Rebuild Or Throwout

Recently, I’ve come across many people trying to decide whether to
rebuild their motor or throw it out.

In making a decision, there are things that should be taken into account such as
* can the motor be rebuilt
* cost
* parts availability
* who is going to do it
* what do you want to get out of the motor

Can the motor be rebuilt?
When trying to determine if the motor can be rebuilt, one has to consider if
the various parts are within manufacturers’ tolerances. Also, if certain
parts are damaged, can they be repaired or replaced?

Cost
If the motor can be rebuilt, then some brands of motors are worth rebuilding, whilst others are not. If you have a high quality motor like a Kohler, Rugerini, Deutz, Hatz etc, then yes, it is worth rebuilding.

If you have a motor that looks like an immitation Honda or immitation Yamaha, then it would not be worth rebuilding. It will probably be cheaper to buy a new one – no, in fact, you would probably be better off replacing the immitation motor with the genuine Honda or Yamaha.

Parts Availability
With the high quality motors, getting genuine parts is usually not a problem.
With some of the disposable engines, getting parts could be a problem.
You also have the choice of genuine and non-genuine parts.
I prefer to go genuine as I know it is within manufacturer’s tolerances and standards. If you know what to look out for, you can go straight to the component manufacturer, like Bosch, Mahle etc who make parts for the engine manufacturer andthat can work out cheaper.
There are other parts that are non genuine, sometimes called aftermarket.
If you go down that path, they are often not tested by the engine manufacturer. You effectively become the tester. On occasions, you may come across an aftermarket part that is of high quality and high standard.

Who is going to rebuild it?
I personally rebuild all my small engines.
Anything that needs to be machined, pressed or requires specilist equipment,
I outsource.
For yourself, it depends on your ability and confidence and what tools you have.

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Tags: Engine cost, Engine Rebuild, Parts