Engine Needs New Rings at 43K!

[jammaljc]

Bad news today. My excessive oil blowby issue appears to be the result of a bit too much piston ring clearance. Turns out, this particular car had nitrous on it, and I am very comfortable blaming that (and myself for having bought this car without doing my homework). So, I need to replace the rings and probably do some other work like head resurface and timing belt, etc.
I am soliciting opinions on the best way to resolve this issue for the lowest "total" cost. I might sell the car after fixing it to get a newer one. Or not. Either way, if one repair option costs more, but results in a higher resale value and lower after-sale cost, that's better. Along those lines, I am thinking about other engine work that would improve horsepower, possibly including a blower. I am very interested in the work Marc W. (and Andy V.?) have done on their cars. Any info out there? I read the last NSX Driver, so don't point me there please.
What would you do if this was your car? I'm looking at maybe $6K for the dealer to just fix it. I don't really want to put another used motor in it, to me that's just inviting a different set of headaches. I'd much rather be spending $6K on a supercharger right now....

JC

91 r/b, 43K miles
Comptech oil pump, Dali big oil pan, RM chip (?)
Comptech cf air box, RM headers, Comptech hi flow cats, Taitec Competition Exhaust
All kinds of suspension stuff
Some brake stuff
racing harnesses
carbon fiber stuff
more track time to come.....

 

[Lud]

Nitrous itself does not cause that kind of problem, but if it had too much fuel going in or something certainly you could wear the rings in a hurry. Anyway I guess that is water under the bridge at this point.

Just out of curiosity, what is your compression? Are all cylinders leaking?

Since you mentioned the possibility of forced induction, I think the first thing you need to decide is: Do you want forced induction? If so, what kind of setup?

If you want to build a car like Andy's, you certainly want to go a different route with your rebuild than if you just want to bolt on a Comptech SC.

If there is no engine damage beyond worn rings, it is going to cost a bit more to rebuild the car for a custom high-boost setup because you will have to replace parts (like pistons) that you otherwise would not.

$6000 is a lot of money. What exactly are they proposing to do for that price? That sounds very high for new rings, gaskets and seals..

 

[jammaljc]

Lud,

Thanks for your thoughts. I suppose at this time I am thinking get it back to stock and do minor things in the process to improve the internals. $6K sounds high to me also for rings and related work alone. I suppose I need to find a few more estimates. I wish Mr. Basch weren't so busy!

JC

 

[cpmoran]

cant you find a diff engine for less than 6k maybe a 3.2

 

[jammaljc]

I have not found a used engine for less than about 8K. I have stopped looking since I can probably fix my engine myself for closer to 3K. before I do that, i will try a modified catch can approach that drains back into the pan and see if that works for now.

JC