CA18DET Deal or Dud

Problems, ideas and comments specific to engine swaps.
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That4doorKiD
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Location: Rosemead, Ca

CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by That4doorKiD »

CA18DET for sale, 300$ guy said he'd take 250$. The motor is seized, he said from it being out in the rain. From a JDM motor import shop

Worth The price?

It comes with all the swap components as a functioning motor needs tranny, manifolds, turbo...etc

Rebuild kits are about 150$ - 200$ and hysterically going to replace bearings and balance crank. Planning to re-use same pistons. So about 300-400$ to rebuild I'm guesstimating.

My interests is
-Swap that's stronger than L4
-Turbocharged--> BOV, Turbo Spool
-Tuning potential without much modifications
-The Price is Low for a working student

Looking for your opinions with the deal thanks! Planning to check it out tomorrow on Friday, see if there's anything worse.
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okayfine
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by okayfine »

That4doorKiD wrote:CA18DET for sale, 300$ guy said he'd take 250$.
First, are you (and the seller) sure it's a CA18DET? We didn't get that motor in the US. We did get a CA18ET, which isn't the same thing at all.
That4doorKiD wrote: The motor is seized, he said from it being out in the rain.
Second, unless you're going to inspect the motor and you know what to look for (or you have someone that does), then taking the seller's word for it is not the greatest idea. All manner of reason a motor can be "seized" and for an engine to suffer from rain ingress shows an extreme lack of care. A sealed motor is reasonably waterproof, even sitting exposed in the outdoors. You have to ask yourself why an engine importer would leave inventory out in the rain.
That4doorKiD wrote:It comes with all the swap components as a functioning motor needs tranny, manifolds, turbo...etc
Harness and electrics? And you're saying it NEEDS a trans, manifolds, turbo, etc? If it needs all that, what, exactly, are you buying?
That4doorKiD wrote:Rebuild kits are about 150$ - 200$ and hysterically going to replace bearings and balance crank. Planning to re-use same pistons. So about 300-400$ to rebuild I'm guesstimating.
I don't know where you're pricing your rebuild kits, but that seems wildly low unless it's just a gasket set. Given the likely needs of this motor and your lack of money I don't see any reason at all to "balance crank." If it is seized due to water (and only water) then the likelihood of being able to reuse the pistons is fairly low.

I don't see how this "deal" pens out in any way, shape, or form. If it needs all that work and you still have to try to find all the missing bits, I wouldn't even be interested in the motor for free.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
That4doorKiD
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Joined: 15 Nov 2014 18:02
Location: Rosemead, Ca

Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by That4doorKiD »

If there is no further damage besides it actually being seized and Pistons + side walls are undamaged, is it worth buying? And no I am not the seller
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That4doorKiD
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by That4doorKiD »

That is my one question, I had no other question than that except for details about the deal...
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510rob
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by 510rob »

I'd pass
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JordanTr
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by JordanTr »

I'd give it a hard pass.
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okayfine
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by okayfine »

That4doorKiD wrote:If there is no further damage besides it actually being seized and Pistons + side walls are undamaged, is it worth buying? And no I am not the seller
And how are you going to determine this, anyway? Are you going to pop the head off? And then flip the block over and pop pan off so you can get a rod cap off and then, somehow, get the piston out so you can verify it is fine?

The engine you have (barely) described here is a black hole where all your money will flow into.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
2DoorJim
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by 2DoorJim »

That4doorKiD wrote:If there is no further damage besides it actually being seized and Pistons + side walls are undamaged, is it worth buying? And no I am not the seller

Short answer is no, not worth buying.


Long answer:

If the pistons and bores remain in good condition yet the engine is seized, then it would be crankshaft damage causing the seize.

When a bottom end seize occurs the crankshaft has friction welded itself to either the rod bearings or the main bearings, though the rod bearings are usually the culprits. Cause is typically the result of poor lubrication or sustained high rpm abuse. Aside from crankshaft damage bearing shells most alway spin which also causes damage to the connecting rods, or the block if it was a main bearing which spun.

The end result is severe damage to the crankshaft bearing journal surface, and if the bearing shells spun then the associated rods usually can't be re-sized and must be replaced. If a main bearing spun then the saddles in the block will need to be resized, IF they are within a re-size tolerance for align-boring.

To repair the crank the process involves grinding the rod journals down to either the first or second undersize (presuming retrofit bearings are available) or doing the same to the mains if it was a main bearing that spun.

Cost to grind crank
Cost to align bore block
Cost of undersize bearing shells
etc, etc.

Budget about $750
That4doorKiD
Posts: 72
Joined: 15 Nov 2014 18:02
Location: Rosemead, Ca

Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by That4doorKiD »

2DoorJim wrote:
That4doorKiD wrote:If there is no further damage besides it actually being seized and Pistons + side walls are undamaged, is it worth buying? And no I am not the seller

Short answer is no, not worth buying.


Long answer:

If the pistons and bores remain in good condition yet the engine is seized, then it would be crankshaft damage causing the seize.

When a bottom end seize occurs the crankshaft has friction welded itself to either the rod bearings or the main bearings, though the rod bearings are usually the culprits. Cause is typically the result of poor lubrication or sustained high rpm abuse. Aside from crankshaft damage bearing shells most alway spin which also causes damage to the connecting rods, or the block if it was a main bearing which spun.

The end result is severe damage to the crankshaft bearing journal surface, and if the bearing shells spun then the associated rods usually can't be re-sized and must be replaced. If a main bearing spun then the saddles in the block will need to be resized, IF they are within a re-size tolerance for align-boring.

To repair the crank the process involves grinding the rod journals down to either the first or second undersize (presuming retrofit bearings are available) or doing the same to the mains if it was a main bearing that spun.

Cost to grind crank
Cost to align bore block
Cost of undersize bearing shells
etc, etc.

Budget about $750
Yeah I assumed further damage was hidden. That's why I wanted to go inspect myself, but if the seller is not willing to let me take off the oil pan or put a snake camera in the cylinders, pass it is
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grimlid
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Re: CA18DET Deal or Dud

Post by grimlid »

useless without a turbo anyways really.....even if it was running.
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