Ebay buyers BEWARE

[colinf004]

ok its a tough call though... I will think it over once I remove the heads and diagnose my engine problems I am having

[wytbishop]

As Marc says, check the stretch. There is a spec. On a very high compression engine or one boosted over 7psi or so I would say it is getting pretty critical, but for standard duty stock engines I have never had a problem reusing the headbolts...many times in some cases.

[colinf004]

ok sounds good, I will just buy new head bolts. safety first.
back to my original question about the bearings and piston rings I bought on ebay, if anyone has bought them before have you noticed and silver metal shavings in your oil after a 5000kms?

[fowljesse]

There is a certain abount of break-in wear, that can be alarming. That's why you should change your oil after the 1st 500 miles, and then 1,000. You can have your oil sent to a place where they will analyze it, and tell you exactly what's happenening, and if it's within range.

[colinf004]

I have been changing my oil about 1000-2000 kms..
my last oil change I did2 weeks ago before I put it away for summer, the next day it was filled with metal shavings. and I finished my swap at the end of auguest..
I should be seeing shavings like this 3 months later......

[fowljesse]

That does not sound right. It's a bit expensive to send your oil to be analyzed, but cheaper than a new engine.

[Ryan]

Roll a magnet around in it.

Revelation. Why don't we drop magnets in the bottom of our oil pans? I think we do already.... but why not more? I have access to cattle grade magnets, I think those would work awesome (same job, but in an more terrible environment)

[colinf004]

I am going to take my heads off again and take a look at my cylinder walls to see if I see oil burns or damaged! (fingers crossed) going to check my new valves, you know do an examination. I will keep you guys posted in a month or so, I am kinda busy ATM.
still doing some research on where I can get a headgasket at a fairly good price, because where I am I can get the pair for $576, which is extremely high for gaskets!

[marcdh]

Roll a magnet around in it.

Revelation. Why don't we drop magnets in the bottom of our oil pans? I think we do already.... but why not more? I have access to cattle grade magnets, I think those would work awesome (same job, but in an more terrible environment)

I'm sure you're aware of this but for those that aren't, you can buy magnetic sump plugs. They have a protruding magnet that collects shavings, have to say it does work, but could be better. However our blocks are aluminium so shavings of that of course won't be caught!

[colinf004]

true say

[Ryan]

Really? I didn't know our blocks were aluminum I guess thats what oil filters are for.

[fowljesse]

I've been wanting to remember to go to my sourch for Rare Earth magnets, and fasten them all around my oil filter. There's a couple products that are just that, but are a little pricey, and not much magnets in them. I can get hard drive magnets for free, if I can just remember to get down there.. This way, the metal gets trapped in your filter, and you throw it away.
What the heck is cattle grade? The hard drive magnets are so strong that I have a hard time pulling them off the fridge, and I have strong fingers.

[Ryan]

Not sure what they're really called, but they're cylndrical and you cram them down a cows throat to sit in their first stomach and gather nails untill they die. Very corrosive resistant and quite strong too.