dumb things you did on your rebuild so i dont make the same mistakes

[bjones18]

It's cylinder pressure that causes the rings to expand, more horsepower creates more pressure.

Cylinder pressure expands the rings to the walls, but does not make them grow in length. Temperature makes them grow in length, hence the need for additional gap.

Additional ring gap in high HP engines is important because of hotter combustion (more fuel & air). The hotter combustion heats the top ring more than a stocker. If the combustion temperature is hot enough and expands the top ring enough to close the gap, the ring will lock up on the cylinder wall. Peak temperature, after ignition (~TDC), your piston is moving down. Therefore a top ring which is locked to the wall by a closed off gap will pull the piston crown off

Tips:

1. oil pressure before compression -no plugs -no spark, -no fuel.... spin it over.
2. align a 7 bolt girdle (or 6 bolt center main) in the axial direction.
3. torque head bolts in stages.
4. disconnect your clutch switch for start up (no clutch load on thrust bearing)
5. clean surfaces mating to the head gasket very very well (no remains of old gasket.)
6. timing belt adjustment... use a nail in the tensioner hole...set tension so you can easily move nail in and out of hole.
7. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
8. do not run new engine with an overly rich mixture... fuel past the rings degrades the oil.

Over all, rebuilding is kind of easy, however there are multiple ways to screw up.

 

[dnhieu]

Cylinder pressure expands the rings to the walls, but does not make them grow in length. Temperature makes them grow in length, hence the need for additional gap.

Additional ring gap in high HP engines is important because of hotter combustion (more fuel & air). The hotter combustion heats the top ring more than a stocker. If the combustion temperature is hot enough and expands the top ring enough to close the gap, the ring will lock up on the cylinder wall. Peak temperature, after ignition (~TDC), your piston is moving down. Therefore a top ring which is locked to the wall by a closed off gap will pull the piston crown off

Tips:

1. oil pressure before compression -no plugs -no spark, -no fuel.... spin it over.
2. align a 7 bolt girdle (or 6 bolt center main) in the axial direction.
3. torque head bolts in stages.
4. disconnect your clutch switch for start up (no clutch load on thrust bearing)
5. clean surfaces mating to the head gasket very very well (no remains of old gasket.)
6. timing belt adjustment... use a nail in the tensioner hole...set tension so you can easily move nail in and out of hole.
7. http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
8. do not run new engine with an overly rich mixture... fuel past the rings degrades the oil.

Over all, rebuilding is kind of easy, however there are multiple ways to screw up.

this is the info i have been waiting for! i dont really get #4. can you further explain this to me?

thanks
david

 

[defrag010]

Cylinder pressure expands the rings to the walls, but does not make them grow in length. Temperature makes them grow in length, hence the need for additional gap.

Heat is created by cylinder pressure. More cylinder pressure = more heat. It was implied.

 

[bullettdsm]

To go along with stupid things, (though with the amount of engines I have built I have done countless stupid things ), there are 2 alignment sleeves that go on the block to help you align the head gasket and the head. These are normally taken out when you have your block machined. They go around two exterior studs ( I obviously used arps). Try to remember that you forgot to put them in BEFORE you do your final torque of the TTY head studs DOH!

Notes:

1 When in doubt moly lube. Can't hurt (unless you put it on your gaskets and belts)

2 Pre-oil system. There are various ways to do that but not by starting it up real quick then shutting it off!

3 Pack your oil pump.

4 After you put on head, put spark plugs into the channels of the spark plug holes. Don't
screw them in. This way you will still have 0 comp but the holes will be blocked.

5 Put a rag in the turbo exhaust mani port so that no washers fall in and you start your car and find that you have no boost and do a boost leak and find that you have no leaks and check and re-check everything because you think you may not have the power for the turbine only to find out that the washer fell into the turbine and locked it up !

Just my 2 cents,
MB

 

[bjones18]

this is the info i have been waiting for! i dont really get #4. can you further explain this to me?

thanks
david

1. Clutch loads are reacted by your "thrust washer'd main bearing."
2. Thrust washer main bearing needs oil for lubrication.

