Call my friend Gary Wyat (07-34083177 work hours) here on bribie island, he has had a vw engine reconditioning exchange centre servicing Australia here since i was 16 and im 32 now. He has taught me everything i know about dak dacks as i used to strip all the exchange motors for him when i was in school for in return to use his machine shop to build motors and service my vws.
He can fit your engine if you car is delivered to his work shop OR he can receive your old engine delivered via courier with your mechanic doing the change over(cheaper to get it to him and there is always rudi here who can do your box). If you have the time he can rebuild your motor rather than exchange you one.
You will be hard pressed to beat his prices but more importantly I know and trust him and he has the experience on what makes a water cooled tick. As a minimum you should be looking for new head studs, new amc heads, Elring gasket set and KS bearings. If it was me id buy a new cam as Gary has seen a few failures here. If your lifters pump up and work well and within acceptable wear limits then they can be refaced are probably ok however id buy a new set here too.
I just called Gary
- Starting price for a exchange 2.1 is $3500 +
- Price to remove old engine, strip and reinstall in your car is apprx $1000
+ this covers a reco motor with new heads, 0.5mm oversize pistons, bearings and gaskets (if your head studs need replacement then the 200 $ for new studs and time involved for their changeover needs to be considered) This also assumes your coolant hoses and exhaust are salvageable.
here is some rough prices for key items that i would budget for myself - however you are better off speaking to Gary direct.
new amc heads complete=1000
new head studs=200
new .5mm oversize pistons =250 + liner boring and honing
new std piston and liner kit = 450
new 228 clutch kit =260
Some notes:
If your 300K engine is well looked after and down on compression - your crank will not need to be regrinded.
lifters can be refaced if wear measured prior to facing is within acceptable limits,
Gary rebuilds rods in house, has line boring equipment (pretty rarely needed for watercooled cases), has barrel boring and honing equipment and flywheel refacing.
FYI I am getting Gary to build my 96.5x82mm 2.4L stroker for my syncro.
hope this helps.
more importantly some one you can trust.
----- Original Message ----
From: evm614 <evm614@yahoo.com.au>
To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 27 September, 2008 9:45:01 PM
Subject: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Engine rebuild
Looking at buying syncro with just over 300000k's on the clock. As far as I know original K's
and no major work done on donk. So in trying to decide whether to go ahead and purchase,
can any member give me an idea of what to expect in costing of an engine rebuild in say the
next two years. I'm not very mechanically minded so it would have to be done by qualified
mechanics. I just need a ball park figure to that I can factor it into the price I'm prepared to
pay for the van. With my previous experience of 2.1L engines around the 300K's mark is the
time for serious consideration to engine rebuild. Any idea's and thoughts on the matter. Also
any advice as to what I should be looking out for when inspecting a syncro with view to
purchasing. Cheers guys. Mik
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