2.4 Liter G4CS build thread

[Atuca]

Well Santa came early wearing all brown!

I got my packages this last weekend and spent several hours sorting through all the parts, matching part numbers and ensuring everything turned out great. Props go out to Slowboy Racing, Kiggly, and VR Speed Factory for the great prices, and wonderful service.

These are the parts I have ordered thus far, and as I was checking off my "master" list I noticed I forgot a few items, i.e. timing tensioner and pulleys, external oil cooler, things that smart people shouldn't forget heh. But I'll make another order through these folks and will be alll gooood


1. Freeze Plugs Top Line
2. Rod Bearings ACL Trimetal Race 4B1146H-STD
3. Main Bearings ACL Trimetal Race 5M1144H-STD
4. Main Girdle Kiggly
5. Main Studs ARP 207-5401
6. Balance Shaft Removal Kit MD040597,MD103722,MD092785,MD098626,MD128107
8. Timing Belt 2.4l g4cs / 4g64 OEM belt md331076
11. Tensioner Arm OEM Timing Belt Tensioner Arm MD-130032
12. Harmonic Balancer Fluidampr FDR-630701
14. Crank Pully Bolt ARP 207-2501
15. Water Pump and Gasket MD972052
19. Oil Filter Bracket Gasket MD149370
20. Oil Pump Front Case MD175762
21. Oil Pump Front Case Gasket MD149393
23. Castle Nut Plug MD125376
24. Castle Nut Plug O-Ring MD041021
25. Crankshaft Rear Oil Seak Gasket MD183243
26. Crankshaft Rear Main Seal MD343564
33. Stud to Transfer Case MD065945
35. Oil Tube O-Ring MD075834
36. Oil Strainer Gasket MD183240
38. Cylinder Block Dowel Pin MF472403 x2
39. Cylinder Block to Head Bushing MS471111 x2
40. Cam Gears 90-99 Eclipse 2.0L turbo (blue) - Fidanza 961999
41. Cam Gear Bolt MF140285 x2
42. Cam Gear Seals MD372536 x2
43. Springs and Retainers Evo VIII
44. Lifters Topline TPL-LIFMI6-16
45. MLS Headgasket Cometic C4235-051 87mm
46. Head Studs ARP 207-4201
47. CAS O-Ring MD619648
48. Intake Manifold Gasket MD188995
50. Thermostat Housing Gasket MD145038
51. Thermostat Kit MD997607
57. Flywheel XACT Streetlite 600150
58. Throttle Body to Manifold Gasket MD146399
59. Throttle Body to Elbow Gasket MD340327


Next bit of business, is with all these parts, I believe I am ready for the machine shop. What parts do I all need to bring with me, and how do I "place my order"? What do I need to know and what do I need to tell them so they do they machine the engine as I should expect it?

I am going to go with Rob's machine shop, who I know does FFtech's blocks. I trust they know what they are doing, but there were terms thrown around like..

Line honing with girdle installed.
Piston ring clearances

and other words I don't know how to put in a sentence. For ring gaps, is that something the machine shop does for me? or is that something I set with a ring filer when I am assembling?

Is plasticgauge a good enough way to check clearences of the crank, or will that coupled with my 24 dollar non-digital craftsman torque wrench gonna be ok?



As for the engine harness, it is still coming along. I am at the point now where I am routing the locations of the wires, relocating, and planning out how and where I am going to put new plugs like Eric did. Man that guy and his bro have been so much help, another props to him on finally finishing it last weekend!!

Thats all for updates, Thank you in advanced for answers to my questions!

 

[Dallas J]

If youre adding a girdle to a 6-bolt then I would have it line honed. I didnt do it on my 7-bolt, but it has a girdle already.

Youll need to take your pistons with you and specify your piston/wall clearance. Dont let them just used a standard N/A clearance since turbo cars have more heat and expansion we use a larger clearance. If the shop is assembling it for you then youll have to let them know desired ring gap, but if youre doing it then it doesnt effect anything they do.

So theyll clean, cyl bore/hone, line hone (if adding a girdle to a 6-bolt, if not then I wouldnt bother and didnt..), and deck the block.

I installed all my freeze plugs and stuff in the garage and didnt let them mess with that stuff. When the block and crank are at the machine shop then have them measure each journal and order bearings accordingly. Once you assemble the crank/girdle, then plasti-gauge to double check clearances.

 

[snowborder714]

I believe I've read that the Cometic head gaskets require a pretty flat surface on both the head and block. I'm not sure what you've said about head work, but make sure they both get done.

