MechE00

Warning: long, there will be a quick summary at the end for the short attention span

I have an 86 NA GXL with ~150k miles on it. Car had been getting ~23 mpg, and running fine. Due to a change in circumstances, I have not been able to drive it much nowadays (once a month? have to put a battery charger on it for a while before I try to start it).

On a recent (rare) drive home (on the highway), I noticed the oil pressure gage drop to zero. The temp gage read normal, and the engine was still running fine, and shortly thereafter, the gage started reading up around 30, then went up to around 60 for a while, then back down to zero for a while, and so on. Upon searching around the forum, first I checked the wire going to the sender unit and cleaned the connection, but after test driving it some more, the oil pressure reading was still bebopping around enough (once the car warmed up). I also ordered (and have since picked up) a new oil pressure sender which I have yet to install.

Anyway, the other thing I gleaned from the forum search was that the "thermal pellet" which is termed "eccentric shaft oil bypass valve" in the FSM (right?) was suspect. So I decided to scope out how much knuckle blood might have to be sacrificed to the home car repair gods to swap that out (I think the part costs just $20ish after shipping from Atkins), and I noticed that there was a good bit of oil coating around that front section of the engine (shiny and somewhat fresh looking oil-dirt cake).

Looking around for a possible source for the oil leak, I noticed that the passenger side of the engine was rather free of the fresh oil cake, but the area near the oil filter (and oil pressure sender) was also displaying the "shiny and fresh looking oil-dirt cake"... This is beyond what I recall being normal for these areas (though I could be mistaken, and it just looks worse now because I'm concentrating on it).

Anyway, I removed the oil filter to get a better look at the area, and to see if it might somehow not have been making a good seal, and while I didn't see any problems (with the seal, or an obvious source of the oil leak), I smelled the distinct smell of gasoline coming from the filter/oil, which I know is new. The last time the car was flooded was several oil changes ago. (Side seals?)

So.. I'm starting to be concerned for the continued longevity of my fun car, which I autocross, and have put on Koni Sport shocks and a new clutch in the past 2 years. I have a two car garage in which I keep the 7 and my commuter car, as well as a partial woodshop. I was pondering what kind of a fool I would be to try to do an engine rebuild myself. Or perhaps to have someone else do it for me, (I consider myself quite lucky to have Jim at JPR imports rather close to me)? Or to just bag it and buy another car?

Anyway, that's the long version.. here comes the short version/recap..

SUMMARY:
Status-
NA 86 GXL, 150K miles, new clutch, Koni Sport shocks
Recent erratic oil pressure readings
Recent gasoline smell in oil (never had that before)
Shiny/fresh oil-dirt cake near oil filter
Shiny/fresh oil-dirt cake across the front, near the bottom
Questions-
How hard is a rebuild to do-it-yourself, and get it right? (how many man-hours? cost of parts? space required? special tools?)
How much would it generally cost to have someone else rebuild it? (actual experiences appreciated)
Is it worth it on such an old car (no major rust problems that I know of..)

Thanks much! Happy New Year..

Wizz

88 GTU
Cost on rebuild could vary, depends on how good a rebuild you want to do and how much NEEDS to be replaced. I have helped rebuild 2 other motors, and on this one (mine) I did all myself. Didn't think it was too hard. I'd say it took me about a month, waiting for parts here and there, job getting in the way, sometimes not feeling like working on it in the middle of winter in the cold). Rough guess would be... 40ish man hours. I think I spent around $1400-$1600 on mine. That included new clutch, full exhaust, 1 new housing, all seals (int and ext), fluids. I rebuilt mine in a 2 car garage with no problems. You really only need about 1 car space for a host and moving the block around. I guess special tools I used would have been, host, floor jack, impact wrench (very nice to have for front bolt and flywheel nut). I'm sure I'm missing something. I had 177K when I blew my motor, it now has 196K, still running strong. Someone else rebuilding costs depends on if you yank the motor and send it out or if a shop does the whole thing. Is it worth it? That's something your'll have to figure out.