My lovely Sigma needs a new engine after 429000kms of happy motoring. It runs very nice still and uses no oil, but the excess clearances in the engine make it very noisy somewhat and embarrasing when driving in town. I suspect piston slap. Where oh where can I get a short block assembly mid south Island , or would any garage be able to do the necessary work, given its now an older car?. Other 4G63 engines do surface periodically on trademe , but are front wheel drive version which I understand are incompatible with my existing gearbox. Any ideas please. I drive this car everyday, Im not interested in getting something newer
muzz67,
Jan 30, 8:17am
Had one reconditioned at Mean Machine in Nelson with a few mild mods that they suggested,, very pleased with improvements,quote,time etc.
mannix51,
Jan 30, 8:20am
Did you send the engine to them?
muppet_slayer,
Jan 30, 8:20am
Take it to an engine reconditioner to do the whole job, don't take it to a garage because they will outwork it anyway (remove engine and give it to someone else to do) and then they will add their 30%. BEWARE!
mannix51,
Jan 30, 8:23am
I was hoping to do an exchange thing where I fit the new engine and return my old one, but given its age, this may not be possible?
curlcrown,
Jan 30, 8:27am
Have you had it checked? Could it be a noisy water pump, atlernator or something else?
muzz67,
Jan 30, 8:28am
I removed it and took it in, easy as. Get your original block reconned so engine number matches 'paperwork' etc. Short-blocks would have been common for them 20 years ago,, now ,not so much.
mannix51,
Jan 30, 8:30am
I wish. no, sadly its internal banging noise at idle, loud ticking at highway speed, happened slowly over time, very slowly getting louder.
mannix51,
Jan 30, 8:31am
Thank you Muzz, will contact them, although they are 4 hours drive from here.
muppet_slayer,
Jan 30, 8:32am
You know your engine, you know it's a good one. I would sort out other transport while you get YOUR engine recon'd. You don't know what the 'new' engine has been through. It could be 60 thou over so can't be reconditioned again. It may have had repairs to it that will rear their ugly head down the track. At the least if they do your engine, they can tell you exactly what it needs and you will know. You don't know anything about the 'new' swap engine.
muzz67,
Jan 30, 8:34am
Well said.
tygertung,
Jan 30, 6:17pm
I have rebuilt one of those 4G63, they are real easy to work on.
There are two different block widths for the bellhousing (where the gearbox bolts on). It is typically wide for RWD and narrow for FWD, although you can get narrow RWD bellhousings too.
If it isn't using oil, it could be that the big end bearings are worn on the crankshaft. The bores could be a wee bit worn too, seeing as it's gone to the moon.
You must have been keeping up with the servicing for it to last this long! While you have it apart, you might want to recondition the head also.
Are you planning on doing some of the work yourself? It isn't too challenging on these.
You could pull the engine out, pull the ancillary bits and pieces off like all the manifolds, alternators, distributors etc. and send it over to Christchurch somehow to an engine reconditioners.
budgel,
Jan 30, 8:13pm
I can see why you hung onto your faithful car, but do a careful cost estimate before you start going down the reconditioning route. At the end of the process you will still have a 1981 car. Motoring has come a long way since then, particularly in safety areas. If you put the money you would spend on reconditioning into something from this century you get modern safety features, good economy and annual WOF's. Think about it!
muzz67,
Jan 30, 8:35pm
FYI,, cost approx 4k.
franc123,
Jan 30, 11:06pm
Fix the engine you have, for the simple reason you will then know what you've got. Hopefully there wont be any terminal damage to the crank, or it's not done something horrible like spun a balance shaft bearing in the block. Used unreconditioned engines on cars that old are dodgy in the extreme, many of those 4G63s naturally ended up in L300's and have been run hot or cooked completely and got soft heads and rings, they chomp oil and water and smoke and are just an ingrown toenail to live with. If yours is not using oil or water that's an excellent start. The question is though, what's the rest of the car like, gearbox, diff etc? t could be the end of an expensive wedge. You're not going to know until it's out and apart what's going to need doing it, I would arrange other transport in the meantime.