As Dallas said, you'll want to line hone the block with the girdle.

You might also want to talk with a few vendors who build engines and see what they recommend, if you're unfamiliar with all the options. This way you can see how everyone thinks and make sure stuff lines up with one another. That'd be my approach.

 

[Atuca]

I already ordered my ACL race bearing.. for standard size I guess. Did I mess up?

I plan on assembling myself because I believe I gotta do it one time or another, so I am just trying to do my research before I send it to the shop. I got a few weeks before I am paid anyways so this is perfect timing to learn some more.

I will have the head and block resurfaced, because yes the cometic HG I got is hard metal, multi layer, I am sure it will hold boost, just need it to hold coolant and oil

I'll check with vendors on the ring gaps. Now, I know I am supposed to use a ring file, can I use a dremel? From what I read, I just gotta make sure the grind is perpindicular. Does it have to be so perfect that it would warrent purchasing a ring filer?

 

[snowborder714]

I'm sure you could rig a dremel to work, but I don't think I could trust myself to use a dremel to make any changes to a ring. I have never touched a gapper or a ring, but I know that when you adjust the gap, it's in very small increments. I could see the dremel eating too much material away way too quickly. You want to work slowly and do it a bunch of times to make sure you don't overshoot your gap.

 

[Strm Trpr]

Yeah man, just pick up a $50 unit like this one from Summit.

Summit Racing SUM-906795 - Summit Racing® Universal Piston Ring Filers - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Also, what rods are you running?
I'd get a rod bolt stretch gauge instead of relying on torque readings from a torque wrench with questionable accuracy.

Search Results for rod bolt stretch gauge - SummitRacing.com

This is what I'll do when I build my stroker.

There is a killer thread here on the Evom.net forums about a guy how built a 2.3L, have a look at the walk thru.
A ton of people have been giving him kudos for such a descriptive walk thru.

My 2.3L build, lots o pics - evolutionm.net

 

[ILLiCliPSE]

Hmm, I dont have any problems with my Evo 9 seats in my 2g. They sit perfect. Im 6'3" and I havea comfortable amount of headroom I got my brackets from Wedge, tho so that could be it...they put the seat as low as possible. I could get them lower, but that would require hacking up my $250 dollar brackets and welding some other things, all for half an inch...no thanks. I think people don't realize that these seats are tall to begin with, and are usually see in a 4-door with lots of head-room.

BTW, this is how mine sit...

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Anyways...great build, keep it up! Wish I could start puting together my motor, the block is still sitting at the machine shop .

 

[Atuca]

Yeah man, just pick up a $50 unit like this one from Summit.

Summit Racing SUM-906795 - Summit Racing® Universal Piston Ring Filers - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Also, what rods are you running?
I'd get a rod bolt stretch gauge instead of relying on torque readings from a torque wrench with questionable accuracy.

Search Results for rod bolt stretch gauge - SummitRacing.com

This is what I'll do when I build my stroker.

There is a killer thread here on the Evom.net forums about a guy how built a 2.3L, have a look at the walk thru.
A ton of people have been giving him kudos for such a descriptive walk thru.

My 2.3L build, lots o pics - evolutionm.net

I got ARP bolts with my Eagle Rods. Man I see that 50 dollar grinder and I just can hardly beleive it does anything special. I guess I need to look at it as if its cheaper than paying somenoe to build my bottom end, it is worth it, but I still will have to think about that one; I think I will ask around regional forums, maybe I can find someone.

Thanks for the link on Evom, I have membership for their classifieds, never thought to look for engine build threads there

 

[Strm Trpr]

Hmm, I dont have any problems with my Evo 9 seats in my 2g. They sit perfect. Im 6'3" and I havea comfortable amount of headroom I got my brackets from Wedge, tho so that could be it...they put the seat as low as possible. I could get them lower, but that would require hacking up my $250 dollar brackets and welding some other things, all for half an inch...no thanks. I think people don't realize that these seats are tall to begin with, and are usually see in a 4-door with lots of head-room.

BTW, this is how mine sit...

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Anyways...great build, keep it up! Wish I could start puting together my motor, the block is still sitting at the machine shop .

Damn, you suck.
Those seats look factory installed.
There was a local selling his IX's, but he wanted like $600 and there were french fries in the crevices of the seats in the pics.... WTF
I had other sh!t to buy with $600.
Perhaps in the near future though.
Those look great man.

 

[Atuca]

600 is cheap.. I paid 900. No french fries though.

