are my housings re-usable?
 

hey everyone
Ive been gung ho to get my engine (s4) rebuilt ever since my mom suggested taking it to the junk yard (day after the collant seals cooked). and due to lack of funds its been a very slow project.. i know its recomended for a proper rebuild to replace the housings.. but im in college and poor.. lol

sooo.. i have everything i need but new housings and was wondering if reusing these would be out of the question. i hope the pics represent the condition good enough.

if these housings are shot i was also curious if anyones tried these 'reconditioned' ceramic coated housings from www.jhbperformance.com and if so what their experience was with them. (looking at them because they are cheaper than new ones)

im sorry if this seems rushed, but im late for trig....

blahhh.. couldnt get the pics yet.. ill get them in about an hour or so... for the time being.. what should i be concerned about when looking at the housings?? theres some scratches around the spark plug holes.. and some discoloring.. the engine ran 'ok' before the coolants cooked... any advice is definately appreciated!

Thanks, Eric

sorry that was so rushed.. im gonna get those pics up now.. i hope the wear is apparent enough in these pics, they were taken w/ my cell phone :/... anyways, this is the first rebuild ive done (apparently), and i was just curious as to what i might expect if i were to rebuild with these housings. and if anyone knows anything about the cermaic coated housings by jhb. would the result be worth the time and cost of getting new housings compared to my used ones?

thanks for any opinions:icon_tup:

Sorry man, your pics are not working right now. :(

I don't get it...

You're poor.
You want JHB housings which are like several hundred dollars each???

Why can't you just get good, used housings?
Look good enough, and you can get them under $100 each...


-Ted

dude, if i found some good used housings for that much id be all over it. ive been looking around and am not really finding anything like that though. im gonna try to post these pics again.. i dont know what im doing wrong...

if the pics dont work heres the deal.. the surface is almost all smooth untill right around the spark plug holes... i know that if a scratch is deeper than .02 mm its trash right? the engine was weak. and i dont know if it could have been caused by these scratches? or the gunk on the rotors? ive cleaned the rotors, and they are all within spec, and ive replaced all the hard and soft seals.

.02 mm is a very small distance... im willing to assume that if u can feel the scratch than its probably deeper than .02 mm right? bear with me guys, im new at this.. and i know if i want it done RIGHT then i hafta spend the time and money to do it.. i just really miss my car...

so, besides the scratches around the spark plug holes there are some discoloration, but i cant feel any change in texture...


thanks for any help, Eric

They're out there man, just keep looking around. :) Here's a set I just bought from ebay a few days ago. :icon_tup:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...164029872&rd=1

Also, check in the For Sale section or ask you want to buy some in that same section...


-Ted

we're gonna need pics. Most housings I've seen have discoloration in that area, and minor scratches are tolerable. Don't get in over your head, because you can probably use them without a problem.

well.. here goes one more try.. im thinking the pics might have been too big or something

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=housing1.jpg

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=housing2.jpg

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=housing3.jpg

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=housing4.jpg

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/f...t=housing5.jpg

you can not use those housings there junk. the only thing there good for now is a paper weight.

Heavens oh heck no! Looks like youve got severe omp failure. Premix next time... And make sure you use a spark plug that doesnt wack apex seals. Dont remove the plug rings. Are the rotors OK?

Those are shot, time to search the forums, and ebay etc.

kenn

OMP failure? that means the engine wasnt getting the right amount of lube? thats wonderful.. rotors are all ok. the housings were the only questionable piece.

so what do i do now? do i just replace the oil metering pump? looks like i have a whole other can of worms to deal with here.

i just searched and read about blocking off the omp and like you said, premix.. is that just as simple as adding oil into the gas tank?

what do u mean when u refer to the plug rings?


sorry bout all the noob questions.. i guess im feeling a little overwhelmed

I've used some "iffy" housings in my time, but those would qualify as "dust-collecting-broken-parts"

FYI, spend ALOT of time searching on here (as well as nopistons.com) about everything rotary related (engine wise), as well as the 2nd gen setup. If my post count was actually a search count, then I'd be easily in the 5 digits range. You can learn alot by searching, once you scroll past the random b.s. that you'll find as well in your searches. Also, try and change your words when you search for better results.

Synonyms
 

that's a good point. It helps to read the FAQ and print out the acronym section. If you search for "oil metering pump" you'll probably get close to zero hits. But if you search for OMP you eventually find what you want.

Knowing the lingo is the key. Some you'll just have to stumble on. For example, there isn't a glossary that will tell you that will tell you that what the FSM (factory service manual which is also on the web for you as noted in the FAQ) calls the "front housing" in common lingo is an "iron" or a "front side plate" or a "front side housing". That learning unfortunately just takes time.

Another thing I've found useful is to select the "Show Posts" instead of the default "Show Threads" option when you search. I've found that you can more quickly separate the wheat from the chaff that way.

Also, quotation marks are key. If you search for oil metering pump you'll get every post that includes oil and pump which will be useless. Searching for "oil metering pump" will limit the search to just those words as a group.

Good luck with your rebuild (and your trig :lol: )