College Student Attempts Full Rebuild
#22
Update:
Head is close to finished and I made sure my machinist understood that valve seat widths must be 0.060". He expressed concerns about grinding the tip of the valves to set the lash but I assured him it wasn't an issue. I wish Supertech would just make them in the OEM length.
The block is taking forever but at the very least I now have most of the parts I need including a shiny new EFR 6258. My goal is a running car by the end of June but we will see what happens.
Head is close to finished and I made sure my machinist understood that valve seat widths must be 0.060". He expressed concerns about grinding the tip of the valves to set the lash but I assured him it wasn't an issue. I wish Supertech would just make them in the OEM length.
The block is taking forever but at the very least I now have most of the parts I need including a shiny new EFR 6258. My goal is a running car by the end of June but we will see what happens.
#24
I had the same concerns about ST nitride valves so I went with inconel on both intake and exhaust.
Jmann has had good results with the inconel intakes and he runs his car way harder than I probably ever will run mine.
I've posted severaql times now on the big thread on the valve issue that FM has +1 inconel intakes, I don't know about stds.. This up coming season well be my 4 th one on these intake valves with no rebuilding of the head. I just did a comp. check and leak down on the engine and the comp was 200 across the head and leak down was 1 1/2 to 2 % on all cyl. I used to not get a full season out of my intakes. I don't know why force inducted people are still screwing around with SS intakes.
#27
I reached out to Rev for an MS3 Basic (PM and email) and I haven't heard back. I understand everyone is busy so it's no big deal but I'd really like to get an MS Labs unit and not have to mess around with DIY. Should I send him more spam or just be patient and let him get back to me?
dimitris stasinopoulos
#28
OK thanks for the help everyone. I got a hold of Rev and my ECU is ordered.
I also got the head back to day and I will need to order shims for the intake side as the lash is 0.016" at its highest and 0.012" at its lowest. Exhaust is perfect at 0.013. I am going to aim for 0.009-0.010 on the intake because I expect the lash to decrease by a one or two thou in the first few hundred miles as the head settles. I called a few Mazda dealerships and unfortunately they do not have such a wide variety of shims as they did in the past so the lash won't be perfect but it will be within spec.
I also got the head back to day and I will need to order shims for the intake side as the lash is 0.016" at its highest and 0.012" at its lowest. Exhaust is perfect at 0.013. I am going to aim for 0.009-0.010 on the intake because I expect the lash to decrease by a one or two thou in the first few hundred miles as the head settles. I called a few Mazda dealerships and unfortunately they do not have such a wide variety of shims as they did in the past so the lash won't be perfect but it will be within spec.
#29
I got the block back, cleaned it, hit it with a coat of paint, and threw the crank in. All the main bearing clearances check out at 0.0016-0.0019 so that is good.
Unfortunately, I made my first mistake when filing the Wiseco rings. On the first set, two of the damn feeler gauges were stuck together and I didn't notice until I had already taken too much off the second ring. My goal was 0.018 for the top and 0.020 for the second but the one I screwed up got to 0.029 before I realized.
So, if anyone out there happens to have a spare Wiseco 8350XX second ring lying around their garage, please let me know.
Unfortunately, I made my first mistake when filing the Wiseco rings. On the first set, two of the damn feeler gauges were stuck together and I didn't notice until I had already taken too much off the second ring. My goal was 0.018 for the top and 0.020 for the second but the one I screwed up got to 0.029 before I realized.
So, if anyone out there happens to have a spare Wiseco 8350XX second ring lying around their garage, please let me know.
#30
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Did the exact same deal the other day when setting valve lash smh
I know you can order a single lower and upper rings from a few places. Not sure where is the cheapest but I saw them for $25 when I was looking at parts. The off chance that someone has one laying around would be great too
I know you can order a single lower and upper rings from a few places. Not sure where is the cheapest but I saw them for $25 when I was looking at parts. The off chance that someone has one laying around would be great too
#31
Ok got a new ring set from Summit (living near their Ohio store is pretty nice) and now the bottom end is together and the head is on as well as most of the other bits and pieces. Just waiting on my Kraken low mount manifold which should be coming this week. Getting excited now.
