2.2 into 2.5 will it be a dog?

[Stevo F]

The headgasket replacement on the EJ25D should be a one time repair due to the headgaskets themselves being the problem. However, if the car overheated I would check the head surfaces for trueness before putting it all back together.

[twisty]

I would think so but who is going to pay for a rebuild job on a 1997 car? Not me that is for sure.

 

to me that all depends on your level of involvement. i have access to wholesale parts, a shop with a lift, and a few friends that would help me do the work. but really, i could do it in my backyard if needed. if i were to take on a rebuild, i would put it on one of my stands on the back porch and do it in my spare time. not too much cost involved compared to paying a shop to do it for me.

[urdrwho]

In your case I would agree, why not do it.

 

Let me back up, there was a time in life I would have done it laying on the ground in the back yard but not anymore. I once did a head job on the band bus. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere, in a dirt parking lot. It was a 1959 GMC bus. Dropped a valve, pierced a piston. I had to remove that piston, the head, etc. and all without a lift. We lifted the engine with a rope. That was in 1975 and I was a lot younger and more energetic.

 

 

So it isn't always can't but for a lot of people it is about can't, they don't know how. For me it is more about won't because time to do things in life is shorter than it was in 1975.

 

 

to me that all depends on your level of involvement. i have access to wholesale parts, a shop with a lift, and a few friends that would help me do the work. but really, i could do it in my backyard if needed. if i were to take on a rebuild, i would put it on one of my stands on the back porch and do it in my spare time. not too much cost involved compared to paying a shop to do it for me.

[twisty]

i agree totally, i work on cars because i enjoy it. when it was "gotta fix it to get to work in 2 hours" i almost hated doing it. now that im older, ill put things off until i can get it to the best place possible to get the job done (aka my friends shop lol).

 

i am still teaching my son how to work on vehicles in the driveway tho, his first is a 72 chevy truck that pretty much is a complete build up. we have just gotten the rear axle and suspension done, and are working on the brake and fuel lines. he is doing the interior with a bit of welding help from me and a couple friends, and the I6 already runs well enough. when we get to that point ill drop HEI in it and teach him how to completely rewire the truck. i think its important to pass on the old school stuff (carbs, distributor systems and stuff) to the newer generations before there is a shortage of people that know how to work on the old stuff. most of the mechanics i deal with have no idea how to tune a carb, or set points for timing.

[urdrwho]

My first car was a Volvo P544 with dual strombergs and they always wanted to be played with or maybe it was me searching for perfection. At 16 years old it was the first car I ever installed an engine. I did it by the seat of my pants, used my neighbors backhoe as the power to lift the motor out. I also try to pass on the info of years of messing around with cars, to my son. to him, some of it has sunk in and some probably was an eye glazing, I need to see my girlfriend, event.

 

Since the 1990's I've been a member on a jaguar forum and owned two Jags (still have one). You'll see some of the well matured members posting stuff like this "I think restoration is not within my capability - too much arthritis". There is just no escaping it, time moves on and we age. I really thought I would not partake but yep...time had a different goal. I look at my 20 year old son, chiseled biceps, etc. and think what the He!! happened to my body????

 

So I am getting to the point that I still enjoy working on cars but there are things that I won't do. They are streaming the memorial museum ceremony at the moment, I hear a women singing Amazing Grace and realize that life can be very short and we need to use that time wisely. So to me, paying someone to dump in an engine, while I spend time with my wife is a wise use of time.

 

i agree totally, i work on cars because i enjoy it. when it was "gotta fix it to get to work in 2 hours" i almost hated doing it. now that im older, ill put things off until i can get it to the best place possible to get the job done (aka my friends shop lol).

 

i am still teaching my son how to work on vehicles in the driveway tho, his first is a 72 chevy truck that pretty much is a complete build up. we have just gotten the rear axle and suspension done, and are working on the brake and fuel lines. he is doing the interior with a bit of welding help from me and a couple friends, and the I6 already runs well enough. when we get to that point ill drop HEI in it and teach him how to completely rewire the truck. i think its important to pass on the old school stuff (carbs, distributor systems and stuff) to the newer generations before there is a shortage of people that know how to work on the old stuff. most of the mechanics i deal with have no idea how to tune a carb, or set points for timing.

[twisty]

So to me, paying someone to dump in an engine, while I spend time with my wife is a wise use of time.

 

totally get that. im not married anymore. she was the one that helped me swap motors on my old honda when we first met, and bugged the hell out of me to let her do all the repairs (well, teach her as well) on her 79 chevy 4x4 too. so, i lucked out in that way, my driveway time (never have owned a garage) was usually spent with her helping. any time i end up working on cars, its a group effort. either the kids are helping, or i have friends over helping. i hate working alone, im way too social for that. the downside to that is a simple brake job usually takes a couple hours, a few beers and some snacks.

[urdrwho]

I've gotten into the same groove that I want someone around when I am working. For a while I thought it was because I'm older and wanted someone around to make sure I don't screw up. Finally concluded that wasn't it. I just want someone around to talk with while I work. On the Jag forum (15,000 worldwide members) I find another jag owner that we help each other work on our cars. It was weird because I was posting to a guy living somewhere in Europe, I mentioned a local landmark and then I get a private message. The private message asked if I live in such and such a State / town. It turned out we live 5 minutes from each other.

 

We've done some big car repairs together. He talked me into replacing the caddie front motor mount. The caddie engine lays in a cradle and to replace the front motor mount you lower the cradle (x amount of bolt turns) and that lowers the engine. Too many turns and the engine falls out, opposite of how the factory installs it. Falling out is not a good thing. Anyhow laying under the car, that big engine held by X amount of threads was easier with another person under there. Actually we had the engine supported by jack stands but it was still weird to consider.

 

So yep.....having a helper, a talker is a good thing. Most all of my other friends wouldn't know how to turn a wrench if their life depended on it.

 

i hate working alone, im way too social for that. the downside to that is a simple brake job usually takes a couple hours, a few beers and some snacks.