000 mile warranty on the drivetrain.

onecrazyfoo4u

I'll check out car-parts.com for an engine. I've looked all over ebay. I've looked all over craigslist, nothing. I'm just worried once I crack open the engine, that it's going to need more work than just valves. Like the pistons may be shot too from hitting them.



Forgot to update on here. I checked compression and got:

Cylinder #1 210psi, #2 180psi, #3 0psi, #4 140psi.



So it seems like cylinder #1 was the only survivor. I'll start reading up in the manuals to see which option looks easiest/cheapest. You guys are right, it's probably better off to just suck it up and fix this car instead of getting another car with potential problems. Just going to be down for a week or two waiting for parts/engine and then doing the work.

Stocker

Call the local parts yards. I know there are a BUNCH of wreckers south of san diego. It helps if you speak spanish when you go in person.

onecrazyfoo4u

Well I did find a couple of 60k mile engines just 70 miles from me, so that's good news. Also found a couple of cylinder heads as well if I go that route. I decided to go ahead and pull apart the head since I have nothing to lose and it's already broken. I got everything pulled off, the timing cover side, the spark ignition module, the intake manifold bolts (a swivel ratchet does wonders for those hard to reach ones!), and almost all of the exhaust header.



On the 2 bolt exhaust flange one of the bolts is totally jammed, it's loose about a 1/8" now after lots of hammer pounding the wrench. But it seems like it's stripping the flange bolt. I've pb blasted the crap out of it. Not sure what to do next. What if that stud is stripped, how do you fix that? Looks like the stud is welded to the header flange.



Also, the intake manifold seems loose with the 9 IM nuts off, but I can't pull it off. Is there something else keeping the IM in place?



Do I have to drain the coolant just to pull the head and see how it looks? Or will it leak coolant everywhere right when I lift the head up? What about the fuel injectors or fuel rail? Do I have to pull those too, or can I just keep them installed in the IM?



I also haven't pulled the camshaft pulley/camshafts/or camshaft chain. I figure if I find a good head I can just leave those all connected and swap the whole setup out right? That would be much easier than pulling all of that out. Now I just need to get that special giant allen/torx wrench looking tool to get the 8 head bolts off. I think that's the only special tool I need to get...

Stocker

Working from memory here, as I thankfully have not needed to be in there for a long time . . .



You might need to apply a torch to the exhaust nut to get it loose. You might also need a nut breaker. It is possible the threads on the stud are totally crapped up with rust, and it is possible that the nut is rusted to the stud. If you can get the nut to turn at all, that is a very good sign. The studs are threaded into the head and I want to say they are replaceable but it is not great to have to do. If you can move the nut at all, spray it with penetrating oil, tighten it a hair and scrub the stud really well with a steel wire brush to knock off the corrosion. Let it sit while you do the rest of your work and come back to it. Tap it with a hammer every once in a while to help move the penetrating oil farther in. Penetrating oil sometimes takes time to work into the cracks in the rusty threads. Note: unless whatever you are spraying on there specifically says it is a penetrating oil, it is not. PB Blaster makes a lot of stuff, some of it lubricant. This is NOT a job for a lubricating oil!



The intake manifold has a bracket underneath which requires triple-jointed arms to remove. You might be able to leave the IM in place as long as it is free from the head. The gasket will want to keep them glued together. If you leave the IM hanging out on its bracket, you could leave the injectors etc. attached. Come to think of it that bracket might save a moderate amount of work by letting you leave the IM in place while you dicker with the engine.



If you pull the head without draining the coolant expect a small flood of coolant from under the head. This will get all over your deck but if you are working on a sealed flooring surface and don't mind a mess, this is not really a problem. It will also go into the cylinders and oil galleries which is only a problem if you didn't plan on doing an oil change just now.



If you can get all the socket head cap bolts off that hold on the cylinder head without removing the cams, that should work. I don't recall if any of the bolts are hiding under camshafts. There are TWO allen key sizes for head bolts if I recall correctly.



edit:

This attitude will be a great asset your entire life, if you don't have enough money to have people do everything for you.

onecrazyfoo4u

Sweet thanks so much for the reply! I'll keep working the crap out of that exhaust bolt. It is penetrating oil I'm using. I'll try an air gun on it too.



So there's a bracket under the IM that has to come off in order to separate the IM from the head? This is in addition to get the 9 nuts I already removed from it?



I saw the 2 right Allen bolts were bigger than the 8 left Allen bolts on the head. Looked like a size 8 or 10 for the Allen/hex key. Are these head bolts reusable? The reason I'm just replacing whole the head instead of just the valves is because you need a half dozen special tools to do the valve job. Which would cost as much as a whole used head. Plus it makes it a lot easier to not have to remove the cams and valves.



And I'll just drain the coolant to keep it clean inside the engine. Looks like I'll need a new head gasket, IM gasket, and valve cover gasket. Any other gaskets or anything I'm missing in order to finish the job?

Regit

Yes, a steel bracket with 4 bolts holding the IM on, Drain the coolant. a lil will still leak out when you lift the head.... prob need a new thermostat gasket too., should be able to reuse the valve cover gasket, just clean up the rubber half moons and reuse them with red hi temp sealant... Did I read 0 compression in cyl 3? eww!!!