[turboguzzi]

Would you use your Chinese manufactured iPhone to write this post?…or prefer your Blackberry?

welcome, but not the best 1st post in a forum ive ever seen...what do you drive, pics?

now then, mixing apples and oranges?

that said, the whole discussion starts to be dated, bought the other day an official Continental heavy duty tire tube for my motorcycle, when installing casually noted a "made in india" marking on it. safety item, maybe more so than a timing belt and i totally trust it.

on one of my racing bikes, pistons made in indonesia held much better than some made in japan.

many noted european brands like BMW, KTM, Benelli are making engines, if not the entire bike in india/china.

its all down to the product testing / quality assurance, bigger brands have stricter controls also in their off shore factories.

 

[fordem]

Would you use your Chinese manufactured iPhone to write this post?…or prefer your Blackberry?

Be very careful Frank, we frown upon "trolling" in these forums.

To respond to your question - I'm writing this post on a Chinese made Lenovo ThinkPad - a Chinese product built to meet known standards, purchased directly from Lenovo, covered by a worldwide warranty (three years parts & labour), just take it in to the nearest Lenovo Service Center.

Would I buy a Lenovo laptop on Alibaba - NO. Why not - because I can't guarantee it's provenance, that it is a genuine Lenovo product.

The issue here is not that it's a Chinese product, but rather it's a Chinese product from an unknown supplier.

 

[Off-roaders]

Some of the links show the same block for 8v and 16v while others show a year break at 92. What if any difference is there between years and 8v versus 16v??

When checking parts manuals I see the rod and main bearings are the same while the pistons and rings aren't. Oil pumps change in 92 as well.

What about head gaskets?

 

[fordem]

The official Suzuki parts manuals don't show a different part number for 8/16v blocks in the 92~95 years, however, pre 1992, the part number for the block is different - this however, doesn't mean that you can't use the newer block in the older models. My manuals show the same part numbers for 8v pistons from 89~95.

 

[Off-roaders]

Soooo would a 93 16v head work on a 91 8v block?

It was a after market supplier I noticed the piston and ring difference between 8v and 16v.

 

[turboguzzi]

no, pistons are markedly different, specially the valve reliefs 2 in the 8V, 4 in the 16V.

you could fit 16V pistons to the 8V block, but thats an engine out car fix

 

[Off-roaders]

That makes sense. Thanks

 

[Zep]

I would not buy it as the engine plus shipping is about the price of a running Vitara here in the Philippines. I would just buy another whole vehicle take out the engine and part out the rest of it.

 

[turboguzzi]

@Zep well, i have the opposite "problem", in italy 1st gen vitaras were so popular that i have no trouble locating almost any part i need from salvage yards that list online.... but thats not going to help our friend in the USA who says he hasnt been able to find ANYHING 8V for a year.... nor an engine, head, or car....

@Off-roaders have you tried your luck finding a head with these guys? HWY 83 SUZUKI SALVAGE

 

[Off-roaders]

At the beginning I contacted him and was told no. I also contacted several other places. Hwy 93 has a video about the #2 journal cracks, in it mentioned having upset customers and quit selling them because of it.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[turboguzzi]

ask him for just an 8V head, thats what went wrong no?

 

[Off-roaders]

I have.

ask him for just an 8V head, thats what went wrong no?

I have. He indicated that he was staying away from selling motor parts. Sorry I wasn't clearer.

Do you know if 1.3 l heads will work??

Months ago someone had a couple for sale. I'm just not familiar with what interchangeable. 1.3 and 1.6 16v parts aren't to hard to find. One of the local wrecking yards had a 8v that the valve cover had been off for approximately some time exposed to the Montana weather. Everything not aluminum was rusted and the motor would not turn over by hand. You had to buy the complete motor for $600!!!!

Several months ago I found a 8v on ebay, with no information so I sent a message asking a few questions. No response, so I tried again, still no answer. I don't need to buy a warped head. It stayed up for a month or so after before it was removed.

 

[fordem]

Do you know if 1.3 l heads will work??

I've been told that they can be interchanged, the 1.3 head has an opening to take a mechanical fuel pump that the 1.6 head doesn't have, but which you can make a blanking plate to cover.

 

[turboguzzi]

Seems like main difference is in slightly smaller valves. on top of the fuel pump noted by fordem, there could be also some differences in the distributor setup.

try digging in more mods oriented forums like auszookers, pirate4x4....