 

[Atuca]

Well this week with my days off I dug into the interior rewire. Not a guide to follow which made it a real pain, not to mention I think the interior wiring is a thicker main loom with I'd guess 20 total connectors, instead of just the few the fusebox and engine harness had. This meant that removing a wire or connector meant removing pins from not one connector, but more like 3-4 pins per "wire" I wished to remove.

For a list of what I was removing, I am not quite sure if I am done yet.

I removed the stereo wiring, and stock infinity amplifier wiring. I plan on running thicker speaker wire from a removable amplifier to the 4 speakers, instead of running the amped wires to the stock connector and the thin factory wiring. The only wiring left on the radio plug is the 5 wires for power, remote, illumination, dimmer, and ground? Can't remember exactly The wiring was such a mess, and really poorly done Mitsubishi... I knew they ran the amplifier and stock speaker wire in parallel, but I didn' tknow that it meant crimping the wires from the amp into the standard speaker wires. Pretty lame if you ask me. Anyways, the rear speakers were the most PITA just because they ran from the plug, through all the dashboard wiring, to the plug on the drivers kick panel, than through the side to the speakers. The door speaker wiring I havn't yet tackled yet. At the plug, the wires change to a black wiring, seemingly larger gauge. At this point in time I don't know how I would even rewire it, I don't see how the wire was physically routed through the little door garmet. Hopefully next week I can figure it out so than I can route the new speaker wire. Had I just wanted to remove my speakers for weight I probably wouldn't care, but I figure a little music in the pits would add some character.

All the A/C HVAC connectors and the heater core and fan plugs. In total there were about 6 or 7 plugs and I thought I be removing a ton of wiring by doing this. In reality, more than half of those wires were just connected to the other plugs or to the cores not more than 12 inches away. Only the ground wire, power wire, and A/C fan (routed to the engine bay to turn that fan on).

Now I am not 100% sure if that means I am no longer able to run my A/C fan on my radiator. I know there are people that pull the fan because it only helps cool the engine while idling? Anyone got any more insight on that? If it still helps I am sure I could wire it to turn on with the main radiator fan, other wise I will go ahead and remove it like Eric did.

Lastly I removed all the SRS wiring. That was the most difficult as it just seem to run everywhere. Only thing left is the SRS ring on the steering wheel mount. Is there a way to remove it, the wiring, but leave the center alone so that the blinker still works? Or do I just need to cut the SRS wiring on both sides of the ring?


That was it for the past two days. My butt is so sore from sitting on the floorboard of the car for so many hours. I decided for the ake of ease of reinstallation, I rewire inside the vehicle, instead of removing the harness and not knowing how to route all the little odd ball connectors back. Made it a little harder for the rewire, but gonna be a sinch putting it back together. With all the crimps mitsubishi did to the wiring and the power and grounds all spidered throughout the car, I am really considering going back and sodering and heat shrink wrapping everything... The thought is there especially now I removed some of the reasons to have a crimp...

Lastly, on my way to get groceries tonight, a new skateboard shopped had opened up next to it. On an impulse I ran in (against my fiance's wish ) and picked up some skateboard bearings. A restoration on my shifter is long over due..

As always, I would appreciate input on my questions, please and thank you! See you next update!

 

[Atuca]

Last two weeks I been continuing work on the Interior.

I got rid of all the sound deadening material! I didn't have easy access to dry ice, so I went at all of it with a plastic scraper, a heat gun, and some goo gone. It took alot of time, I want to say.. two weeks since last update right? I would NOT reccomend this technique if you have access to the dry ice, but this did work, and cleaned up nicely. You can see on the firewall where I havn't even started to clean. That is how it starts. I will have to go back and clean everything one more time it looks like, but this is the majority of the work.

I got rid of the spare tire holder in the trunk. I just went at it with a dremel, and a lot of metal fatiguing. Anywhere where the tac welds went through the sheet metal, I covered up with some jb weld. Below the trunk is nothing, so all the jbweld is doing is keeping dust from coming into the trunk area. If I had easy excess to a welder I would have, but I don't feel it is "necessesary" to have to.

and Lastly, I still been removing wires here and there. Who knows when it will end? My only real concern lately has been do I remove the rear defroster or not. I think that the lexan glass does not have defrosters, so when the time comes for the carbon fiber hatch and lexan speed glass, I mise well remove the defroster now. Can anyone verify this hypothesis?

 

[turbosax2]

You had sound deadening material under the shifter plate? Weird, my car didn't have any - that whole hump is silver.

 

[Atuca]

That is weird, since we both have 99 gsx's. I'll have to check my build date because this isn't the first of things I noticed that has been different from your tear down.

