I am just looking for stories of people that have bought and used j-spec engines. You know the ones that supposedly have 30,000 miles on them(how every one has 30k I don't know, plus they don't even go in miles in Japan, right?) I want the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also you can take the poll if you want to. Thanks.

 

I'm about to find out in a few weeks...
I hope I get a good one.

 

I was talking to Nippon before mine was totaled and they had a 87 T2 motor with a t-78 and lightwieght flywheel and a dual plate clutch they were selling for the normal price. so it depends on what your looking for and how lucky you are.

 

I ordered a Jspec 20b from online, but the shippers dropped it. Luckily, the only things that were damaged was the UIM and TB, which I was (amazingly) able to pick up fairly cheap.

I immediately sent the engine to Marvelspeed for a rebuild, which was planned anyhow. After dissassembling the engine, I was told that the engine looked VERY good inside. Looked like the coolant had been changed often, the oil was taken car of and that I had gotten a GOOD used engine.

Just one experience.

 

oh boy! here's a story for you:

Blew my engine June of last year, bought a JSPEC at the end of July. Payed $700 to have in installed. Turns on the compression on the JSPEC was WORSE than on my blown engine. after $250 in removal fees (I'm not a mechanic obviously) I sit in the same spot I was June of last year and I'm out $1000. Now I've heard this is very uncommon and unlikely to happen, but after that whole experience, **** JSPECS

 

What place did you buy it from? I thought that most places that sell J-Spec engines do a compression test before they ship them to you.

kleach

 

Ya thats what I thought too. I would want a copy of the test readout to be sent with my engine. I think corksport gives a 30 day warranty.

 

The compression tests usually are done in Japan. A lot can happen to the motor, while it is shipped overseas, including (but not limited too) swapped compression sheets.

They generally are great for re-building, but I would not trust one for a car I was going to keep for any length of time.

 

your best bet is to use the jspec engine as a core and rebuild from there..... you always get what you pay for

 

Well I looked and corksport doesn't offer a warranty at all. I know I saw one from somewhere, coulda sworn it was them.

 

nippon-motors has a warranty

 

my experiences so far has been great...i've bought 2 jspec in the last 18 months...one was for my accord and the other for my t2...both were great...the accord engine was a straight droping without replacing anything...with the t2, i had to change the oil pan gasket and front housing cover w/ gasket (s4 - s5 conversion) but that was it...

fc3s.org offers a 30day warrenty with a replacement if after you install it and it doesn't work (on a case by case basis)...

and i think that if you're going to get a jspec engine, get it from a place that knows something about your engine...not just any old place that have it...

 

you are supposed to check the motor to see if its good before you put it in the car. i also bought a j spec 20b, and it was in good shape. i got the air box with the motor and in the suppsed 35k miles nothing had been done, the air filter had about 2" of crap on it and the oil was black. the compression is excellent, and i dont mind if it doesn't run more than a year anyways.

mike

 

Don't believe the mileage statements unless you get the whole front clip. I bought my '90 J-spec 13BT from Jap Performance still mounted in the wrecked front clip. Came with the odometer. Cars in Japan (according to The gentleman I was dealing with average about 10K miles per year, so even a '91 would have 110K miles on them. Mine has 58K miles.

The compression sheet was "lost in shipping", but I tend to believe that they tested it somehow. I talked to a guy there named Sancho Kalcev several times, and at length. I got a good feeling about doing business with them. We'll find out how good the motor is when I get it running and do a compression test...

Keep your eyes peeled here if you care to find out in a month or so... http://www.northstarrotaries.com/ven...otes=pub&id=78

 

well with my experience living in Japan for almost 9 years now is that the locals here do take pretty good care of their cars as far as having the oil changed and stuff. That being said a used engine is a used engine.

I have seen motors in junkyards that were supposed to be dead and I bought it for 50 bux but upon checking it this engine was strong as hell. We used it for about 2 years boosting 14 psi on a high flow turbine. I have also seen the opposite.

What I am saying is I think it is a gamble buying any used engine. The probablility of getting a good engine is higher in Japan due to the way Japanese people are when it comes to wrecks and such. Most people when they wreck their car they junk it and get something else even though the motor is still good. A lot of dealers and racers alike fix these cars and resell them and many more export those engines to different places.

I would say buying any used enigne is a gamble.

 

I've seen several J-spec engines, both 13BT and 13B-REW.&nbsp Half of them were super nice - the other half was just total trash.&nbsp The nasty ones were all rusted inside, and EVERYTHING was not useable.

Get a compression check guarantee, and you should be okay...


-Ted

 

Japan Direct of North Carolina

 

Feel free to share your experiences with everyone.

http://www.northstarrotaries.com/vendors/

 

I am ordering a Jspec from Nippon motor sports next month, does anyone have any good comments on them? I've been to the site quite a bit and researched it some, but I would like to hear personal experiences with them.

 

i ordered my j-spec engine from nippon motors but the guy I talked to seemed more interested in conning me instead of telling me the truth. Anyways, I bought the motor from them and paid cash w/out the reciept. I know its a big gamble but i really wanted to have the turbo motor ( j-spec or not). It's not on my seven yet but soon to be. I asked the guy what the compression test was and when it was done, he didn't really give me an exact date of the compression test but instead gave me the numbers. It came out to be around 75. Whatever that means. The motor came w/ intercooler, loom half cut, manifolds, and pretty much what the motor needed to run properly. Oh, no AFM, ECU, BOV, just the IMPORTANT parts.The motor seems to be in good shape besides the salt on the engine. I have the motor siiting in my buddys garage waiting for me to take it apart, the only thing you really have to be concern is where the heck are you gonna put your accelerator cable. On j-spec motor everything is backwards! On big projects you need to take your time. I plan on doing mine right the first time.

 

I got a j-spec from nippon motors and blew it in the first 100 miles I had it running. I dont know if it was the motor, or something else, but it took a few pings before it went. I didnt even know what the sound was until after the motor died. Nothing like the pinging on my Explorer! Mightve been a boost spike. S4 manifolds suck!!! Id probably order from them again (except im committed to fc3s.org) because I think it was my fault.

 

Oh yeah, the accelerator cable hooks up fine.

 

i ordered form fc3s.org i should be recievign my engine in a week or so. I can't wait i hope i get a good one Dave is suposed to be hooking me up with something nice, has anyone got an engine from them in the past? I would jut like an idea of if it turned out good or bad?

 

I'm also in this boat, the '88 AE I'm looking at needs a motor and I'm short on cash, so I think I'll be getting one.
I wouldn't buy ANY motor from ANYWHERE unless it was $100 or less without a 90 day/3000MI warranty.

 

i bought mine from makota motors in california about a month back, they were just advertising 13bt motors. i got a j spec with a clipped turbo, the only problems with mine were the slight bend in the intercooler and the motor mounts were shot (no biggy either way). but my motor came with a "guaranteed to start" type of warranty. ive been ru nning it REAL hard for the past month adn its still goin strong. had it compression tested on march 23rd and it was excellent. the motor cost me 855.79 shipped to chicago.