muppet_slayer,
Jan 31, 2:03am
Yes I would get the head reconditioned as well. I would also make them very aware that you want your motor recon'd and do not want a replacement short block or head (unless your one is 60 thou over and unserviceable, or head needs welding or is worn out), you want your motor returned to you in it's entirety. Otherwise they might try and slip you a foreign block or head that they have recon'd and had lying around for years waiting to be sold.
muzz67,
Jan 31, 3:59am
Make a note of the engine number, (stamped onto a ledge at the front right of the block), Because if they skim the top off the block to straighten it, the number gets ground off too. Learnt that one the hard way.
tygertung,
Jan 31, 5:50am
Should cost less than 4k I would have thought unless you need oversize pistons etc.
2sheddies,
Jan 31, 6:19am
He doesn't want modern and I don't blame him. Sure you get yearly WOF's, safety stars (better if you don't crash in the first place, then even a Sigma won't kill you) and air con, but you also get constant electrical problems because of all the unnecessary gadgets, silly unnecessary crap like oxygen sensors, crank angle sensors, maf sensors etc that seem to pack up every other month and cost a small fortune to fix, a car that you can't diagnose without a scan tool and the knowledge to interpret the codes, cheap lacquer paint with a clear coat that starts peeling just as the warranty period expires, cheaply made interior trim that falls off as you drive along, in car entertainment units in a foreign language that cost hundreds to upgrade, stupid keys that are like miniature computers which cost hundreds ro replace and will render the vehicle totally inoperable and leave you hopelessly stranded if they malfunction, engine bays where you have to spend 30 minutes removing plastic covers and shrouds before commencing any repair work, and often another 4 hours dismantling everything else before you can access the repair item, and lastly, depreciation of monumental proportions. The modern car really is nothing more than a disposable appliance.
Long live cars like the Sigma.
mannix51,
Jan 31, 6:23am
I thank you all for the comments. Years ago, I bought a rust bucket sigma for parts, it had 180000 on the clock. This will supply most of my future mechanical needs, it has a good gearbox/diff and steering components. If any of these need replacing, these will do the job. The body is sound, no rust with original paint, still looks like new. This is why a new engine makes sense to me, no ECU/airbags/stability control complications to go wrong, it is a very basic and simple car, a service for me takes just 20 minutes, the cost of a few litres of oil and a filter. Oh, and the depreciation is zero.
gph1961,
Jan 31, 6:29am
2sheddies wrote: He doesn't want modern and I don't blame him. Sure you get yearly WOF's, safety stars (better if you don't crash in the first place, then even a Sigma won't kill you) and air con, but you also get constant electrical problems because of all the unnecessary gadgets, silly unnecessary crap like oxygen sensors, crank angle sensors, maf sensors etc that seem to pack up every other month and cost a small fortune to fix, a car that you can't diagnose without a scan tool and the knowledge to interpret the codes, cheap lacquer paint with a clear coat that starts peeling just as the warranty period expires, cheaply made interior trim that falls off as you drive along, in car entertainment units in a foreign language that cost hundreds to upgrade, stupid keys that are like miniature computers which cost hundreds ro replace and will render the vehicle totally inoperable and leave you hopelessly stranded if they malfunction, engine bays where you have to spend 30 minutes removing plastic covers and shrouds before commencing any repair work, and often another 4 hours dismantling everything else before you can access the repair item, and lastly, depreciation of monumental proportions. The modern car really is nothing more than a disposable appliance.
Long live cars like the Sigma.[/quote and you dont have to catch it in the morning
gmphil,
Feb 8, 9:39am
pity ur not in aucks have one from a l300
tygertung,
Feb 8, 8:09pm
Can you remove the engine yourself? Even a mechanic should be able to remove it in a couple of hours, it is pretty easy on one of those.
Then just remove the gearbox and the manifolds, pop on a pallet and ship to Christchurch.
3tomany,
Feb 8, 9:13pm
Given its age i would try and get original engine rebuilt so as to keep it original. It may not be very valuable but is certainly becoming a rare car on the road.
sw20,
Feb 8, 9:48pm
One day when you can't drive anymore, donate it to Southwards. They have an interesting collection of previously 'ordinary' cars downstairs.
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