The other wife

[curt-s]

Trust me, if anyone can relate to that its me. I was there, and best thing I did was just chilled out a bit. I took a step back, and enjoyed doing other things for a little while. Forcing something is a great way to BREAK something. Take that as literal or figurative as you like, but I live by it.


It'll be worth it in the end, but yeah. Nothing wrong with taking a breather and just getting the motivation back.

The problem is, I don't have much going on otherwise. I put things in motion in certain ways specifically to free myself up for the build. That includes paying 10k to have someone else build a fence and deck for us so that I didn't spend my entire summer doing it myself

and now that's also stalled because they've overbooked themselves and everyone is getting a diluted version of progress. I've been waiting over a week just to get an updated building plan to submit back to the permits office. Turns out you can have 10,000lb capacity steel ground screws as a foundational support and it's just fine, but as long as it's concrete, it needs an engineer stamp. FK sakes.

Anyway. I cleared out my summer for this and now that it's not happening, I'm totally $&@!ING bored off my ass.

 

[DreamChaser7]

I’ve got plenty of stuff I can’t get caught up on around here…you like trimming trees? Pressure washing?

 

[curt-s]

I’ve got plenty of stuff I can’t get caught up on around here…you like trimming trees? Pressure washing?

Trimmed enough trees at our last property but pressure washing, sure. I charge mileage, however.

 

[curt-s]

Got some measurements.

Mains (after second round of line honing since shop #1 messed up the first time): 0.0021 - 0.0023
Rods, brand new Eagles: 0.0026 - 0.0027 with STD ACL bearings. Kings measured out on the last set of rods (that I've since replaced because they were 0.003+) at 0.0002 less.
So, with King XP rods, I could expect 0.0024 - 0.0025. They may be harder than ACLs, though, so I'm not sure which I will ultimately run.

Shop #2 will touch the pin ends, if needed, and see about that crank scratch early next week. There goes June.

 

[curt-s]

It now begins...

...with the short block

 

[curt-s]

Totally forgot how long it takes to tape off a block

The red engine enamel (with pectin or ceramic or something) smells like licorice.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Totally forgot how long it takes to tape off a block

The red engine enamel (with pectin or ceramic or something) smells like licorice.

View attachment 736774

Reminds me of the red caliper paint I had. It had something in it that made it smell like male cat spray/urine. Not even joking. Even my wife came out and was like "did a cat spray out here?" after I sprayed the VC.

Cat urine aside though, that stuff bonded and dried like cement. Honestly think I could strike the VC with a hammer and the paint wouldn't chip.

 

[curt-s]

Reminds me of the red caliper paint I had. It had something in it that made it smell like male cat spray/urine. Not even joking. Even my wife came out and was like "did a cat spray out here?" after I sprayed the VC.

Cat urine aside though, that stuff bonded and dried like cement. Honestly think I could strike the VC with a hammer and the paint wouldn't chip.

Never considered caliper paint for the VC before. HMMMmm

 

[CrackedDSM]

Never considered caliper paint for the VC before. HMMMmm

I didn’t either until I had it in hand and then I was like, why don’t more of us use this? It’s designed for high heat and lots of abrasive chemical and particulate abuse.

So far so good. I’ve been in the engine bay a ton, resting tools and tool cases on top of the VC and is yet to get a single scuff or scratch.

 

[curt-s]

Shop told me they opened the pin ends of my Eagle rods to give 0.0006" clearance to the wrist pins of my Manleys (I foolishly didn't give them a spec but he did mention 0.001 or a tad more when I was there being an option for higher HP motors).. I think I'll take them back tomorrow morning and have them go to 0.001".

 

[curt-s]

Washed the block a second time as I wasn't happy with oily residue.

Gave crank a third cleaning


I think I will do one more before install. I expected to use 6-7 cans of brake clean and I'm only up to 5

Rotated balance shaft bearings are in


Oil squirters torqued down to 23.5 with a dab of blue loctite. I checked each before install but not well enough.. one of them was a bit crooked so I wiggled the nozzle and I could pull it right out. Luckily I have four spares in my other block and a couple sets of spare crush washers. I figured I'd need them.

 

[Imback]

Nice build. Everytime i see someone starting a build with the v3 68hta i never hear any feedback. Hope to see some results for your build. Unfortunate about the oil squirter but there only brazed on and get brittle over time.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

@curt-s , I think I was reading
001"-.0015 "somewhere" for the wrist pin clearance.
It might have been in my V8 stuff but that sounds right.
SLOWLY rotate the crank/rod assembly with those "new to that motor' squirters. Most clear just fine but just double check slowly that everything clears. One of my squirters was plain ass broke off from interference at some rpm but not at assembly. (Probably some ungodly number but make sure they clear just fine)

 

[curt-s]

Nice build. Everytime i see someone starting a build with the v3 68hta i never hear any feedback. Hope to see some results for your build. Unfortunate about the oil squirter but there only brazed on and get brittle over time.

