Big ends gone !...humph

[Jonzo]

Let down again....sigh, last year the head gasket, this summer the big ends are gone. Anyone know what sort of cost i'm looking at to get it sorted? Are these engines easy enough to source ? This car has a habit of kicking me in the twig'n'berries everytime i start to enjoy it !

[bridgdav]

You might be in luck

julz said:

BTW, the donor car appears to be a genuine 31,000 miler so if anyone wants a cologne....

From this thread...

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=89060&f=11&h=0&p=3

[farmeryellow]

Smiths of Bloxham have three 2.9 v6 and one 2.8 v6
you will have to pull the engine out yourself
but it will be cheep for cash £50-£70 full engine
I know they are there because i had the throttle pots
nr Banbury Oxfordshire

[WildfireS3]

If you were to have the big ends re ground, I don't think that it will be too much, although I would be inclined to put in an entirely new engine. with the following:

Bore Hone
New Rings
Lightened balanced
New Clutch
New oil & water pump
Kent 276 Cam
Possibly convert to a veriner belt timing kit.
If you can afford it some Stage 3 heads.

I have seen a full Stage 1 engine for £1500.

[M@H]

Hi Jonzo, bad luck mate... what caused the big ends to go..oil starvation.. crap in the block..? I know where there is a 2.8 and a 2.9 in my neck of the woods.

Cheers
Matt.

[kentishs2]

I've looked into this recently as mine is getting up there in miles and has started to misbehave and tappets go out of adjustment rapidly when they start to wear. Infrequent oil changes are also a cause of premature engine wear especially at the top end.

Secondhand low mileage units warranted for 3 months are around £250 plus fitting whilst recon units are anything from £700 for a basic recon unit (faulty & worn parts only) up to £1700 depending on where you go, then if you want race tuned you can spend up to £3500. I'm going for a topend rebuild of mine locally to me.

I saw in your profile that you have a 1989 car so I am guessing that you have an S2 with 2.9 EFi engine the same as mine which the above are rough prices for, if yours is a 2.8 they can be found at a slightly cheaper price.

I had recommended to me a place called South Coast Engine Services (I think that's their name anyway) in Deal, Kent. Are you based in Kent, I noticed a thread listed in your profile that may suggest you are?

Anyway, if you want to send me an e-mail outside the forum click on my profile link and I can let you know how they get on with mine.

[bills1]

I had my 2.8 rebuilt by specialisedengines.co.uk who are well recognised as the experts at rebuilding and sorting ford engines.

Watchout for the costs as there will be loads of other bills that will crop up while doing the job.

I ended up with a fully rebuilt engine, New clutch, new radiator, hoses, swirl tank plus many new bolts, alloy timing gear, and bits such as radiator cap,thermo ignition leads etc.
Its best to be thorough but the bills add up in my case it was over £3000, but for that I now have a new engine which is relaible and far mor powerful.

best of luck

[Tim Fleming]

Very sorry you are having a bad time of it.
I rang around loads of breakers searching for 2.9 V6 fords in Kent and decided most did not know the difference between that and the 2.8 V6 after they had taken it out of the donor.I know Detling Hill Breakers at Maidstone has a good 2.9 taken from a 1989 Sierra which is in dry storage and looked and smelt businesslike to me.
I had the throttle pot,the rocker box covers and the airflow meters and all seemed good.The engine was a good runner I was told when delivered to the yard and they were sensible about the cost of the bits I had.
This was only 3 weeks or so ago so reckon its still there.(Only hope I don't live to regret telling you about it Ehh!) Good luck, Tim.

[z_chromozone]

kentishs2 said:

Secondhand low mileage units warranted for 3 months are around £250 plus fitting whilst recon units are anything from £700 for a basic recon unit .

Remember if your warrented engine goes pop that you still have to take the bloody thing out and install another one.

The second gear syncro on my warrented golf box was worn when I tested it on the road. I had a warrented unit, but just could not face stripping down my daily driver again for the sake of a crunchy change and £150 to take another chance.

If you were doing the work your self and have the time then the second hand warrented appraoch is the way to go. However, if you were paying someone to change it I would not risk it and get a recon. If the thing goes bang you will have to spend the extra just to change it.

My preferred way would be to buy a runner, or MOT failure, or short MOT with a good V6. Pref from a granada as they will have been thrashed less than Capri IMHO. At least then you will have a pile of other spares like gearbox and stuff and probably wouldn't cost much more.

Just my 2p,

Z

[LeeBee]

I have a low mileage 2.9 in my S2 which is for sale if you are interested, I also have a brand new 2.9 crank for sale as well

e-mail me if interested

Cheers

LeeBee

[M@H]

LeeBee said:

I have a low mileage 2.9 in my S2 which is for sale if you are interested, I also have a brand new 2.9 crank for sale as well e-mail me if interested Cheers LeeBee

He's also got a Cosworth block up for grabs..

[kentishs2]

kentishs2 said:

I'm going for a topend rebuild of mine locally to me. I saw in your profile that you have a 1989 car so I am guessing that you have an S2 with 2.9 EFi engine the same as mine which the above are rough prices for, if yours is a 2.8 they can be found at a slightly cheaper price. I had recommended to me a place called South Coast Engine Services (I think that's their name anyway) in Deal, Kent. Are you based in Kent, I noticed a thread listed in your profile that may suggest you are?

Jonzo,

The place I'm using is actually called Coastal Engine Services not South Coast Engine Services as I previously stated and the number for them is 01304 365134. He seemed pretty switched on and was recommended to me.

I will let you know how I get on and what they did and the prices of course.

Kentish.

[Jonzo]

Thanks for the condolences guys and helpful contacts. I have a good mate who is a ford specialist and dismantlers on the case with his contacts, so he's my first port of call as he will try and get a good unit for as good a price as he can manage, though no luck so far for two weeks :-( If he draws a blank then i'll have to find some cash (from heaven knows where) to pay someone else for a 2.9 V6.

I'm not sure yet what caused the big ends to go, at first i thought it was a rattling exhaust and then i noticed low oil pressure but no warning light. Would that be the cause or a result of them going? Could the oil pump have failed or is it just likely there was a blockage that prevented oil getting to them?