6A12 rod snapping goodness

[fuel]

Late last year I bought a '94 Galant VX-R MIVEC automatic as a parts car, but after getting it I decided it was too tidy to wreck and I wanted to put it back on the road. It still had WOF/rego at that stage. The previous owner spent over $2700 on replacing the head gaskets, doing the cambelt/tensioner, reconditioning the heads and replacing some of the tappets - but just a couple weeks after that he said it started knocking and he stopped driving it immediately after he heard it. It was then transported and I tried to get it running but found the engine was seized, so I left it until now when I had more time to investigate only to find this:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/sump1.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/crank3.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/crank2.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/crank1.jpg

That's numbers three and four conrods which have snapped and one of the pistons has shattered while the other has cracked.

I'm just wondering what the hell to do now - should I just scrap the car for parts like I was originally going to do? Or should I look for a 6A12 DOHC block and hope its the same as the MIVEC block? Does anyone know for certain if it is?

Here's pics of the car in question:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/g1.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/g2.jpg

Cheers,
Phil

[bronxbombr]

For a car so clean and stuff, i would just get a motor and put in there. The car looks too mint to scrap.

[mitsueclipse2019]

For a car so clean and stuff, i would just get a motor and put in there. The car looks too mint to scrap.
x2!!!

[laxinwarrior]

X3 ... get that hunnie back on the road she's hotttt 8)

[bmxmike]

x4 car looks clean

[Kenneth G]

:smt096 x5, keep it and re-sell it if anything...

[fuel]

Yeah I've decided to keep it and find another block for it. Incidentally I found a 6A12 DOHC non mivec block for sale on trademe for $1 reserve haha. I am hoping the blocks/pistons are the same - I'm sure they are as they have the same 10:1 compression ratio so that suggests they have the same pistons.

I only got the thing for NZ$500 (US$300) and was just going to use it for the bumper, interior, reconditioned heads etc but yeah it's just too tidy to wreck. When its going it should get about $3000 at least.

[Goku]

Yeah I've decided to keep it and find another block for it. Incidentally I found a 6A12 DOHC non mivec block for sale on trademe for $1 reserve haha. I am hoping the blocks/pistons are the same - I'm sure they are as they have the same 10:1 compression ratio so that suggests they have the same pistons.

I only got the thing for NZ$500 (US$300) and was just going to use it for the bumper, interior, reconditioned heads etc but yeah it's just too tidy to wreck. When its going it should get about $3000 at least.


http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Car-parts-accessories/Mitsubishi/Engines-drive-trains/auction-94750813.htm

:D

Or even better......

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Car-parts-accessories/Mitsubishi/Engines-drive-trains/auction-94681915.htm :twisted:

[fuel]

A quick update, have removed pretty much everything in the engine bay ready to lift it out:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/engine2.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/engine1.jpg

Hopefully by the end of tomorrow the engine will be out and stripped apart.

[bmxmike]

looking good. Things goin to be awsome once you get it running

[fuel]

Update:

Someone stole my transmission!
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/engine5.jpg

Oh wait no, there it is...
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/trans2.jpg

Engine being lifted out:
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/lift1.jpg

Engine on the stand starting to get stripped:
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/out1.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/out2.jpg

Heads off!:
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/out3.jpg

The heads (photo doesn't show how deep the heads are and how complex they are):
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/heads1.jpg


The bores of cylinders three and four look to be fine, apart from a couple little nicks at the very bottom of cylinder four but it shouldn't affect it.

I think I will just find a pair of pistons/rods and a replacement crank and get it back together as the rest of the block is too good to scrap.

Next week I hope to get the engine back together and back into the car.. cross fingers.

[laxinwarrior]

looking real nice man ... good luck getting it back together.

[T-double]

wow what a build I hope know that you will get everything back together....Are you going to go with a 5speed maybe or are you just going to get it back to stock????

[Kenneth G]

:smt096 lookin good, so where are you going to get your replacement block?

[phizz2k]

Looks great, too bad we didn't get these motors here in the states...
hope all goes well with the rebuild and Iam loving the pics...

[fuel]

wow what a build I hope know that you will get everything back together....Are you going to go with a 5speed maybe or are you just going to get it back to stock????

Back to stock - the car was originally just being bought as a parts car for my other '93 Galant V6 MIVEC (which is already 5 speed manual), but when I got it transported to me I found it was just too tidy to part out so I was hoping to get the engine running and sell it on. I've swapped over the interior from this car into my '93 and I was planning on using those reconditioned heads on the '93 as well but after pulling this engine out I've decided I don't wanna touch my '93 for a while haha.

