As the car actually was registered, and roadworthied, it's been deemed repairable. The existing motor failed due to something going bonkers with the chain guides, throwing the timing in and out.

Here's what's getting done:

Motor's getting overbored by 40thou. New pistons and rings are getting fitted
Balance Shafts are getting eliminated. Due to the problem with this block, it's going to be more trouble to run them. (This current block lost the oil pump chain, at 180,000.)
New Oil pump will be fitted (see above. Does anyone have part # of the high performance model?)
5-speed manual gearbox will be retrofitted.
New clutch will be fitted.
New Waterpump.
The existing head will be checked, and reco'd if necessary.
All seals, belts and gaskets will be changed, irrespective of when it was last done.

All up, this should see at least a 15kW ATW improvement, as well as reliablility. Something surely missed.
However, I'll be bombing around in the Civic for the first 1,000km post repair, as Chris'll have it to bed the motor and clutch in.

cool, whos doing the work, and wats 40tho work out to in increased capacity?

from 2555 to about a 2614, its not a grate deal.


Gav you should look at having your head skimed 20thou aswell.

Calculated 2611. It's needed, as the bores are scratched on this block.

The work's getting done by Chris, Dad and myself, except the boreout and headwork.

Why skim the flattest Magna head we've seen?

if it was me, and funds where available, i would have the head reconditioned as well anyway and have it bored out a bit and cleaned up, throw a performance cam in aswell if you havent got one already.

Also, with the elimination of the balance shafts.. wouldnt this make the thing as rough as hell to rev?? also are you having the crank, rods and pistons balanced?? maybe if your getting those balanced you would eliminate the need for a balance shaft.. i dunno im a dunce when it comes to engine builds :doubt:

Note: if anything in above post sounded just plain dumb, ignore and dissregard comment :cool:

sounds good gav, once ur done if u could give us a list of prices for parts etc that would be cool. Its alwasy in the back of an astron owners mind that a rebuild is required :bowrofl:

if it was me, and funds where available, i would have the head reconditioned as well anyway and have it bored out a bit and cleaned up, throw a performance cam in aswell if you havent got one already.

the only prob here is the stock ecu will not cope with a newer better cam so the costs go up at least $500 for a piggy back

the only prob here is the stock ecu will not cope with a newer better cam so the costs go up at least $500 for a piggy back

true, but wouldnt you require a re-tuning anyway with the new bottom end??

true, but wouldnt you require a re-tuning anyway with the new bottom end??
No. The ECU can compensate for those changes to the bottom end. The reason for the deletion, is the bearing on the upper balance shaft is totally destroyed, and the lower suffered minor damage when the chain went south.

The head will be reconditioned if it needs to be. However, if it passes the tests, it will be used as is.

The rebore is a local job. $100 for the bore, and $160 for the 1mm oversized pistons. I still need part numbers for the oil pump (Brendan, or TC, either of you know?)

Why skim the flattest Magna head we've seen?

for performance, fuel econemy and extra torque for near free.

hey speaking of rebuilds, wen tm's one got a reco wat did he do with the old one namely timing chain/guides/tensioner etc? all that was new wasn't it? or did it go into the new reco. I ask cos TC is in the know, or at least i think you are!

Gav you going an RPW job for the timing chain?

Gav you going an RPW job for the timing chain?
Clarify that please?

I'm using an elimination kit for the bottom chain, though I'll have to buy a new timing chain kit, as this one was factory original.

i read somewhere on here that they did a high performance timing chain, lemme check that.

Edit: I think i got it confused with their high performance oil pump. My bad

yeah wen u get the balance shaft eliminated, u are just taking out the bottom chain that runs the oil pump. this is the chain that makes the noise and problems ive heard. once u delete it it should be fine. let me know the part number, how much and wat the car is like to drive, whether it is very rough etc cause im very interested in doing this too.

high performance oil pump i woudnt pay more than $200 for. a stock one from mitsu is closer to 500 or so but im not sure on the part number. i was gunna look into it more wen i was in the process of turboing the beast.

my timing chain guides are no good at all. they were snapped and worn down etc... if i had a spare set gav they'd be urs. repco sell timing chain kits for $220 which includes everything that you need. gaskets, guides, chains... everything.

gav... getting ur head skimmed 20 thou will increase torque and improve fuel economy. in theory u will improve economy because u are getting the same amount of bang, but in a smaller area and so compression will be higher and get the most out of ur fuel, while also improving the torque slightly. i got mine skimmed 10 thou and that helped a little. i would recommend 15 or 20 thou definately. the downside is that because the bang is in the smaller space, there is more heat. a water injection system will help this out greatly and neautralize any bad points to getting ur head skimmed.

if u can... source a TP 5 speed manual. im sure u were already going for this but dont settle with a TM or TN box. wat else... it could be time to get ur T/B flowed too :cool: something cheap to think about. give ur engine bay a nice clean out too cause there is nothing like working on a clean engine bay :D... other than that all i can think of is replace wearing and worn things, but im sure everything in ur engine bay is new or newish with the amount of time u and ur mechs spend in there.

but damn, after this u will be up around the red beast. i gotta get my ass into gear and do something lol...

If you skim the head then it will make the combustion chambers smaller and increase the compression ratio.

I'm wondering about the use of the balance shaft eliminator kit, I was told these were only intended for use in RWD astrons and that if they are used in a FWD magna then the engine vibration is noticable in the cab.
Anyone on here run no ballance shafts in a Magna astron before?

if u can... source a TP 5 speed manual. im sure u were already going for this but dont settle with a TM or TN box.
you mean dont settle with just a TM box cos the TN is the same as the TP :)

TM box wont bolt up to a TN or TP vehicle, and the TP box is the strongest, go for that if you can.

As for the high performance oil pump, ive heard of people getting them for as low as $170, so look around before you buy...

I've got similar pricing on the Oil pump, from Bursons. God bless Trade!

I'll let you know on the shaft elimination. I'm using a proper kit, and the motor's getting balanced. This is my original block, the one that dropped that chain, destroying a fair few parts, especially the balance shaft equipment.

TN and TP boxes are identical for what I plan to run. The only difference is the cut of the teeth (Helical cut on the TP). Due to my parts supply, it's a TN box. (My source is TN1H41...)

Repco kit include gears? All mine are unserviceable, bar the camshaft and distributor gears.

i havn't lost the plot entirely, when i read it somewhere it was fastmagna for the timing chain on that turbs TM.

The timing chain proved to be a constant problem. The stock item did not appreciate being played with, and broken parts were often the result. A high performance kit from RPW sorted that out.

Yeah i read the same thing, i wonder what the high performance kit is worth? Would have to be a big price considering a stock new one is $500...

Yeah i read the same thing, i wonder what the high performance kit is worth? Would have to be a big price considering a stock new one is $500...

$500 is a timing chain assembly with the cogs. but would u need to change the cogs?? mine were fine while every other part of my timing chain assembly (guides, tensioners) were totally ****ed

$500 is a timing chain assembly with the cogs. but would u need to change the cogs?? mine were fine while every other part of my timing chain assembly (guides, tensioners) were totally ****ed
My car was run for a limited time, with the chain chewing out everything. When it first went, no one was 100% sure if it was the chain, or something else.