Rebuilding my motor

[Boost92awd]

Alright so my car has been down all summer and now its about time to take the motor out and rebuild. The car is a 1992 Plymouth laser AWD, 69,000 original miles. The car has been sitting all summer because of bad rings and other problems, mainly do to running hot, but it has never gone of 225-230 degreez. This will be my first time taking a motor out and rebuilding it, but hopefully things will go smoothly as I start school for automotive next week and will have help from my instructors. Alright so its looking I'm going to have around $3000 to spend maybe alittle more. Keep in mind the car is pretty much stock right now. Mods in profile.

Like I said this will be my first time building a motor. I have a couple parts in mind that I would like to put into this build, put not sure on what else the money should be spent on. My goal for this car is 400 AWHP, but that wont happen for another year yet. I just want to get the motor ready and capable to handle that with no problem.

This is what I had in mind so far.
FMIC
ACT 2600 w/ lightweight flywheel
BSE kit
255 pump with AFPR
TBE
272 cams
ARP head studs
Built head, but not sure on what I should replace, valves,springs and ??? suggestions appreciated.
As for the bottom end I was thinking of replacing the piston rings and any other suggestions?
Would like to possibly keep stock pistons and rods, any suggestions on that.

 

[90laserRSfwd]

If you've got a good tune on the car go with stock(ish) parts. I'd suggest the following: (assuming you have a 6 bolt motor)

Stock 1g big rods
ARP rod bolts
2g turbo pistons
ACL tri metal rod and main bearings
BSE (balance shaft eliminator) kit
Replace the stock balancer
Mitsu MLS head gasket
ARP head and main studs
port the oil relief valve
cylinder head:
have the machine shop replace all the valve guides
I recommend bronze for the exhaust side
If you plan on revving the motor over say 8K:
BC or Manley single springs w/ titanium retainers
If you DON'T plan no revving the motor:
stock springs and retainers
Greddy Kevlar timing belt

 

[Boost92awd]

I'm planning on putting a 50 trim on the car next winter along with DSMlink. When the car is done in spring it will not see more than 14-15PSI untill dsmlink is installed. So I'm thinking the upgraded springs w/ titanium retainers would be a good idea for the long run.

As for the 1G pistons and 2G pistons is it really going to make that much of a different and would it be worth it considering my stock pistons only have 69,000 miles on them. Also this is a 6 bolt.

 

[1992awdlaser]

Look at the mods in my profile for a pretty strong 50 trim setup.

I and many others rev with aftermarket cams to 8,000 with stock springs/retainers. I have fp2(272) cams wih the stock springs.

The 2G pistons are higher compression ratio (8.5:1 compared to 7.8:1). They will give your car slightly better off boost response. The 2g pistons are also a little stronger. You need to measure the cylinder first to see if there will be enough material left on them after honing to keep exceptable piston to wall clearance. If you have enough material, then I would just stick with the pistons that are currently in the engine for your goal.

 

[Boost92awd]

Personally I'v though about upgrading the bottom end but I'm not sure if its worth it if my goal is about 400 AWHP. So the bottom end should hold it. I was thinking about maybe sending the rods and pistons out to get cryo-treated, I'v heard alot of good things about that. Anybody else got and suggestions for me?

 

[1992awdlaser]

The stock bottom end will handle 400whp just fine. There is no need to spend money on cryo treating.

 

[Boost92awd]

Alright thanks for the advice, what do you think of the list 90LASERFWD posted? Would you add or delete anything from that list? What about 3G lifters?

 

[1992awdlaser]

This is his list modified to what I would do if it was my car.

Stock 1g big rods
2g turbo pistons (only if you don't have enough material on the cylinder walls for honing)
ACL tri metal rod and main bearings
BSE (balance shaft eliminator) kit
Replace the stock balancer (only if it needs it, it's not hard to change when the motor is in anyway)
Mitsu composite head gasket
ARP head studs
port the oil relief valve
cylinder head:
have the machine shop replace all the valve guides
I recommend bronze for the exhaust side
If you plan on revving the motor over say 8K:
BC or Manley single springs w/ titanium retainers
If you DON'T plan no revving the motor:
stock springs and retainers
Mitsubishi timing belt


He had a good list, just in my eyes some of it would be a waste of money for your goal.

 

[Boost92awd]

Would the 2G pistons still be good if I have no tuning software? I'm only planning on running 14-15 PSI untill I get DSMlink installed.

 

[1992awdlaser]

You might have knock issues with no tuning. The stock 1G timing curve is very aggressive, one reason is because of the low compression pisons. That combined with the higher compression 2G pistons will give you a very good chance of knocking. You can compare the 1G and 2G timing curves in these pictures to see how much less timing the 2G has. The top is the 1G.

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[Boost92awd]

I was looking at the MAP performance stage 2 and stage 3 cylinder heads. Anybody running one of these, I know its a reliable company and I have bought numerious parts from them before. Now the difference between the stage 2 and 3 is that they they port and polish the entire intake/exhaust. Is this really worth an extra $200? Also if I was to buy one of these would I need to buy anything else for the top half of the motor to finish it off? There will also be cams and ARP's thrown in there.

