So long story short - 3 day bachellor party + beer + Mud pit + hill climb = blown head gasket and a tow dolly.  I have decided to pull the motor and do a full rebuild. I have a million questions and hope i can get some help and opinions.  First things first - 1995 Sidekick 1.6 16v 4dr 5-speed.  I'm pretty sure at some point a previous owner had a used motor from a different vehical installed and the work was done fast and cheep.  How do I determine what year the block and head were manufacured?  I'm guessing there is a casting number of some sort and i can't hunt down this information.  Has anybody used the rebuild kits from Low Range Offroad or Rocky Road Outfitters?  I want to do this right the first time and not have to worry about anything but the timing belt for the next 100,000 miles.  Last 2 questions... Is there anything I should know about before i start pulling the motor apart (tips,tricks, oddball fasteners)?  Last but not least,  Can anybody recomend a machine shop in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area?  I don't know where to start...

Thanks
Jon

I don't think that you can tell the year of the head, you should be able to determine the year of the engine from the engine number which is stamped on the block near the gearbox behind the exhaust manifold.

Of your two choices I would go with Lowrange for parts, also consider Lee built.

Hello,I sell internal engine parts.Did a little research,and all the internals are the same 94 to 99 1.6l 16vlv motors.
Hope this helps.

Randy
1-800-741-4496

So update number 1...

     I just got the tranny/t-case dropped after work this evening, and my goal is to have the motor ready to pull by Wednesday.  I only see 1 attachment point coming off the front of the intake manifold... Is this correct and if so, what is the proper way to chain the motor to lift it out?  Also... thank you for the acks faqs link. It's been super helpful so far.

I'm sure mine has one on the back of the exhaust manifold but its dark and wet outside at the moment.

I'm sure mine has one on the back of the exhaust manifold but its dark and wet outside at the moment.

You are correct, there should be on there to use.  There is on my 16v anyway.

So I finnaly got the chance to look at it and i can see where the exauhst lift point was and is no longer there. There are 2 empty bolt holes on the top of the manifold... I think it was broken or discarded by the hack that swapped the motor.  Any suggestions as to how to get it out?  The exahust manifold has a big crack in it so I plan on replacing it... would it be a bad idea to just use the manifold as a lift point?

Check to see if there are any broken studs in there or if he just left the bolts out.   I would try to use the corner as it gives you a balanced point to lift the engine from.

That being said I don't see the harm in looping around the manifold.  The engine isn't all that heavy.

I never used a lift, I just pull the head and then the engine
is light enough that you can lift it out by hand, not super
easy, but doable, especially with a friends help

Wild

So the motor is coming out tonight My next question is a money question.  I've never re-built a motor before and I'm wondering how much the machine work on the block/head/bearing journals SHOULD cost me?  I don't want to walk into a shop and sound stupid or get sticker shock.  Just a ballpark figure...  200ish? ...500ish? ... 1000ish?  Obviously it depends on how much work is needed but I don't want to get ripped off and i want to know if something is too good to be true. 

Thanks
Jon

Unless you need major work, it should be a 200 ish range

What did you plan on doing? bore the cylinders or just hone
what about the crank, did you run it out of oil or just doing
a rebuild?

You could use the same pistons and new rings and bearings
as well as a valve job and a gasket set, don't forget to replace
the oil pump

Wild

I didn't run it out of oil, but It did lose all of the coolant and it overheated really bad.  I towed it home and it started and ran well enough to pull itself onto the tow dolly and up the driveway, so I don't think it needs major work.  I was just looking at basic machine work.  Cylinder bore +.040,  Crack check, make sure everything is straight and round, and maybe some mild head work. Thanks for the guesstimate Wild

Ya, around here I see about $5 a hole to hone $15-25 a hole to bore, and
the head would be about $100-150 to regrind valves and surface and seals
or guides but your mileage may vary. They will check the line bore and the
crank and rods too, if they are within spec, I wouldn't do anything but replace
the rod bolts if you think they need it, I had rods resized for like $15 each

You will save $$$ if you do the take down instead of them doing it, but if
you want to have them do that they probably will, depends on the shop

Wild

I'm doing all of the tear down and re-assembly myself so I can afford the parts that I want, not just what I need.  Any advice on the headwork? I want to try to get a little better performance while I'm at it   I know I don't want to go too crazy and make it really high strung.  Am I better off with porting and polishing with a stock cam, or just an aftermarket cam?  I've decided on a Doug Thorley 4-2-1 header and a homemade snorkel with a high flow filter... Does this affect what I should do with regards to the headwork?    Thanks