Engine re-build dilema

[jonny-5 10]

Hi all, i'm after some advice regarding a potential engine rebuild. My VR has recently started producing blue smoke when going full throttle after over-running (down a hill, throttle closed), has slightly noisy tappets and the head gasket weeps a very, very small amout of oil on the crank pulley side. I recently purchased another head and can get it skimmed and anything necessary replaced very easily. The thing is; I was thinking as I'll have the head off I may as well change the rings and big end bearings, which then made me think I may as well go for a full on engine rebuild (nothing crazy just a nice rebuild).

What are peoples expereinces with the bottom ends mileage wise? mine has 120,000 on it, with 10,000 miles old full chains and tensioners. It has a fair bit of service history (maybe 3/4's full) and I drive a bit like a granny lol. Are many starting to get tired with this sort of mileage/history?

I plan to keep the car for another year to two and i'm very mechanically minded with access to pretty much anything automotive related.

I can't have the car off the road for much more than a week, so I wouldn't like to take the head off and find worn bores and that it needs a full rebuild if I hadn't planned it.

Any advice would be greatly received

Cheers Jon

[LadVR 0]

Hello mate,

If its smoking after over run its going to be stem seals i'd imagine, if it doesnt smoke going through the gears the rings are fine and would leave alone, especially if you are only keeping it for a year or two. If you have got a rebuilt head then its just a case of swapping heads over which will fix that problem and your headgasket leak as well. Probably a days graft and the bonus is the engine stays in situ.

Changing everything else is a different matter. You say that you dont want the car off the road for more than a week or so, you may be pushing it, dropping the whole engine out, stripping, cleaning, rebuilding, replacing worn parts (plus ordering and waiting for the parts that you broke doing so!) rebuilding the whole thing and re installing the engine. Its amazing how many hours goes in re-assembly, keeping everything spotless etc...

Its hard to tell with bearings, only way is to have a look. I had my first engine for about 6 years and I serviced it around every 5-6000 miles, with 110k on the clock the bearings were still all scored when i stripped it down.

Me? I'd sort the head and leave everything else mate.

[jonny-5 10]

Thanks for the reply. Did a compression test last night and all were in spec (between 10-12 Bar, number 1 was on the limit though (7 Bar), I think this is because pressure is escaping though the area that was leaking a little oil , I've been thinking about it and I also reckon just the head. I made myself a big list last night of all the bits i'm gunna change so I can gather the parts over the next few weeks. Anyone got any special reccomendations for parts like only using Febi head bolts as there are stories of GSF one's being a bit soft? Also what ofther things should I may as well change while the head is off? Like the water pump maybe?

If I were to do a full engine recon I would have just bought a second hand engine and rebuild that and then swap them over to minimise the off road time.