Project: 2000 SSEi (My First!)

[97seagain]

I picked this up today for $900. Transmission was rebuilt about 9,000 miles ago, engine has a rod knock. 140,000 miles on the car. I was able to drive it home for 30 miles, but oil pressure was 0 at the lights towards the end.

Everything works... all window motors were replaced at some point, sunroof and seat heaters work, and it drives really nice. Hood needs some help, and it has the usual rust by the gas door. Also came with an extra set of rims, and an extra supercharger.

I haven't decided whether I am going to try and rebuild this motor, or find a used one. He had put this motor in used about a year ago, it came out of a GTP, and had 85,000 miles on it. He blew the original one after it had an intake gasket issue. No idea why this one developed a rod knock.

I think I am going to resell this, but depending on how it comes out, I may try to sell my Park Avenue and keep this as my daily driver.

[harofreak00]

Looks like it shouldn't need too much attention... unless you get carried away.

[2000GreySSEi]

Nice find. Its definetly worth fixing & keeping or flipping. Pretty low miles too. The engine probably developed a rod knock for the same reason (LIM gaskets). If you decide to resell it, how much you want for those rims in the trunk . But seriously what kind of rims are those & what size they are nice.

[The_Maniac]

I like the color! Looks pretty nice and for how little you have in to buying it should give you some good wiggle room to fix'er up!

[00Beast]

The wheels are these, I'm guessing in 17": http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... KSE551575S

Not a bad looking ride, definitely can put a motor in and get some $$$ out of 'er!

[97seagain]

You are correct, like you, I searched for the wheels on tirerack to determine their brand/size (17" X 7.5"), and already have them listed on craigslist. I hope to get at least $100 for them to drop my initial investment to $800 or less.

I think I'm going to rebuild the motor, I've been itching to rebuild one for a while. I've done many small and big block chevys, including some machine work and blueprinting, but have never touched a 3800 beyond the LIM. I found a crank kit at Advance for $199 that includes a crank, rod and main bearings.

I'll install new rings, all new gaskets, have the block hot tanked and honed, have the machine shop install new cam bearings and freeze plugs, and more than likely recondition the rods. I assume heads and bores are OK, I checked compression last night and it ranged from 135-155 (cylinders 2 - 6 were ~150, while cylinder 1 was ~135... I wonder if 1 is the one with the knock). Motor has about 90,000 on it, according to the seller.

Transmission only has 9,000 on it since it was rebuilt, so this should be a good running car once I'm done with it.

[00Beast]

Honestly, this is a flip car. You want to invest as little time and money in it as possible and get as much return out of it as you can, and give it the best chance of being reliable for a long time. That equals using a low mile JY motor. If you really want to do this right, then you can't think of this as a fun project, you gotta think if it as a business investment.

Your motor bill is going to be well over $1k if you rebuild it, plus the L67 isn't as forgiving as a Chevy 350, there are very tight tolerances and special tools required. If you don't have these, plus the time and willingness to do it 100% correct, get a JY motor. You don't need this car to be a boat anchor in your driveway for 6 months while you figure out what you did wrong. Get a good motor in, clean it up and get it on CL.

Just my $.02.

[harofreak00]

I agree with Ed... a used engine will help your sale as well, because it will be under the salvage yards warranty.

I think you can get way more than $100 for those rims.

[97seagain]

Out of curiosity, what special tools are required? I may end up keeping this and selling my park, and I would prefer a motor that I rebuilt, even if it costs a bit more and takes longer.

[00Beast]

The torque to yield bolts require a torque and then twisting another number of degrees. You'll either need a degree tool for your wrench, or rig up something like an old steering wheel . You'll also need a balancer puller, all the dial indicators to ensure proper clearances (or pay the machine shop to do this).

If you're keeping this, then I'd suggest getting an L32 (04+ Grand Prix Supercharged) engine, it has all the parts you'd want to upgrade to anyways. Then you can get an adapter plate, throttle body and MAF and have the upgraded supercharger too. You can get an L32 w/ 20k miles for $700 and it will run forever.

[97seagain]

I sold the wheels that were in the trunk tonight for asking price, so total investment in the car dropped to $750. Plus I freed up the trunk to temporarily store the parts... which led to the beginning of the disassembly... started with the easy stuff...

[97seagain]

Getting closer to pulling it... I know I don't have to disassemble this much to pull it, but I'm still waiting on my engine puller.

It wasn't as dirty as I expected, and the guy who installed this motor used into the SSEi did replace all of the gaskets, including the LIM's. No reason yet why it developed a rod knock with ~90,000 miles on it, unless it had a LIM leak while it was in the GTP.

[97seagain]

Scraping many layers of dust off of this thread...

