Putting XFi pistons in the Flea - questions... - Fuelly Forums

Click here to see important news regarding the aCar App

Go Back   Fuelly Forums > Tech, Troubleshooting and Repair > General Maintenance and Repair
Today's Posts Search Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 09-28-2007, 09:51 AM   #1
Registered Member
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,223
Country: United States
Putting XFi pistons in the Flea - questions...

A MetroMPG.com reader has been buying up XFi's and offered to sell me a set of used pistons. (The XFi pistons were different than the garden variety ones - they had a single compression ring, vs. 2, to reduce friction losses.)

I have a couple of q's...

1) I'd only be interested in this if I knew in advance if I could re/re the pistons out the bottom of the engine, which might be a relatively easy job. Anyone know if that can be done?

2) Any idea what they'd be worth? He left it to me to make a fair offer (said they were in "good" condition - but how would I know?)

3) Any general advice? Is this a bad idea - what kind of problems could I get myself into?
__________________

MetroMPG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 10:12 AM   #2
Registered Member
 
omgwtfbyobbq's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,516
Country: United States
Iono if you can re-ring an engine just by pulling the crank/pistons. Every in the car ring job I've seen involves pulling the head. IMO, don't even bother w/ it unless it burns a lot of oil now. Can you inspect the XFi pistons first to make sure they're within spec?
__________________

__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by FormulaTwo
I think if i could get that type of FE i would have no problem driving a dildo shaped car.
omgwtfbyobbq is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 10:13 AM   #3
Registered Member
 
skewbe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 771
Country: United States
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
I have a couple of q's...

1) I'd only be interested in this if I knew in advance if I could re/re the pistons out the bottom of the engine, which might be a relatively easy job. Anyone know if that can be done?
Not likely. A lower connecting rod bearing maybe, but the crank (bolted to the flywheel and accessory pully) will be in the way of the piston and rod.
__________________
Standard Disclaimer
skewbe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 10:26 AM   #4
Registered Member
 
s1120's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 64
Country: United States
I have never seen a car that you can do that with. but if you could it would not come out without removing the crank. To do that you need to pull the motor. Easer to pull the head. Most cars it's pretty easy anyway.
__________________
Paul B

s1120 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 11:16 AM   #5
*shrug*
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 6,195
Country: United States
Just buy the engine and do it that way,
SVOboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 01:30 PM   #6
Registered Member
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,223
Country: United States
Or I could just be lazy and take a ring off my 2-ring pistons

Truth be told: I'm not really into pulling the head. Too much stuff to disconnect & remember to reconnect. Plus I'll need a more (& more expensive) gaskets than if I could have done it through the bottom.

Thanks for the replies though.

(Can you tell it's been a while since I had an engine all apart?)
MetroMPG is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 01:56 PM   #7
Registered Member
 
s1120's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 64
Country: United States
Well they probably CAN come out....but you would not like the outcome.



__________________
Paul B

s1120 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2007, 03:33 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
CoyoteX's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 230
Country: United States
Location: Southern WV
The pistons won't fit out the bottom, they will have to come out the top. You can get the head gasket kit off ebay pretty cheap compared to an auto parts store but it is still more than just the oil pan gasket.

I don't really think it is worth doing if you are just going to swap pistons only. If you have the head off and have it shaved .030 and cut the grooves into it and deburr and port match the head and intake manifold then maybe it would be worth it. While you are at it you can get the stainless swirl polished exhaust valves that don't burn up as easy as the stockers. My guess with just the piston swap alone would maybe get you 1mpg on the highway until the engine gets fully warm if you are lucky.

The extra compression in my car without the grooves didn't really seem to help much with the stock computer so unless you are really ready to dump about $750 total into the project to go Megasquirt, Wideband, knocksensor, and lots of head grinding I probably wouldn't raise the compression without the grooves.
__________________

CoyoteX is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Fuelly iOS Apps
» Fuelly Android Apps
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:50 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.