Depressing your clutch before oil pressure results in dry "thrust bearing" on dry "crank thrust surface." If you didn't "engine rebuild lube" your thrust surface AND run without oil pressure (nominal # of seconds) AND have your 2600# ACT clutch depressed on start up... your thrust bearing surface will generate lots of heat, maybe disrupt the bearing surface... who knows...maybe transfer bearing material to the crank surface (friction welding).

In any case, not applying clutch loads to your thrust bearing on startup (before oil pressure) is a good thing. And it might save you from rebuilding your rebuild after 200 miles.

 

[bjones18]

Heat is created by cylinder pressure. More cylinder pressure = more heat. It was implied.

Cylinder pressure does expand the rings by another mode also. The pressure leaks into the ring groove and pushes the ring to the piston wall...part of theory behind motomans break in secret.

 

[bjones18]

After you put on head, put spark plugs into the channels of the spark plug holes. Don't
screw them in. This way you will still have 0 comp but the holes will be blocked.

I do not recommend this.

I did this... a plug wiggled down into the hole, caught the first thread and POW! shot out under compression. lucky there was no damage. But I about cr*p'd my pants

 

[dnhieu]

To go along with stupid things, (though with the amount of engines I have built I have done countless stupid things ), there are 2 alignment sleeves that go on the block to help you align the head gasket and the head. These are normally taken out when you have your block machined. They go around two exterior studs ( I obviously used arps). Try to remember that you forgot to put them in BEFORE you do your final torque of the TTY head studs DOH!

Notes:

1 When in doubt moly lube. Can't hurt (unless you put it on your gaskets and belts)

2 Pre-oil system. There are various ways to do that but not by starting it up real quick then shutting it off!

3 Pack your oil pump.

4 After you put on head, put spark plugs into the channels of the spark plug holes. Don't
screw them in. This way you will still have 0 comp but the holes will be blocked.

5 Put a rag in the turbo exhaust mani port so that no washers fall in and you start your car and find that you have no boost and do a boost leak and find that you have no leaks and check and re-check everything because you think you may not have the power for the turbine only to find out that the washer fell into the turbine and locked it up !

Just my 2 cents,
MB

all good things you have listed but..... can you explain #3 better

thanks alot!
david

 

[dnhieu]

1. Clutch loads are reacted by your "thrust washer'd main bearing."
2. Thrust washer main bearing needs oil for lubrication.

Depressing your clutch before oil pressure results in dry "thrust bearing" on dry "crank thrust surface." If you didn't "engine rebuild lube" your thrust surface AND run without oil pressure (nominal # of seconds) AND have your 2600# ACT clutch depressed on start up... your thrust bearing surface will generate lots of heat, maybe disrupt the bearing surface... who knows...maybe transfer bearing material to the crank surface (friction welding).

In any case, not applying clutch loads to your thrust bearing on startup (before oil pressure) is a good thing. And it might save you from rebuilding your rebuild after 200 miles.

thanks man ill be sure to not use the clutch untill i build up some oil pressure. i have never herd of that ever. nor have i ever herd of packing the oil pump.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Here's a good one that my stupid ass did last night.

NEVER leave anything on your block when you are working on your car, especially little nuts. I took a block plug out when I was trying to figure out when the balance shaft plug was, decided to put it on top of cylinder 1 so I could remember to put it back. The next day (yesterday) I go to put my tensioner pulley back on and accidentally knock the plug into one of the coolant holes in the block

I'm currently waiting to get a magnetic screw pickup thing to try and fish it out of the reservoir... anyone have any other suggestions?

my theory is once the water gets pushed through the block, the plug will find it's way into the waterpump and will get stuck and destroy the blades..

wow, thinking about it makes me want to puke

 

[blcknspo0ln]

just for reference...

