Hello everyone,

I have '83 CJ Scrambler with a busted AMC 258 straight-6. One of the cylinders had zero compression and after taking off the head I saw that two pistons were significantly damaged and the cylinder walls would need to be bored.

I've decided to just drop a new engine for now rather than rebuilding mine. Can anyone recommend a good shop that sells remanufactured AMC engines? And that does a good job of balancing pistons, rods, and crank w/ flywheel...and can machine a ported and polished head?

I'm also up for any suggestions on other modifications that could be done in the process...such as a better cam, etc. I currently have a 2 bbl weber carb and dual exhaust. I also want to add an MSD ignition once I have the engine installed.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Jacob <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Going to the Jeep races, are ya?
Please tell us what it was that got your pistons..
I would suggest a machine shop in are around Charlottsville.. It is hard to send em back by mail. Doing rebuilds is a simple job for most ANY machine shop.
As far as balancing and blue printing... What in the world would you want to spend that kind of money on a Jeep engine for? Do you often run her to seven grand?
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

towing a heavy trailer was what burnt the pistons up...it's a long and unpleasant story I'm trying to erase from memory <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

I'll keep looking around for a local shop that will rebuild it...but I figured it would be just as much to get one already rebuilt.

As for everything else, just trying to squeeze as many ft-lbs out of her as possible <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />

ooooo my ol stomping grounds,on friday nights on campus ahh women EVERYWHERE.oh yea sorry got side tracked. i know of a really good machine shop in waynesboro the guy is great. what i would suggest doing is getting ahold of a 4.0 head,intake,computer and other goodies and doing a head swap,along with an engine rebuild. have this guy do the head and engine work. send me a pm telling me if you know waynesboro really well and i will give you the best directions

Zonan towing will NOT effect the pistons! Have you been messing with that carb? Burning the pistons is a sign of a lean mixture. I'd be checking the real PROBLEM before installing a new engine.
Remember to keep your rpm's way up when towing.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Yes, the death occurred while in fourth gear at high RPMs. I was towing around 2200 lbs, where the manual states a 2000 lbs limit...plus I have larger tires. So the engine was being strained to it's max and I don't doubt something else contributed to it, such as distributor problem causing pre-ignition.

But at this point it doesn't matter what happened and the REAL PROBLEM is there's holes in my pistons and I can't do anything until I do have a new engine.

So once again I'd appreciate any advice on my original question that will help me in the future, rather than nitpicking the past.

Best regards,
Jacob

Sweetheart I have already given the advice you need. In fact I have made two posts with advice..
Engines do not burn pistons by themselves.. There must be a cause.. If you reinstall the cause you will burn the pistons in your new engine also. You may need some help thinking about that.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

"But at this point it doesn't matter what happened and the REAL PROBLEM is there's holes in my pistons and I can't do anything until I do have a new engine."

You just stated your problem right there. You only get holes burnt into your pistons by running too lean, too hot of a spark or too much advance. You build a new engine and put the same details back on, ie ignition and carb set how they are, you will just burn up the new engine too, it may take ya 50K miles but you will burn it up unless you fix the problem.

Sean

I know only steers and queers come from texas...but unless your name is supposed to be BigKim you can keep that sweetheart ***** to yourself

Sweetheart is an ancient Greek word.. It has never been clearly interpreted.. but it has something to do with a goat!
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />