91 Eagle Talon TSI AWD

[944g63]

So right now I'm in the process of changing the head gasket on a DSM I recently purchased.

Here's some pictures:

The famous DSM trailer shot.

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The stock engine.

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The odometer says 242,000 but the body is pretty clean!

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BFG's!

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Stock 14b.

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The car in its new home for a while.

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The "home-made" boost controller from the previous owner. I plan on replacing it with a Hallman.

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My progress.

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Upon removing the exhaust manifold I noticed one port was wet, and oily looking. I asked some guys at another forum and they said its my valve seals, so I added that to my parts list too.

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Closeup:

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Comparison:

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And check out this oil return line, the side pictured was connected to the turbo!

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The exhaust manifold looks good with no visible cracks.

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And this is what happened when I set the crank pulley to TDC. I'm guessing the exhaust side is off by a tooth or so?

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And the crank pulley, I'm wondering if I should replace this because of the chip in the side of it.

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[LOLVTEC]

you have a lot of work ahead of you, but keep us posted.

 

[CrawlinZX14]

I would def replace that crank pulley, the rubber isolator in the middle looks very deteriorated. You have a long road ahead of you on that car. Good luck, put a build thread of your progress.

 

[944g63]

you have a lot of work ahead of you, but keep us posted.

Will do! I'm in the process right now of collecting a list of parts I'm going to replace.

Turbo to manifold gasket
Turbo to down pipe gasket
Oil feed line (I want to run it from the oil filter housing)
Oil return line
Glowshift Black 7 boost gauge
Glowshift Black 7 oil pressure gauge

Timing belt kit from STM, includes:
OEM timing belt
Tensioner pulley
Idler pulley
Tesioner assembly
Balance shaft elimination kit

Gates water pump, gasket and o-ring
FIAV block off plate
Gasket kit
"Half-moon" gasket
FIAV gasket
Throttle body gaskets
Exhaust studs and nuts
Injector o-rings
Injector insulator o-ring
Fuel pump re-wire kit
Fuel pump and install kit
K&N air filter
OEM crank pulley

And once I pull the head I will check for bent valves. If the valves do happen to be bent I was looking at valves on the Road Race Engineering site, anyone have opinions on budget friendly head rebuild parts?

And being a noob to this site I can post in the build threads section?

 

[LOLVTEC]

well since your doing all that might as well rebuild the whole block.

ARP HEAD STUDS add that to your list you won't regret it.

 

[944g63]

well since your doing all that might as well rebuild the whole block.

ARP HEAD STUDS add that to your list you won't regret it.

The car already has ARP studs! I'll be sure to check them to make sure they haven't stretched at all, I've heard you can re-use them multiple times.

But rebuilding the entire block would probably cost a lot more, as my parts list for the head gasket already sums over $1000. I have about a $2000 budget at the moment.

 

[Reefman]

If it is not necessary to rebuild the block then why touch it? Unless you want to do a full rebuild for high HP there's no point to do all that extra work. Looks like you're on the right track to getting that ride back on the road. Good luck with everything.

 

[944g63]

If it is not necessary to rebuild the block then why touch it? Unless you want to do a full rebuild for high HP there's no point to do all that extra work. Looks like you're on the right track to getting that ride back on the road. Good luck with everything.

Exactly what I was thinking. Eventually I'll probably end up rebuilding the bottom end. But I don't want to cut corners on parts just because I decided to rebuild the entire motor, and fall short on my budget. And I know the stock motor can handle about 500 HP with a good tune, my goal is to get the car to 350 HP. I feel this can be easily achieved on a DSM with the stock bottom end.

My parts list is about $1100 total. With the other $1000 I have I'm going to set it aside until I can save up another $1000 from my job. With that money I want to order a big 16g and a VRSF front mount kit. I think with a couple other supporting mods I will be able to safely meet my goal.

 

[buhay6]

nice man, it does look in good shape just fix her up and give'r a nice spray in the engine bay.

 

[944g63]

nice man, it does look in good shape just fix her up and give'r a nice spray in the engine bay.

