What milage for total rebuild 3.2?
 

Hi,

I have what I believe to be a healthy '85 3.2 with 120k miles under it's belt. Top end was done at 60k miles and car has been serviced every 10k by reputable shops. Hardly uses any oil at all, runs smoothly and does not smoke. PPI compression tests last year relieved almost perfect numbers and my mechanic believes it is producing most if not all it's ponies.

Wondering when I will expect to have to do an engine rebuild? How many more miles to go? I know what the topend trouble signs are but are there signs that reveal that the bottom end is on the way out? A few mechanics I've asked reckon at 150k miles I should plan for a full rebuild. What do you guys think?

None of the previous owners tracked the car to my knowledge but this is all about to change with me so I want to be prepared.

Simon

A top end at 60K should have given you upgraded valve guides which are a big wear item on original 3.2s. Bottom ends, when treated well, are good for 250K (so THEY say...), so I'd expect your engine to be good for at least another 100K .... if you are religious about oil changes...

JB

How's your oil pressure? You might also want to have your oil analyzed, since they can determine quite a bit about the condition of your internals from such an inspection. Similar to what they do for engines serviced in general aviation.

I'm at 194K and never had the valve guide issues others have had. My oil pressure is still about 1 bar per thousand RPM and oil consumption is about one quart per thousand miles. I run the copper Bosch plugs and for the heck of it I ran the last set until I had a miss at cold start which was at 12K miles. I was quite impressed with how clean the plugs were, I even took a picture of e'm. I plan to drive it until premature plug fouling occurs which should be quite a ways off...

My car's sevice record/oil changes have been extremely regular. Pretty much every 10k it's brought into a reputable shop. All the stamps in the log books are there and many receipts from the last 20 years.

At 60k the valves were done and currently everything runs well. I check the oil levels (properly: warm engine, flat surface, dipstick inspection) and it hardly ever drops. I add a quart every couple of thousand from memory. The oil pressure gauge seems to move correctly with rpms.

Charles, great heads up on the oil analysis. I'll get onto that next service. From what I understand the bottom end is immensely strong but eventually the bearings go-and it's bigtime when that happens.

I've asked around about warning signs but most people reckon "bang and then death...is the warning sign".

I want to track my car regularly (just club stuff) and I don't want any uninsured catastrophies with my drivetrain.

Simon

It sounds like you have a great 3.2L so I wouldn't worry about the engine and just drive it and enjoy it.

For track use, just keep a conservative rev limit and you should be fine. Check your receipts, there is a good chance that the valve springs may have been upgraded during your top end overhaul which will help with the insurance factor if you happen to miss a shift. If you're real lucky, maybe the p/c's temporarily came off to upgrade the rod bolts at the same time but this doesn't appear to be the case based on your information.

Ralph