Rebuild conundrum - help appreciated
Discussion
As many of you may know my 54 plate 350 with 8500 miles on it is currently sans engine due to a problem with low oil pressure when the engine is up to temp. Initially it was thought the problem was a faulty oil pump so the engine was sent to TVR power (under dealer warranty) to have this sorted. Turns out upon stripping down it is in fact due to the bottom end bearing being too smal which means the crank needs to be re-ground and the bearing replaced. All under warranty and so all well and good.
My dilema now comes in that they have offered me the chance to go for a full rebuild by Power (so warrantied for 2 years) for the additional cost of £3300 plus VAT. Money I don't really have at present due to getting married tomorrow and having recently spent all my savings buying the car. castle are covering the cost of the bottom end and also the shipping and labour fitting/removing the engine so the £3300 is just the cost of the additional work at Power.
Firstly - what are the chances of other parts of the engine being worn if the bearing/crank had gone a sort of oval shape due to wear? It is low mileage and you hear of many late 3.6s heading towards 30k with no problems so will I really benefit from a full rebuild at present? Hence the question about the potential for other bits to have worn due to the original problem.
Secondly - what are TVR Power like for rebuilds? (PM me if you prefer) and what are their warranties actually like?
Any help, advice, opinions, experience would be greatly appreciated.
My dilema now comes in that they have offered me the chance to go for a full rebuild by Power (so warrantied for 2 years) for the additional cost of £3300 plus VAT. Money I don't really have at present due to getting married tomorrow and having recently spent all my savings buying the car. castle are covering the cost of the bottom end and also the shipping and labour fitting/removing the engine so the £3300 is just the cost of the additional work at Power.
Firstly - what are the chances of other parts of the engine being worn if the bearing/crank had gone a sort of oval shape due to wear? It is low mileage and you hear of many late 3.6s heading towards 30k with no problems so will I really benefit from a full rebuild at present? Hence the question about the potential for other bits to have worn due to the original problem.
Secondly - what are TVR Power like for rebuilds? (PM me if you prefer) and what are their warranties actually like?
Any help, advice, opinions, experience would be greatly appreciated.
Zippee said:
As many of you may know my 54 plate 350 with 8500 miles on it is currently sans engine due to a problem with low oil pressure when the engine is up to temp. Initially it was thought the problem was a faulty oil pump so the engine was sent to TVR power (under dealer warranty) to have this sorted. Turns out upon stripping down it is in fact due to the bottom end bearing being too smal which means the crank needs to be re-ground and the bearing replaced. All under warranty and so all well and good.
My dilema now comes in that they have offered me the chance to go for a full rebuild by Power (so warrantied for 2 years) for the additional cost of £3300 plus VAT. Money I don't really have at present due to getting married tomorrow and having recently spent all my savings buying the car. castle are covering the cost of the bottom end and also the shipping and labour fitting/removing the engine so the £3300 is just the cost of the additional work at Power.
Firstly - what are the chances of other parts of the engine being worn if the bearing/crank had gone a sort of oval shape due to wear? It is low mileage and you hear of many late 3.6s heading towards 30k with no problems so will I really benefit from a full rebuild at present? Hence the question about the potential for other bits to have worn due to the original problem.
Secondly - what are TVR Power like for rebuilds? (PM me if you prefer) and what are their warranties actually like?
Any help, advice, opinions, experience would be greatly appreciated.
When Power take the engine out, can you not ask them to look at the top end and give you an HONEST opinion in terms of if parts are worn etc.My dilema now comes in that they have offered me the chance to go for a full rebuild by Power (so warrantied for 2 years) for the additional cost of £3300 plus VAT. Money I don't really have at present due to getting married tomorrow and having recently spent all my savings buying the car. castle are covering the cost of the bottom end and also the shipping and labour fitting/removing the engine so the £3300 is just the cost of the additional work at Power.
Firstly - what are the chances of other parts of the engine being worn if the bearing/crank had gone a sort of oval shape due to wear? It is low mileage and you hear of many late 3.6s heading towards 30k with no problems so will I really benefit from a full rebuild at present? Hence the question about the potential for other bits to have worn due to the original problem.
Secondly - what are TVR Power like for rebuilds? (PM me if you prefer) and what are their warranties actually like?
Any help, advice, opinions, experience would be greatly appreciated.
