Big Ends?

[Guest Hank Furio]

Hi Guys,

 

Brought my Mi16 out on the track last weekend. Checked everything before I went out(Oil, Brake fluid, coolant etc). Was out for most of the afternoon. On the last lap(typical ) I heard an unusual noise. Pulled in and let the car cool down. Tried to re-start her and realised the starter motor had packed up. Got a push and got her started. I had driven to the track(trailer next time ). After about 10 mins the knocking started, so rather than continue I got her towed. Now my question is this, from reading previous posts I believe I should have over-filled the oil. Also from my understanding the Big ends are prone to failure. The engine was going really sweet and tight up to this. My quandry is do I (A) Buy a rebuilt engine and drop it in, thus loosing the power(maybe) that I knew I had in my engine prior to the problem, or ( Do I rebuild knowing what I had before. I believe it's easy to replace the parts from below without dropping out the engine. I don't want to plow crazy money into her, I'm not on a budget either and if I'm to get it right I'd rather replace the lump. Your educated opinions please. I'm sure this is a common topic and problem with the Mi16.

 

Regards,

 

Hank.

[welshpug 1,657]

rebuild, if you do it yourself it can cost as little as £20 for a set of shells plus sundries (sump gasket) yes you can do the big ends from underneath, best to check the mains while you're there too.

 

with a regrind it'd cost about £120 (inc shells to suit, but only the big ends not mains as well), or high performance shells £150 (which I think Miles or des developments or QEP can supply)

 

all depends on what the damage is inside there.

Edited August 8, 2007 by welshpug

[Guest Hank Furio]

all depends on what the damage is inside there.

 

Thanks welshpug, opening her up over the weekend so will have a better idea then, I'm just thinking the worst though. Will keep you posted as will be looking for advice on parts etc.

Thanks again.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

The leadidmum big ends (Please excuse the spelling) are £55.00 a set and goto .8 under

[Guest Hank Furio]

The leadidmum big ends (Please excuse the spelling) are £55.00 a set and goto .8 under

Thanks Miles.

[Beastie 1]

The leadidmum big ends (Please excuse the spelling)

 

excuse it? I shall refer to them as leadidmum myself from now on - it sounds much better

[Guest Hank Furio]

Hi Guys,

Looks like I'll probably need to replace engine . Haven't had a good look at the mains, but for piece of mind I'm thinking along the new engine line. The Mi16 is my first choice as it would be easy enough to replace like with like. I think I could pick up an engine and gear box rebuilt for about £200 . The parts alone to rebuild mine would amount to this anyway. If I went for a GTi-6 i'd need to replace everything and it would concievably be a bigger job?. Has anyone got any advice regarding this(i.e. GTi-6 over Mi16) or has anyone got a rebuilt engine for sale. As always many thanks for all your input. I find the forum excellent for info and advice .

 

Regards,

Hank.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Hank Furio

[GLPoomobile 958]

But you could wait a very long time to find an Mi16 that has been rebuilt in recent years, and what if none come up locally? Then you've got traveling costs or courier costs too. And most Mi16s these days are going for more than £200 if they are in reasonable condition (even without a rebuild). A rebuilt one would probably sell for even more. Then you have to consider that even if you do find one that is supposedly rebuilt, you need cast iron proof that it has been rebuilt, who did the work, to what standard etc etc etc. I think you are probably expecting too much if you are hoping to get a rebuilt one 2nd hand for £200

 

A lot of people recently have said that these days you should go for a GTI6 over an Mi16. I guess you could joke that it is the latest addition to the 205GTIDrivers 'must have' spec list, but with good reason. This year I had to give serious thought to what I wanted to do - buy a readily converted 16v 205, or get a GTI6 put in my old 1.6 along with a lot of other work. I ended up buying another 205 with an Mi16 that was partially rebuilt and installed last year by a company who advertise on here and has a good rep. In hindsight, I wish I'd got my old one converted to GTI6 instead

 

There's many, many reasons for me feeling like that, which are not related to this subject, but looking at the bigger picture, with a GTI6 you have more power and torque out the box, better management, no oil surge issues, a younger engine that won't necessarily need a full rebuild for some time to come, no AFM to worry about (Mi16 AFMs can be troublesome to get hold of if yours dies), no crappy expensive Dizzy cap that is prone to breaking and can be difficult to get hold of (i.e. don't exect to nip down to your local GSF and find one in stock), and then there's the Mi16 throttle body which is prone to wear too (no idea if the GTI6 has the same issue, but they are younger engines anyway).

 

I can't advise what your best option is, but I just think you will be wasting your time trying find a rebuilt Mi16 for the budget

Edited August 15, 2007 by GLPoomobile

[Guest Hank Furio]

Thanks GLPoomobile,

 

I've just seen one on eBay. It seems legit and close enough to what I need. I'm just so unsure what to do. I don't want to have to spend big and also have to invest of lot of time on an engine transplant too. The car is a track car and is a lot of fun. My thoughts are(maybe way off the mark) that a rebuild would be expensive and probably cost more than buying a rebuilt engine?????.

 

Hank.

[welshpug 1,657]

nope, a rebuild doesnt cost too much at all if your current parts are in reasonable condition, i.e crank is salveagable (maybe with a grind) and pistons/liners are good.

 

you'd need to do as much as possible yourself to keep the costs down but it really is quite easy if youre mechanically minded and can rear a Haynes manual without getting frustrated...

 

you say bottom end has gone, which means bearings of some sort, complete bottom end bearings would be Circa £40 in total for STD material, or as miles said about £55 just for the big ends.

 

a regrind would be around £100, then you need a bottom end gasket/seals kit, head gasket and bolts.

 

adds up but you can save a lot of money over a second hand unknown engine.

[Guest Hank Furio]

Now you're getting me round to your way of thinking welshpug. I think rebuilding an engine I know the history on as opposed to talking a leap and buying one with none is a gamble. Think I'll just go with your advice and GLPoomobile's. Don't worry, I'm going to be back on here a lot in the coming weeks/months. I can see interesting times ahead. Any ideas on where I could get a new/second hand Haynes manual? Mine came out of a Citroen GTi 1.9.

 

Hank

Edited August 15, 2007 by Hank Furio