Besides balance shaft elimination are there other little things to do to improve a otherwise stock 6 bolt? Just going to be a cookie cutter holset 35 with hks 272s.

Buy a full OEM gasket kit and replace the gaskets and seals to prevent leaks down the road.

How far have you tore down the engine?

What are your goals? Some stuff can only be done with a full teardown such as Kiggly's Girdle which requires the block to be align honed with it installed. You could also remove the oil squirters if you want. Some people do it and report with great results and it boosts your oil pressure. You could also port out the oil relief hole. Recommend doing that cause with the BSE you'll be fighting high oil pressure from the start. You could also replace the stock 6 bolt oil pickup with the 7 bolt. Also if you're going to tear it down to do a BSE, you'll have the timing belt off anyway so replace the water pump and timing belt if they haven't been changed recently.

If the engine is out, do all the gaskets for sure... I don't know what you consider "little stuff", but personally, if I have the motor out, I stick it on a stand, flip it over, pull the pan, and check the crank/bearings/endplay. If the crank looks nice, but the bearings have been in a while, I change them. That's a good time to also make sure your squirters are all still in place... The 6 bolt ones have come loose before and wind up in the pan.

Head is off, pan is off. I wasn't going to check bearings but I suppose I might as well. Cylinder walls look good, piston tops look good.

I am going to put in new valve seals and perhaps clean up the ports on the head. Head will be surfaced and probably use a composite with arps.

I've read you don't need springs for the HKS 272s but if they are borderline maybe I should put them in now.

Clean engine bay. Tear off firewall stuff. Take out misc unneeded brackets, lines & bolts. Tuck whatever you want clean or unseen.

Flush heater core & install hoses with clamps. Easier to access clamps w/tools.
Paint or coat Exhaust.

Besides the obvious "you should" & what you want to do. That's all I really did when the engine was out.

With the head off...

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/341028-4g63t-head-oil-port-mod.html

Why the springs stand a good chance of being wore out.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/341209-4g63t-valve-spring-info.html

A new set of BC1100 can be had for $100 shipped

Do you know how the machine shop will surface the head?

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/new...face-4g63t-cylinder-head-mls-head-gasket.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/cyl...0613-why-not-let-your-head-belt-surfaced.html

I would not remove the oil squirters. They're a real asset to the performance of the 4G63. Engine builders go to extreme lengths to install squirters in blocks that aren't equipped with them. You guys should be greatful that the 4G came with them stock.

Aftermarket cams require aftermarket springs. Sure, it'll run with worn out stockers but that's where a lot of common valvetrain problems arise.

Now is a good time to replace as many gaskets and seals as you can. It's also a good time to clean anything you can't normally get to and squirt some paint on chassis parts and the engine block. New engine mounts are a good idea. I wouldn't pull the engine apart to check the bearings unless you're prepared to open a can of worms. Unless of course you have a problem that needs to be diagnosed.

Thanks bogus!