 

[90laserRSfwd]

They have some good cylinder head packages. Not to be ignorant towards you or anything but, at the power level your shooting for, rebuilding the stock head with some good springs / retainers / cams / 3g lifters will get you there without wasting extra money on porting / polishing. I'm not trying to talk you out of buying a cylinder head. I'm just saying it's not worth the money. Like "92awdlaser" added, my list was intended to be more on the "better safe then sorry" side when I stated about replacing the stock crank pulley. I think your on the right track. Keep asking questions till your satisfied with your plans then write the check!

 

[Boost92awd]

Well I figured I should update this thread. The motor is almost done and should be done with in a couple weeks. Here my mod list for spring.

Mods so far.
Replaced piston rings
composite HG
Stock bottom end
Balance shafts removed
Ported oil relief valve.
BC 272's and 3G lifters
Apexi TBE
Greddy type S BOV
Ported 2G manifold
Ported 2G o2 housing
Ported 14B turbo
255lph fuel pump w/rewire
FMIC
ACT 2600 w/lightweight flywheel
2G MAS
AFC
650's
ARP headstuds
Aluminum radiator with slim lite fans
6000K HID's
Lowered about 2 inches

If I have enough money left I will be putting a B16G on it for this summer. Then hopeing to do a 50 trim next winter with DSMlink.

 

[turbodsm18]

I say skip the 16g and the 50 trim and look into Holsets....

-Kevin-

 

[Boost92awd]

I say skip the 16g and the 50 trim and look into Holsets....

-Kevin-

Well the 16G I can get for $200 and its an actual MHI 16G with no shaft play. Yeah I'v kind of looked into holsets, I'm not looking for big power till next summer. I already spent way more this winter than I should of.

 

[toofast82]

Sounds like a good deal on the 16g! Do you know if its small/big/evo3? Either way, any are capable of low 12s(and more) with the supporting mods, a good tune and of course a good driver.

 

[Boost92awd]

Sounds like a good deal on the 16g! Do you know if its small/big/evo3? Either way, any are capable of low 12s(and more) with the supporting mods, a good tune and of course a good driver.

Yeah its a ported big 16G. I know, I cant wait to get it back on the road. The car has been sitting in the driveway since feb of 2008. The last time I drove it, it was completly stock so it should be a fun car now that it has a bunch of mods on it.

 

[Boost92awd]

Well I decided that the B16G was to good of a deal to pass up. So I'l be ditching the 14b for a B16G.

 

[talonDSMerr]

Congrats on the build. What did you end up doing with the cylinder head? Was removing the engine/head and rebuilding it harder or easier than you expected? I'm looking towards doing my first rebuild as well so any tips/advice you may have from this experience would be great, thanks.

 

[Boost92awd]

Congrats on the build. What did you end up doing with the cylinder head? Was removing the engine/head and rebuilding it harder or easier than you expected? I'm looking towards doing my first rebuild as well so any tips/advice you may have from this experience would be great, thanks.

The head was just hot tanked, and cleaned up. Just put some 3G lifters and some BC 272's in the head.

This was my first time ever removing an engine from the car. It took about 8-9 hours for me to get it out. Ran in to a couple problems, but came out without snapping one bolt.

As for the rebuilding the motor part, I cant even tell you how much time I got into this and its still not done, I'd say probally 50+ hours. But I am also doing all of the work myself, with some help from my auto instructor. The whole motor build is being done at school, which help me save alot of money.

If you have any questions just ask me.


I'l post some pictures up later tonight of my progress on the motor. I'v also decided to ditch the AFC and 650's and go with DSMlink V3. Havent decided on the injectors size yet.

 

[talonDSMerr]

That's a lot of sweat put in, props. I don't think mine should take as long since I'm hoping I can leave my bottom end stock and just remove the head to replace the HG and inspect the valves for any damage. Pics of some of the work you have finished would be great, thanks. What were some of the biggest problems you ran into?

As for injectors, I purchased 1050's to go with my DSMLink, because I'd rather have them and not use them fully than need more and not have it.

 

[Boost92awd]

Heres some pictures of the build. To tell you the truth I really havent ran into any real big problems, this build is going along real well. Just very very time consuming.

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[92AWDHX40]

Looks good reminds me of my two rebuilds, but next time im going all out, on the bottom end and the head. Thats just the beginning, im going to do it one more time for over 400 hp, good work.

 

[Boost92awd]

Go to work on the motor for alittle bit today. Got the oil pan on and most of the timing belt components on today.

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[bastard dsm]

looks good man, i would stay away from the 50trim...even a 57trim turbo. a evo3 16g will put out
a way better power band then those 2 turbo's. if your going to run race gas OFTEN, then i would go
with a 60trim or bigger. if your looking to make 400hp on pump with ease, look into a gt30r or bigger
with all the support mods.