engine assembly tips
09-03-2009, 12:03 AM
#21
Tour de Franzia
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I do a bunch of **** on my own like fiberglass, suspension tuning, bolting **** together, and I'm pretty proud of my EFI tuning skills. I didn't really feel like buying $300k in equipment to machine my engine, or $1k in precision equipment to assemble the engine. If that makes me a bitch, so be it.
I bought (bolted **** together) this car to **** with the "country-club elite" at the track and post FTD, not drive around the street and tell people that I bolted the car together and that I'm a man.
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09-03-2009, 12:18 AM
#22
Cpt. Slow
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Hustler, you did it right in my opinion. Working an f'ing shed (lights clamped to rafters that are only 6.5' tall) has probably made me 1.5 times slower than when I worked on it in a proper garage, and that was probably half as fast again than a real shop with better equipment. If I had the money, I'd pay someone to do it in a heartbeat.
These are all great tips, sounds like you're starting to consider doing the rest yourself, I'll sum up a few good tips.
1. Check the head gasket at least 5 times to insure that the one oil passage that gets blocked if it's upside down is indeed not blocked.
2. Spend too much time cleaning and sealing the oil pan, rear main seal, and oil pump.
3. Same as #2, although this time use too much silicone.
4. Have a reliable (calibrated) torque wrench available.
5. Find all the torques you're about to use in the manual and write them down on a sheet of paper. This way you're not flipping through the book while your silicone dries and you're wasting time, this will save a lot of it. I think m.net might have a list of all the torques.
6. As Steel rat says, don't listen to the manual and take all the manifolds/pumps/altenator/hoses off before taking the engine out, and don't wait till its back in to put them back on. Flip through FM's Track Dog build pics, there's one in there of an engine they just pulled, demonstrating how much ***** you can leave on.
7. Cut the front of the valve cover off to make timing belt adjustments/replacements a 20 minute job as opposed to a 2hr+ job. Having to remove the valve cover, THEN doing your timing belt work, THEN cleaning the cover, head, and gasket, reapplying the silicone and bolting everything down takes a lot of time.
8. DO NOT FORGET #2 AND #3.
These are all great tips, sounds like you're starting to consider doing the rest yourself, I'll sum up a few good tips.
1. Check the head gasket at least 5 times to insure that the one oil passage that gets blocked if it's upside down is indeed not blocked.
2. Spend too much time cleaning and sealing the oil pan, rear main seal, and oil pump.
3. Same as #2, although this time use too much silicone.
4. Have a reliable (calibrated) torque wrench available.
5. Find all the torques you're about to use in the manual and write them down on a sheet of paper. This way you're not flipping through the book while your silicone dries and you're wasting time, this will save a lot of it. I think m.net might have a list of all the torques.
6. As Steel rat says, don't listen to the manual and take all the manifolds/pumps/altenator/hoses off before taking the engine out, and don't wait till its back in to put them back on. Flip through FM's Track Dog build pics, there's one in there of an engine they just pulled, demonstrating how much ***** you can leave on.
7. Cut the front of the valve cover off to make timing belt adjustments/replacements a 20 minute job as opposed to a 2hr+ job. Having to remove the valve cover, THEN doing your timing belt work, THEN cleaning the cover, head, and gasket, reapplying the silicone and bolting everything down takes a lot of time.
8. DO NOT FORGET #2 AND #3.
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09-03-2009, 09:27 AM
#23
Junior Member
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Evansville, Indiana
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Hustler, you did it right in my opinion. Working an f'ing shed (lights clamped to rafters that are only 6.5' tall) has probably made me 1.5 times slower than when I worked on it in a proper garage, and that was probably half as fast again than a real shop with better equipment. If I had the money, I'd pay someone to do it in a heartbeat.
These are all great tips, sounds like you're starting to consider doing the rest yourself, I'll sum up a few good tips.
1. Check the head gasket at least 5 times to insure that the one oil passage that gets blocked if it's upside down is indeed not blocked.
2. Spend too much time cleaning and sealing the oil pan, rear main seal, and oil pump.
3. Same as #2, although this time use too much silicone.
4. Have a reliable (calibrated) torque wrench available.
5. Find all the torques you're about to use in the manual and write them down on a sheet of paper. This way you're not flipping through the book while your silicone dries and you're wasting time, this will save a lot of it. I think m.net might have a list of all the torques.
6. As Steel rat says, don't listen to the manual and take all the manifolds/pumps/altenator/hoses off before taking the engine out, and don't wait till its back in to put them back on. Flip through FM's Track Dog build pics, there's one in there of an engine they just pulled, demonstrating how much ***** you can leave on.
7. Cut the front of the valve cover off to make timing belt adjustments/replacements a 20 minute job as opposed to a 2hr+ job. Having to remove the valve cover, THEN doing your timing belt work, THEN cleaning the cover, head, and gasket, reapplying the silicone and bolting everything down takes a lot of time.
8. DO NOT FORGET #2 AND #3.
These are all great tips, sounds like you're starting to consider doing the rest yourself, I'll sum up a few good tips.
1. Check the head gasket at least 5 times to insure that the one oil passage that gets blocked if it's upside down is indeed not blocked.
2. Spend too much time cleaning and sealing the oil pan, rear main seal, and oil pump.
3. Same as #2, although this time use too much silicone.
4. Have a reliable (calibrated) torque wrench available.
5. Find all the torques you're about to use in the manual and write them down on a sheet of paper. This way you're not flipping through the book while your silicone dries and you're wasting time, this will save a lot of it. I think m.net might have a list of all the torques.
6. As Steel rat says, don't listen to the manual and take all the manifolds/pumps/altenator/hoses off before taking the engine out, and don't wait till its back in to put them back on. Flip through FM's Track Dog build pics, there's one in there of an engine they just pulled, demonstrating how much ***** you can leave on.
7. Cut the front of the valve cover off to make timing belt adjustments/replacements a 20 minute job as opposed to a 2hr+ job. Having to remove the valve cover, THEN doing your timing belt work, THEN cleaning the cover, head, and gasket, reapplying the silicone and bolting everything down takes a lot of time.
8. DO NOT FORGET #2 AND #3.
question about #7, i have a protoge valve cover. does this still apply?
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