CHAR-FT said:

Most problems are user error, "not priming pumps properly." etc... most reputable shops will stand behind their products, you cant go wrong with any of them really.

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slowgsr said:

not priming a oil pump will not cause any sort of failure.. unless you don't use a high quality assembly lube. When the oil pump is assemebled it needs to be packed.

I crank the engine with the coil/fuel pump disconnected for maybe 10 seconds, just for 4-5 seconds at a time, after 10 seconds or so I get a good stream of oil coming out of my turbo feed line. Then as soon as you start it up, watch for instant oil pressure, if you have zero shut it down.

It is nice to prime the system by turning the pump with a drill or something.. theres many builds where guys can't do that.

Do the research your self, work closely with a very reputable machine shop who is highly experienced, it may be hard to find local. Heres what I did..

I selected my parts, pistons/rods, bearings.. decided to run a gridle, so I ordered a torque plate, as well as all fasteners.

Drop off the shortblock (assemebled). They will pull it apart, inspect it and let you know if its good.

Then.. The crank journals got balanced, the pistons/rods were checked and balanced (they come very close). Pistons get measured, block gets bored and honed to exact P2W for each piston spec.. Using a torque plate, as well the mains get linehoned with the gridle/main studs installed, piston/rods get assembled, pin clearance checked, rings gapped and installed. Drop in the piston/rod assembly. Then they check bearing clearances.. they will measure your crank beforehand to tell you if its within spec. They hot tank it first, clean it various times during assembly as well. In just labour costs for the work I had done ran me $1200. Plus parts obviously. Having a block built properly is not cheap. The head is another thing too! I had my headwork/machine work and assembly done by allmotormike.

I may have missed something, but you can't just drop a block off at a machine shop, have them slam it 20 over, and drop in rods/pistons at your house and hope everything is proper. No 2 things are exactly the same, thats why each bore needs to be honed exact to fit each piston so you get desired p2w, very important.

Then I assemebled the longblock using all new OEM mitsu stuff, any bolt that turns use red loctite, pack the oil pump properly.. its lots of fun, and you learn a ton. Everything needs to be EXTREMELY clean, at all times.

Half the fun of having a badass setup is driving it.. the other half is building it!

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