Guide
Engine strip and inspection: the report that sets the real price
Updated
This is the step that turns guesswork into a price. It is worth paying for, and worth insisting on in writing.
Why nobody can quote accurately beforehand
An engine's condition is decided by measurements that cannot be taken while it is assembled: bore wear and ovality, crank journal sizes, bearing shell condition, head flatness, valve seat and guide wear, cylinder head cracks. A builder looking at a complete engine can tell you the likely scenarios and roughly what each would cost. What they cannot do is give you a firm price, and a builder who offers one either has padding built in to cover the worst case or will be back with bad news later.
Expect the strip to be chargeable
Stripping an engine, cleaning components and measuring them is several hours of skilled work whether or not you go on to have the rebuild done. Most builders charge for it, and most credit it against the rebuild if you proceed. Both of those are fair. What is not fair is finding out after the fact, so ask two things before the spanners come out: what the strip costs, and whether it is credited if you go ahead. Ask what happens to the parts if you decide not to proceed, too.
What the report should tell you
- What failed and, as far as it can be told, why. The cause matters, because it decides whether a rebuild will last.
- Bore condition: wear, scoring, ovality, and whether a rebore and oversize pistons are needed or a hone will do.
- Crankshaft condition: journal measurements, whether a regrind and undersize bearings are needed, or whether it is beyond saving.
- Cylinder head condition: flatness, cracks found on pressure testing, valve, seat and guide wear, cam and follower condition.
- Collateral damage: debris in the oil system, turbo condition, oil pump, oil cooler, injectors where relevant.
- Each machining operation needed, priced individually, so you can see where the money goes.
- Parts list with availability and lead times, flagging anything made to order.
- A recommendation: rebuild, exchange unit or stop, with the reasoning set out.
Photographs are reasonable to ask for
Most builders will happily photograph the components as they come out, and many do it as standard. It is not a matter of distrust: it is far easier to understand a scored bore or a picked-up bearing shell when you can see it, and it makes the decision about whether to proceed a properly informed one. Ask at the point of booking rather than afterwards.
What to do with the report
- Read the recommendation, then ask the builder what they would do if it were their car. The answer is usually more revealing than the report.
- Ask what the same work would cost as a reconditioned exchange unit instead, now that the damage is known.
- Ask what is not included, in a written list, so a mid-job addition is a surprise to nobody.
- Ask for a realistic completion date based on the slowest part, and what happens to that date if a part turns out to be unavailable.
- Only then authorise the work, in writing, against the itemised quote.
Authorise the rebuild against an itemised written quote that separates parts, machining and labour hours, and states what happens if further damage is found once machining begins. It is a short document and it prevents most disputes.