Ya it really needs cleaned, but I don't want to do it at this time of year. Most of the time when I'm working on the car it's under 30 degrees outside, and the garage doesn't have a heater. That's probably going to get put off until I get the car running.

 

[307dsm]

Nice Catch... and since u are doing the head gasket why not get the head port and polish......

 

[tbarmydoc]

I had never seen a homemade mbc before...

 

[944g63]

Nice Catch... and since u are doing the head gasket why not get the head port and polish......

Because that would most likely end up with me sending the head off. I only trust the machine shops around here to resurface the head.

I had never seen a homemade mbc before...

I don't plan on keeping that, I'm going to upgrade it to a Hallman boost controller. Without a boost gauge the previous owner had no clue to where the boost was at.

 

[dsm44130]

i sure was glad when i took apart my bottom end after snapping my timing belt at 100k, i saw the worn bearings that were likely to spin if i didn't replace em especially if i was thinking of adding any hp, i saw how easily a few of the rings just broke when i removed em, i has a chance to see and clean all those caked up oil holes and ring groves on the pistons ,i really liked having felt that slight wave in the cylinder wall where the piston bottoms out, it was so much easier eliminating the balance shafts with a bare block too, while i might add if you use the slightly larger balance shaft to tap out the bearings all you have to do is turn them blocking the holes and then cut the nub off the balance shaft and weld the end hole and use it as your stubby shaft and get a 35 mil freeze plug which im glad i changed out all those on the block too . but hey i only lost my timing. at 100k on a mint car that was garage kept .bent all my valves ,cracked guides,and nicked the top of all my pistons . my dad told me "just do the head and get it back on the road" , im so glad i didn't listen to my father a master tech of 30+ yrs, cleaning that block up right with new rings, bearing and complete gasket kit free of leaks sure does make me a lot more confident that i can add hp without throwing ,spinning or blowing up anything in the block .

 

[944g63]

i sure was glad when i took apart my bottom end after snapping my timing belt at 100k, i saw the worn bearings that were likely to spin if i didn't replace em especially if i was thinking of adding any hp, i saw how easily a few of the rings just broke when i removed em, i has a chance to see and clean all those caked up oil holes and ring groves on the pistons ,i really liked having felt that slight wave in the cylinder wall where the piston bottoms out, it was so much easier eliminating the balance shafts with a bare block too, while i might add if you use the slightly larger balance shaft to tap out the bearings all you have to do is turn them blocking the holes and then cut the nub off the balance shaft and weld the end hole and use it as your stubby shaft and get a 35 mil freeze plug which im glad i changed out all those on the block too . but hey i only lost my timing. at 100k on a mint car that was garage kept .bent all my valves ,cracked guides,and nicked the top of all my pistons . my dad told me "just do the head and get it back on the road" , im so glad i didn't listen to my father a master tech of 30+ yrs, cleaning that block up right with new rings, bearing and complete gasket kit free of leaks sure does make me a lot more confident that i can add hp without throwing ,spinning or blowing up anything in the block .

Well actually regarding the balance shaft removal, I planned to remove the rear shaft and leave the front shaft in. With the front balance shaft stationary it will block the oil passage.

I don't exactly have all the tools to pull an engine such as a hoist or stand. And the timing belt was intact when I got the car, the previous owner told me it was the head gasket. He lost the radiator cap, which was in the back of the car. But when he attempted to turn the car over coolant went all over the bay. That is another sign that it is the gasket.

And how much did you end up paying doing all that work?

