What to do first?
 

I have an '84 SE that is overall in pretty good shape. My concern is what to do first? She has the dreaded dowl pin leak. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but as we all know the only fix is to get it rebuilt or just drop a new engine in. From what I've found, that would cost between ~$3-4000, which I don't have. I do, however, have enough to get some minor body work and a paint job. I would love to get her looking nice, but if the engine seizes, it does me no good. If I keep on top of the oil changes and keep the compartment clean, how long can I expect the engine to hold up? It's got 133K miles now. Is it worth saving up for the rebuild/rebuilt in a year and just dealing with the faded paint and hail damage? Any input would be appreciated!

Never had a Se with a dowel pin leak.

Run the Lucas oil stabilizer in her. A few members have had great luck with it slowing down and even stopping the leak.

Have you gone through the rest of the vehicle?
Brakes, chassis, suspension, etc.....
The question about how long to expect the engine to hold up is a trick question.
It could fail tomorrow or it could go 200-300k.
I currently have 186k on my Se right now and she runs strong.

200,800 miles and counting on mine.

I went through, and checked what I could. Also, I brought it to a rotary specialist here in Colorado about a year ago. The top on his list was...replace the engine. Everything else was pretty minor. I ordered struts for it last week and plan to install them asap. Hopefully I don't find anything else wrong with the suspension.

Do you have a dowel pin leak?

Nope. Why should I?

i have 214,000k on mine and still pullin hard

High mileage rotaries are not bragging rights, they will need to be rebuilt eventually, the question is how much do you want to spend on the rebuild? Rebuild it now for less or more when it fails catastrophically and takes out housing etc...

^ +1. I'm looking to have an S4 motor built up and ready before mine decides to take the big plunge. *L*

If you want to find out the true condition of the engine then find a dealership or shop that has a Rotary specific compression tester. That will give you the most accurate evaluation of the engine. Otherwise you can just perform the test with a conventional tester as listed in the thread in the archives.


Why did this rotary specialist tell you to replace the engine?

With a core swap it's not that much to get one from Atkins. Depending on how much work you can do yourself. If your 200k on stock then your just lucky. The seals normally start going by 150+ (just a guess based on observations not a scientific study).

Thanks Doc. I'll get the compression tested and post the results.
I asked my mechanic to give it a complete once over. He listed items in order of importance considering the long term. He listed the rebuild first with this in mind. He did say however, to just keep on top of the oil changes and use use the lucas oil stabilizer, and it should be fine for a while. He also mentioned spraying down the undercarriage often to prevent fire hazards. But, no matter how often I do this, I still get smoke from under the car after long drives and after I shut it down? Thus, I don't take it for long drives very often. Any ideas on what to check? I've cleaned the block with engine cleaner and that didn't seem to help.

Other items on mechanics list: already fixed- brake master cylinder, boots/ball joints, broken transmission mount, oil cooler leak-new hoses. I need to take care of replacing the brakes soon...before the paint/body work. By the way, anyone repaint with the original formula white? I'de love to see the results!

What do you mean by smoke from under the car? Is something leaking on the exhaust?

It's hard to tell. It seems more like something (oil?) burning on the exhaust. Smells like that also. Maybe from under the skid plate where I can't really spray it down. It continues to smoke for ~3 min. after I shut the engine down.

I'd recommend lifting the car up and taking a peek underneath. Wipe anything down that looks like oily residue. Only reason you'd have smoke coming from underneath is if oil is dripping onto the exhaust.

I'll give it a shot...assuming I can talk my buddy into using his shops lift. Thanks.