UFO Motorsports rebuild review

When I had engine problems I spent a lot of time looking at different shops and getting opinions. I decided to go with UFO motorsports. I thought I would post this here so it would be easy to find for anyone looking in the future. My plan is to update this as I put miles on the car because those are the reviews I found most helpful during my search. Anyway went for the $7500 REFRESH after IMS failure. Total was $9000 including shipping one way from Ohio to CA. UFO paid for transport back. I also paid extra for an upgraded IMS bearing. Time was exactly 8 weeks. 1 week to ship out. 3 weeks for rebuild. 1 week for testing. 3 weeks to ship back. A little long for return shipping but since I was not paying I did not complain (OK I did a little complaining but not much). Tim was easy to work with. Very knowledgeable. Communication was excellent. I think I called almost every day. Car arrived and runs perfect. Sounds better than ever. He replaced the transmission fluid for free and inspected all the mounts and said everything looked good. Engine is stock except for low temp thermostat, aftermarket IMS bearing, spin on oil filter, and magnetic drain plug. At this point I would give the shop I will keep the updates coming every few months. I drive a lot, so it should not be long for my first update.

Very glad you got your car back and its running well......but it was a refresh not a rebuild.......as long you are happy that is all that counts.

Sorry keep forgetting that. We need to come up with definition for refresh, rebuild, and reconstruct.

Congrats. I lost track. What have been repaired/replaced? Head job and bottom end as well?

I guess my ADHD is getting the best of me. I can't remember what forum I posted in and what I posted. And since this post is for future searchers I should recap the highlights. Car ran perfect. Went to have IMS replaced after I bought the car. IMS was bad. Lots of metal in the engine. Just replaced the bearing and changed oil a lot. After a few thousand miles metal started to show back up. Car still ran perfect but decided to have it taken apart to get all the metal out. Car now runs perfecter.

that is a pretty decent price for the work. I would like to see a good list of engine rebuilder nationwide. we always talk about the same guys, so I am glad you opened this thread to document UFO motorsports build. Did you look into rebuilding with briefer parts instead of OEM ?

Very nice. That's a complete tear down. Why is it called a refresh and not a rebuild??

Quotes source posts: 11346026, 11346037

Yep. He would do whatever I wanted including the nikisil liners. I stuck with the basics because I don't believe these engines are inherently flawed and need $20K to get running right. And knowing my cylinders were good and heads not cracked I was good to go. I just needed the metal cleaned out. I guess there is a place where the shavings hide that you can't get to without take the IMS out, and with shavings floating around it could mess with the other bearings or clog the oil screen and lead to a catastrophic failure. Before he accepted the car he said it may run forever or could fail and lose the core. He had seen it go both ways. I was debating $10K now or $20K later and went with $10K now. Because the heads were just cleaned and checked and not completely torn down.

Um...the receipt says new valve guide seals so I thought they removed the valves as well. Regardless, you get all the new major critical bottom end components anyway. Edit: Never mind. I was thinking about the valve guides.

This is a bouble post. Would be better if the new pictures were added tonthe original thread. I already said in the original thread that the list of items indicares a simple refresh and not a rebuild. This was not a rebuild so stop calling it one. I see all the lifters in one bag, were they labeled to make sure they go back exactly where they came from?

Tried editing the title but I can't. It would just let me edit the content. If you meant double post I know. I put the title that way and started a new thread so people searching on google would be able to find it. That's how I found the shop was with a google search. My intent with this thread was to just add to the post from time to time about how the car was running. I found a couple threads in other forums about their car at 10K, 20K, 30K miles after their car was rebuilt and I found those the most helpful. Didn't really plan on a replying a bunch but am stuck at work all day/night/day without a lot to do. As far as the lifters, no idea. I guess if it makes a difference I will know soon enough.

One man's refresh is another mans rebuild. They do say that if you reuse the lifters they should back in the same carrier position. I did this the first time I took off my cams. etc. Later I replaced all the lifters. The lifters should each be checked as they do tend to fail. The level of rebuild that Jake Raby does is far beyond what most other shops do, but also much more expensive. I think that what UFO does is more what traditional rebuilders do on most engines.

What do most traditional rebuilders do?

OK, so I have too much time on my hands. I found the definition of a rebuild from the AERA - Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association. By definition I had a short block rebuild. http://www.aera.org/downloads/stdservice.pdf

Re ringing and new bearings are considered a rebuild nowdays? If the bores are not toched and the valves are not changed (properly) it is not a rebuild to me.

Jeez....dgjks6 - Thanks so much for passing along this information. I don't care if you did it in one post or two posts.... I appreciate the information. Not all of us can afford 18K rebuilds, refreshes, rethis or rethat. Bottom line is that many wear items on your engine were replaced and you paid a reasonable amount for it. Thanks again for the information. Please let us know over time how everything turns out. Ray

I figure people should do what works within their comfort zone/risk and budget. Not everyone wants to or can afford to do the "Mike Holmes" way. Canucks, DIY,HGTV watchers will know what I mean. Lol. You can spend a gazillion dollars on making a ball point pen that will write upside down in zero gravity or you can just take a pencil up into space. It's a personal decision.

