BROKE BITCH ka24de rebuilt. School me.

[gotta240]

I have a spare ka which had a rod knock. The engine was still running/driving when pulled(drove with the knock for a few weeks). Had even 160psi across all 4 cylinders.

I was considering just pulling the pan, turning the crank, and throwing new rod bearings in it. However, now that i'm thinking about it, i'd like to do just a little more while its already out of the car.

So, what would be the cheapest way to make this more reliable?

IE: what brand of bearings, should i just replace the rings and hone it, etc. etc. Or should i just leave the pistons/rings since compression was good?

This engine will be used for around town use, maybe with a LITTLE boost later.

[hitman]

if you are just driving it around town, just do bearings. no point on spending money on pistons and stuff for a stock car. plus, you might be able to just take off the pan and do the bearings in the car? i dont really know how that works.

[punxva]

get bearings, rings, just as a reliability measure, grab a FSM and torque wrench, and a felpro gasket kit, take it apart, and check clearances, and freshen it up

[projectRDM]

The crank could be scored, and if so the bearings won't be all that you need. There's no way to tell how bad the damage is, even if it seems 'light' until you get into it.

[Beebo]

that was my problem on an old datsun i had. good compression, but had a rod knock and low oil pressure. i pulled the pan and replace the main and rod bearings with the motor still in the car. new gaskets and oil. knock gone oil pressure up and the car ran like a champ even with me winding it out occasionally. just check you crank to make sure the bearing didnt spin and score your crank like project rdm said. this would be your cheapest route but then again you might not have the peace of mind of your motor not crapping out on yah. good luck whichever way yah go.

edit: if your gonna boost it later might as well save up and just rebuild it.