I have a broken connecting rod Should I rebuild the engine or replace the engine?

Question

I have a 1996 subaru legacy in great condition exept for the engine thats smokes and makes a whole bunch of noise I figured out it was the connecting rod . should I rebuild the engine or replace it altoegether

Answer 1

Rebuilding import engines is usually an exercise in futility, especially with the damage yours has. If you really have a broken rod, you've probably damaged the block, as well. If you can't get a 'short block', as you can fro ANY American make, your best bet, after checking the books for transfer compatibility, would be to try & find a low-milage wreck & salvage the mill from it.

Answer 2

If you are talking about a connecting rod, I seriously doubt you can get away by just replacing that rod for the simple fact that when if broke, 99% of the time it took something else out along with it. Usually they just dont break without doing damage to that cylinder & most of the times they get the cylinder head also. Every engine I had to replace because of a broken connecting rod needed a new engine & cylinder head. Also replace the intake since metal debris does get inside there & just waiting to get inside the new motor you put it on.

Answer 3

12 years of good service piston rings are allowing the engine to smoke. Rebuilding the engine with lots of worn parts or replacing with a good used engine and necessary parts would cost more than the car is worth" Might be your sign" Down wind the exhaust system cat converter has had oil in it for some time. Now you put a fresh engine and the emission controls cat converter breaks up sending particals of abrasive converter material into the new engine. I think it is time to think about a new or newer car soon. Cars have come a long way in the past 10 to 12 years, air bags saftey equiptment and power.

Answer 4

If it has high milage replace it with a long block. Rebuilding is lot of work and you need to have experience on rebuilding engines becuase you have to find the problem that is causing the knock, so you can replace the faulty parts..

Answer 5

If your engine block is good, you can use it for a core on a rebuilt block. It is cheaper to replace one rod and piston, but it is easier from a maintenance point of view to just swap out the engine since you have to pull it anyway. With a rebuilt or new engine, you'll get a warranty also.

Answer 6

Replace. The odds are the crankshaft is totally messed up and there's bearing material in the oil channels and the cylinder involved might be gouged.

Too many boogers in the system to feel them out. Let someone else take this lemon (motor) and possibly rebuild it or scrap it.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

that depends on you ability as a mechanic, and the amount of time you have to deal with the problem.