Yeah I was hoping for some numbers too..
Whether I'll ever see a dyno, I don't know. AWD dynos around here are hard to come by.
At least I'll have logs and personal impressions

@curt-s , I think I was reading
001"-.0015 "somewhere" for the wrist pin clearance.
It might have been in my V8 stuff but that sounds right.
SLOWLY rotate the crank/rod assembly with those "new to that motor' squirter. Most clear just fine but just double check slowly that everything clears. One of my squirter was pain ass broke off from interference at some rpm but not at assembly. (Probably some ungodly number but make sure they clear just fine)

Based off what I've read here, .0009 or .001 is a good number to shoot for. Nowhere was I able to find anyone suggesting 0.0006 was acceptable. I'll go with status quo on this becausr of metal expansion due to heat. Theres a million PTW threads but not much on wrist pin talk.

I'll keep an eye on those squirters, yeah, also because of the Manley pistons that are going in.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Admittedly I’m curious about the turbo as well and how it compares to the Green. I must say I really enjoy the street manners of my green. Really can’t wait to stretch its legs but break in periods suck.


I missed it before but what’s the CR you’re after? Also: any E85 in your area?

 

[Imback]

Yeah I was hoping for some numbers too..
Whether I'll ever see a dyno, I don't know. AWD dynos around here are hard to come by.
At least I'll have logs and personal impressions


Based off what I've read here, .0009 or .001 is a good number to shoot for. Nowhere was I able to find anyone suggesting 0.0006 was acceptable. I'll go with status quo on this becausr of metal expansion due to heat. Theres a million PTW threads but not much on wrist pin talk.

I'll keep an eye on those squirters, yeah, also because of the Manley pistons that are going in.

I would definitely be curious on logs as long as your car weight and all else is correct. I'm up in the air what's next after my galant. Either a evo 3 or 5 are the only other mitsubishi's i would consider. So i would love another 16g car to add to the collection. I'll be going to my machine shop this week to see what's the status of my motor since the shootout is fast approaching. Are you bringing this car to the shootout?

 

[curt-s]

I would definitely be curious on logs as long as your car weight and all else is correct. I'm up in the air what's next after my galant. Either a evo 3 or 5 are the only other mitsubishi's i would consider. So i would love another 16g car to add to the collection. I'll be going to my machine shop this week to see what's the status of my motor since the shootout is fast approaching. Are you bringing this car to the shootout?

I'd love to be able to attend but I don't see my cylinder head being ready this month. That and Im not brave enough to make the trip down with a newly completed car, and I don't have a trailer capability. I'm gonna have to survive on YouTube videos.

 

[curt-s]

What an annoying day. So a couple days ago I dropped the crankshaft in and whilst I was getting ready to torque the mains I noticed the crankshaft lobes had crap on them. So everything came apart.

Today, in more stupid heat, I clean everything up and restart the process.

First I started with putting #3 down, against the crank, and prying on the crank as I torqued it in steps. After 40ft/lbs, I couldn't turn the crank. Loosened everything up, and it rotated. At that point, I start to get concerned.
Pull everything apart, check the bearings for crap that might have somehow got caught in it. Check for crushed edges. Everything looks normal.. Clean the crank main journals and bearings, and put it back in. I check endplay with no #3 cap -- 0.007.

Third time the crank goes in, do the smacks after I seat #3 without the girdle. First front->back 3 times with a deadblow, then back->front 3 times or so with a deadblow and an hammer as an extension to go through the engine stand's hole. Rotates freely. Check endplay -- 0.003, and I can get a .002 feeler between the crank and bottom thrust bearing shell whilst prying on the crank. FFS.

Pull off the caps again, out comes the crank. Mic'd the thrust bearing for width: 1.141" for both of them. So it's not like they're uneven sizes. Everything goes back in. Seat #3 with the girdle, back off the nuts, smack the crank both sides, pry whilst torqueing #3 down. Check endplay -- 0.003.

I'm so tired. Somewhere in there it was also binding on a specific part of the rotation but I couldn't reproduce it after smacking the crank. I don't remember anymore when exactly that happened.

So I can only surmise that the crank smacking thing is not working to align the thrust bearing halves, because I magically went from 0.007 with no #3 cap to 0.003 with one and the bearings are the exact same width. The only thing I can think of is the #3 cap is not aligning to the block and the bearing shells are offset. This would be highly unusual, I would think, given the engine wasn't chewing through thrust bearings before.

Or I'm not hitting the crank hard enough to budge the cap. Or I'm supposed to smack it while #3 is still floating above the block but riding on the studs? I'm so tired and confused here.. this shouldn't be this hard for me.

It's been a long time since I had to do this before.. am I not supposed to seat #3 and then whack the crankshaft gently with a deadblow a few times on the front side, then follow it with like smacks on the rear (flywheel)?

I'm going to take the girdle off tomorrow, pull #3, and check my endplay yet again. I've pulled #3 a few times whilst the other caps were still down -- I don't think that makes any difference, unless it does and I've now destroyed the crank

 

[curt-s]

A month later and little progress. Reseated #3, seems to be more consistent. Combo of whack, and pry crank against thrust whilst gently prying thrust against crank whilst torquing down.
I figure it's as good as aligned as it's gonna get. That was .. 3.5 weeks ago

Oil squirters needed more clearance. Shouldn't have torqued them down. Made that mistake twice so I've had to wait for crush washers from either UAE or the dealership.

