88 NA FC 94k Rebuild Soon?
04-19-15, 03:31 PM
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88 NA FC 94k Rebuild Soon?
I made a post a few days ago about fixing the instrument cluster which has since been worked out. However, a bigger question is if the engine will need a rebuild soon. I bought it last week with 94k miles for $2000 which I thought it was a good deal, but the previous owner said that it had never had a full rebuild, only some side seals had been replaced I think. I've done a fair amount of research and concluded that the life of the engine entirely depends on how well it was taken care of by the previous owner, with routine oil changes and regular intervals and only with conventional oil or high quality synthetic being the most important factor.
Maybe this isn't the best idea, but I planned to take a road trip to Seattle with it in August so I was wondering if it would be wise to do that given the fact that the engine had never been rebuilt. Would it be best to put marvel mystery oil or seafoam in the crankcase to clear and gunk or carbon buildup? I'm going to change the oil and coolant as soon as possible to make sure the engine is in as clean as it can be given its unknown past.
He said that the car had been bought by an older woman in 1988 and had the car until 2012 then sold it to him which gives me reason to believe that she probably didn't do a lot of spirited driving so there might be a fair amount of carbon buildup, and I'm pretty sure she never premixed. How does the situation look for me?
Maybe this isn't the best idea, but I planned to take a road trip to Seattle with it in August so I was wondering if it would be wise to do that given the fact that the engine had never been rebuilt. Would it be best to put marvel mystery oil or seafoam in the crankcase to clear and gunk or carbon buildup? I'm going to change the oil and coolant as soon as possible to make sure the engine is in as clean as it can be given its unknown past.
He said that the car had been bought by an older woman in 1988 and had the car until 2012 then sold it to him which gives me reason to believe that she probably didn't do a lot of spirited driving so there might be a fair amount of carbon buildup, and I'm pretty sure she never premixed. How does the situation look for me?
04-19-15, 04:43 PM
#2
welcome to the board. 
the problem with your question is no one can really answer it definitively. it's like predicting the future, you know?
what i will advise is this: do what you can to assess the health of the engine right now. check the compression. if you choose to, you can also try and "clean" it by soaking it in Seafoam or steam cleaning it - both methods are detailed in thread scattered around the board.
if the compression checks out healthy, then you can give the car a full tuneup and then go through the wear items (fuel injectors, cooling system, MOP, etc.) and refurbish them. you can always premix in addition to the MOP. that's as close as you'll get to good.
worry about your Seattle trip in August, in August. a rebuild now is not going to guarantee that the engine will not fail you then.
the problem with your question is no one can really answer it definitively. it's like predicting the future, you know?
what i will advise is this: do what you can to assess the health of the engine right now. check the compression. if you choose to, you can also try and "clean" it by soaking it in Seafoam or steam cleaning it - both methods are detailed in thread scattered around the board.
if the compression checks out healthy, then you can give the car a full tuneup and then go through the wear items (fuel injectors, cooling system, MOP, etc.) and refurbish them. you can always premix in addition to the MOP. that's as close as you'll get to good.
worry about your Seattle trip in August, in August. a rebuild now is not going to guarantee that the engine will not fail you then.
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