Of interest to gear heads....

Frank Z

The Offical "Frank Z is a Cheap Bastage!!" Post

Yeah, it's true. Since I'm using a 12 counter weight crankshaft with a long snout I knew I had two options.
1.) Have the shop keep the crank a little longer and machine 1 centimeter off the end and re-tap if needed.
2.) Buy a 1cm spacer from Hesco for $30 plus freight.:eek:

So what's a stroker builder to do that's inexpensive and will still provide the proper harmonic balancer location?
DIY Spacer!!

I had a balancer that came with the 4.2L crank.

Step#1
Cut the center section out.


Step#2
Use a properly sized precision broom handle to aide in cutting the rough spacer.


Step#3
Cut the rough spacer with surgical precision. I suggest limiting coffee intake before attempting this part of the operation.


Step#4
Mark the Spacer at just over 1 cm and use a drill press as a lathe. A fine tooth hack-saw was also used in this step.
Cut the spacer to slightly more than 1 cm thick.


Step#5
Grind and sand the spacer to the desired 1 cm thickness.

Frank Z

Crankshaft/Harmonic Balancer/Flexplate are now balanced and ready for installation. Here's Jerry gettin' it juuuuuust right....


Robbie resized the connecting rods...


I'm hoping to pick everything up at the end of this week and start cleaning and assembling as well. With a little luck the motor will be ready to go in about a weeks time.

I was hoping to get everything last week, but "Stuff Happens."

Stay tuned....

dgt2n

nice project! i love working on cars with my old man. looking forward to seeing the rest.

MSALLA

Can't wait to see pictures of the assy.

Frank Z

Well looky at what I brought home today....



Kinda at a standstill for the time being though due to this...

The rear of the crank won't drop in and there seems to be an interference between the bearing and the raised flange on the crank itself.

Here ya go...

MSALLA

It looks like they can cut the journel on the counter weight side but the flange on the main seal side looks like it might give you an issue.

Frank Z

Just found (buried in a Haynes manual) that he thrust bearing goes in a different journal location. D'Oh!!!

pmlewis

Cool project! Looks like you are in for some fun. I used to work for a parts supplier that made the split crank seals for the 4.0L engine. I have a question. I seem to remember that the seal had helixes on the primary lip, but I can't remember for sure (it was about 7 years ago and we made several different styles of seals). If the seal lip does have helixes you may have problems . The picture shows that the crank is helixed. My main expertise at the time was in the manufacture of these types of seals. I didn't design them, but I think that the idea was either the shaft or the seal would have the helixes, not both. You may be looking at premature leak or burned seal. I also noticed that there apprears to be a wear groove on the shaft where the seal lip makes contact with the shaft. If this is too deep if will also cause problems. You may want to have this looked at by the machine shop and see what they think. Also, you may or may not know that there is a specific way that the seal needs to be installed into the engine. If it is put in backwards it will pump oil out of the engine instead of back in. This was a big problem at the assembly plant for the 4.0L and we had to put colored dots on one side of the seal to help the operators figure out which was the oil side and which was the air side.

Good luck on the rebuild
Patrick

Frank Z

Not sure what you mean regarding a helix.

The crank has been turned .030" and is as smooth as a babies behind. The line you are seeing is actually grease on the shaft.

The rear main seal is directional and yes you can screw it up easily without too much effort.

pmlewis

A single helix on a seal looks like a raised diagonal line. The seal will have several of these lined up along the contact point. I will try to attached a diagram. I sure everything is ok. You knew enough to lube the seal before installation so I am sure you have a handle on the situation. The picture is deceiving in that it looks like those grooves on the shaft have depth.

MSALLA

Frank Z wrote:

Just found (buried in a Haynes manual) that he thrust bearing goes in a different journal location. D'Oh!!!

That explains it.

Frank Z

Alright folks, it's crunch time and I've really gotta get this done. Got a couple jobs coming up that are going to take up a lot of time.

My daughter Rebecca took care of installing the main bearings, and she got them in the right locations....unlike her dad.


This next shot isn't that good, sorry about that. You might be able to see the Plastiguage on the bearing and on the journal itself. I checked each bearing and they are all at .0015 to .002". Right on the money baby!!


I checked the end play at least a half dozen times or so. .006" each time.


Yes I am using assembly lube. I looks like blood so if I get mortaly wounded my wife won't know...therefore I won't hear "So what did you injure this time?!?"


Camshaft is in....



Checked the ring gap for all rings. All are within spec. You an also see the new timing set installed.


Number One piston going in...



More to come later on.

Frank Z

Got a little more done this evening but lost my pit crew after just a little while, homework has priority over engine work.

Daniel getting the #4 cylinder prep'd for the piston.


Making sure the rod bolts are lined up and the piston is facing the right direction.


A few taps with the handle and #4 is in.



Torqued to 33ft lb. Plastiguage shows .0025 clearance.


That's all for now folks.

Next on the agenda is installing the lifters and the cylinder head.

Thanks for lookin'!

Frank Z

A little break in the action so I'd thought I share a couple of pics.

I installed a new Melling Hi-Volume Oil pump and filled it vaseline. I used one of my favorite tools to clean out the bolt holes....Chopsticks. Yeah, go ahead and laugh or roll your eyes, but some day because of this pic, chopsticks may save your life!!:P


Lifters are in. I used my trusty chopsticks to line them up with the lifter bores.