Went to put in a piston, top oil ring jumped its land and caught in the tapered sleeve compressor. Bent. Had to order new rings from Manley. Add another week and a half.

I did at least finish wiring for the gauge cluster.
Put the driver side skirts back on after I had to heat bend one back into shape. Also JB welded its fastener mounts back together, it was a bit of a mess.

So this is where the engine sits now.

Hoping to make some real progress in the coming weeks, perhaps even finish before September, but I'm just kind of tired of all this..

 

[curt-s]

Admittedly I’m curious about the turbo as well and how it compares to the Green. I must say I really enjoy the street manners of my green. Really can’t wait to stretch its legs but break in periods suck.


I missed it before but what’s the CR you’re after? Also: any E85 in your area?

Shit sorry I didn't respond
It's 8.5:1 and there's no E up here higher than E10.
91 generally is the highest octane we get and now even that has "min" 10% ethanol but it could vary wildly pump to pump, week to week. There might be higher octane bare gas at certain pumps in the city but I've not sought them out ever since my go-to stopped carrying 94 years back.
It feels so ... 2000s -- having to bring back meth injection because the gas we have is shit. I'll have to ask around once I get it on the road, see where the good juice is.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I know the hurt of ruining new piston rings. A few years ago I tried to use a junky compressor from Amazon late at night and ended the night with much regret, then started the next day with ordering a quality compressor and a new set of rings to only use ONE of them. The 2nd rings are brittle as hell.

Anyways, I'm sure you can't wait to fire it up.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Ductile Steel is the common 2nd ring, and you are right, they are "brittle" so you have to take care when fooling with them. Expand them too much and "snap". OR gap them like you were the top rings only to find out how EASY they are to file and that you have WAY over shot your target ring gap on that one. Been there, done that. Ordered a new set of rings, for just one.

 

[curt-s]

I realized early on here I had to be a bit more careful with the tapered sleeve style compressor.. I never used one before this build and realized pretty quick if you're wearing nitrile gloves, you can get a part of your glove caught between the ring and compressor and it will tear it right off. I didn't notice until later when I saw the oil wasn't being scrapped off the cylinder wall in a small section. Looked at my finger and I could see right to skin..
Damn ring took a piece of my glove with it.

Picked up my oil pan yesterday and installed one more piston before family arrived. Its now taking me about 1.5-2 hours for each piston.


I've got more vertical marks than I'd like in the cylinders. No matter how much I clean (part of why each is taking so long), no matter how careful I am.. but they don't seem to be actual scratches, less than what a bore gauge does. Hoping they'll just go away or, at the least, not affect compression in any meaningful way. At this point, it's kind of too late anyway.

At one point I had an eyelash on the crank's rod journal and I only noticed after I pulled the piston because the vertical mark left by the top ring was beyond my acceptance. No idea how it got there but shit like that which are the last things to think of that could happen cause failed motors without apparent explanation.
Some careful work with 200 grit on the ring edge whilst it was still on the piston and the second (or I think third..) install left no mark. I deburred them already quite thoroughly yet, clearly, that meant nothing.

 

[curt-s]

I'm starting to think this thing doesn't want to be assembled. Finally got to #1, first time anything has ever been down there, and upon hand oiling the cylinder wall I notice an imperfection. Something -- undoubtedly from shop #1 as they were the only ones in that cylinder that deep -- sharp hit the cylinder wall and left a gouge when they were honing it. There was a slight ridge which I painstakingly removed with an angled pick. Luckily, it's very small. Also luckily, it's horizontal. Maybe about 1.5mm wide, less than that tall. It's just above the piston crown when at BDC. I turned it over slowly to see if the rings left an abnormal oil trace as they ran over it, but nothing weird.. that should confirm it's only an inward gouge.
I'm choosing to move forward and see if it has any effect at all.

So, all four slugs are finally in. Moved to the oil pump. Reusing the OEM pump because I just didn't get warm and fuzzies from my new ACL. Plus, this one has straight cut gears.
There's that little thing going on in the driven gear bore, but it doesn't look ... new? I'll just make sure not to overtighten the belt. I'm usually good at not doing that.

Couldn't for the life of me get even 20ft/lbs on the oil pump driven sprocket nut with a freestanding front case. I really don't want to vice the stubby shaft but I can't recall if that's what you have to do.

 

[curt-s]

Front cover is on, oil pump dealt with
Should have put the rear main seal on before all the extra added weight of pistons and such because now I have to take the engine off the stand and put it somewhere where I can put the rear cover on. Oops.
Dented the oil pan c/o Marty's @1990TSIAWDTALON guide.

It took entirely too damn long to get that rear main seal into the housing bore. Even oiled, it was a LOT of deadblow hammering.
It's a National seal, perhaps they're a tad too fat. I know it's not a 2G seal because a 2G seal is 103.230mm whilst a 1G seal is 96.280mm. There'd be no way I could get a 2G seal in a 1G rear main seal housing.

Fiddled around with my new borescope, checking out my squirter clearances on #1 and #4. fun thing, should prove useful, especially the side view camera.