andrew lohaus

im not seeing how you can trash talk about a motot someone knowingly bought in non-runing condition. seems like another motive here..............

SpeedFreak03

true true...

BigTone

One would kinda of expect his core to look like ****. Hell, I am suprised his both his rotor housings are good.

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

my jspec was kinda pricey.. ($700 for just a shortblock) but, IMO, WELL worth the $$$$.

I inspected/cranked the motor (hard to do a compression test outside of a car aside from the woosh test) but it seemed good to me... threw it in.. 110PSI front + rear compression #'s...

SevenGirl

Same impression here, and we didn't hear about it being purchased strictly as a 'rebuildable core' until the owner spoke up. Goes to show, don't make a decision without considering ALL facts!

91vert

Damn!! Was the car that engine came out of laying at the bottom of the ocean for a couple of years?

Digi7ech

iTrader: (1)

The importer said they give a comp test when they get to the US.

If they don't do like 70+ psi then they sell them as cores.

I didn't bother to ask what the compression was on this because I was going to get it rebuilt.

The engine wasn't stuck either. It rotated fine.

I have some pics of the engine when I first got it but it's on my home PC.
The exterior looked fine.
Not until furhter inspection did I notice water/corrosion problem(Taking turbo and manifolds off).

BigTone

So I wasnt the only one thinking that...

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

You guys saying this **** can cram that up your *** if you want to. I'm stating nothing but truth here. In fact, I *showed* you, something most other people will not do. I do what I do for the good of the community, but if you don't want to take it as such, or want to distort that into something else, then be my guest.

To think that I try to shed light on things for you people, and this is the attitude that is returned...



That could be because I was not told of that "core only" status either. Still, it makes one wonder, what percentage of jspecs are good vs bad, and what percentage of importers actually bother to do the proper inspections before selling them.

Bottom line, this thread was started as a reality check for all these people running around talking about how great jspec motors are, like they're something better than we already have. Talking about "hey, I'm gonna get a jspec motor and drop it in, from a JDM type R turbo II, which will help me shift mad quick y0". OR what about "yeah, get a jspec, they have 1500 miles on them because japanese people never drive their cars, and they all sit in temperature controlled rooms waiting to be dismantled and shipped to the states just for us".

As i said above, and will say again (for those who apparently cannot read):

--I did not state or imply that ALL jspecs will be in this poor condition
--I did not state or imply that ALL used engines of any kind will be in this poor condition
--Some people have gotten good jspecs, and that is good for them.
--Your chances of getting a good one that holds up a while are probably about 50% or so.
--They are excellent rebuild cores most of the time
--They will usually have less wear on them than a used US spec engine because of higher mileage

rexman13b

iTrader: (7)

set em straight kevin.

F1blueRx7

iTrader: (5)

I'd like to point out that Kevins' prices (when t2 motors are in stock for an s4) are cheaper then even trying to buy a j-spec and use the core.

I've seen j-spec long blocks range from (s4) 750 to 1k. Considering his rebuild price is 1200. I can't remember how he broke it down for me. But after shipping etc, it would be cheaper or near the same price to just buy from him. That way there is no guess work in it. Just have to wait till he has the parts in stock.

Somebody hit me with the stupid stick if i'm off on this.

andrew lohaus

right here you are implying that this motor was intended for use "as is" which WAS not the case. i'll cut you some slack if as you say you didnt know the motor was bought as a core before posting, but come on. taken as it is your post turned out to be little more than slanted horror story implying that a good portion of the time this is what a j-spec *sold in supposedly running condition* turns out to be. several have posted good experinces with j-specs and told how sellers do compression checks and dont try to sell poor motors as "in running condition". sure people have had less than ideal experiences with j-specs, but they aknowledge that its a "crap shoot."
thogh the motor wasnt it great condition, it was not expected to be.

the bottom line is:

you sensationalized a nonexisestent sittuation of someone being dupped/ripped off and attempted to make it appear as a general case.

i know you are a respected member of this forum and very reputable mechanic, but im going to take anything about j-specs with a grain of salt when its comming from a guy with a "rebuilt engines $1000 and up" add in his signature.

