The case was severely cracked under the end crank journal bearing
So.... I wasn't too happy at this point. This was the last little bit of hope I was hanging onto to possibly fix my original engine. But, not gonna happen. I gave it some thought, and pretty much my only option at this point was another engine. The timing could not have been better, as I quickly went on ebay and found a 2004 F4i engine with 15,000 miles. It was at $200 with no reserve, only catch was he wouldn't ship it, pick up only in Atlanta, GA. I watched the auction like a hawk, nobody was bidding on it for several days so I thought I was in the clear. I sit there and watch it in the final several minutes, and lets just say I won the auction in a furious snipe at about 5 sec remaining, outbidding someone else who had the same idea, hahaha. Ended up getting it for $256.... hell of a deal!
So that weekend I hop in the trusty Accord and make my way down to Atlanta, GA from Asheville, NC
Getting closer!
As I'm approaching Atlanta, I tighten my seatbelt and say a little prayer for my life as I merge onto, what I always appropriately like to call, the "I-285 GP". Wow..... I was quickly reminded just why I hate driving in Atlanta....ever!!
I make my way into the city, where I'd meet up with a guy named Sean. We met up at the Cycle Gear since we both knew right where it was
Picked up the engine and stuffed it in my trunk, right next to my old engine
Went over to my buddy Kevin's house north of Atlanta where I'd crash for the night. We took the new engine out and did a valve check on it just to see where it was at, and how it looked
Had 2 valves that were slightly out of spec. One was loose, one was tight, so we were able to swap shims and got both in spec. Everything else looked pretty good, and clean
The next night I make my way back home to Asheville, NC, driving through some of the worst rain I've driven through in YEARS, might I add, lol. On the nice 5 hour drive home I gave the whole situation lots of thought. Me being the stubborn SOB that I am, still wasn't truly happy with just replacing the engine. I kept thinking...there's GOTTA be a way to keep at least part of it original. Then... DUH.... *lightbulb*
So I took the new engine into work the next morning
I needed to take the clutch out anyways to swap my Factory Pro shift star and detent spring I had put in mine awhile back
Got the clutch out, and wasn't too happy with what I saw. Had some pretty good bluing and burn marks on the clutch plates, as well as some pretty deep grooves in the ears on the inner and outer clutch baskets. RED FLAG!!
Now that my suspicions are raised, I keep digging a little further. By now my decision was pretty much made up as to just what I was gonna do
About the same amount of carbon buildup on the pistons as mine had.... not too bad
