jap /aus N318 s4 13bt already uses same spark locations as the n350/n370
it is common to see later ones also with casting for the knock sensor provided but not tapped

it is your US spec n332 housing that is the odd man out in terms of FC turbo engines and spark locations

PS there is also HC LUCE 13bt engines that amount to being s4 manifolds and timing cover and turbo on s4/s5 housing and plate combo blocks

 

+1, ive seen both. the luce engines are pretty rare though

 

Seeing all this negative feedback on Tiger's motors does have me a bit nervous I must admit. I just don't see how a business could a. still be in business b. have such a good satisfaction rating on ebay if all the motors they pumped out were POS. I have found one similar activity happening on the bad motors that people have recieved and thats its always over a week before the motor is even shipped. This makes me think that they didn't have the motor in stock and had it sent directly from the source without visually inspecting it. I ordered my s5 t2 on thursday and it was shipped on friday and i already have a tracking number with a delivery date of wednesday. I hope thats a sign that I'm getting a legit clean motor with under 40k that was visually inspected as so. The employee I spoke to "Zabi" told me that they had 2 motors in stock and the one he was sending me looked really good. I pray that he wasn't bullshitting me. If my motor comes in really good shape and running order that still doesn't excuse the fact that they have flat out robbed people with crap motors and thats bad business period. Just a few questions for you guys, i've heard that someone recieved an s4 motor when they had ordered and s5. What are the visual differences between these two motors that will verify its an s5? Also what can I pull off the motor to visually see its condition once it arrives other then opening the block?

 

Yikes... I think we all said this would be the outcome...

Tiger strikes again.... Why do you guys keep buying from them?

 

Did not know that. I feel alot better about this now. I assumed that the engine was rebuilt by someone esle with S4 internals and S5 housings.

It's running fine now for 2 years since I rebuilt it.

 

If you think about the time it takes to get an engine into a car during a swap it makes sense. Most people will provide feedback when it arrives. Quick shipping? Yes. Good communication? Sure. Positive experience! Hurray!

It may be weeks or months before they get it installed and possibly running, or in this case and mine, torn down.

 

easiest method is the s5 has the EOMP front
and s5 UIM has the dimple on top of the bananna bunch for the top mount
s4 UIM is not as tall and the "banana's" are all even height

jap and aus and US engine may have detail differences in the AWS gear such as ABSv and ASv provided on some engine series and other not
again,, s5 housings have the knock sensor provided ,, but later s4 engines or remans or LUCE engines will also show same housing

very late s4 will show changes in the rear plate dowel area and curiously SOME s5 will not
( indicating there was a production overlap with running changes )

aus and jap s4 will use front and rear plates marked G
and aus and jap s5 will use plates marked D

 

Thanks..............

 

I just got off the phone with the sales rep who processed my motor purchase at Tiger Japanese and questioned him on the these few motors that I've seen on here from them that were completely trashed. He said that tiger is broken up of 2 divisions: there canadian location and there location in Japan. He said he couldn't speak specifically on what had happen but sometimes when they are out of a particular motor they send them directly from japan to the purchaser and that those engines aren't visually inspected ultimately leading to crap motors every so often. He said when this happens they usually settle with the customer. I again asked him about my particular motor being that seeing these other pos coming from them had me unsure on my purchase and he again assured me that my motor was really nice and that "when it arrives i'll be happy." The guy sounds geniune but again I will see on wednesday if he was being honest or not.

 

If he told you they ship thier engines directly from Japan to North American buyers, he told you a serious lie..

 

ya, thats a load of bullshit. he was trying to get you off the phone.
first of all, they arent going to oversee a damned thing with your engine, they dont care that much
secondly, they dont ship direct, that would be too expensive for the average person. they ship multiple engines over in bunches and sell/ship them to people after that, if at all.
a place local to me called atarco wont ship to anyone, you have to go to them
and lastly, after seeing this thread, do you REALLY want to risk buying a garbage engine? i sure as **** wouldent
just buy either a good jdm core, or buy a rebuilt engine from a reputable builder.

Lloyd

 

Badassxr50r, remember it's not just the condition of the engine you are buying but the buying process, warranty, and customer service that all make up the business. Tiger Japanese has let down a number of people I know who've ordered through them, on multiple occasions, with bad engines and transmissions, refusing to refund/replace engines that have been shown to be low on compression, leaking oil, coolant, etc. after being installed by a dealership or other highly-reputable business. We no longer do business with them because the customer service is terrible and we end up with about a 2:1 good engine: bad engine ratio which is unacceptable for any importer. This is for piston engines as well as two rotaries I've dealt with, mostly Mazda and Honda.