Eric, did you do anything with the white "glue" that is used in several spots of the car? Its mostly in the crevices and was covered when the sound deadening material was there, but now its removed, I am concerned it will eventually get sticky and stuck to the carpet. Any ideas? Maybe I just remember it soft after I warmed it up with the heat gun, but I figure I ask anyways.

 

[turbosax2]

I believe it's just caulking used to seal the panels. I don't remember mine being sticky at all. I left it alone. What else have you noticed that's different - I'm curious?

 

[Atuca]

I spent a good hour or so skimming through your thread Eric to see if I could find what it was I remember being different and nothing has jumped at me yet.

Maybe I have gone crazy from all the wire colors

 

[Atuca]

Well I know it isn't what you guys who deal with it all the time would consider amazing, but it snowed for the first time in 15 years in cities around california this past week. Its been COLD!

But I did still try and get some work done. Defying the cold with the light from my craftsman lamp, I finally got the firewall respectable. It isn't perfect, but after hours of scrubbing with goo gone, cleaning the brush and the residue, and repeating, I think I may have to call it good. At the point you can see goo, it is high enough up that the dash would be in its way quite a bit. I mean look at how much goo gone is left. I bought the bottom for the sole task of cleaning the residue form the sound deadening, and now half the bottle is gone. BUT, it worked!

I also did some work on the Thottle Body. I swapped over the TPS from the 2g TB onto the 1g. I noticed that the 2g TPS had 4 wires, instead of the 3 the 1g had. I guessed that is what the one wire "sensor" was on the throttle cable stop on the 1g was for. I am not sure if this is used in conjunction with the BISS screw for adjusting idle, but I will probably substitute it with a screw just for a cleaner look instead of a unplugged in connector. I also gotta figure out if I want to bypass the FIAV or not. I will have to do more research on what I am going to do about eliminating the heater core to give the coolant a way to go when the thermostat is closed. I think the FIAV might be a way the coolant can go?

I couldn't find the speaker plugs for the dash on a junk yard car in the months I looked. So I got the idea to modify the speakers for the same use. I got some out of a junk car and went at it with a dremel. Simple, and effective. I also got some inserts for the fog lights switch, cruise control, defroster switches from an unequiped junk jard car as well. I will paint them black before they go in.

I think I am basicly done with the interior rewire. I rewired the fuel pump again, moving the actuator next to the seat belt, and running just the wires through the stock gormet. As part of the rewire I removed all the wiring not needed anymore by the fuel pump. I also removed the wiring for the fuel tank pressure sensor (http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/new...ns-equipment-under-driver-seat-connector.html). It really is nice getting rid of all that useless wire.

I also got an FP 255 fuel pump for 50 bucks during the black friday sale. I am not sure if I am going to use this or not, but for the price I wanted to at least have it in my opinion and ponder. Opinions appareciated: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/356516-forced-performance-255-fuel-pump.html

Then I worked on cleaning up some valve covers, my 1g fuel rail, trying to fix my shifter (which if I can manage to come up with a solution I will post entirely on it...) and that is it. I am starting to run out of things to waste time on for "free" work. I am going to have to get working on my engine one of these days

Until next time!

 

[Atuca]

The engine was dropped off at the machine shop yesterday, finally!

I started working on getting some sponsors for the car and might have found one locally here with a new machine shop startup. Up til this point I have gotten small discounts on parts here and there from different vendors, but I am hoping I might get some actual monetary support.

The block is supposed to be done by friday, I gotta kick myself back into gear! I'll post some more updates when something actually happens!

Cheers!

 

[snowborder714]

If you can list them out, what sponsors are you looking at or hoping to get? I find it's very rare that a non-drag car gets sponsors, especially if you are not competing.

Also, would could you PM/IM me how you're going about getting sponsors, if you're uncomfortable posting this info in here? I'd be interested to see this compared to someone who actually races. I wouldn't mind having sponsors for my car once I get more seat time, but I just don't think most companies will go for someone who doesn't race competitively. Unless you're planning on doing this competitively from the start

 

[Ludachris]

The engine was dropped off at the machine shop yesterday, finally!

I started working on getting some sponsors for the car and might have found one locally here with a new machine shop startup. Up til this point I have gotten small discounts on parts here and there from different vendors, but I am hoping I might get some actual monetary support.

The block is supposed to be done by friday, I gotta kick myself back into gear! I'll post some more updates when something actually happens!

Cheers!

Hey Philip, here's something that might help you get more sponsors:
DSMtuners Featured Racers - DSMtuners

Of course, it will mean posting all your updates in the DSM Journals section instead of in the forums It's been pretty useful for other DSMers.

