Hmm buy and rebuild or jspec?
 

Ok so im contemplating this idea. I have the options of buying a S4 TII motor out of a 10AE, the car is beat up, and looks like its on its last legs. I had the chance to see this motor run, after tinkering with it for a while. Surprisingly it didnt seem to have a hard time running once started. WE let it run for about 5-10 mins while i looked around the car up and down side to side. It was blowin a lil smoke when reved but at idle was fine. On the turbo side of the motor, i did notice that one of the lines to the turbo was glowin red... What this means ? i dont know but I do know its not supposed to do that lol. BUt made me think maybe the turbo has some problems/needs rebuild and could be the cause of the smoke.??? Now i have a 87tII that needs a motor. I was going to save up the 900 to pick one up from a local import place, howver im always a lil skeptical of buying used motors/ or motors that may have been sitting for a while. So these are my thoughts....

1. Buy jspec for 900 and get injectors cleaned b4 installing

OR

2. Buy this TII motor for 200-250 bucks. Invest in a atkins rebuild kit 425$ on group buy. + another 20 bucks from some videos ect. And attempt my 1st rotary rebuild.

So what do you guys think?

try the rebuild on the TII motor for $200, you'll still have to rebuild the j-spec.

I think jspecs have alot of iffy ness to them. ALot of people suggest rebuilds, and i have heard for many unfortunate happenings to low mile jspec motors. Then there are some that do just fine. The iffy ness is what gets to me.

well my last TII I bought a JDM front end and I rebuild it and my buddy rebuild the original motor and guess what, there a 22hp difference between us, the j-spec motor did a lot better, stock vs stock by the way.

so i would go with the jspec

hmm cuz wear and tear>?

jspec = no emissions
no emissions = no cats
no cats = free flowing exhaust
free flowing exhaust = more HP

No you rebuild jspecs because they sit for a long time.

well yea i figured that one lol... :)

Best bet is to rebuild the engine. Its the one sure fix. On the plus side, you can port it as well! Good luck w/ your project!

i had the same conflict, and as stated i decided to just keep my motor and rebuild. If you can/want to do it yourself, you will save quite a bit. I just couldn't bring myself to spend 800-1000 plus shipping for something i woud have to most likely rebuild when i had a core already. Plus the knowlege you gain from doing the work yourself.