 

I believe that's the same guy I spoke to 5 years ago when I was getting a JDM engine. It's too long ago for me to remember the details of our conversations. I spoke to him a few times deciding which importer to go with. I got a very bad feeling from the guy. IIRC I went elsewhere when I he told me that I would not receive the same engine as pictured in the F/S post. I was also told that I could not get compression numbers for the engine I would purchase. That's all I needed to hear.

I ended up getting an imported engine from a reputable seller and I hit a homerun. Direct drop in engine that had compression in the high 90s all around. It ran strong for several years as a daily driver. I'm currently rebuilding it. Other than damage from detonation the internals are gorgeous.

 

**** tiger japanese! ! Just paid $1150 for a turbo 2 and it came to my door step rusted to shhit, rust chunks in every part of the engine. I pulled off the turbo and water dumped out like someone poured gallons of water in the oil neck. **** tiger japanese. **** em, hope they all die.

 

i truly wish you had read this before you bought from them

 

Word of advice to all: RESEARCH!

 

at least in this case, this motor came directly from Ontario from their yard. so whoever is telling you that they wouldn't send out a motor like this in this condition is full of ****, because this one came right from them as i tracked it across the canadian border, through new york then to me.

also on another bad note, the irons are all worn beyond specificaltion due to the large amount of water that sat in the engine for probably about a year, at least my guess because of the amount of oxidization on them which ate completely through the nitrited layer and stopped at the raw cast iron surface. they could be salvaged with excessive lapping and re-nitriting but it just isn't cost effective to try and save them with up to .015" of corrosion pitting in them, if it was only .007" deep i could save them.

it's too bad too, because these thick casting S5 rear irons are rare and make for a more bulletproof motor casing to prevent motor twisting failures.

the irons so far look to be the only parts that i couldn't manage to save from this motor.

the water line is clearly visible on the irons and this motor was as full of water as it could possibly have been for about as long as possible to cause the largest amount of damage as possible. the only thing that could have been worse is if the rotor housings did have minor chrome flaking, the rust would have trashed the housings as well. luckily the housings were in good condition and showed no signs of rust. the rotors do have some rust pitting but the rotors can handle minor pitting.

even the turbo had water sitting in it for some time and made for a difficult rebuild, needing a new backing plate and shim sleeve, the compressor wheel might not have even been usable even if it was undamaged due to the salt water oxidization.

IMO, they should refund you half of the cost of this motor($500) to cover the amount that it is going to cost to rebuild it with replacement parts and additional cleaning/salvaging. this motor was hardly even worth $500 as a long block.

 

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad I read this. I was going to buy a TII from them in August.

 

I feel like this should be stickied. These bastards need to be sued for selling a POS like this. Most people have heard the horror stories from this company, but I have never SEEN the horror. How can they sleep at night knowing they are selling junk like this. Greed has consumed them completely.

 

Yup. I try to steer people away from Tiger where ever I can, but it's still not enough!

 

I was just about to order an engine and transmission in a couple of weeks from them and after seeing this, no way. I am so thankful this information was posted as a warning to people. Thanks,

 

The problem with suing them is that court costs outweigh the price of the engine. It would take alot of organization and alot of angry buyers to bring a class action suit against them....oh and someone to foot the bill.

 

ok, so here's the last pictures of the carnage before something new:

turbo prior to teardown for wastegate porting and compressor/CHRA rebuild


possibly the worst condition turbo i have yet to see


here you can see the water line runs directly adjacent to the exhaust ports so this motor was FULL of water for some time

 

I'm going to probably send the motor off for a fresh rebuild by this guy ^ anyways so 1400 shipped for a mostly complete motor block/turbo/manifolds/ecu/tranny etc. isn't bad. I don't think I could piece everything that comes with this motor together for that price. Its not logical to think that you could drop this motor as is in your car and push it boost wise and expect it to hold up. Were talking about a 21 year old motor that has likely sat for quite some time. Can't wait to see this beast tomorrow.

 

wastegate prior to porting


after porting, would go larger but the S5 WG flapper arms are sloppy..


CHRA and compressor after rebuilding with a new wheel and rear cover


rotor housings resurfaced and ready to go(yes the same ones pulled from the craptastic engine)