*EDIT* If the car was manual I would almost certainly keep it and sell the '93 as this one has lower milage, a sunroof, and ABS brakes. The MIVEC manual gearbox is a F5M31 which is hard to come by, whereas the standard Galant manual box is a F5M22 which is a bit weaker.

[fuel]

lookin good, so where are you going to get your replacement block?

www.trademe.co.nz - it's like NZs version of eBay. There's a DOHC (non mivec though) 6A12 engine on there in my area for $1 reserve.. I'm currently leading the bidding at $30 haha. Hopefully the bidding doesn't go too high and I can score this engine.

[eksz]

just curious, what is the status of your car? did you get the engine, etc?

[fuel]

Fully forgot to update this haha.

I got the engine off trademe for $63 in the end - however the non MIVEC pistons are different to the MIVEC pistons - they don't have such deep pockets as the MIVEC for the valves. If I had used those pistons the valves would have hit the pistons the first time it engages MIVEC at 5500rpm.

However there is good news the I can use the crank and rods from that engine I bought, along with a few other small things. I've been struggling to find a pair of 2nd hand pistons - no one has another trashed motor they want to split up for parts :( So that means I only have one option and that is get two brand spanking new pistons from Japan at a cost of $100 each (that's US$75 approx).

I've just been so busy so I've put this car on the backburner once again and will hope to get it running in another month or so.

On the up side I went out and bought a 1980 Mitsubishi Galant Eterna GSR two door coupe :D There's an upcoming trackday for our OldSchool car club here, and my TE71 Corolla is just taking too long to complete and get up to spec where I want it - it was just easier and probably cheaper in the long run to get this car.

I beleive they are called the Plymouth Sapporo and the Dodge Challenger (late 70s early 80s model) over in the US.

I cannot stress how MINT this thing is - only one previous owner who has serviced it every six months, have kept it garaged etc. Has 128,000kms on the clock (that's approx 80,000 miles) - very low for a 27 year old car! It sports the famous 4G63 turbocharged engine as used in the Mitsubishi Starion, as well as the rest of the drivetrain including independant rear suspension and four wheel ventilated disc brakes. This car was the very first model to use the 4G63 turbo engine.

Here's some pics:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/Eterna/eterna2.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/Eterna/eterna1.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/Eterna/eterna3.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/Eterna/eterna7.jpg

[Goku]

Whoa... dude thats very rare even for here in NZ...

Don't crash it :smt011

[fuel]

I have a thing for rare Mitsubishis ;)

My E54A VX-R MIVEC Galants and my new Eterna ;) Would love an E33A AMG Type I or even a standard E38A RS VR-4 or E39A Evolution model (I put them as rare as its impossible to find them unmolested these days).

[Joker96]

wow i love the looks of that car plus the v6mivec wow

[fuel]

Quick update:

I have changed my plans somewhat. Due to an error on behalf of the Mitsubishi dealership ordering in a whole set of SIX pistons as opposed to the TWO I asked for, I managed to score the whole set for cost price. It was only going to be about twice as much to get the whole set!

So because I have got a whole set of brand new pistons I have decided to go all out on this engine! That means all new rings, bearings, gaskets, seals etc. I will then be putting this fully built up engine into my blue '93 Galant like I was planning to do initially. The good running engine out of my '93 will go into this car in order to get it going and SOLD!

I thought I had posted a picture of the pistons which had shattered but it seems I haven't, so this is the cause of all that carnage:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/pistons.jpg

[frag_daddy_2007]

Sweet man!
I love when people make mistakes for consumer benefit...

[fuel]

Would anyone be interested in me doing a proper doc/howto/faq on removing, rebuilding and dropping the engine back in a 7G?

[fuel]

Shiny new pistons FTW!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/pistons-1.jpg

On another note, does anyone know how to take off the locating ring on the flexplate? It's circled in this pic here:

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/te71se/94%20Galant/flexplate.jpg

I've had no trouble getting them off in the past with other engines (mainlt 4G63's) but this one just wont budge. I can slip a screwdriver into the middle hole and jiggle it a little side to side, and I have tried prying it out from the side gap but it just wont budge! It's just big enough to not allow my 19mm socket so slip over the crankshaft bolts. Grrr

Any ideas anyone?