Having owned my wonderfully interesting and highly entertaining stilo Schumacher (christened Enzo 
) for two years now I've found myself pondering a few things. As a petrol head I've never been able to not fiddle with any of my cars so it wasn't long after buying Enzo that my thoughts turned to how I could get more performance from the 2.4 20v motor. In standard tune it pushes out 170 bhp which I've always thought was pretty weak (when you put it against the Clio 190 or the Mondeo ST 220) now there's probably a very good reason why this is so but that's a different subject altogether.
In the two years I've been pondering and researching possible engine upgrades Enzos "to do list" has been increasing - the gearbox has a whine in second and third, there's a tapping noise coming from the top end, an oil leak, the air con pipe has snapped off at the compressor end and just recently the clutch concentric bearing has announced it's retirement and is currently working its notice (I don't think it'll survive another winter) so I've been faced with a decision ....... Do I cut my losses and sell it for something else (the easy option) or spend some pennies and fix the problems and possibly upgrade a few things to satisfy my urge to create a stilo abarth more befitting of its Schumacher status (the more complicated and stressful option) ........ Well I like a challenge and I do love my stilo so I've decided to rebuild the engine and gearbox with a view of fitting some upgrades along the way
So I've started this thread to show everyone my progress from start to end and hopefully it will be useful to others and also sort a few myths out along the way. I'm not certain on the upgrades I plan to do yet as its all down to price and my own personal confidence so ill explain along the way. What I can say is that I plan to give it a full comprehensive rebuild (new belts gaskets seals etc etc) and to take plenty of pictures to show my progress and to give a better understanding of the 2.4 engine.
So where do I start? Removing an engine/gearbox assembly stripping it and rebuilding it won't be done in a weekend especially as I need to use the car daily so I plan to do some of the work off the car so I've acquired a cylinder head to modify and rebuild and another gearbox. This will shave a lot of time off when the rebuild happens as I won't be messing around rebuilding the parts on that are currently on the engine. I realise this is more costly but it means I can do the work at my own pace and time.
So to answer my question I've started on the gearbox, acquired for sum of £95 .I had been previously quoted £250 and £300 before this one so I see this as a bit of a billy bargain ........ Providing that all the innards don't just pour out as soon as I open the case up, in which case ill have just wasted £95! so wish me luck not sure when this will all be finished but it'll keep me out of trouble
) for two years now I've found myself pondering a few things. As a petrol head I've never been able to not fiddle with any of my cars so it wasn't long after buying Enzo that my thoughts turned to how I could get more performance from the 2.4 20v motor. In standard tune it pushes out 170 bhp which I've always thought was pretty weak (when you put it against the Clio 190 or the Mondeo ST 220) now there's probably a very good reason why this is so but that's a different subject altogether. In the two years I've been pondering and researching possible engine upgrades Enzos "to do list" has been increasing - the gearbox has a whine in second and third, there's a tapping noise coming from the top end, an oil leak, the air con pipe has snapped off at the compressor end and just recently the clutch concentric bearing has announced it's retirement and is currently working its notice (I don't think it'll survive another winter) so I've been faced with a decision ....... Do I cut my losses and sell it for something else (the easy option) or spend some pennies and fix the problems and possibly upgrade a few things to satisfy my urge to create a stilo abarth more befitting of its Schumacher status (the more complicated and stressful option) ........ Well I like a challenge and I do love my stilo so I've decided to rebuild the engine and gearbox with a view of fitting some upgrades along the way
So I've started this thread to show everyone my progress from start to end and hopefully it will be useful to others and also sort a few myths out along the way. I'm not certain on the upgrades I plan to do yet as its all down to price and my own personal confidence so ill explain along the way
. What I can say is that I plan to give it a full comprehensive rebuild (new belts gaskets seals etc etc) and to take plenty of pictures to show my progress and to give a better understanding of the 2.4 engine.So where do I start? Removing an engine/gearbox assembly stripping it and rebuilding it won't be done in a weekend especially as I need to use the car daily so I plan to do some of the work off the car so I've acquired a cylinder head to modify and rebuild and another gearbox. This will shave a lot of time off when the rebuild happens as I won't be messing around rebuilding the parts on that are currently on the engine. I realise this is more costly but it means I can do the work at my own pace and time.
So to answer my question I've started on the gearbox, acquired for sum of £95 .I had been previously quoted £250 and £300 before this one so I see this as a bit of a billy bargain ........ Providing that all the innards don't just pour out as soon as I open the case up, in which case ill have just wasted £95!
so wish me luck not sure when this will all be finished but it'll keep me out of trouble 