 

[bigemrich]

Biggest thing I can suggest from personal experience is to take your time and dont rush anything. If you feel frustrated step away and breath. It will be worth it to spend the extra time and effort to do things right. Half-Assing it will only lead to getting it redone again....trust me

--Kyle

 

[Vtec Killer]

i got a few tips
as far as ring gap i called ross directly and asked them about it they told me to file them to .027 and if i was gonna run higher boost gap them to .037 so i did a lil more and filed them to .040

put the oil galley plug in the back of the block cause i didnt and when i started it up freakin oil went everywhere all over my new clutch good waste of money right there let me tell you. Also have several friends there for start up i was lucky when i started my car up i had several people telling me to shut it off and the car ran for only a few seconds.

dont buy cheap no name parts either buy good mitsu parts they last longer.

and break in the motor and clutch no matter how hard it is im going throught that now it sucks cause i wanna fell the boost bad now and im restraining myself big time.

GOOD LUCK

 

[bullettdsm]

all good things you have listed but..... can you explain #3 better

thanks alot!
david

Open up the oil pump and pack it with white moly. I pack the oil pump gears with white moly for two reasons. One, because it acts as a "pre-prime" to your pump (helps to pull in the oil that you just put in). And two, If any thing goes wrong (oops I forgot the oil, there was blockage before the oil inlet etc... the moly acts a safety valve for lubing the gears).

And Bjones18, I can't say that I have had that happen (I put the plugs at an angle to basically cover the holes but not go in) but I love the thought that I could use my engine as a defense weapon .
MB

 

[alexg1323]

Major things i can think of to help you have a sucsessful rebuild, granted you are very mechanicly inclined and willing to have the patience to try it yourself

go through the rebuild steps in checks in the factory service manual and only the factory manual.

make sure your using an accurate torque wrench

if your using a MLS HG its almost necessary to get the head resurfaced.

On the head make sure all your keepers are kept in pairs, and make sure they are not damaged, keep all valves in order if re-using if you can.

Its almost always a good idea and cheap insurance to get the crankshaft polished. It might not mean immediate destruction if you dont but certainly could be down the road.

Use a thin film of RTV on gaskets to help them seal, but careful not to cover any holes or get to much that will gum out the side when torqued down.

Its also a great idea to invest in a metric tap and die set and chase most threads.


I also read someone say its bad to rotate the engine backwards while assembling. This is not true untill the timing belt is in place. It will rotate freely in either direction, even once the timing belt is on if your spark plugs are out you can rotate it backwards freely with no more ill side effect then going clockwise.

THe rest is all basic and listed in the book, check clearance and such, your going to need a caliper, a few micrometers and a dial bore guages to check all this out. Or your machiniest can do it when you take your parts in for service.

STARTING NEW ENGINE: with spark plugs removed, MPI fuse removed, throttle open, crank engine untill oil can be seen spraying from lifters onto camshaft, (via oil cap hole) replace parts, do one last inspection and have some confidence in your hard work and start it up, let idle about 2000rpm check for anything not hooked up, vacuum leaks, sensors, check for any fluid leaks. Let warm up to operating temperature, take engine out for break in. I break them in very hard, though this is another topic under alot of discussion i wount start that.

good luck, dont be afraid to try it yourself, just take your time and when in doubt USE THE SERVICE MANUAL

 

[JaxTalonTSi]

...make sure the crank is not out-of-round along with the cylinder walls. also if the crank needs turned, you need to take into consideration line honing the mains.

If your crank is out of spec, it's a better idea to look for another one. What makes our cranks so strong is the factory nitride coating. Turning the crank removes this, thus making the crank weak.

 

[Phat95Talon]

If your going to do the balance shaft elimination.....know exactly what your doing!!!!!!

Let's just say my last rebuild didn't go so well.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

If your going to do the balance shaft elimination.....know exactly what your doing!!!!!!

Let's just say my last rebuild didn't go so well.

research research research.. jk I was also going to the BSE (I even ordered it) but then i did a little more research to what was involved and did not want to bother with getting new seals for the frontcase, etc. safe to say I still have my BS

 

[ninjai_ruken]

My brother dropped a bolt inside my number 3 cylinder and did not bother to tell me about it until I started my new motor, and I wondered why I was replacing my brand new pistons and valve's, and pretty much a new head...that #### sucker. he is still avoiding me


So 1) don't let anyone help you if you are doing it your self unless they know what the hell
they are doing even if it is just to torque bolts to spec

2) Make sure all your parts are accounted for down to the last nut or bolt