300+WHP build on a 1998 GS Turbo'd 420a

[Josh97eclipse]

What were your af ratios in boost?

 

[GSTurbo1]

10-11 now but the guys that had after the builder didn't know how to tune.

 

[glowryder]

yea it looks like it got hot.. and possibly some Det.. No good. IMO, why dont you have a machine shop look at it.. I know you already ordered the stuff (newb move), but id hate to see you get it all back together and stil not be right because the tol's are not correct.. Any idea on ring gaps? How do the rod bearings look?

 

[GSTurbo1]

yea it looks like it got hot.. and possibly some Det.. No good. IMO, why dont you have a machine shop look at it.. I know you already ordered the stuff (newb move), but id hate to see you get it all back together and stil not be right because the tol's are not correct.. Any idea on ring gaps? How do the rod bearings look?

By god this mother is going to run like a champ, i'm ordering new clevite rod bearings.

 

[glowryder]

Ok, do you know what size you need.. What series did you order? Are you sure your crank doesnt need turned or replaced depeing on the journal size and condtion..

Det can killl rod bearings, and Since it looks like you had a fair amount, thus im wondering about crank condtion, as the bearing can only take so much.. Im willing to bet you need to either turn the crank or get a new one ( if the crank has been turned a few times before). Esp on boosting, the more "meat", the better. HX are a good clevite, but require extra Tolerancing..

Running, and Lasting are 2 differnt things.

 

[GSTurbo1]

I ordered a full set of clevite bearings... should do the trick.

Just finished water pump change... the original one looked good. I'm out on cash, so i will not be able to replace the cranshaft or get it polished. I just hope I don't run into anymore obstacles... I'm a little over $1000 on the rebuild.

oh the bearings i'm ordering are Clevite Rod Bearing Set Eclipse/Talon 420a - CI Motorsports - .02inch. These were the same that I pulled off.

 

[glowryder]

. goood luck. You ordered from a piss poor company. I hope you get your bearings, it will be a miracle if you do.. (Do a search on them and see their rep). I hope they have turned around their sad service.. but im not holding my breath, at least you didn't order from Howell .

Any way, should do the trick.. if your crank hasn't suffered. How did the bearings look that you took off? How did the crnak look, did you Mic it to make sure its still in-round? This will determine how long your builds going to last..

P series wasn't the best choice, you really should have gone with HX for boost.. But that would require you actually doing machine work.. The next hurdle is oil control. you could have the best bearing in the world, but due to lack of oil control, they will fail that's the real root cause of bearing failure. what do you have for oil control??

For the record, budget builds are for proving points. like, i spent a 1000$ on a turbo and made a 12 sec pass. all they care about is proving they can spend 1000$ and get a fast time.. no one said anything about the motor lasting.. so what are you trying to prove?

Its funny (in a sad way) because, while you "budget" build yours, blow up again (because unfortunately you probably will) b.c you didn't spend money, or spend enough in the right areas ( like toleranceing and verifying your crank) , youll spend 2X more to get you back to where you were before you blew.. not much of a budget. Thats why they say:
Build it right the 1st time or build it 2x.. and Cheap.Fat.Reliable.. Pick 2...

Hope it works for you, but he odds are kinda stacked..sorry..you may get lucky, but luck runs out. I have a feeling (based on experience) that it will run for about 3K before you spin a bearing assuming your crank is in decent condition, but with all the Detonation.. I doubt it.. I also suspect your bearing were pretty tore up.. post a pic up, that will help.\\GL!

 

[GSTurbo1]

. goood luck. You ordered from a piss poor company. I hope you get your bearings, it will be a miracle if you do.. (Do a search on them and see their rep). I hope they have turned around their sad service.. but im not holding my breath, at least you didn't order from Howell .

Any way, should do the trick.. if your crank hasn't suffered. How did the bearings look that you took off? How did the crnak look, did you Mic it to make sure its still in-round? This will determine how long your builds going to last..

P series wasn't the best choice, you really should have gone with HX for boost.. But that would require you actually doing machine work.. The next hurdle is oil control. you could have the best bearing in the world, but due to lack of oil control, they will fail that's the real root cause of bearing failure. what do you have for oil control??

