hey,

I took apart my LG4 ('83) because it had a bent rod. I put in 8 "new" pistons and rods from a stock bore '88 tpi motor. Now that I've got the engine back in, the starter won't turn the engine over and it's very tight to turn over by using a prypar on the flexplate. Did I put a rod on the wrong journal (even though all the piston notches are pointing forward) because they were not marked from their prior installation???

I might have just killed my starter trying to start the engine with a bend rod before (locked up engine), but I have a feeling that I got the rods in there wrong and now it's too tight.

and for those who ask, why did I put the engine back in when the motor was so tight?...<shrug> I guess I figured the assembly lube was making it feel a little gummy and that maybe that was typical...I haven't done much engine assmebly yet (mostly a chassis guy)

help

thanks


[This message has been edited by amagin86 (edited September 17, 2001).]

 

well, take the starter off and down to the parts store to have it checked. once you do know that its ok.. get ready to pull the motor back out. . I would imagine that one rod (at least)is on the journal incorrect. It's easy to do.

 

yeah,

I figured I'd first swap out the starter from my "extra" LG4 that's sitting in front of my "extra" '83 Z, hehehe.

damnit! so you gotta put the rod's on in a particular way?

thanks
Clem

 

yep, there is a chamfer that should go to the outside of the connecting rod journal. The bearing is slightly narrower on that side. It makes sure that the rod can go flat against the crank counterweight to allow for some side clearance on the rods. Normally, you can't get the other rod in if you have the first rod on backward.

 

WAIT! I really am confuzed!! You said that the notches on the pistons were all facing forward right??
Well, if the pistons were installed correctly on the rods, then you should be good to go. That means all the chamfers are in the same direction right? I don't understand the "Gummy" assembly lube thing either. That stuff should be fairly slippery and stay that way.
It's normal for any engine with new pistons (and rings I assume) to be pretty tight. Heck, I had to use a 12" breaker bar on my balancer bolt in order to rotate it enough to set my valves.
Sounds like you need a starter to me.

------------------
-1983 L69 Camaro Z28 305 H.O. (Bored .030 over,Teflon oil seals,Melling H.V. oil pump,Hyperetic pistons,chrome-moly rings,2040 Crane compu-cam) T-tops, 3:73 Open rear, BW T-5, Rebuilt E4ME 4 Barrel, Duel Snorkle Air Cleaner w/K&N Filter , Rhino Clutch, Crane 2040 Compu-cam, LS1 valve springs, porting, PST front end kit with new springs, and runs awesome!! Now for paint, interior, etc...etc.....Future Mods: Get rid of the 100 or so interior rattles.

[This message has been edited by Confuzed1 (edited September 17, 2001).]

 

The notches on the pistons don't nessicerily man they are right. If it's installed on the wrong side, then the chamfer is wrong, even though the notch still faces forward.

It's even more fun dealing with two valve notch pistons with different size valve pockets.

 

10-4 on the notches. See, the pistons that I used were (as I said) from a USED engine. They weren't numbered as I received them so they could be in the wrong location. I just wasn't aware of the dependence...DOH!

As for "gummy" assembly lube, that was probably a bad word to use. It's "ultra slick" assembly lube and I'm sure it works great, but as any assembly lube should, its got a high viscosity to keep it where you want it until its job is done.

Now let's see if I can spin those offending pistons without removing the valve covers...HEHEHEH!

thanks for the help folks,