Rebuild Mentor?
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Teching In
Joined: Feb 2026
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Rebuild Mentor? Just pulled my L33 out of my Miata. The guy I bought it from said he rebuilt it less than 1,000 miles ago but it was dumping oil into the cylinders. Far as I can tell he didn’t hone the cylinders or gap the rings correctly. I have everything off it except the rotating assembly. I plan to go through it and replace whatever it needs to make it solid. My issue is I’ve never done a full rebuild on an LS. I’ve built simple engines in the past, replaced rings, bearings etc but never had to check clearances and tolerances. I do have a basic know how and have precision tools. Is there anyone that would be willing to mentor me on the full process? I’ll obviously have tons of questions and need some step by step guidance. Even willing to pay somebody for their time since I know this might be tedious.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2026
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Way out in the sticks of Summerville Georgia. I can’t find any shops that are willing to help in a way that I could learn. Most just want me to hand over everything I have and pay them to do it all. Found a few people on marketplace that advertise LS rebuilds but show pictures looking like they’re building engines in their kitchens with no precision measuring tools.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2024
Posts: 294
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From: Bradentucky Florida
you probably wont find a shop that will allow you in the back of the building for liability reasons unless you work there. find a reputable shop, talk to the owner, offer to sweep up or run parts for knowledge.
I was lucky, Dad was a machinist, so the tools were available. because of Dad's connections, I knew all the machine shop owners within a 30 mile radius growing up, so I was blessed
ask away, plenty of collected knowledge here.
I was lucky, Dad was a machinist, so the tools were available. because of Dad's connections, I knew all the machine shop owners within a 30 mile radius growing up, so I was blessed
ask away, plenty of collected knowledge here.
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,912
Likes: 1,158
From: Grand Rapids, Michigan
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Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2026
Posts: 12
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Holy crap, that's excessive. Yeah, you're probably going to need to bore it and get new pistons. I will recommend a couple of things. Do not use plastigauge to check clearances. I tried it on my engine build and it never came out correctly. I bought cheap micrometers from Harbor Freight and checked them against the Starrett ones we have at work and they were basically identical. Buy this Summit dial bore gauge, it's inexpensive but it works really well: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-900041-01 Also buy a rod vise, as it makes it easier to check bearing clearances. Engine building tools add up quick, but it's worth it. If you keep coming back to this thread and post pics and videos with questions you have, I will help you and I am certain people with far more experience will also give you an assist as well.
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Gofastmiata, I’m in Dawsonville and I’m happy to help. Shoot me a private message. I help a lot of guys here, both in the states and abroad. I’ve been doing this for over 3 decades.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2026
Posts: 12
Likes: 2
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Feb 2026
Posts: 12
Likes: 2
A guy supposedly just rebuilt this engine less than 1,000 miles ago. When I drained the oil, it was very thin and smelled strongly of fuel. At this point I’m going to assume an injector is hung open and it was ran too long and fried all the bearings. I’m guessing I’ll need to throw in a set of new injectors along with a new motor so I don’t end up in the same scenario
A guy supposedly just rebuilt this engine less than 1,000 miles ago. When I drained the oil, it was very thin and smelled strongly of fuel. At this point I’m going to assume an injector is hung open and it was ran too long and fried all the bearings. I’m guessing I’ll need to throw in a set of new injectors along with a new motor so I don’t end up in the same scenario