Jester

I'm about to commence bolting together my first engine. I wanna do all the free/little things I can. Ie., I'll be degreeing the balancer, radiusing the oil pump hole, and plugging the oil filter bypass. If you guys could list other such things you know, I'd appreciate it.

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"American made baby. 100% American iron. The muscle among the masses. My hero. Yep, you can take your ergonomically designed, space age, computer controlled, 4 door, cup holding map lighted split double wishbone split fold down retractable cargo covered moon roof piece of transportation and keep it. For I have felt the thunder. And I know the difference!"
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ICON Motorsports

Guest

Yea, polish the rod.


As for what to do... Make sure everything fits nicely first before 'final' assembly. Taking a file to sharp edges is not a bad idea. I file everything, oil pan rails, main cap edges, bottoms of lifters, etc. When you degree the balancer, make sure not to twist it too much
Oh, use a tap to clean ALL the bolt holes... thats the only way to get all the junk outa there.

Vader

Jester,

If you're planning to use the original crank (or any stock crank) you might want to run an aircraft drill or gun drill through the oil passages. A lot of carbon and debris can accumulate in the passages, and you really want to have all the flow you can get. I have actually used some gun drills I acquired (without the through-drill coolant) to slightly enlarge the passages in the crank, lifter galleries, and main passages from the rear main cap and filter adapter. Chamfer all the oil holes at the journals when finished.

Other things you might want to do:

* Braze or weld the oil pickup tube to the pump after checking the location;
* Paint the inside of the block for better drainback, and install drain standpipes in the lifter valley drains to hold some extra oil in that area;
* Remove all the casting flash from the case before final prep and cleaning;
* Replace every last core plug (freeze plug) with brass;
* Enlarge the oil passage in the rear main bearing cap;
* Install drain pet****s in place of the plugs on the sides of the case;
* Use a medium India stone or whet stone to polish all the gasket rails for perfect sealing;
* Insert a Allen-recess set screw with PST sealant in place of the fuel pump rod retainer bolt hole (unless you are going to use a mechanical pump);
* Clean the dowel holes in the deck and at the rear flange;
* Machine the crank for a roller bearing pilot if you're going to use a manual transmission.

I could probably come up with more, but this should get you started thinking about all the little things you can do if you want to.

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Later,
Vader
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"No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now"
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TomP

A lonnng time ago, Hot Rod magazine built a crank scraper out of regular 'ol sheet metal, and claimed a 1-2 HP increase. Not bad for $5! I'll probably do it when I rebuild my 2.8. I'm sure you can hunt the article down at http://www.hotrodarchives.com or by calling the magazine. You can buy an already-made crank scraper, but those usually need trimming anyway.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

Biochem

Some other things that I did were to disassemble the oil pump and file down all the sharp edges on the gears a little. Also, I have a 2-piece rear main seal. I actually installed it a little off center so the gasket wasn't exactly flush with the caps... make sense? Also, they are directional (have a front and back side), so don't get it backwards...

Sticking sealant on the studs when torqueing them down in sequence... It was a while ago so my memory is getting rusty. Use lots of cam lube and lube on the main bearings. Lithium grease I think it was for the mains. Placement of the ring gaps on the pistons was important too.

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1984 z28 w/ a 357 cu in. monster engine which is looking like the posterchild for Edelbrock... all the suspension stuff... 9-bolt posi disk is in... K&N filter... 93 octane...

-=ICON Motorsports=-

camaroz_85_temp

we're the renegades of funk.....

on a lighter note...you can't use a roller pilot unless the crank is machined for it? but you can still use a regular bushing...right?

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Clean all oil passages with pipe brushes and soap and water. Flush with clear water, blow out with air. Do this before the galley plugs are installed. Use brass freeze plugs.

Use plastigage on all crank bearings to check the final clearances. Check the thrust bearing clearance.

Use teflon pipe sealant (not teflon tape) on all wet threads (such as head and intake bolts).

Install a cam button if you don't have a roller block. Shim the distributor gear to get rid of the excess factory clearance.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.73 unlimited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LB9 w/ZZ3 cam, TBD heads, exhaust, paint, etc.).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

TomP

For kicks, I found the article. Go here, and click on "engine assembly tips". Then look under July '98.
http://www.hotrodarchives.com/hrm/ma...et/engines.asp


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited November 28, 2000).]

Get Blown ?

Checkout these articles. (the hotrod links should still be working)
http://www.hotrodarchives.com/freeArticle/AOW33.pdf
http://www.hotrodarchives.com/freeArticle/AOW36.pdf

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyguide.htm



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1989 Camaro RS LO3 WCT5 "The Hose Queen" 0-60' 2.34 1/4 15.8@87mph
http://350.StreetRacing.org

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I installed a roller pilot bearing in place of the stock bushing. You don't have to have anything machined. It's the same outer diameter as the stock bushing. All you have to do is press it in. I used an old input shaft that I use for lining up clutches. Just put a light coat of grease on the outer part of the bearing, and drive it in using the input shaft and a dead blow hammer. You can also use an extension and a socket that's the right diameter to drive them in if you don't have an old input shaft lying around.

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

I installed a roller pilot bearing in place of the stock bushing. You don't have to have anything machined. It's the same outer diameter as the stock bushing. All you have to do is press it in. I used an old input shaft that I use for lining up clutches. Just put a light coat of grease on the outer part of the bearing, and drive it in using the input shaft and a dead blow hammer. You can also use an extension and a socket that's the right diameter to drive them in if you don't have an old input shaft lying around.



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89RS w/350 TPI; 69RS/SS w/450 HP 350/Muncie 4-Speed "Too weird to live, too rare to die."

jcb999

I have not seen the pdf so forgive me if this is there.

Put the cam in first (no dinked up bearings)
All you need to do is stand the motor up on the back and lower the cam straight down.

Dill a .020 hole in the left from cam galley plug. Dumps oil directly on the timing chain.

Get a rod bolt strech gauge.

Put screens and magnets in the lifter valley.


[This message has been edited by jcb999 (edited November 29, 2000).]