Jump to content
HybridZ

L28 turbo motor BAD RINGS??


Recommended Posts

i plan on bying a L28 turbo motor.

its has a hy35 turbo on it. {if this matter's to the question at hand}

the guy said he thinks the rings are going out. he wants 400.00 for the motor as is.

 

the mechanic said that the pistons are probly no good if the rings are going out or already have. is this worth 400.00 in its condition.

 

please comment!!

 

thanks.

Chris M.

1981 280zx {gt35r turbo build}

1983 280zx {wifes}

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hell you can buy a whole turbo car for $500 why pay big bucks for an engine with problems. an l6 is pretty bulletproof if the rings are gone then it has a WHOLE lot of miles or got run with any oil in it for a while. On the other hand if the guy who owns it is a moron it might nothing more than bad oil seals on your valves causing it to burn oil which many blame on the rings. IF the engine is able to be turned over by the starter (even on an engine stand) you can run a compression check which will tell you a whole bunch about the health of the unit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never underestimate the ridiculousness of a PO.

 

Buck and I picked up a 78 in Lafayette with a 4 Barrel Holley on an L28 and the owner's kid had thrown a rod and punched a hole in the side of the block.

 

I'd say $200 or less only if it needed a bottom end rebuild.

 

Did you ever do a compression test on it? I guess the mechanic did, can you ask him the numbers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It all depends on how hard finding a true turbo engine (P90, f54 with all the turbo stuff) is in or around your area. I have only ever found one in 6 years of looking around here. $400.00 sounds reasonable to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IS that price with the turbo?

If not why are you looking for a turbo engine?

What is attached to the engine in question?

 

yes its with the turbo an turbo exhast mainfold.

along with a loootttt more basicaly ready to drop in my 280 an go.

exept the ring issue is whats stoping me.

 

no we havnt done a compression test, i still have to go pick it up in the first place, the guy was just saying that the rings need to be looked at. oil rings he think becuase he has been driving in for the past year an just took the engine an trany out a few weeks ago an the compression seemed fine he said but i will duble check.

 

i think 200.00 is fare. but no more then that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It all depends on how hard finding a true turbo engine (P90, f54 with all the turbo stuff) is in or around your area. I have only ever found one in 6 years of looking around here. $400.00 sounds reasonable to me.

 

 

well let me be specific.

he wants 400.00 for the enige as is. im guying the turbo an turbo exhast mainfold either way. {for more money}

 

I can get a other TRUE turbo motor but they all have to be rebuild from ground up....everything has to be done to them i have 2 sitting in my shed out back. {P90 head/F54} but they have been sitting for a long time an had problems to start with...i was told it would be about 3,000.00 for a full rebuild...why would i do that when u could buy a 2JZ or RB motor for a 1,000 of so more?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

why would i do that when u could buy a 2JZ or RB motor for a 1,000 of so more?

 

Modifying them to fit in the car takes alot, plus making more power than stock takes alot.

 

Go Small Block Chevy and call it a day :) LSX V8s come with over 300HP from the factory. Plus there is much much more support for the V8s into the S30 here [JTR, JCI]. If you're serious about making power, that's the way to go.

 

[i apologize if this is construed as going off topic but you mentioned a motor swap]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Modifying them to fit in the car takes alot, plus making more power than stock takes alot.

 

Go Small Block Chevy and call it a day :) LSX V8s come with over 300HP from the factory. Plus there is much much more support for the V8s into the S30 here [JTR, JCI]. If you're serious about making power, that's the way to go.

 

[i apologize if this is construed as going off topic but you mentioned a motor swap]

 

negative ghost rider.

 

i dont want a V8.....i have a 1989 chevy suberban with some V8 in it...but i dont want to do that, i want to see what i can do with this L28 motor an i like to keep it some what orig-inal......well thats an understatment i guess. i just get the rings done an piston's if i need them, an run 14ish psi with the hy35 an work on keepin it right an CCCCOOOOOLLLL i do live in houston an it getttts HOT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The plugs were fouling on 2 cylinders, looks like oil blowby. The turbo is in good condition, no oil leaks. Headgasket was replaced, as was the manifold gasket.

 

L28et blocks are fairly difficult to find in this area. I checked every junkyard within 50 miles of Houston. This engine came all the way from ohio.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah if it is a true turbo block youve pretty much got everything you need. If your able to find another block, turbo or non turbo you can easily swap all the parts, oil pan, oil tee fitting for the turbo, etc. The biggest difference I can think of would be the difference in the distance from the top of the piston to the first compression ring, which I believe is smaller on NA engines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

yeah I was going to say just buy the damn thing for 200-300 pull it all apart BUT FIRST DO A COMPRESSION CHECK make sure you do a dry run and a wet run (with a couple drops of oil) then go from there I mean rings are rings. take a weekend or to and put that shat together. Just giver!!! I do and my shat runs ! lol

 

Give her a bath and some paint and she'll keep going for you till the sun finally dies out and the earth is shattered and there in space our L28's remain Supernova Proof!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Rolling Parts
Give her a bath and some paint and she'll keep going for you till the sun finally dies out and the earth is shattered and there in space our L28's remain Supernova Proof!

 

Nope; in fact turbo engines are more suspect to problems because they've been driven real hard and real hot. If you add up the cost of rings, gaskets, timing chain and guides, head rework, decent rebuilt injectors and seals, etc, etc, then $800 is the cost if nothing is seriously wrong with it!

 

If you find out that the block needs work then you may find that you need a set of over sized pistons and the cost goes way up.

 

The nice thing is that you do get all the associated turbo bits that are getting harder and harder to find. A few hundred bucks is a steal for a P90 with turbo cam and the exhaust manifold/downpipe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...