 

[Atuca]

I don't mind sharing what I been up to as far as sponsors, because really it isn't sponsorship for many as far as "good deals" from vendors. Every part I have ordered for my engine at the start of this blog has been through a vendor's email or instant message. I give them a link to my build blog/thread and ask for a discount/at cost pricing on parts and a company sticker/logo to display on my car, along with any fame and fortune I can bring them on the forums and/or track.

Doing this has gotten me just about every part of my build at the vendor's cost, or lower if it is a custom part, i.e. Kiggly. There isn't any magic really, but I honestly will do everything I can to help vendors if they can do anything to help me. I originally sent my parts list out to a dozen or so vendors, just asking if there was even one or two parts they were willing to get me at cost or lower to help me out, telling them the above story and the exposure my car would have.

Some vendors pitched in, others didn't or couldn't, and when the car is complete and I have a complete list of vendors to release, I will be glad to announce it!



As far as my Local Machine Shop sponsorship, that is a stranger story. I actually met the owner while I was at work. He mentioned he was opening a Machine Shop/Race Shop, and in Tracy, CA, that would be a first. Our closest Machine shop for a 4g63 is over an hour away, an inconvenience if you need a quick job done or some general labor completed.

I told him that I was in the middle of a build for a track only race car, and the gentleman asked what kind of car I was building. I said DSM and he gave me a smile...

His old project was a 96 GSX and a 92 GST!

He asked when it would be done and I told him a bit about how much everything cost. He nodded and agreed it was alot of money to build a good race car. He proposed the idea of my car becoming the first car built/oversaw by his shop.

As of now, he has offered free labor for any welding/custom work, engine building assistance, discussed CNC machining a set of Dennis Grant coil overs: Autocross.dsm.org - Build Your Own Konis, race car transportation and track side mechanic support, and has also stated he would assist me in finding some more sponsors, primarily some race oil and other fluid sponsors! I hadn't really believed anyone would take a real look at me as this would be my rookie year on the track, but from one DSM lover to another, the stars were aligned just right for my random encounter to become such a great one with this gentleman.

His shop is scheduled to open in April, and since the race season starts about the same time, I consider him my "bestest friend with welding and machining tools" until his new business license is all set and legit. I didn't want to start running around stating I got a full sponsorship, but for an amateur racer (or aspiring racer I should say...) anything free is a good free.




Chris, as I am sure you can tell, my experience is very limited, from my turbo decision thread to half of the things I want to accomplish with the engine build. If you believe a rookie racer like me would be worth considering, I wouldn't mind applying through the forums here.

You are gonna get blogs/threads outa me one way or another about my experiences on the track this year anyways; not being A Featured Racer ain't gonna stop me

PM or reply here if you think I'd be a fit, however from that "Featured Racer" link, it looks like you are looking for someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[Atuca]

Well with news my engine is going to be done this week from the machine shop, I had to start spending some cold nights out in the garage.

I started working on my Tranny and shifting assembly. I started by jb welding the rollerskate bearings together. I went ahead and did all 8 and figure I will either sell them or have them laying around as a DSM gift to a DSM buddy who helps me out (shoulda thought of little gifts like that as stocking stuffers)

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Now I remember when I pulled my tranny off seeing small scratches in the bell housing. Well I figured since I was trying to put my tranny back on with the engine still in the car during my clutch swap, I am 100% sure I scratched it some trying to force it on there from under the car. But last night as I tried to start cleaning up the tranny, I noticed some of the black grime wasn't just dirt.

It looks like part of the retaining clip/washer holder/throwout bearing assembly was completely destroyed. The washer behind the throw out bearing was also damaged, it has huge gashes in it probably from little chunks of metal being stuck there. I wonder if that has anything to do with my clutch never feeling the same as the first week I drove it, and being squishy. I don't think I caused any permanent damage, but it is hard to imagine the only thing that happened were a few scratches; I am sure it could have been alot worse. If anyone knows that the part numbers for any of these pieces or what they are called, please let me know.

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Besides that, I discovered the bearing in my ebay short shifter crapped out on me. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but I don't think it is fixable and will probably end up having to buy another one. Just one more thing that is gonna cost me money

 

[gyd23]

you haven't updated in a while.... hows this coming along? done?

 

[nitroaddict88]

YEA!!!

I want to see how my old DSM is coming along!

Im always watching Phil

Love,
Kyle
The previous owner

 

[stormy69]

The last time he was on here was a week after the above post, must have died....