 

[dsm44130]

ferrea valves $130
machining head ,install new guides ,seals , valves, bleed lifters $250
felpro complete gasket and seal kit $100
hastings pistons & rings $105
block work $140
acl/clevite crank and rod bearings $80
new oil pan $65
act light weight fly wheel & ram clutch $350
crank & cam polish $50
chem dip, gear lube ,oil, antifreeze, assembly lube, paint etc.$160
oem timing belt, pulleys and tensioner $260
duralast water pump $35

 

[944g63]

ferrea valves $130
machining head ,install new guides ,seals , valves, bleed lifters $250
felpro complete gasket and seal kit $100
hastings pistons & rings $105
block work $140
acl/clevite crank and rod bearings $80
new oil pan $65
act light weight fly wheel & ram clutch $350
crank & cam polish $50
chem dip, gear lube ,oil, antifreeze, assembly lube, paint etc.$160
oem timing belt, pulleys and tensioner $260
duralast water pump $35

Well your machine work is just an estimate because I'm sure it will cost me more here. And if I take it all apart I should just replace everything the way I want it, instead of having to replace these parts a little later down the road.

here's some numbers I came up with:
Manley pistons $450
Manley rings $110
Eagle crank $580
Eagle rods $345
ARP main studs $59
ARP rod bolts $39
ACL main bearings $70
ACL rod bearings $42


Topline revised lifters $150
Valve keepers $36
Super tech exhaust and intake valves $124 x2
Valve stem seals $37
Super tech valve guides intake and exhaust $42 x2
ARP turbo bolts $33
Oil return $100
Oil feed $30
Walbro 255 w/ install kit $95
Fuel pump re-wire $30
Exhaust stud and nut set $30
Injector o-rings $36
Crank pulley $162
Water pump w/ gaskets $ 75
Glow shift boost gauge $ 40
Glow shift oil pressure gauge $ 55
STM timing belt kit, includes: $277
OEM timing belt
Tensioner pulley
Idler pulley
Tensioner
Balance shaft elimination kit:
Stub shaft
Bearings
Freeze plug
EGR block off plate and gasket $19
And I expect to put about $350 or more towards OEM gaket set and other gaskets I need. Also fluids and such.

That is about $3500 worth of parts not including machine shop fees.
Not including the top list It totals about $1900 not including machine shop fees.


With those valves is it ok to run OEM springs?

All the coolant lines and vacuum lines will be replaced with the emissions system deleted.

Does anyone know where to locate C.A.S. studs?

The car also has an aftermarket clutch as it is pretty stiff. The previous owner said it was a ACT 2600.

And again I have nothing to pull the engine and tranny with.

 

[ENICKB]

Try JNZtuning, DSMgraveyard, or EXTREMEPSI.com (my personal fav) for the CAS bolts.

 

[944g63]

Pulled the head off today.

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And a shot of the valves.

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[944g63]

I took some picture of the head gasket and the vavles.

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Passages were almost clogged with crap!

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Side view of the build up.

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Areas of failure

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The valves:

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[JKsTSiAWD]

Wow, great work man. It looks like it certainly needed it!

 

[944g63]

So I applied some wd-40 to the cylinders and while I was at it I took some pictures too. All of the cylinders have some marks on the walls, I'm wondering if I can run this until I get the money to buy another shortblock.

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Another thing I was looking at is the front case. It doesn't look to have a balance shaft belt and I'm wondering if the front case looks like the removal was done right. I'll have to check and see if the shaft is still in the block also.

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The oil pressure sending unit.

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Does anyone know what the two wires that come out next to the alternator plug go to? One of the wires is missing and the other one was just sitting there.

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This is how the fuel injectors were wired.

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The radiator doesn't look so good, I'm wondering if it's going to be a problem in the future.

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I tried to remove the radiator but the fans are wired directly into the harness. I guess I'lll be looking for a new harness in the mean time.

 

[Jon91TSi]

Looks like what i'll be getting myself into shortly.. Except mine wasn't butchered by some kid from the start, .

 

[944g63]

Looks like what i'll be getting myself into shortly.. Except mine wasn't butchered by some kid from the start, .

Haha I should have done that too. But I could have bought a clean 1g with a lot of searching, but got this car for pretty cheap. I figured that with the left over money I had I could just bring this car back to life. There's been quiet a few headaches but what did I expect?

I'm going to try to patch up the existing harness in the car, but I'm hoping I can find a stock harness. This will go with my plans to run ECMLink in the future and I want to relocate the fuse box inside the cabin.

 

[slam816]

just kind of a side question what hp level of boost pressure should a good headgasket and arp studs be installed?