Engine assembly tips

[fastezz]

My block cracked so I am getting another block and I am going to have to put that in, I am putting a new oil pump in arp headstuds and a mitsubishi headgasket and also BS elimination, I have the chilton manual and vfaq of cource but that can only take me so far, If there are any tips for engine assembly anyone has they are greatly welcomed.
Ryan

 

[tmizer]

Ah, welcome to the wonderful world of DSM engine rebuilding WTF

Tips? Yeah.... make sure you've got a good, reliable beater car/truck. Personally, I prefer Ford Rangers. They run forever and will transport that block and head to and from the machine shop quite well.

Tip: Do NOT scrimp on either TIME or MONEY. In the end, it will just cost more of both.

Tip: Either stock or fully built. Nothing in-between. Stock has the inherent beauty that everything, and I mean *everything* bolts back up, and thus saves TIME and MONEY. Built implies bigger turbo, which will lead to a FMIC and FMIC piping, which leads to -6AN fuel line upgrades and AFPR, which leads to MAFT and GM MAF's, which leads to ECU chips...and so on and so forth.

Tip: Toss the Chilton and get a DSM factory service manual CD from anywhere (Ebay usually).

Tip: Laquer thinner is your cleaning friend.

Tip: Polish the crank, never undersize grind it. If it needs grinding, toss it. Re-nitriding costs money...which is better spent on another *stock* crank.

Tip: Alocate time for clean up and keep things clean in your work area. If you have an hour to work on things, go mow the lawn or cook something nice for the woman instead. Which leads to: either make sure she has her own *hobby* or work on it only when she is gone (mine is a firefighter, she's gone for 24 hours, back for 48).

Tip: Know when to drink beer. In other words, know when to take a break. Don't worry, not only will the motor still be on the engine stand tomorrow, but ironically, something a month or two later will happen that will make that 3 hour stretch to get things done ironically meaningless from a time perspective.

SEARCH, like laquer thinner, can be a good friend. And remember don't scrimp on TIME or MONEY.

 

[asah]

Tip: Toss the Chilton and get a DSM factory service manual CD from anywhere (Ebay usually).

I got that backup CD, but it seems to have missing pages all over the place. I hope the Chilton isn't that bad. The best part of it was the VFAQ which is out of date. Has anyone else had these issues? Most people seem to love the CD. What am I doing wrong?

 

[kicker91laser]

When I do any work on my DSM, I use all of my resources together, some will have info that others don't. I too am planning to rebuild a 6 bolt that was a victim of a jumping t-belt that I plan to swap in my 89 colt gt. How much is a new crank? Is there any place that carries them?

 

[1fast97gsx]

I was under the impression a "new" crank is around $700? You are best off finding a standard sized used one. I got mine for $50.

 

[Drifter27_04]

Fastezz,

I am in the starting stages of rebuilding. I am going with a 2.3L stroker engine and will be selling the internals (crankshaft). I am not starting on anything for at least another month this including tearing the engine down. If you are needing a crank at this time please drop me a email and see if I have it.

 

[Burnett03]

My block cracked so I am getting another block and I am going to have to put that in, I am putting a new oil pump in arp headstuds and a mitsubishi headgasket and also BS elimination, I have the chilton manual and vfaq of cource but that can only take me so far, If there are any tips for engine assembly anyone has they are greatly welcomed.
Ryan

keep everything clean and covered. when you are building it cover the block with a trash bag or something of that nature. pre-lube all the moving parts too with assembly lube