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92' 3 cyl Rebuild; "Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster"
Topic Started: Nov 21 2016, 07:46 AM (857 Views)
Rncf87
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After much deliberation and some time to make arrangements for a place to work in, I've finally decided to rebuild the engine on my 92 3 cylinder 5 speed, alllll on my own (with yall's guidance, of course).

I plan to start the tear down this week to get a good look at everything, but I still need to order parts and have some things that I just don't know anything about (I've read about some "lapping" and "honing" that must be done...), but since my geo is also my work vehicle, as least my budget on this project is pretty nice. I'm pretty good with a set of tools, and more worried about missing something that I should replace/do and don't than I am about not being able to get the job done.

I've got my haynes manual... somewhere in my office, and several threads from this lovely forum bookmarked, but I'd really love any helpful links or lists yall could provide as I get started.
I'm sure there are some tools I'll need that I don't know about, and typically all my parts come from rockauto or autozone, so any lists of parts I'll need, brands to avoid, or good places to order from would be very helpful.
Also any links to great threads on doing rebuilds would be appreciated.

I really want to do things right, hopefully the first time :rofl , and go ahead and replace anything that might need it while I'm in there (transmission work...?) so just hit me with all you've got!

To start with though...advise on pulling the engine? And anyone know of a good machine shop in the DFW area?

Also, I'll most likely be posting some videos/time lapses, so I'll make sure to link those when I get them up.
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Krajniak
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How many miles buddy? That'll determine oil pump and water pump preventative
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Krajniak
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I just rebuilt mine and am driving to work on a fresh rebuild. Somewhere on this site is a 5% discount code for RockAuto. That is where I ordered all my parts from where are the best prices you will find.
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Rncf87
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reading 193503
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suzukitom
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Tom

A copy of the 92 geo metro factory service manual would be helpful in addition to, or instead of your Haynes manual.

Before removal, you may find it useful to do a compression test (wet and dry) to get a sense of the areas of the engine that will require more attention. Are you rebuilding your engine because you want to.. or to correct a current problem? It's best to rule out and diagnose any other issues before rebuilding so that after rebuild you aren't chasing multiple issues.

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Woodie
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suzukitom
Nov 21 2016, 02:34 PM
A copy of the 92 geo metro factory service manual would be helpful in addition to, or instead of your Haynes manual.

:gp

Haynes is pretty vague, the FSM is twice as big and only covers one year, one engine. I think there's a '94 FSM posted here on the forum. Mechanically it's the same.

Don't loose the oil restrictor, it's a little brass thingy about the size of a pencil eraser which just sits in a hole in the passenger side front of the block after you take the head off.


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Rncf87
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I'll have to see if I can find the FSM. I did think the haynes was a bit lacking...

I've had some overheating issues, which lead to a cracked head gasket. It still runs, but once I started smelling the coolant in the exhaust I figured it would be better to go ahead and get the whole thing rebuilt before anything worse happened. Last time I moved it I did get some white smoke out the exhaust. I did a dry compression test and the numbers weren't horrible, but doing another before I start taking it apart is a good idea.
Anything else I should check on before I start on the tear down?

Woodie, sounds like you might be speaking from experience :D
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freegeo
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Rncf87
Nov 23 2016, 10:44 AM
I'll have to see if I can find the FSM. I did think the haynes was a bit lacking...

I've had some overheating issues, which lead to a cracked head gasket. It still runs, but once I started smelling the coolant in the exhaust I figured it would be better to go ahead and get the whole thing rebuilt before anything worse happened. Last time I moved it I did get some white smoke out the exhaust. I did a dry compression test and the numbers weren't horrible, but doing another before I start taking it apart is a good idea.
Anything else I should check on before I start on the tear down?

Woodie, sounds like you might be speaking from experience :D
You won't find a FSM much cheaper than this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-Chevy-Metro-Factory-Service-Shop-Manual-from-Dealership-/361787989640?hash=item543c3e9e88:g:WNoAAOSwzOxUYjum&vxp=mtr
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Rncf87
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Thanks freegeo! That was a pretty sweet deal.
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freegeo
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Rncf87
Nov 26 2016, 09:01 AM
Thanks freegeo! That was a pretty sweet deal.
Your welcome. I have got most of the FSM's I have for $20 or less.
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Rncf87
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Finally got around to working on the Geo today! I think what I found is promising...but I'm no expert.

Here we have a "before" picture...
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On the advise of Geo Glenn I drained the coolant and ran the engine for a minute before I started taking things apart... to try to burn out the coolant that may have been sitting in the cylinders. It was preeeetty smokey. Anyway taking things apart went as well as could be expected, actually a bit easier than I was anticipating.

Here's a video/time lapse...
https://youtu.be/x8BTF_OD0p4


aaaaannnnddd pictures of what lies beneath! I was afraid with all the over heating the block was going to be cracked, but besides the head gasket being trashed, and gunk everywhere, things mostly just look like they need new gaskets and a good cleaning. Again, I'm not really sure what all I need to be looking for, so yall make sure to let me know anything you notice!

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So, now I guess I need to get things cleaned up and measured to see what machining needs to be done?
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sphenicie


"measured"? are you intending to do this yourself? What tools do you have to do this with?

I can only guess, from your first post, that the answer is NONE, or at best you will get some POS mics. Looking at the 'overall appearance' of that engine, save the $, and put it into machine shop service.

You should be guided by your intentions for the car. I would not waste my time with the so called "dirty rebuild". I refer to that as a half assed waste of time, you might as well get a decent used engine. if you only put on 10 miles a day, never get more than 10 miles from home.....go for it! if you put on some miles and do not want to deal with out of town break downs and another dirty rebuild:

Do it right. OR, plan to do it again.

it is your car, do whatever you want.

I would NOT bother with a "rebuild" that does not include the following minimum machine work;
1) cylinder bore.
2) crank polish or turn.
3) mill block and head.
4) valve work as needed
5) cam journal and bore inspection, must be done with an indicator.

Do not buy parts until this is done because if you buy +10 pistons, but must bore 20/1k, you will buy another set.

Quick fix = quick demise!
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Rncf87
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Not to worry shpenicie, I am on the hunt for a quality machine shop to let them work their magic on it.
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Rncf87
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Alright, so I'm still hunting down a good machine shop that will work on a geo engine. I've got a couple good leads to follow up on tomorrow.

I did find the engine serial number, since geo Glenn mentioned it probably isn't the original.
Turns out it's G10-47048. Any idea what year that is?

In other exciting news, I found another geo for $200 while looking for donor parts. It's a completely stock 1991 4 door 3 cylinder 5 speed. Supposedly it was being used by a grandma up till 6 years ago and has been sitting around since then, but the stickers are all 2003, so it's probably be sitting for longer than 6 years. Someone stole the radio and the steering column was taken apart to get a new key made, but besides that it looks like everything was in decent condition, but dirty, when they stopped driving it. So I'm trying to decide if I should snatch that up... I really want to!
The body has a few big dents in it otherwise it'd be a no brainer to make mine the donor and get the 4 door running. But then again it might not need many donor parts.
It's a bit of a mystery box, and I'd have to make sure I have a place to store ANOTHER geo.

Thoughts?
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freegeo
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The serial number has no letter in it between the G10 and 4? If not then it is a replacement engine. Year would be unknown.
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