Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I'm planning to buy an AP1 S2000 for track use. However, the seller told me that the engine was checked by a mechanic who told him that one of the cylinders is not perfectly rounded, indicating a damaged sleeve I guess.

Can you guys please tell me what's the solution if I don't want to increase the capacity of the engine to above 2000 cc.

Thanks.

 

Don't buy it unless you're prepared for the worst case scenario, which would be replacing the entire engine/block. I'm not sure what price you're looking at, but unless he's selling it super cheap I wouldn't go for this.

The best you could hope for would be to bore out the stock sleeves slightly, and then install Mahle pistons that would fit the bore. F20C blocks use FRM woven sleeves, and (to my knowledge) Mahle is the only company that makes FRM compatible pistons for our cars.

 

Wouldn't that increase the capacity of the engine to above 2000 cc?

 

It would depend on how much they have to bore it out. If the walls aren't that bad then the extra bore would be so negligible it would have an extremely marginal impact on displacement.

Your only other option (without replacing the entire block) would be to ship it out to someone like Darton/Golden Eagle/Benson/ERL to get the sleeves entirely redone. Not a cheap process.

Edit: I just realized the reason you're not wanting to go over 2000cc (I assume) is because of regulations on your track use. If that's the case then yeah, you'd need to either replace the block or get the sleeves professionally redone in order to comply with the rules.

 

Yes it's the regulation of the championship that I'm planning to compete in, I think I'm better off with another healthy car and engine. Thanks for your help Chance S2k

 

Yes it's the regulation of the championship that I'm planning to compete in, I think I'm better off with another healthy car and engine. Thanks for your help Chance S2k

 

F20/22 engines aren't worth the hassle of anything but a mild deglazing(honing), and the cylinder walls are too thin to be bored out any meaningful amount. The best thing you can do is to simply re-sleeve the block and use whatever piston you want.

Does the motor in question have good compression?

 

I didn't do a compression test till now, but will definitely do before buying it. He told me that the compression in that specific damaged sleeve is lower than the other cylinders

 

If the head is in good shape I wouldn't pay more than $7-800 USD for the whole block. Machining it and installing new sleeves and pistons is going to cost about $2,200 USD, including new rings bearings and rods. If the head and deck are not warped, I would refresh the head anyway if you plan to race it. At least use Ap2 retainers and keepers to protect the valvetrain from an overrev. Head work is considerably cheaper.

 

If these engines are rare or expensive in your region of the world, you can simply resleeve (use a "dry" sleeve aka a sleeve liner) that one cylinder and replace the piston rings. It will repair the block and keep you within your 2000cc displacement rule.