Over the past few months, I completed the rebuild, given that #6 was knocking, I had the rods reconditioned, cylinders honed (they were fine), cam and balance shaft bearings replaced, bought a new crank and installed new rings and bearings. Valve guides seemed OK, so I just lapped the valves in and installed new seals...




and dropped the motor back in, which was the easiest engine to drop that I've ever dealt with, within 30 minutes it went from pushing the cherry picker to the car to tightening the trans. to engine bolts...


So today I had tons of time to get this running, but at 11:00 PM, I realized that the gallon jug of anti-freeze on the shelf was empty, leaving me with only a gallon of already 50/50 mixed anti-freeze, not nearly enough. So, after thinking about firing it for just a minute or so, I figured I'd wait until it was full, so I pulled the fuel pump fuse to make sure it cranked.

It did, but even though the battery is practically brand new it only made a few revolutions before the clicking. So tomorrow I'll be bringing home a gallon of anti-freeze, and a charger!

In the meantime, I forgot how loaded these SSEi's are. After connecting the battery, I sat there in the drivers seat and listened to the radio for a while, and checked out all the options. I can't wait to get this on the road!

[SSEiMan01]

It's coming along nicely! Make sure to post videos if you can when you start it up for the first time.

[97seagain]

Good news... after a quick battery charge, and a few cranks without the fuel pump, she fired right up, with great oil pressure, no check engine light, and no oil leaks. I scared the hell out of my daughters who were upstairs when I screamed out in joy after ignition!



However, once it hit 200 degrees, with the cap still off, I gave a few more revs... and heard that dreaded clink of a freeze plug hitting the floor, followed with two gallons of coolant spewing all over. I immediately shut it down.

I had concerns about the freeze plugs ever since installation. I ended up going through 9 of them to get 4 installed, and still never was able to drive them all in perfectly straight. I did use Permatex Super "300" Form-A-Gasket in all of the holes before driving the plugs in. The plugs I used are Dorman 565-029, 1-9/16". Below is a picture of the blown out one, vs. a new one.


I did notice one drop of green under the car before I initially started it (I poured anti-freeze into the engine last night before I realized the battery was dead). I had thought it may have been from the A/C compressor. The location of this one drip is very near the plug that blew out. I'm hoping the other three are OK.

The question is... has anybody used a rubber freeze plug successfully? I really don't want to pull the motor back out. I may sell the car as is if that's the case.

This sucks, I really wanted to enjoy this car for a bit before selling it.

[SSEiMan01]

Even if you have to pull the motor again, it'd be worth it IMO. Something I can say I've been there done that, I've pulled the motor on the 85 three or four times since cam break in. lol I'd be leery of rubber plugs, JMHO.

Doesn't sound too bad though.

Your'e this close with it, may as well finish and enjoy it right?

[nos4blood70]

I admire your work.

[97seagain]

I may have found the cause of my freeze plug issue. For some reason, I thought I needed 1-9/16" plugs, but upon further review, I think they should have been 1-1/2". There is still nowhere I can find that states this as a fact, but I did notice that RockAuto had little heart icons by the 1-1/2" ones, meaning they were popular orders for this car.

Since there is no way to drive in new plugs with the engine in, I installed a rubber one in the place where one blew out. So far so good. My next test will be with the cap on, to see if pressure blows any others out.

I've heard and seen mixed reviews on the rubber plugs. I really don't want to pull this out, but I guess if I have to, I'll do it.

Even though its a bit rusty, I can't wait to it drive it for a while... the options are awesome, and I can't wait to feel the true power of a supercharged 3800. Right now I'm driving a 4 cylinder Camry 60 miles a day, and while the gas mileage is nice, I would prefer the fun of an SSEi.

I'd love to find a southern SSEi to swap this motor/trans. into, since they're now both rebuilt. 0 Miles on the engine, and about 7000 miles on the transmission.

[97seagain]

I hit 500 miles on the rebuilt motor tonight, so I had a little Wide Open Throttle fun on the way home. Wow... I've owned and driven many a 3800, but this is the first supercharged one that I've had. Very impressive! 0-60 felt like 6 seconds at the most... which is impressive for a car that pulls 23 mpg going back and forth to work.

Ugh, its gonna be hard for me to part with this car!

Here is an in progress picture... this is after using Meguiar's Ultra Cut Compound on all panels with a cheap Advance Auto Parts buffer. I can't wait to see how it looks after polish and wax.

[97seagain]

About 14 months since purchase, I finally have this one for sale. I really would prefer to sell my Camry and finish this one up in terms of A/C and bodywork, but I think the wife is sick of me spending time in the garage.

It is running great, i have about 800 miles on the rebuilt engine already. Almost time for its first oil change.

If it doesn't sell for what I want out of it, the Camry hits the market, once I detail it out (hence the "you are in the garage again?!?!?" fears!)

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/3002663424.html.