any hints to what i'm faced with?

[ottawa coupe]

well, my 91 coupe 20v has developed an appetite for oil. i spoke to my mechanic yesterday and he told me i most likely face a top end rebuild... at least. he also told me he wouldn't know the extent of work requ'd until he'd opened it up, ie: wether or not the bottom end is in need of help too. i personally don't like that idea as i can justify the cost of the top end rebuild (because i'd do timing belt and other little things that need attention at the same time) but if the bottom end is done then a 10vT or even 1.8T swap starts looking viable moneywise.

what are the chances that the bottem end is in need of attention too? i've heard the bottoms are pretty stout pieces but i figure everything breaks eventually, especially if it's been poorly maintained. i have 272,xxx kms and i'm pretty sure the motor's never been opened.

thanks for the advice

[caterpillar]

have 2 engine who had a broken pistonskirt,then big oilconsum.but they run like they were ok.

[desmo888]

What's your name there Ottawa? Easier to relate to a name...

272,000km is nothing for the 7A. I suspect it is just head work that needs to be done. I disagree a bit with your mechanic in that you do not need to pull the head to see if the bottom end is bad.

If you do a leak down style compression test you can tell where the leak is. If the leak down compression test is good reveals that the bottom end is good then you will likely get away with just pulling the head.

No matter what you do you will be looking at a good size bill if you take it to a garage.

Oh yeah, don't forget the simple things like a blocked breather...

best of luck to you kanuck...

[ottawa coupe]

thanks for the info, i hope it's just the top end. if so, my mechanic guessitmated it'll cost me about a grand.....i can come to terms with that. if i have my own place by the time i need to do this (gonna hold off till the spring, it's gonna be a tit bit nipply here soon!) i may r&r the head myself....nothing like a little learning experience. also can do the t-belt and water pump at the same time.....as well as remove the a/c system that is about as watertight as a sieve

gotta love owning old cars!!!!!

[A1QSHIP]

thanks for the info, i hope it's just the top end. if so, my mechanic guessitmated it'll cost me about a grand.....i can come to terms with that. if i have my own place by the time i need to do this (gonna hold off till the spring, it's gonna be a tit bit nipply here soon!) i may r&r the head myself....nothing like a little learning experience. also can do the t-belt and water pump at the same time.....as well as remove the a/c system that is about as watertight as a sieve

gotta love owning old cars!!!!!

Ottowa, if you are up to taking the head off on your own you might consider replacing the valve seals with the head on. Valve seals are a common source of concern on the 7A motor as well as updating the crankcase breather. Do each cylinder individually with the piston at top dead center to keep the valves from falling into the cylinder. The hard part will be to find a suitable valve spring compressor to remove the the valve spring with the head on the engine.

[ottawa coupe]

i'd remove the head so that i could clean the carbon off the pistons as well as get a good valve job done, maybe P&P the head if i got a good price and was feeling spendy.

what's this breather update you're talking about? this is news to me....

[A1QSHIP]

i'd remove the head so that i could clean the carbon off the pistons as well as get a good valve job done, maybe P&P the head if i got a good price and was feeling spendy.

what's this breather update you're talking about? this is news to me....

The breather hose was originaly a single piece of rubber tube shaped similar to a Mershaum smoking pipe. Located on the lower right side, toward the rear of the block, over time the hose would degrade & disintegrate or would become so weak that it would suck shut from the engine vacuume. At the end that fitted to the block is located a flame trap that could become clogged with material from the hose or from crankcase vapors. The other end of the hose connects to a metal pipe that leads to the air hose in front of the throttle body. The new style breather assembly is comprised of a short piece of hose with a metal pipe to replace the original all rubber hose.

[ottawa coupe]

oh you mean the metal tube that connects at the bottom of the boot just upstream of the tb that keeps falling out and causing a huge vacuum leak i need to get a new boot, that hole is chewed up pretty badly, hence the tube falling out all the time! soon i'm going to zip tie the sucker!

probably not connecting the dots here (it's friday aft., gimme a break!) but how is the breather associated with the oil consumption? or was it just a suggestion of something for me to check?

[4WheelDrifter]

If you follow that metal tube near the TB, round the back of the engine block, to the other side, you’ll find the offending piece of rubber tube.