Its hard to say considering I am not there to feel it myself. You could pull the spark plugs out and try turning the engine. there should be very little resistance with the plugs out ie no compression. If you did happen to not install the tc all the way there is a good chance you damaged the splines inside there

 

Splines are part of the tranny I assume, meaning new tranny or can that be replaced...

 

Splines are the ribs around the circumference of the input shaft on the transmission and the female end on the tc. there are several "layers" if you will of these splined shafts which is why you have to spin the tc to fully insert it. these layers move independently from one another and so once you line up the first one you spin it until you catch the next layer and so on. If you did manage to not fully insert the tc then you have put excess pressure on the unaligned splines and likely caused a mushroom effect. If you do end up pulling the engine back out then you will have to pull the tc all the way out and carefully inspect the splines on the trans and tc. It may not be readily apparent where its mushroomed (if at all) so take a flashlight and look close. I hand file will work to fix any mushroomed ends providing they are not too bad.

 

lol can someone tell me what "TC" stands for :P

 

TC = Torque Converter

 

All this work on my lancer has gotten me motivated again, just need to find the time to pull the engine again.

In case you guys don't know, I had bought a complete turbo kit many years ago and just never got around to installing it. I am hoping to get my lancer back up and running and with the spare engine now, maybe I'll try to do more (DOHC, built bottom end) but let me not dream to much.

Gotta get back to normal speed before TURBO speed

I posted in the tranny thread to keeps things relevant but long story short, i think the misalignment of the TC is causing excessive strain on the engine which is resulting in those random misfires and also why its hard to turn the crank itself.

I am trying to confirm everything later on this week so let's see what happens...

 

any update on this? Have you found your problem yet? I might be getting me a 04 lancer es in a couple weeks, thing is it overheated and if it did major damage I am going to have to get another motor for it. I am trying to get as much info as to what problems can arise and try and fix them or look for them before I get it.

I tried doing a compression test on the engine already but it seems that antifreeze got into the cylinders so i'm thinking blown head gasket, warped head maybe, the radiator on it gave out so I need a new one, and i'm hoping no damage to the pistons or rods, but if they are damaged i'm just going to get another engine as I said, I just want to know what i'm getting into here.

 

What do you mean you "tried" to do a compression test?

 

I was going to do a compression test on it but when I pulled the plugs they looked wet so I looked into the hole and could see antifreeze in the cylinder after checking the other 3 I found all of them had antifreeze so no point in try to do the compression test as the head gasket was blown, I also removed the cap to the radiator and when I turned the engine over fluids came out of the spark plug hole and out of the radiator as well.

I really hope I don't need a new engine I've been looking around just in case and can't seem to find any for less then $800 any know of places were I can get one for cheaper?

 

My issue was that I blew my gasket, warped the head and valve seals and cooked my rings.

I had the same issue that I couldn't check my compression until I fixed the head. my engine cost me $350 but I used car-part.com to find local salvage yards. I wish you were closer as I could help you out as well. more than likely I will be parting out my "extra" parts and selling the car as is since I am having a hard time finding a cheap tranny or the time to work on it more

 

does your engine still start?

 

The car is not mine its my neighbors but i'm thinking about buying it from his as is, he wants way too much for it though and i'm trying to gather information about the vehicle and trying to get my neighbor to lower his price on it. I was originally going to fix it for him but he just decided to sell it instead.

I haven't done anything to the car I just checked out a couple things to see what my neighbor might need to fix, but right now as it stands it does not start.

 

Based on my own personal experience and what 03Lances has told me as well...getting a new engine will be the fastest way to fix the car.

Based on zip code 85301, i see there is an engine for $500 with 100K miles on it in both Tucson or Phoenix.

If the issue is just a warped head, a machine shop can mill it for about $150 however if a valve job is needed that pushes the cost over $300. Head gasket set is $50 and new cyllinder head bolts are another $40-50 depending on where you source them. Once you take the head off, you might as well do the timing belt and water pump as well if the engine has enough miles on it which will add on another $100 for that kit

If you know its just the head and valves are fine then just have the head milled and you are done...do you have a engine show close by...as that could help convince your neighbor how bad the car is but then again just cause your valves are ok doesn't mean your rings aren't cooked

 

Where did you see the engine for $500? Ive been looking and can"t seem to find a good deal. If I do end up getting the car I already have a list complied as to what I will be replacing, so far I Have radiator, thermostat, new cooling system hoses, timing chain w water pump, new timing belt tensioner, head gasket, spark plugs and wires, crank angle sensor, front crank seal(I have no idea if this is prone to fail but might as well replace it im already there), valve cover, exhaust gasket and finally intake gasket. Did I miss anything?

The current motor has 160k miles and I plan on just checking the head for warpage and if its good then use and after its operational check the compression and hope it checks out ok, and if warped and needs machining then just get a new engine.

 

Ok so bad news, well for me at least, it turns out that at my neighbor has sold his car. I really wanted it but its gone now but after looking at the parts and there prices I really want to get me a lancer now as parts are quite cheap, I just need to find me something that isn't to pricey to start with.