JDM motors

[salt1o1]

so my im putting in a JDM 7m-gte into my 89 turbo. just wondering what kind of experience you guys have had with buying "low mile" jdm's. mine wasn't very good to me. i ordered it from japan racing engines since they were the only people that could find me a jdm r154 ( i know there is no differnce in the tranny, but its a hell of a lot tighter than the one i have now.) so first off the guy tells me we had pricing problems from the start. so it took a whole day just to pay for the motor. when it got shipped out the tranny and engine were not together and the tranny made it to me about 4 days before the engine. (not really a problem but thought i would say.) shipping took about twice as long as i was told it would and when the engine got to me the oil pan had about a BIG dent in it. not sure who did it but im leaning towards ups considering the crate it came on was crushed. i myself am not doing the swap due to the fact that i do not have the time to due it and its my only means of transpertation right now. im borrowing a car. so the shop thats doing the swap for is calls me today and tells me it needs a new waterpump, rear main oil seal, timing belt, injectors, and plugs. (btw the guy cleaned it before he shipped it so the spark plug galley was full of water for about 3 weeks or so.) and now they have more than doubled the price for doing the swap.


how much luck have you had with your JDM swap????

 

[born2drv]

over the past 12 yrs i've had 3 ...

#1 BHG - replaced under "warranty"
#2 was ok for a while ... oil leak, rod knock.
#3 BHG - rebuilt ... MHG+ARPS+resurface both head/block+new bearings+new oil pump = 411RWHP good compression and going strong so far!

I would not install a JDM motor without tearing it down and rebuilding it, even if it's just to clean the head/block and put MHG+ARPs+new bearings like I did, don't have to go all out.

I do plan to get another one and build a fully built forged beast in time :evil2:

 

[Clip]

i wouldnt think of dropping a motor in without refreshing it first, jdm or us. either way its a good idea to give it a good exam while its on a stand.

 

[salt1o1]

well if it has a BHG im going to be really pissed off. for the money i spending to put it in i could have rebuilt my old motor nicely (if only i knew)

an yes i agree with you clip.


i plan on doing a forged rebuild on it within the next year, so hopfully it will last that long.

 

[born2drv]

why do you think the cars end up there in the first place?

something blew up.

what tends to blow up on our cars?

BHG LOL

I'd say odds are 50-50 .... most of the sellers don't even care if you have a BHG or not.... if you do, they'll just replace it for you, usually at your shipping expense of course.

If you pull off the head and there is no signs of BHG that means no coolant went into the engine and the bearings should be OK so you may just be able to get away with prepping block and head, and putting a new HG on.

 

[kmckiness]

My JDM low miles motor came with a blown head gasket. I found that out after the mechanics installed it and drove around the block. At that point it would either be another grand minimum to have it pulled and swapped out from the seller or drive it like it is with a new gasket getting around 3 months of use out of it. It had pits around the 1st and 6th cylinder. I had to choose the latter due to money issues.

So... my opinion is that if you get a used motor just have it rebuilt with a MHG plus all ARP bolts / studs.

It would have saved me at least 2-3 grand in parts and labor if I just had the old one rebuilt instead of buying a low miles one that was bad. I also would not have had the car down for around 2 years working on the rebuild on and off either.

 

[Racefiend]

It's a crap shoot. They claim low mileage, and while there is a good chance that they have less miles than a comparable US motor, they have no idea how many miles are on them when they get them from Malaysia junk yards (yes, most come from Malaysia, not Japan). The exporter's QC control can range anywhere from nothing at all, to just turning the crank to make sure it spins, to actually running them before dismantling.

I've actually had good luck with the two motors I've tried, one a 5M, and on a 7MGTE. Your mileage may vary (no pun intended)

 

[JustAnotherVictim]

Buy it then rebuild it.
You should be good to go.

 

[jdub]

Personally, I'm not going to put a motor in with an unknown history. I went with Born2dv's #3, but it never went into the car until after the re-build. Running strong

 

[OneJArpus]

in my opinion, Jarco sounds like the best bet. 1695 with new HQ already installed. Just a few hundred more then a Jap motor but this is rebuilt. IIRC it isn't fully rebuilt but all the main things are replaced.

I have 2 motors in my position.

1 with 197K miles thats my DD with no real problem *knock on wood* stock except an intake & exhaust.

anotehr one with 72K miles. Owner stats it had rod knock and took the valve covers off and left it like that for 2 years. I plan on tearing the 72K mile motor down to see if it is salvagable and just rebuild or part it out for a jarco unit. Then sell my 197K mile motor becuase its been running strong on 8PSI.

 

[iwannadie]

i know there was a place selling motors with new head gaskets. they offered you the full range of what type of gaskets/bolts/studs ect. basically pick and choose what you want them to rebuild on the motor for additional fees. i cant think of the site though, anyone know of a place like that?

 

[TurboWarrior]

Rabid Chimp?

 

[salt1o1]

well its to late now. i got the motor and don't have the money to put the HG on right now due to other things i had to spend money on for the motor. im praying it doesn't have a BHG, but then again i have realllllyyy crappy luck.

 

[fiyota]

hmm should have waited and rebuilt it.. but I guess we all dont have that option.. or funds...

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

well its to late now. i got the motor and don't have the money to put the HG on right now due to other things i had to spend money on for the motor. im praying it doesn't have a BHG, but then again i have realllllyyy crappy luck.

wait and get the money, that's all i've gotta say, you'll be paying later, most likely very soon, since that motor's been sitting for a while

 

[salt1o1]

pics of the motor and tranny..

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

bah, i dunno bout that :-/.... looks like it's been out of the car for a good while now... my 3k pipe + intake mani were WAY cleaner than that... valve covers did have some corrosion, but just play it safe

 

[tissimo]

I got one from nippon motors... when I got it i stripped it down (didn't rebuild though) replaced all the seals, put stock hg w/ arp bolts, had no problems till an 550 injector failed and blew the gasket, then sold it.. put 20k on it no problems, was a strong motor, went 91 mph in my 91 targa bone stock.

feels tighter? have you driven it? or just moved the shifter around? cause the loose feeling is probably just the bushings..

 

[TurboWarrior]

yeah i have pieces from a jdm motor that went into my car. The jdm intake mani and other parts. They look close to brand new.

 

[salt1o1]

well the dirty intake mani is from when the guy washed the motor before he shippied it. as far as the tranny goes my old one would pop about every now and then and grind here and there so i hoping this one is alot better, it feels like it.