For the record, budget builds are for proving points. like, i spent a 1000$ on a turbo and made a 12 sec pass. all they care about is proving they can spend 1000$ and get a fast time.. no one said anything about the motor lasting.. so what are you trying to prove?

Its funny (in a sad way) because, while you "budget" build yours, blow up again (because unfortunately you probably will) b.c you didn't spend money, or spend enough in the right areas ( like toleranceing and verifying your crank) , youll spend 2X more to get you back to where you were before you blew.. not much of a budget. Thats why they say:
Build it right the 1st time or build it 2x.. and Cheap.Fat.Reliable.. Pick 2...

Hope it works for you, but he odds are kinda stacked..sorry..you may get lucky, but luck runs out. I have a feeling (based on experience) that it will run for about 3K before you spin a bearing assuming your crank is in decent condition, but with all the Detonation.. I doubt it.. I also suspect your bearing were pretty tore up.. post a pic up, that will help.\\GL!

I didn't order the bearings yet... can u help me find another place to order the bearings from? I have searched high and low but it is hard to find them. I am just trying to get this thing back on the road, I drive a lifted f150 that is killing my wallet. If I have to... when I save up some more money I will purchase a standard sized crank. The bearings where showing some copper on the two pistons that had been detonating, i'm going to buy a water/meth injection to keep this from happening again.

Yesterday I put the new pistons on the connecting rods.... those c-rings are a beeotch to get seated until you figure out a method. I'm going to go pick up a feeler gauge to ensure appropriate ring width.

 

[glowryder]

theres no book on what to set the ring gaps to.. its based on experience an application.. This is where a machine shop comes into play.. Any machine shop should be able to get the bearings. they arent rare or anything,, hell even napa can get them.

 

[Josh97eclipse]

I ordered arp turbo manifold studs and from ci and got them in 3 days

 

[GSTurbo1]

I ordered arp turbo manifold studs and from ci and got them in 3 days

i'll give them a call + an unltimatum

 

[GSTurbo1]

just ordered my rod bearings, egr block off, new CLT sensor, and taking my head to get worked on

 

[Josh97eclipse]

I wanna rebuild another 420a motor! But I wana build the crap out of it but I dont have that cash.

 

[GSTurbo1]

I wanna rebuild another 420a motor! But I wana build the crap out of it but I dont have that cash.

SO MUCH MONEY GOES INTO BUILDING A 420a. I think I might get an older wrx sti or evo after a little while, I really want a newer boosted car.

Anyways I took the head to Dover Cylinder and Head in Greenville SC, he showed my that the last time it was built was '05. He measured the head and said that it had definitely been decked a couple of times, but it still had enough life in it for him to do his work. Hope to have my car back together in a week or less depending on how long it takes for my bearings to come in.

 

[GSTurbo1]

got three pistons in but, broke the 2nd compression ring on the fourth piston, waiting for my ring to come in from JE tomorrow then back on the build. Here are some pics up till now.

The cylinder walls are coated in red break in oil in case you are wondering and there is a minute amount of lint in there but that was all removed before pistons were installed.

 

[snowmancory]

i have the same turbo setup, do you have any issues with downpipe next to ac lines??

 

[GSTurbo1]

I have an ac compressor but don't run/not hooked up. usually just pull the sunroof back and roll down windows.

I finished my build today I have a lot of pics to post, it started right up first turn of the key!!!!

I finished my build, will be posting pics soon!!! Thank you everyone for the help and my stupid and pointless questions. My car started on the first turn of the key, I let it idle for 30 minutes... i'm going to change oil and oil filter again then put some easy miles on it

 

[Josh97eclipse]

Hey man no questions a stupid question. Gotta be sure on what you are doing.

 

[snowmancory]

good news on the finish id like to do a similar build just got mine, and now going through the preventive maintenance to fix oil and tranny and coolant leaks ,,,,errrghh it leaking from around every lil sensor or gasket

 

[GSTurbo1]