help with engine assembly (318)

[mferraro76]

I'm getting ready to assemble the engine - it has been freshly machined and balanced, new bearings, ground crank, forged pistons, brand new cam and lifters. I am hoping to get some advice on how to do the assembly "right." I learned to use plastigauge, is there something better? any thing i should avoid (certain brands of gaskets, rings, bearings, etc)? anything to improve performance?

Little engine building secrets appreciated.

 

[Meep-Meep]

The first thing I do is chase all the threaded holes and using a cordless drill will make short work of that job. Then clean the block in warm soapy water. Laundry detergent or some of that purple soap does a great job. Use the long cleaning brushes to clear out all the oil galleys and blow the water out good. Also clean the lifter bores really well. You can use a brake cyl hone but don't go crazy. WD40 is good to prevent flash rust on the freshly machined surfaces. Install all block plugs.

Check to make sure the cam bearings are installed properly (oil holes line up). Is the distributor bushing installed and does the shaft fit? Check it! It's easiest to put the cam in first because you can get your hand in there to guide it. I put lube on the lobes as I'm inserting it into the block. Otherwise you end up with a mess and possible contamination of the grease with particulates because of all the handling.

Is the rear main seal in and is the lip pointing in the correct direction? When you put the crank in (after you checked the clearances) and torque the mains turn it by hand to make sure it moves freely and doesn't have any tight spots or binding. Torque in several steps. Always use oil or other recommended lubricant under the head of the bolt as well as on the threads. This goes for all bolts but small block head bolts hit water so you will need to use a thread sealer.

Check ring end gaps and piston fit. Position rings according to the instructions in the ring pack. Oil the rings and skirts prior to assembly with motor oil. Are the pistons installed on the rods correctly? Double check.

Oil slinger on crank, cam thrust plate and bolts, cam eccentric.

There is more but it's lights out for me.

 

[mferraro76]

good stuff. the rear main - the lip faces in? also, not sure what you mean about the small block head bolts.

any good books i can look at?

 

[Meep-Meep]

Here's a good pic of what you should see.

http://image.moparmusclemagazine.com/f/9187972/mopp_0608_09z+building_a_stock_440+rear_main_seal.jpg

The tapped holes in the block for the head bolts are not blind. They go right into the water jacket so you need to use sealer on the threads.

 

[mferraro76]

so, going over the machine work, the block is filthy! i turn it over and all the crap is coming out of the water jackets - any way to prevent this when flipping the motor during assembly?

also - i noticed a scratch in a couple cylinders - should i be worried? here are a couple pics:

 

[Meep-Meep]

Just clean the block with hot soapy and water (pressure washer if you have it) and spray with WD40 to prevent flash rust.

The scratches won't be an issue as long as there is no raised metal. Feel with your finger for surface imperfections. Also the cross hatch pattern looks like there isn't any. From the pics the bore looks like it was done with a monkey ball hone. I'd check it for roundness and taper if you have the measuring equipment, or just take it to someone who does.

 

[Cranky]

As for the water jackets.....clean the snot out of them!! I always pull out the core plugs before taking the block to a shop and clean the water jackets out because once the new plugs are in, that job becomes hard if not impossible. All that junk that's falling out now means there's more that's not yet loose and will end up in the radiator later on causing over heating problems. One thing I like to do is install a screen in the top hose to catch the crap that I couldn't get out but you really have to pay attention to your temp gauge because if it gets stopped up, your temp will come up really fast.

 

[mferraro76]

Found a great book on the small block mopar, actually someone mentioned it in another post, but it has been very valuble. so if anyone is interested, it is by HP books, "How to Rebuild Small-Block Mopar Engines."

I'm to the point where i need to get some rockers. the stock stamped ones are worn with the shaft opening having an elliptical shape. I want to get some rollers and not break the bank.

I found some PRW on ebay, are they worth it?

Also, any reason to chose 1.5 over 1.6?

Thanks

 

[69Bee]

The vertical marks are made by the dial bore guage used to measure the cylinder during the honing process. This will not cause any problems.

 

[mferraro76]

wtf - harmonic balancer

its been a while so i am further along but new problems here:

i put the pulleys on and they don't line up. it looks like my harmonic balancer is not going all the way on. i measured and it it goes right up to the slinger/sprocket, i need to go at least another 1/8 to 1/4 inch. WTF? i reused the same stuff (pulleys, sprockets, balancer), i used a 3/4 inch impact gun but it only goes so far.

the bolt threads all the way in without the balancer on, the crank and balancer are clean and free of nicks,

did i miss something simple or am i going to need to do some exploratory surgery on this thing?

i did replace the timing cover but i don't think that is the problem - it definately seems to bottom out on the slinger/crank sprocket. are there different thicknesses to the lower timing sprocket for different year small blocks?

argh@*%!!