Thread: rebuilt, reconditioned,refreshed etc HELP

Greetings all

In my search for a new fourby I have run accross some terms that I'm not sure of the defintion. When I think of rebuilding a motor it is just that. The whole thing is taken apart and moving parts replaced and the block head etc ground back to new specs. Can anyone give me an accurate defintion of each of the terms used? I was looking at a 80 series cruiser which the owner claimed it had a rebuilt motor 50000k ago because the turbo took a poo and wrecked a few pistons. The owner said that they replaced 3 cylinders but that the other 3 were ok so they just re ringed them. When you rebuild don't you just replace all the pistons since you have the motor all apart or is that common practice. Sorry for the Cruiser reference


Chris

now thats a can of worms as the terms mean different things to different people so swinging the broad axe....

generally

a reconditioned item has been returned to usable spec. For example if you take a cracked head in to have it reconditioned it will be welded up then machined back untill it is in within usable tolerance. In this example it doesnt include work like rockers, valves and core plugs. In respect to an engine you dont generally buy a reconditioned engine you buy a short or long motor that has been built out of a reconditioned block.


A rebuilt unit has had damaged items taken out and new ones (or remachined/reconditioned items installed. again using a head if you purchase a rebuilt head it should come complete with the rockers,valves and plugs installed, in theory all you have to do is drop it onto the engine bolt it down chuck the manifolds on and in theory it should be good to go. IF you were purchasing a rebuilt engine in theory it should be good to go, drop it in add oil, volts and fuel then hit the starter.

a Machined, oversized, bored or retoleranced item has been machined out to the next acceptable size again using the head as an example you can machine a layer off of the face as part of the reconditioning process in theory this means that the head should be in an "as new" condition but will require some adjustment to make it work (in the case of a TDI remeasuring the deck clearance and redoing the tappet adjustments. In respect to an engine in total it will mean that at least one of the following is running at a different to standard size but if its done properly it means that you have the best shot at a long lasting motor. The crank can be undersized, the main journals oversized, the piston bores oversized, the rods oversized, the gudgens oversized and the deck skimmed down.

At the end of the day.

If your purchasing a remanufactured, machined, rebuilt, any other term that means its been apart, machined and then rebuilt engine you should be able to ask for and expect a list of things that have been done to the engine as part of the reprocessing which should include all the new tolerances and item sizes of the engine.