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Hey, you can ask anybody here about my quality of work and level of honesty. So I hope you are not questioning that. Or saying that because I offer economy rebuilds it must be bad work or something.

With that out of the way, what is your problem with low prices? If you're stupid enough to think that more expensive must be better, then you have more money than sense.

I'm not sure what your statement implied, but I have a feeling that one way or another it was degrading toward me and my work.

Back a few years ago I used to need engines all the time for decent, streetable cars I bought. I went through tens of used/junkyard/partscar motors, and had mixed results. I had some that were bad before they went in, I had some that died within a week, and I had some that lasted about 3 months. There were a few that lasted more than a year, and I would say those are about 25%. I probably dealt with 30+ cars over several years like this.

Finally I got to wondering, why the heck are rebuilds so expensive? Where is the median between $2000 plus rebuilt engine, and $400 as-is piece of **** junkyard motor?? I searched high and low, and never found it. Right then and there, I decided to become that median myself...to help myself and others out without breaking the bank but still offering a quality alternative to junking out a decent car.

THAT is why my sig says "rebuilds $1000 and up". If I don't tell people that there is an alternative, how will they know? So what is your problem with that?

andrew lohaus

i am not trying to in any way question the quality of your work, which i have heard nothing but good things about.

i appreciate that there is a good mechanic out there that wants to do qaulity work at a reasonable price insteading gouging us because of the rarity of the vehicle as many of us deal with on a day-to-day basis.

however, what i was trying to address is that j-specs are baisicaly your buisnes competition, because if someone buys a j-speck and pops it in and runs with it; they obviously did not get a rebuild, presumibly done by you. in a way its like listening to a vacum cleaner salesman tell me how a broom is going to fall apart with use. it wasnt a lie (which i wasnt accusing you of) but at the same time there is a conflict of intrest. sadly, this "conflic of interest" is probobly why most retailers dont post on the forum and share thier knowledge with the rest of us. i respect you for all the objective advice you have posted in spite of having a buisness that could potentialy capitalize on people's ignorance of these subjects. which is why i was actualy a little surprised when i first read this post.

thats all im trying to get at

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Well, I can see how you guys (that do not know me that well) might think that, but to be honest I am offended by those comments. After the help I attempt to offer on a daily basis, as you put it, "without gouging us just because of the rare cars we drive".

Let me put it this way. I am a rebuilder, and I deal with both US and jspec cores. SO, you can say that in my business I see inside of a lot of cores. SO, I would say I know more about what is inside of your average engine than most people here could. To use your analogy, I have taken apart a lot of brooms, and because of what I see inside them, I refuse to use a broom myself, but instead a vacuum cleaner. I recommend the vacuum cleaner to others not only because I stand to gain from it, but because I know brooms are, at least a good part of the time, pieces of ****.

So you could say that I am able to say what I do about the internals of jspecs because I see a lot of them, which just so happens to be because I am a rebuilder.

IF, by some chance, there were someone here who specialized in taking apart cores and just selling the parts, and not rebuilding, they would likely tell you the same thing, even though they did not stand to gain from said advice.

But, as always, you guys can do whatever you well please with your own cars. I just can't say that I can justify spending $800-1000 on a RUNNING jspec plus installation, when often these come with a startup only warranty, 30 day, or even no warranty. When, I can offer a rebuild with fresh seals for just a few hundred more...I just sit back and think to myself, "what more can I do?"

andrew lohaus

" I can see how you guys might think that"


it wasnt even the fact that a rebuilder spoke up on the condition of j-specs that promped my response, but rather the general conotation with which you presented it.

thats proboly me being too picky, but i guess i have a habbit of playing devils-advocate in these forums.

if nothing else it was still one more piece of information one can use when deciding which replacement engine to go with.

truce?

RotaryResurrection

iTrader: (8)

Well enough...

imflammable9

People like to fight the idea of having there opinions changed about anything really (especially on this forum) Even if the truth is smack in front of there face they still fight it tooth & nail .

