Replacement engines for us rocky's!

[SimplyPV]

hey fellas... i shot an email off to someone cronie referred me to who was located in cali and this was his reply....

"hello, we do have engines ins stock for the 90-92 daihatsu rocky. I carry
used engines imported from Japan. are you looking for are rebuilt only?
thanks for your time
juan(harbor used auto parts)"

my question is.... are the engines imported from japan exactly what we use here? with efi and so on? havent gotten a quote for prices yet but will keep you guys updated... another question, which is better.... a used engine or a rebuilt engine? i feel they BOTH have their drawbacks.... so any opinions/suggestions would be taken into consideration....

pv

[HeathGQ]

hey fellas... i shot an email off to someone cronie referred me to who was located in cali and this was his reply....

"hello, we do have engines ins stock for the 90-92 daihatsu rocky. I carry
used engines imported from Japan. are you looking for are rebuilt only?
thanks for your time
juan(harbor used auto parts)"

my question is.... are the engines imported from japan exactly what we use here? with efi and so on? havent gotten a quote for prices yet but will keep you guys updated... another question, which is better.... a used engine or a rebuilt engine? i feel they BOTH have their drawbacks.... so any opinions/suggestions would be taken into consideration....

pv

An imported engine would be installed to your car as a 'short' engine. In other words, all your 'bits' will be used, and only the block and head are replaced, sort of. Exhaust and inlet mainfolds, alternator, air con, clutch, etc will be used.

IMO a re-built engine would be better. Would have new bearings and rings, and a better warranty.

I used to work in an import engine as tester and installer. Let me say - dodgey..........

[murcod]

I've bought a Jap import engine before and it came with lots of stuff still on it eg. alternator, both manifolds, all sensors, injectors, throttle body, distributor etc. It had literally been cut out of the engine bay and then hoisted out for sale- it even had the gearbox on it (front wheel drive). The engine mounts were cut through, as where the wiring looms, radiator hoses, drive shafts etc.

The term "rebuilt" is open to interpretation- you'll need to get in writing exactly what they do for a rebuild....... My suspicion would be not much work for the added expense. And how good is the warranty going to be if you live on the other side of the USA- can you get it fixed under warranty locally?

[SimplyPV]

well david i'm 130 miles from the cali border... bout 2 hr drive.... then however far it is to where the dude is at... so we'll see... guess i'll have to read the fine print on the imported engines AND rebuilt if possible... how can i varify how many miles has been logged onto an engine or is this not possible? how can i tell what kind of shape it is in and not jus a rip off? is that simply a risk that i will have to take?

[murcod]

Here you normally get at least a three month warranty on the import engines. Be careful with the rebuild option- it wouldn't surpirse me if they didn't do anything extra to them apart from washing and painting a few bits.

Here the km is normally written in texta on the engine somewhere, but there's nothing to say that it's correct.

[SimplyPV]

ok i was told that i have a 4 month warr. on the engine and was stated that the engines are tested... how can i be sure of this when i take a look? since its all UNMOUNTED... and out of the engine bay? anything i should look for? accessory options? gaskets? etc etc. please advise

[Croz]

Mate I got mine in Sydney from a Jap engine importer.

I asked around for a reputable engine dealer and listened to what people had to say. I then made sure that I got a written warrenty, including the fact that the engine had done not more than 60,000km's.

The warrenty is 12 months or 50,000 kms. This includes the cost of replacing parts as well as labour for R + R. I had to make a claim instantly as there was a mild oil leak, my mechanic corrected the problem, then bille the importer for his work, there was no problem and he was paid promptly. I paid just on AUD $1200 for mine and to be honest it is way better than the one it replaced.

My engine came with some accessories, manifolds and plugs which we used but the warrenty does not cover these items, but i have my original ones to fix any probs. It even had a full sump of good clean oil in it that we started it on first time to avoid additional cost in case there was a major problem.

It sounds like you just need a bottom end... block and crank and pistons so if you are mechanically minded and have time you could use your head and bits and make it up, but by the time you buy the gasket kit etc it might be cheaper to get a long motor.

I got a motor out of a Japanese Auto, its got more bottom end grunt possibly due to different cams or timing, but i do notice it pinging on hot days even on optimax.

whatever you do, good luck!

[murcod]

PV it would probably be a good idea to replace the timing belt before you fit the engine. Most of them sit around for ages on wharfs and in warehouses and haven't been turned over for years- it can't do the belts much good.

[Croz]

Murcod, that was actually part of the warranty terms on my engine. I forgot, there was another thing that had to be replaced but I forget that too.

[*BESTY*]

Don't forget to get prices on the 1.6L Daihatsu Charade engines.

Exactly the same, all you need to do is to change the engine mounts, dipstick and oil pick-up in the sump and hey presto.....east-west goes north-south engine configuration.

I found this was cheaper than buying an OE Feroza/US Rocky engine.
Easy to fit....have a good mate handy, hopefully save more money for Bourbon !!

[murcod]

Don't forget to get prices on the 1.6L Daihatsu Charade engines.

Exactly the same, all you need to do is to change the engine mounts, dipstick and oil pick-up in the sump and hey presto.....east-west goes north-south engine configuration.

That would be an Applause engine wouldn't it- not Charade?? The Charades had a 1l three cylinder carby (N/A and turbo), plus a three cylinder 1l DOHC EFI turbo (not sold here) , the 1.3 four cylinder EFI and the 1.5 four cylinder EFI. There was the Detomaso Charade (not sold here) with the 1.6l engine but it's not a straight swap due to a different cam, distributor and EFI system- plus they're a rare vehicle.

Supposedly you can mix and match parts from the HE-E 1.5 Charade engine with the HD-E and build up a more potent engine.

AFAIK Applauses weren't sold in the USA- they also appear to have a slightly different cam and distributor advance curve from the info I've found.