In terms of spending the extra ££££ it isn't too much for a FULL re-build + 2yr warranty but if it really doesn't need one there seems little point in shelling out for if when you don't need to.
Finally, good luck for your big day tomorrow
Hooio
In my opinion once you start having serious problems with these engines you are better off having the whole thing stripped and rebuilt. There were so many poor manufactured parts used by TVR when they were originally bolted together that it makes sense to replace them all with the new and improved parts which are now available. Depending on the year of your car things like oil and waterways could also be improved.
General consensus seems to be whilst the engine is out to change the clutch as well. £3000 is a lot of money but it's better to do it once and have thousands of miles of worry free motoring than to have continual niggles further down the line.
General consensus seems to be whilst the engine is out to change the clutch as well. £3000 is a lot of money but it's better to do it once and have thousands of miles of worry free motoring than to have continual niggles further down the line.
Power rebuilt my engine in the summer of 2007. I can't vouch for the warranty as I've had no need for it but I've driven over 40,000 miles, including a number of trackdays, on it since without a problem (please don't let me be tempting fate). And it has used a fraction of the oil than it ALWAYS did prior to the work. As I expect to keep the car for some years to come there is a chance I might need more work on the engine one day but when that day arrives I'll be happy to use them again.
Whether it is worth spending the money now, who knows? If you do it I'd be pretty confident of relatively worry free miles for a couple of years, however mine got to 60,000 before work was actually required so you might be a little premature.
Whether it is worth spending the money now, who knows? If you do it I'd be pretty confident of relatively worry free miles for a couple of years, however mine got to 60,000 before work was actually required so you might be a little premature.
Thanks guys!
Shorts - thats the problem I'm having in deciding whether or not to go for it. As mentioned it's a late 2004 engine and only has now about 9.5k on the clock so if I could even get 30k (60 would be fantastic) before needing a rebuild it'd be great.
My trouble is I'm not sure what other damage the worn parts are likely to have done to the rest of the engine and 3k is better than 6 when it cmes to getting it rebuilt.
I think I may be better off spending a lot less and replacing the clutch instead as this is certainly more likely to go first and hopefully getting more mile out of the engine.
Shorts - thats the problem I'm having in deciding whether or not to go for it. As mentioned it's a late 2004 engine and only has now about 9.5k on the clock so if I could even get 30k (60 would be fantastic) before needing a rebuild it'd be great.
My trouble is I'm not sure what other damage the worn parts are likely to have done to the rest of the engine and 3k is better than 6 when it cmes to getting it rebuilt.
I think I may be better off spending a lot less and replacing the clutch instead as this is certainly more likely to go first and hopefully getting more mile out of the engine.
Hi Zippie, i have been following your posts for a while now, it does seem you have had NOTHING but bad luck with this car. In an early post you said you cannot get on with the car (after the chim) so why dont yoy tell castles to take it back, i am sure you are not happy and WHY should you pay another 3000 pounds out of your own pocket, it all seems so unfair to me.....Best of luck on whatever you decide. Gordon.
TOV!E said:
Hi Zippie, i have been following your posts for a while now, it does seem you have had NOTHING but bad luck with this car. In an early post you said you cannot get on with the car (after the chim) so why dont yoy tell castles to take it back, i am sure you are not happy and WHY should you pay another 3000 pounds out of your own pocket, it all seems so unfair to me.....Best of luck on whatever you decide. Gordon.
Thanks Tovie - thats the problem though in that Castle are doing the necessary work (crank, bearing labour for engine removal etc) but have 'offered' me the chance to pay for the full rebuild albeit at a reduced cost as they are paying for part of it with what will be done on the crank etc. In all honesty I would in a way love to hand the car back but after so long and on a used car I don't think I can, especially since they are sorting out the problem.I love TVR, especially the T350 but have lost all enthusiasm for mine.
The way I read it is the Warranty is going to cover the:
Taking out the engine.
dismantling the bottom end correcting the problem then rebuild it.
Putting back the engine.
Set it all up again.
Have you had a break down on what the extra/over £3300.00 is for.
Seems a lot of money for an engine that's already out of the car and bottom end stripped.
Taking out the engine.
dismantling the bottom end correcting the problem then rebuild it.
Putting back the engine.
Set it all up again.
Have you had a break down on what the extra/over £3300.00 is for.