Ft. Zima from 2018
Ft. Zima from 2018
#32
Turbo is on and it looks very spicy. Flow force injectors are installed as well as the squaretop. Only thing left to do is route the turbo water and oil lines. I want to keep my lines short so the oil feed is -4 AN coming off the MSM oil port on the side of the block and the oil return is two 5/8" flanges, one for the turbo and one for the MSM oil pan utilizing the stock drain hole and M8 bolt pattern. Feed line is less than 10" and the oil drain is less than 6".
For the water lines with a Qmax reroute, I was thinking about feeding the turbo from the heater core and returning to the Hawley water pump inlet which would reduce the number of lines. I am retaining PS and AC and going low mount so this would help with packaging in a really cramped area.
Here's a diagram:
Let me know what you guys think or if you see any problem with this. The only thing I can thing of is that there will be less water flow through the block while the thermostat is closed (due to the restriction on the heater core path) and I could see this potentially causing hot spots. One advantage is slightly more water to the radiator which would help cooling on track.
For the water lines with a Qmax reroute, I was thinking about feeding the turbo from the heater core and returning to the Hawley water pump inlet which would reduce the number of lines. I am retaining PS and AC and going low mount so this would help with packaging in a really cramped area.
Here's a diagram:
Let me know what you guys think or if you see any problem with this. The only thing I can thing of is that there will be less water flow through the block while the thermostat is closed (due to the restriction on the heater core path) and I could see this potentially causing hot spots. One advantage is slightly more water to the radiator which would help cooling on track.
#35
Another update sans pictures. The engine is back in the car and everything is hooked up with the exception of hot side inter cooler piping and the GM IAT. There was a moment of crisis yesterday when I could not get oil pressure after multiple attempts at cranking without the spark plugs out. Sucking on the turbo oil feed with a shop vac is actually really effective and I eventually got pressure which was such a relief. From just cranking at 300 rpm it was up to 20 psi. Nice
I then went to start it just to hear it run for a sec and got nothing. Output test mode verifies that injectors and coils are working and I triple checked the cam timing (19 teeth at TDC and with both cam gear marks completely vertical). So if I have spark and fuel and the cams are right it must be some sort sync issue where the ecu is getting incorrect timing. Perhaps the crank sensor gap?
I then went to start it just to hear it run for a sec and got nothing. Output test mode verifies that injectors and coils are working and I triple checked the cam timing (19 teeth at TDC and with both cam gear marks completely vertical). So if I have spark and fuel and the cams are right it must be some sort sync issue where the ecu is getting incorrect timing. Perhaps the crank sensor gap?
#37
I would send it but the sensor gap is exactly what the problem was. With the correct air gap, car starts with 65 psi of oil pressure. The next problem is that the AEM X-Series EUGO 30-0300 is stuck on HEAT and will not display a reading on the gauge or to MS. Every so often it cycles and starts the heating process again. Anyone ever have this problem?
#40
So the car was dying for two reasons. There was a massive vacuum leak because I put the throttle body gasket on backwards and Megasquirt was going into closed loop idle. Both fixed and she runs and sounds quite smooth.
30 mile initial break in is completed despite an oil line leaking halfway through and scaring the **** out of me. Luckily I never lost oil pressure. First two oil changes were a bit shimmery which is to be somewhat expected. My hope is that by the third change the contamination will have mostly subsisted.
Speaking of oil pressure I am getting 8-10 psi hot idle with 5w-30 on a BE pump with two shims reading with an autometer gauge. Seems a bit low to me especially because pre-rebuild was more like 15 psi hot idle with 10w-30. I did read a 2017 thread where a few people were experiencing similar oil pressure under similar conditions so maybe I am just being paranoid. Either way I think a heavier weight like 10W-40 is in my future.
30 mile initial break in is completed despite an oil line leaking halfway through and scaring the **** out of me. Luckily I never lost oil pressure. First two oil changes were a bit shimmery which is to be somewhat expected. My hope is that by the third change the contamination will have mostly subsisted.
Speaking of oil pressure I am getting 8-10 psi hot idle with 5w-30 on a BE pump with two shims reading with an autometer gauge. Seems a bit low to me especially because pre-rebuild was more like 15 psi hot idle with 10w-30. I did read a 2017 thread where a few people were experiencing similar oil pressure under similar conditions so maybe I am just being paranoid. Either way I think a heavier weight like 10W-40 is in my future.