All I can say is that I tossed around the Idea of getting a J-spec but I needed realiability inexpensivily and couldn't risk it blowing or worse. After crunching some numbers I decided on a rebuild via Rotary Resurrection because My previous Gtus had one of Kevins engines in it and It ran beautifully. Also Money was a big issue for me so Really the bottom line is: If you dont want to play a $700-1000 crap shoot and want an Engine that will Make some Damn Good power and do it for 100k+ miles.
Hit up Kevin He will treat you right

~jesse

TonyTurboII

Now, im not trying to trash anyones business, or what they do, or their opinions, but the chance of having your rebuild cost 1000-1200 are slim. If they were that cheap I would would have bought one instead of a j-spec. If youre sending your motor to be rebuilt, chances are its because you blew something. Ive blown apex seals on two motors, and let me tell you it isnt pretty. So when you need another rotor and/or housing, the rebuild price is going to go up. Also, I dont know if rebuilding includes lapping the side housings. Kevin?

Some of us dont really have 12-2000 dollars to drop on a rebuild. Thats why we get J-specs. Or maybe I wanted a motor not available here. Either way we buy them as a gamble. Its like going into the casino. You win or you lose. Some people gamble, some dont.

Corbit

my 2 cents, I've gone threw 2 jspecs from a seller, the first was burnt inside and the second looks like it ate a turbo blade it fried the rotor and the housing.then it looks like they tore it apart and tried to cob it with a rotor out of a third gen.I paid $700 with a start up or 30 day deal on it so I'm hitting him up for my third motor. it is a head ache and a half the time and doe i've put out could have being better spent. I'm lucky that the guy i bought the motor from is in my neck of the woods. my thought is this if you buy a jspec hope for the best prepare for the worst. Corbit

Digi7ech

iTrader: (1)

Kevin is definitely cheaper than almost everyone. Even after shipping.

The local Mazda dealership will sell reman engines for $2200. That's the general price range people have.

Kevin is doing his for 1200-1300 for FC rebuilds.
Shipping from Arizona to him was only $133.00 one way.
That's pretty damn cheap.

That makes the rebuild in the $1600 area for some one with a better condition engine. Mine had complications so it is costing a little more.

In total I'm going to spend around $2300 for everything.
This includes the purchase and shipping of the Jspec core and the rebuild plus that's shipping.


The running Jspecs were going to sell for $1100 but there was no guarantee and I needed reliability.

I came across extra money and decided to do it the right way the first time instead of hoping the engine doesn't pop.

In the end it's up to you anyways. A Jspec will be cheaper and quicker but a rebuild is a almost new engine which you know what the inside looks like.

SDrotary-FC

the last time i check japan was pretty close to the ocean.

SDrotary-FC

I was the one who got him the core motor , yes dealing with j-spec motor can be a crap shoot at times, we comp. test all of our j-spec to make sure the are within spec (85psi or above) so we do all that we can to try to get good j-spec's out to people. I have sold 10-15 of these and only one came back bad. I have them just so there is a different option for people on a budget and can not afford a full re-build.

jon88se

oy vey kevin posts ALL the time on all different types of threads so the implication that this is some kind of "buy engines from me" motive is ridiculous (which is the implication I heard before). kevin rebuilds motors...it's not a spare time kinda thing, it's what he DOES. and being one of his customers I can attest to his professionalism and customer service. Now, I can't tell how his rebuild runs since I haven't installed it yet but it was such an easy process. he kept me up to date on everything through e-mail and labelled everything that shipped to me (I bought everything for a TII conversion). he told me exactly when he was starting work on my motor, gave me tracking numbers and answered a million of my questions along the way. Also, a while back he announced he made his own kind of makeshift engine dyno used to break in rebuilds and test how well each one works after the rebuild. We've all heard that some JSPECs run well, others won't run at all or just don't last - kevin is just giving everyone a little more information on what you may end up with on a JSPEC motor, it's a crapshoot for sure. don't doubt this guy and don't insult his integrity...he's a great guy and everyone loves his work, I'm sure I will too. hey kevin, your rebuild has just been sitting in my shop covered up for a few months...anything to worry about or not? I hope to have it installed in spring.

kmags

my dad can beat up your dad