Seems a lot of money for an engine that's already out of the car and bottom end stripped.
Edited by T450t on Friday 30th January 13:35
I agree with T450t. Sounds like a lot of money.
It's a late engine (which many people insist is so much better than an early 3.6), so if my 2002 motor can do 20k without fault, yours should go on for ages.
Save the cash, then when it does go pop, you'll be able to put it towards a full rebuild of your choice. Be it large capacity, finger follower-free or whatever...
It's a late engine (which many people insist is so much better than an early 3.6), so if my 2002 motor can do 20k without fault, yours should go on for ages.
Save the cash, then when it does go pop, you'll be able to put it towards a full rebuild of your choice. Be it large capacity, finger follower-free or whatever...
Right the - quick update.
After having spoken with a few people I'm going down the route of bottom end only with the proviso that the top end is fully checked and all is well.
Due to the fact it is a late engine (I know this is no guarantee) and low mileage most people reckon there should still be a lot of life left in it and I'll deal with a rebuild if/when the time comes.
I can see the advantage of a full rebuild but I guess how many on here would have it done if not required? Even if it was cheaper.
After having spoken with a few people I'm going down the route of bottom end only with the proviso that the top end is fully checked and all is well.
Due to the fact it is a late engine (I know this is no guarantee) and low mileage most people reckon there should still be a lot of life left in it and I'll deal with a rebuild if/when the time comes.
I can see the advantage of a full rebuild but I guess how many on here would have it done if not required? Even if it was cheaper.
Sorry to hear of your troubles Zippee.
Surely if there are issues with the top end of the engine caused by the failed oil pump they should be rectified alongside the other remedial work that they are doing...?
FWIW I think you made the right choice but only time will tell.
Any news on when you might get it back? With a bit of luck you might get enough miles on it to be through the running in process before the summer!
ETA: and yes - best of luck tomorrow!
Surely if there are issues with the top end of the engine caused by the failed oil pump they should be rectified alongside the other remedial work that they are doing...?
FWIW I think you made the right choice but only time will tell.
Any news on when you might get it back? With a bit of luck you might get enough miles on it to be through the running in process before the summer!
ETA: and yes - best of luck tomorrow!
Edited by darkmark07 on Friday 30th January 15:23
The car is in good hands at Power, but £3k is a lot of money to spend on something that might, or might not need doing. Surly if there is evidence of any Top end problems this would be covered under warranty also? I would try some preventive maintenance with the warranty company, or ask Dom to come up with a "deal"?? Is worth a try? It worked, for me, with the factory a few years ago with my Tuscan.
i had a similar dilemna a year or so ago with a 2004 T350 circa 20k miles. The engine was running sweet as anything but during a usual main dealer service the valve clearances couldnt be achieved due to valve recession. The car had been warmed up by the book every single time without fail. I had the option of just a top end rebuild or the full works. As the engine was coming out anyway i bit the bullet and went for a full inspection. It was lucky i did ( or unlucky depending how you view it) as there was allsorts wrong internally, indian components !! ( TVR used a lot of cr*p indian internals on the S6 ) an example of what they used (ex TVR guy told me) is a full set of indian conrods circa £30 !! How long did they think they would last ! compared to a good quality set which would be £100's. Crankshafts that arent balanced so the bearings will definitely fail prematurely. It doesnt matter how careful you are warming them up, the sub standard parts will eventually bite the dust. Im not having a go at the S6 here either as its a cracking motor it just suffered from cheap poor quality sub standard parts and oil flow/cooling design flaws that can be removed with a good rebuild. If i was you (assuming the cost wont affect the wedding ! ) i would get it stripped and get rid of the substandard indian parts etc. You can then use it with confidence for many miles.
Power rebuilt the engine on my 450 SE a few(
) years ago. The pully off the crank fell off after a few miles, but everything internal was ok!
IMHO how much you spend depends on how long you intend to keep the car. £3K+ now to sell in a year doesn't sound like a good move, but if you are in long term then go ahead.
Hope the new misses loves TVR's too!
) years ago. The pully off the crank fell off after a few miles, but everything internal was ok!IMHO how much you spend depends on how long you intend to keep the car. £3K+ now to sell in a year doesn't sound like a good move, but if you are in long term then go ahead.
Hope the new misses loves TVR's too!
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