I know its a little early for an update but, first oil change at about 1000 miles since rebuild. Small amount of stuff on the magnetic drain plug. Expected. 9 fresh quarts of 5w40. Car is running perfect. Can't check the filter because have a spin on adapter.

You can buy a filter cutter pretty much at any speed shop. They work like a pipe cutter/can openner.

Cool thread. Keep us posted and thanks for posting. Cheers, TomF

3000 mile update. And no I told you so's from the peanut gallery until we see how this plays out, but... Saw a few drops of oil on the garage floor. Looked under car and there was oil in the back right corner of the car inform of the exhaust pipes and next to the oil pan. Called Tim and he thought it was a spark plug tube. No big deal. Would take care of it myself. Car runs perfect, uses no oil (oil level still the same 2000 miles after first oil change). Went to look tonight to see where it was coming from and no clue. Below spark plugs looked dry (as best as I could see thought the wheel). Jacked up car and looked from below and still no clue. Removed air box and saw two puddles on the block - highlighted in pic below. Just emailed time and waiting for response, just wondering what you guys think. Oil is still full, car runs perfect. Power steering full. coolant full. Thoughts?

Is that a powersteering line?

If your sure its motor oil and its coming from up top, I believe the crankcase breather is in that area. Look at oily area on right. Mine was quite dirty but not pooling oil.

What about the oil pressure sending unit. It's a bit higher up but these tend to go as well.

Oh and BTW, how in the heck do you already have 3000 miles on your rebuild??????

actually closer to 3500 miles. I drive a lot. Kids. Work. I am still trying to find the source. Car is now jacked up and wheel off. Took the cover off the spark plugs just to be sure and they are dry.

Tell me more about the oil pressure sending unit

Holy crap Krazy!.. I think you nailed it. There is a black plastic thing there and that looks like where the oil I coming from. It has a little spring in the end? Ok - how do I change it and what is it called?

"Here Bruh!!!" Awesome graphic KK!

Its called a "crankcase vent valve" but it may just be the connection or O-ring. They may not have properly secured it, broke it, or a bad AOS/OVS may be overwhelming it. (Photo courtesy of Pelican, of course!)

Quotes source post: 11482047

That's what happens when you threaten to quit this forum and hang out at Renntech.

That's it. I think. It is behind a bunch of tubes. AOS in new (less than 1year 6000 miles). So why else would it leak? How hard to change? I think I may have to remove coolant hose. But not drop engine.

10,000 mile update. Car is perfect. Burns no oil and pulls like a train. Did have to replace the AOS and crankcase vent valve in July. Not the fault of the rebuild. I had them reuse my AOS which was less than a year old. Since then just put in gas and changed oil. Going with Mobile 1 0w40 for the cold winter.

Quotes source post: 11844247

great news. Yes I switch to M1 0w40 for winter too and then back to 5w40 Motul for the rest of the year

Wow... very informative... glad that she's running well for you... I just parked mine for the winter... keep the posts coming!

Well, its that time. Just passed 63,000 miles. So 20K since rebuild. Car is perfect. Due for an oil change, but according to the electronic oil gauge I have lost 1 bar before cold start in the morning in 5,000 miles. Not sure if going to go with mobil 1 0w40 - winters coming - or use the Pennzoil 5w40 euro that I have a bunch of.

Great to hear! Thanks for the update. I'm going for an oil change next week too. Will be the first oil change since I got my 997 replacement engine (getting close to 5000 kilometers). My oil reading shows 1 bar down as well. Liqui Moly is the only thing that goes in it now.

dgjks6 Any updates on your rebuild?

I do not believe he owns the 996 any longer. I'm basing this on the fact that he just sold me a set of 996 wheels that he was offloading because he no longer owns a 996.

hopefully the cylinders did not have any scoring because I dont see anything related to changing the cylinders.

Since my thread came back up, I put almost 30,000 miles on it before I traded it on my wife's Macan. As a point of honesty to myself, it did not need rebuilt. I was made paranoid by the forum that I still had metal in the engine after a failed IMS. The guy at UFO said everything inside looked perfect. It was a waste of $10,000. Don't tell my wife. Whoever ended up with the car got the best sorted 996 out there.

Quotes source posts: 13585624, 13585624

Think of it this way, you spent $10k from many restful nights of sleep. Spit water on my keyboard.

If you had debris in the engine's oil supply, nothing was wasted. It was worth 10K to disassemble and clean that up alone. Debris in the oil = dead engine, given the right amount of time. The material shed from an IMSB failure is super small, easily suspends in the oil, and can't be seen with the naked eye... That microscopic debris it the worst on the planet, because its super hard wear metal from a ball, race or bearing cage, and because it's suspended in the oil and goes everywhere the oil delivers it. Unless that tech used a black light, he wasn't seeing the debris that was most harmful.

Still good to know the guys at UFO did a good "refresh" job and took care of you.