Bent Piston Rods!!

[tristanic]

Hiya,

I have a '91 festiva 1.3L 5 spd manual, and it sucked up a bunch of water and hydrolocked. Turns out it has two bent piston rods and the shop wants $1900 to fix it. I really do like this car, had if for like 10 years and have yet to find something as good. How hard is it to replace these? Also, I saw some brand new 1.3L engines on Ebay for like $1600 shipped, anyone heard of that? I am not the most mechanically inclined person but would be interested in knowing what you guys would suggest. My insurance is offering $800 to junk it or $700 towards fixing it. Any input would be great!!

[miami man]

the motor that is on eBay as i seen it is from festiva motor sports where several people on the forum have purchased parts from and it has all new parts on it. i kept my 93 after an accident because when gas prices increase i do not get an automatic raise at work.

[oxbrain]

Ask your mechanic what it would cost to swap the motor with one you supply. You should be able to find another B3 at a junkyard for a couple hundred bucks.

[tristanic]

Thanks for the posts, I've heard it's not too hard to do an engine swap yourself, it just takes time?

[oxbrain]

If I was doing another sohc b6 swap I could probably have it done in under 8 hours. It really is a matter of pulling the engine, swapping parts over, and bolting everything back in.

[25Horseplay]

Here is a link to Festiva Motorsport. Check with them they had new engines, I believe he still has them. Not sure if they went up, they were $1595 shipped.

http://festivamotorsport.com/index.html

[studdyhalllooser]

b3s are not hard to swap if you can operate a ratchet and a engine hoist. my new (to me) b3 arrived around 6 pm. i pulled the old one and installed the new one and fired it up before midnight. if your not mechanically inclined, id allow yourself the weekend to finish it up. 1900 is obsured for a b3. good luck..
Jay

[tristanic]

Yeah, I was planning on giving myself quite a bit of time. I have the manual, forgot if it was chiltons or haynes. So you think $1600 is a good price from Festiva Motorsports? Thanks again for all the help!

[skeeters_keeper]

I'd go the the junkyard and get one, probobly for <$300. try to find one that has as low milege as possible, unbolt the valve cover and if its nice perty golden brown its prolly been taken good care of and should last you quite a while, and much cheaper than new one.

however with a new one you will know your waterpump/etc should be good.

guess it depends on how much $ you'd like to spend. but don't junk the car!

[project b6t]

hey i have an 88 motor i can part out. if you want the pistons, connection rods, and wrist pins and what not i can get them out for you np .

[tristanic]

Sorry for the late response, been out of town.

Project B6T-- that sounds great but I do not have much confidence in my mechanical skills. All I have done is change basic stuff like spark plugs, fuel filters re-sealed the head gasket. So I am not sure I would have much luck replacing the rods and any other pieces that need fixing. Any ideas how difficult it is to fix the bent rods?

I really don't want to spend that much on a new engine but at the same time I'm not ready to give up on my festiva!

[packrat427]

If you have bent rods ,you may have more than that to worry about , like a cracked cyl wall, that may be unseen so far .
If you can do a head gasket ,you can swap a motor in ,
Just make a post in the wanted forum , that you need a B3 engine and see what come's up .

[25Horseplay]

Depending on where you live there are several people here that have done engine swaps and have the stock motors around and will sell for cheap. There is even this 1.6 (which bolts right in place of a stock engine).

http://fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7397

[oldgrezmonke]

hydrolock is just about the most destructive thing that can happen to an engine. don't trust any part of that engine.

[packrat427]

Here is one

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7732&highlight=