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Final phase, Aero project car, piston time: what would you do? Posted by bobc [Email]  (#473)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from bobc) on Tue, 8 Sep 2020 21:46:50
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The patients is 2000 Aero with 137k mi. It has clearly suffered some trauma and was making all sorts of nasty sounds. It's much better now after the following measures:
- new conn rod bearings
- new main crank bearings
- valve job
- balance chain delete
Next up, and the final phase in this saga, are the pistons.
There is a single tap/knock that remains. Stethoscope indicates that the head and pan are quiet. The sound can be heard but it is in the distance. The sound is loudest when listening at the exhaust manifold and has a clangy character to it.
The intent of this project is to spend father son time and to learn as much as we can. We are not building a race car or expecting to bring this car back to 100%. We are not able to pull the engine so all of the work we are doing is with the engine in the car.
My goal is to have some interesting stories to tell years from now! My son's goal is to have a car that gets him through grad school.
So, we will pull the head, drop the pan, pull the pistons and have a close look. I expect to find some obvious signs of problem on at least one of them. I'm not sure what exactly I'll find.
FWIW we have pulled the pistons out of a donor car and have them in hand.The donor car has 210k mi and was running quietly with plenty of power. (it was relegated to donor status due to a failed transmission). They appear to be in good condition.
We have a few options and I'm wondering what you all suggest:
option #1 - replace all 4 pistons with new rings.
option #2 - replace only the piston(s) that are found damaged or worn in some way. Replace the rings on all pistons.
option #3 - replace all 4 pistons with aftermarket, JE or Woosner are both ~550 including rings, pins and pin locks JE: https://genuinesaab.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47_74&products_id=518
woosner: https://www.brewcityboost.com/product/wossner-piston-kit-2-3-turbo-3/
option #1 and #2 require 4 sets of rings and these are:
- OEM ~$360
- dreaded proparts ~$90
Obviously option #3 would be "best", and I'll do that if it makes sense. But at $550 its very close to breaking the budget. How bad/risky is reusing the donor pistons? what would you do?
_______________________________________ '08 9⁵ 2.3T SportCombi, Polar White '01 9⁵ Aero Midnight Blue (benched) '00 9⁵ Aero Midnight Blue (rescued) '99 9⁵ Base model, Cosmic blue '00 9⁵ Aero Silver (RIP - transmission )
, Tue, 8 Sep 2020 21:46:50 <-- Viewing This Message
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