rebuild 5sfe

[mr_mr2]

I want to rebuild my 91 5sfe. Does any one have any good tips to make good power for a min budget, basic bolt ons, is there any type of engine management avaiable for this car? any input woudl be great!

Cheers

[Mister2.2]

What exactly is your budget? What needs rebuilt? Basic bolt ons would be Intake / Exhaust / Header. That's all you can really do on the cheap side, after that cams would be your next best bet.

[TomsMR2]

cams cams cams cams! theres a little power in head porting, learn to do it yourself though. its just very labor intensive and timely, but its quite easy. if the heads off, theres no reason not to. shave it down to 10.0:1 compression too, and run your timing at 15 degrees. right there it'll be like driving a whole new car, and you'll wonder how you ever drove a stock 5s.

then id put headers on it, then convert to 93 electronics and run an SMT6 or safc2.. a real EMS would be better, but thats not quite budget oriented. at that point if you wanted an intake/exhaust, go for it but dont expect a ton

[mr_mr2]

what kind of numbers do u think i could make if i got cams and ported the head?

[TomsMR2]

if you start worrying about dyno numbers, you'll never be happy.

cams and bolt-ons will get you into the mid/high 14's.

[Everett]

Ive got some hot shot headers for sale if your intrested. About 2000 miles on them. I found huge diffrence with headers, intake, and exhaust! Cams are 1 of the more expensive bolt ons. But they really define what type of HP and performance your looking for.

[mr_mr2]

Originally Posted by bluemr2

Ive got some hot shot headers for sale if your intrested. About 2000 miles on them. I found huge diffrence with headers, intake, and exhaust! Cams are 1 of the more expensive bolt ons. But they really define what type of HP and performance your looking for.

how much?

[mr_mr2]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

if you start worrying about dyno numbers, you'll never be happy.

cams and bolt-ons will get you into the mid/high 14's.

Is it even worth messing with?

[TomsMR2]

i like the 5sfe because its cheap, and reliable. if anything breaks, i can have the new parts and have it fixed within hours or days. i can do some light mods to it, and forget about it and drive the living crap out of it without any issues. a few mods makes it drastically better to drive.

i think its worth it. you'll never be able to brag about stupid dyno numbers to your buddies, but mid/high 14's arent too bad and provide enough power to have fun with through the mountains or on a track.

you just have to be smart with it. pick the correct mods and dont waste all your money on stupid things.

[mr_mr2]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

i like the 5sfe because its cheap, and reliable. if anything breaks, i can have the new parts and have it fixed within hours or days. i can do some light mods to it, and forget about it and drive the living crap out of it without any issues. a few mods makes it drastically better to drive.

i think its worth it. you'll never be able to brag about stupid dyno numbers to your buddies, but mid/high 14's arent too bad and provide enough power to have fun with through the mountains or on a track.

you just have to be smart with it. pick the correct mods and dont waste all your money on stupid things.

thanks man for the advice!Ill let u no how it goes.I probally be asking u more questions if thats cool.Thanks again

Coty

[tmar04]

TomsMR2, How much would I have to shave off my head to get 10-1 comp ratio? thanks.(How can I tell if the head has ever been shaved? Car has 160,000 on it and might need work soon) I bought it used. thanks.

[mr_mr2]

Originally Posted by TomsMR2

i like the 5sfe because its cheap, and reliable. if anything breaks, i can have the new parts and have it fixed within hours or days. i can do some light mods to it, and forget about it and drive the living crap out of it without any issues. a few mods makes it drastically better to drive.

i think its worth it. you'll never be able to brag about stupid dyno numbers to your buddies, but mid/high 14's arent too bad and provide enough power to have fun with through the mountains or on a track.

you just have to be smart with it. pick the correct mods and dont waste all your money on stupid things.

how much do u think it will run me?what do u think the hp and torque gain will be also.

[Gairloch]

Very circumstancially; a full rebuild with the upgrades you were talking about will run $1500+. It'll be quite a lot more if you're not able to do most of the work yourself.

[TomsMR2]

im up to 600 for this new rebuild.. new pretty much everything, except the pistons and rods themselves. its going in my girlfriends car, so theres no iffy crap on this one, mostly factory parts, some aftermarket where i see fit, but mostly factory. FULL tear down and replacement of all bearings, seals, rings, pumps, gaskets, and stem seals.

mine cost me about 1/2, using more aftermarket parts and no oil pump replacement.. id STRONGLY recommend changing the oil pump though.

TomsMR2, How much would I have to shave off my head to get 10-1 comp ratio? thanks.(How can I tell if the head has ever been shaved? Car has 160,000 on it and might need work soon) I bought it used. thanks.

you can measure the overall height, i think the BGB has the spec. i THINK 1/8th is 10:1, but please double check as that could be way off.

[Gairloch]

Tom, did you replace the piston rings? I've had issues with those in two motors now.

[TomsMR2]

yup! what issues did you have with them? the rings are usually the last thing to go on 5sfes.

[Gairloch]

Both engines were blowing a significant amount of oil past. The second was MUCH worse than the first. I haven't bothered to pull it apart 'cause I don't intend to use the engines again.

I do have to say though that the idea of re-ringing one of the blocks then replacing the rod bearings/bolts etc is a little tempting.

[TomsMR2]

did you use a deglazer/hone?

[Gairloch]

Nope. Honestly, I'm not even quite sure what that is.