 

[Jakesuzi]

Hi again . Just an update on my offshore block/motor search. Yes Foredom I concur on your buyer beware comment and that is exactly why I backed out of the Megazip experience....too expensive for me to have a mistake with no recourse. Anyway I still have not firmed up anything from Alibaba/Aliexpress or Made In China. Many outfits show my exact G16A/G16B bare blocks but upon inquiring none are actually available. That does get exhausting. I only came across 1 outfit that mentioned a short block but you have to purchase 5 or more I think it was. So I eventually ordered 2 G16 bare blocks but over prolonged investigation I backed out and got a refund..These were G16A/B bare blocks that are slightly different. They don't have any casting plugs in them and the coolant passages around the cylinders is the same as the 1.3 design? Foredom,do you have any insight on this..IE: casting processes etc referring to lack of casting/freeze/welch plugs? These blocks do have a 75mm bore and the proper deck height for the 90mm stroke . The problem I had was with the lower engine to transmission mounting hole positions... they are too close together ..like the 1.3. I've ended up rethinking the long block here. These are available with the physical differences above but of course they have the crank,rods,pistons.seals and head. I will/would remove the head and use mine ,pull the pistons and put new 8v ones in which I already have ,change pan and pickup ...like a rebuild but with critical bottom end stuff already done. The mounting then becomes the issue but upon looking around I see adapters meant to mate the 1.6 to the Samurai transmission that technically could be used the other way round. The suppliers say "this motor works for you" but are unable verify which application they are designed for in the first place. As mentioned a list of model applications is there but some of that makes no sense...Buyer beware again! So does anyone know which model application the "no freeze plug, close mounting hole" bare/long blocks are meant to fit? I'm still digging on that one.

 

[fordem]

Let me put it this way, IF I decided I wanted to buy a new a block, megazip.net is where I would be ordering it from - I can get a part number that I'm reasonably confident is the correct part, and I trust megazip to supply what I order, or tell me they can't supply it and give me a refund.

 

[Jakesuzi]

Yup I see your a Megazip guy. Any thoughts on the block casting processes?

 

[fordem]

Any thoughts on the block casting processes?

None - I'm not involved in the manufacture of engine blocks or the selection of engine blocks, I don't need to concern myself with what "process" was used to cast the engine block, all I need to do is ensure that it is the correct block for my application, which I can determine based on the part number. Suzuki's engineers are the ones who will determine if the supplier is using the approved casting process and if the part is "fit for purpose".

 

[Jakesuzi]

Hello. I've come back here with an update... Many hours of negotiating and a couple of buys and refunds later this is what I did. Although Alibaba showed and still shows bare blocks for 1990's trackers ,sidekicks,Vitaras, Ecudos and any other iteration you prefer I was not able to locate any at all. I paid for a couple but when it came down to it I was refunded.. The refund process was seemless. In the end I bought the Optimus 1.6 16v version with what I will call the updated block casting process. The lady I dealt with was totally on the ball and answered any and all questions in a timely manner..even when she was on vacation! Now,I already bought stuff to put a stock 8v together for my 90 tin top so rather than keep on fishing for a sound high mileage block used , I converted the Optimus one...This included replacing the head,head gasket,pistons and rings,water pump,oil pan and timingbelt and gears.. The only issue at all was a different location for the lower power steering pump bracket bolt...it was bossed a little higher up so I just measured and drilled a new hole in the bracket. I mic'd the bores and the stock 8v pistons(new ones) were a perfect fit. Everything lined up including the lower crank cog...Now having said all that...the lower rear engine mount holes do not line up and they are not the same as a 1.3 . They are in between. I had lots of time to come up with a solution while I tracked the freighter coming to Vancouver. So now I have a brand new blockand stock stock bottom end. The only thing that isn't new is the head casting and I did not put seats and guides in that . I did put new rocker arms and shafts, new camshaft and seals,new valves and springs in it ...checked the guides and lapped the valves. The cam is the torquer version and I put a stainless header in it along with a new converter and resonator..I went 2 inch stainless all the way to the back. This block is well made imo .The only thing I found was a small piece of gasket in the pan. If anyone is interested in what I did with mounting situation I can post details...Flashed right up .

 

[Bex]

This is all totally beyond my mechanical capability, however I’d still be interested in looking at a link to the Optimus engine…..as well as hearing, as time goes on, what issues you have with it, if any.