my turbo montego 97
#21
engine rebuild and coolant reroute
i decided to rebuild the engine before i installed the hx35 because it is using about a gallon of oil between oil changes. compression is perfect but valve stem seals are shot and oil control rings also seem to be stuck.
im going to putting some H beam rods in with stock pistons while i have it apart. also putting some arp hardware in the mix and acl race bearings.
ive spent the last week working on the head. the carbon on the valves was horrible and the lifters were all smacking and knocking. most of the lifters had converted themselves to solid buckets without asking for permission. they are nice and squishy now.
i figured since im building the engine and putting this much work in i should go ahead with a coolant reroute. after doing a lot of reading on the process that most use i decided not to do what every one else does. i did not buy the ridiculously over priced spacer. i have had a bp festiva that i swapped before i bought my miata and i know the bp can run just fine with out a spacer. so i just made my own reroute. the only problem being you can not use the stock coil packs with it. which i dont see why most people worry about b/c most are running cop any way.
every one on here knows what a rebuilt engine and head work looks like so ill just show some pics of the coolant reroute.
im using the miata thermostat housing moved to the back. made a plate to block off the front port. welded on a piece of pipe for the heater in the same location as a escort bp just facing the other way. it connects to stock heater core line. also using stock upper radiator hose on the back as well. puts the exit right at the back of the intake manifold. i'll finish the rest of the reroute once i get the short block finished
im going to putting some H beam rods in with stock pistons while i have it apart. also putting some arp hardware in the mix and acl race bearings.
ive spent the last week working on the head. the carbon on the valves was horrible and the lifters were all smacking and knocking. most of the lifters had converted themselves to solid buckets without asking for permission. they are nice and squishy now.
i figured since im building the engine and putting this much work in i should go ahead with a coolant reroute. after doing a lot of reading on the process that most use i decided not to do what every one else does. i did not buy the ridiculously over priced spacer. i have had a bp festiva that i swapped before i bought my miata and i know the bp can run just fine with out a spacer. so i just made my own reroute. the only problem being you can not use the stock coil packs with it. which i dont see why most people worry about b/c most are running cop any way.
every one on here knows what a rebuilt engine and head work looks like so ill just show some pics of the coolant reroute.
im using the miata thermostat housing moved to the back. made a plate to block off the front port. welded on a piece of pipe for the heater in the same location as a escort bp just facing the other way. it connects to stock heater core line. also using stock upper radiator hose on the back as well. puts the exit right at the back of the intake manifold. i'll finish the rest of the reroute once i get the short block finished
#24
i static balanced the rotating assembly
rods
These are a set of eBay forged connecting rods. They are from crankshaft depot. They come with arp hardware but give no solid guarantee on balance.
After measuring weight and bore I believe these are unlabeled Eagle rods. The balance and weight was within Eagle spec. I would not be surprised if they were made in the same factory.
The balance was much closer than factory spec and matched Eagle but I balanced them to perfection. Both small end and total weight were balanced. I left the bearings and hardware in for this process
I have never use a set of these rods bc I refused to use cheap stuff on a customers car. But since this is my car and I have a low power goal of 300whp with stock pistons I figured I would try them
pistons
I have a list of before and after specs on this. one of the weights with wrist pins and clips and the other is with out. Since the piston was the cause of the difference I could not simply switch pins around. All weights were set to match the lightest piston.
The castings were cleaned to reduce weight but most weight was taken out of the wrist pin since very little steel must be removed compared to aluminum. They are perfectly matched now and each wish pin must stay with its piston now.
rods
These are a set of eBay forged connecting rods. They are from crankshaft depot. They come with arp hardware but give no solid guarantee on balance.
After measuring weight and bore I believe these are unlabeled Eagle rods. The balance and weight was within Eagle spec. I would not be surprised if they were made in the same factory.
The balance was much closer than factory spec and matched Eagle but I balanced them to perfection. Both small end and total weight were balanced. I left the bearings and hardware in for this process
I have never use a set of these rods bc I refused to use cheap stuff on a customers car. But since this is my car and I have a low power goal of 300whp with stock pistons I figured I would try them
pistons
I have a list of before and after specs on this. one of the weights with wrist pins and clips and the other is with out. Since the piston was the cause of the difference I could not simply switch pins around. All weights were set to match the lightest piston.
The castings were cleaned to reduce weight but most weight was taken out of the wrist pin since very little steel must be removed compared to aluminum. They are perfectly matched now and each wish pin must stay with its piston now.
#25
i got the long block assembled with a new nb vvt style oil pump and timing gear from rosenthal.
started working on the water lines for the turbo. i know most people use the oil cooler lines but the stock lines on the hx35 were way larger than that and i wanted it to have all the water it was designed for so i redid that water outlet that goes to the header to run a 8an line to the turbo. the heater core will feed the turbo from the other side.
its a little close to the manifold so i'll make a small heat shield and get some wrap for the line
looking at it now i really wonder if it will clear he power steering pump. hmm i doubt it. that sucks
started working on the water lines for the turbo. i know most people use the oil cooler lines but the stock lines on the hx35 were way larger than that and i wanted it to have all the water it was designed for so i redid that water outlet that goes to the header to run a 8an line to the turbo. the heater core will feed the turbo from the other side.
its a little close to the manifold so i'll make a small heat shield and get some wrap for the line
looking at it now i really wonder if it will clear he power steering pump. hmm i doubt it. that sucks
#28
i made a change to my thermostat housing. it seemed a little to high like it may cavitate.
clearance on the turbo water feed/heater line. couldnt be any closer to the power steering pump if i would have measured lol
i got the engine installed and built the rest of the cooling system
a few to many hose clamps on the heater line for my taste but it will work
clearance on the turbo water feed/heater line. couldnt be any closer to the power steering pump if i would have measured lol
i got the engine installed and built the rest of the cooling system
a few to many hose clamps on the heater line for my taste but it will work
#33
been a while since ive posted any updates. i havent changed a lot, just boost playing with the tune and turning boost up.
to start with i installed my ebc solenoid
seemed to be spooling slower and slower. so i found that the turn buckle i used did not hold tight i guess bc of heat. it was open this much...
so i fixed that
cut all the iwg brackets off the exhaust housing
painted and re-installed.
has any one else ran this turbo on the miata? i was expected pretty slow spool up bc of its size. but im seeing 240kpa at 3100rpm on my data log and this thing is an absolute monster on the street. it is spooling as fast as the tiny to4b with a .48 t3 exhaust housing but making a lot more power.
and just for a fun a pic of the car
Tim
to start with i installed my ebc solenoid
seemed to be spooling slower and slower. so i found that the turn buckle i used did not hold tight i guess bc of heat. it was open this much...
so i fixed that
cut all the iwg brackets off the exhaust housing
painted and re-installed.
has any one else ran this turbo on the miata? i was expected pretty slow spool up bc of its size. but im seeing 240kpa at 3100rpm on my data log and this thing is an absolute monster on the street. it is spooling as fast as the tiny to4b with a .48 t3 exhaust housing but making a lot more power.
and just for a fun a pic of the car
Tim
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