Frank Z

Got a little more done this evening.

Prior to installing the cylinder head I coated the cylinder walls with a little freah oil.


I made sure the mating surfaces were spotless. I used a lint free cloth and Brake-Clean.


After carefully placing the gasket and the head on the block it was time to start torquing the bolts.


For those of you that haven't torqued down a 4.0L head before, it's not as simple as grabbing a torque wrench and twisting all the bolts to 110 ft lbs. The FSM is very clear in the proper torque sequence and the amount of torque applied during each incremental torque application.

There are 3 different cylinder head bolts to identify and install, so take your time.

After doing some research on head bolts, I found that the FSM states that cylinder head bolts can be re-used once. I also suggest that you keep the spare lube that is supplied with ARP Rod Bolts and use it on your head bolts. ARP has a lot of really good info on their site regarding the proper methods of torquing bolts and they recommend a high quality lubricant on the threads to aide in achieving the proper torque levels.

I also checked the lifter preload per the method recommended on the Crane Cams website. The preload should be .020 to .060". Mine measured .136" using the stock pushrods and lifters. Guess I'll be shopping for some new (shorter) pushrods tomorrow.

Frank Z

After spending alot of time trying to find the proper length pushrods locally, and having no luck at all, and determining that Chromemolly push rods were out of the question for budgetary reasons, I opted for the low buck solution. Crane Cams offers a shim kit for about $15 that allows the rockers to be elevated enough to obtain the proper lifter preload. My solution was even more low buck...washers. I had a couple packs of grade 8 washers in the garage and used them instead. Preload is now within spec for a whopping $3.88.:) You might be able to see the washers in the following pic. There is one beneath each rocker fulcrum. The putty knife was used to scribe lines on the push rods to measure the lifter preload.



Oil pan was rattle-canned and bolted on today. The oil filter mount was installed too.


All of the rocker arms are now on and ready to be covered with fresh oil.

Frank Z

We finally got enough spare nuts anfd bolts gathered up in a pile and decided that it was time to get busy with the swap….that and the weather is cooperating for a change.

Daniel made quick work of the radiator and heater hoses.


When removing the header panel, disconnect this connector. It’s a lot easier than trying to remove the harness from the panel at multiple points.


After removing the upper radiator hose the top tranny cooler line is easy to get at. Make sure you use a back-up wrench.


We opted to remove as many of the brackets and mounts as possible before pulling the motor.
Removing the power steering pump.


To make lifting the motor out a little easier we pulled the intake and exhaust off the block.


I thought I had a found a crack in the exhaust header a few days ago but I was pleasantly surprised to find the crack was in the Moab mud that was caked on the exhaust. PHEEEEEEW!

We’ve got another 1 1/2 hours worth of unbolting little odds and ends and the engine will be ready to come out. The only thing left to buy is new injectors.

audiobliss

Sweet! It's all coming together!

Frank Z

Old motor is out, and the stroker is in!

Daniel and Rebecca had the old motor out pretty quickly....once they rolled their sorry butts outta bed...


The block and head that are the foundation for this project is a '96. This head had a sensor in rear driver side that wasn't needed for my 97. The hole goes into the water jacket and needs to be plugged (1/4" NPT) prior to filling the system with coolant. Don't forget to add a couple wraps of teflon tape prior to installing this or any fittings into the block/head where coolant or oil are present.

Daniel getting the motor mounts bolted down.

Speaking of motor mounts, DO NOT install the brackets on the block until the engine is fully mated to the transmission.
New motor in place.

Intake, exhaust, fuel injectors, fuel rail, PS pump, alternator, starter, a/c compressor, fan, and fanbelt all back in and torqued down.

nadams

Great job! Looks like it should be about ready to turn that key!

MSALLA

Looks awsome!

audiobliss

I want a video clip so I can hear that beast roar!

Frank Z

Installed, started, and a near coronary.

Daniel and I got the last few items hooked up, topped off the tranny fluid, double checked nuts, bolts, screws etc. and turned the key. It started immediately! YES! Then we heard the knock from the bottom end and I damn near shat myself.

At first I thought it was rod knock, but quickly ruled that out. It just didn’t sound like it. It sounded mechanical in nature, almost like a collapsed lifter but the sound was definitely coming from the oil pan. This was confirmed using the traditional mechanics stethoscope (aka – large craftsman screwdriver handle against the ear)

I drained the oil, dropped the pan and inspected the bottom end. Nothing loose, no obvious signs of internal damage, no spare parts in the oil pan. After pulling the coil wire, I had Deb crank the motor while I eye-balled the goings on.

GOTTCHA! Seems that the girdle was not spaced quite far enough away from the main journal bearing caps. When the engine was running one of the connecting rod bolts would barely, and I mean barely nick the girdle after it passed BDC. I promptly pulled the bolts off, added a second spacer (washer) at each bearing cap bolt, put the pan back on, refilled with oil..

Moment of Truth , Part II

After talking a deep breath, saying a quick prayer to Saint Bubba, patron saint of shadetree mechanics, it was time to start it up again.

No more knock!! YEAH!
After doing the initial break-in, and oil/filter change it was time for a quick test drive. My initial reaction after pulling out of the driveway was the much improved throttle response. I didn’t go any faster than 45 (residential area) but the overall feel of the motor was amazing. I could have very easily gotten carried away and opened it up, but thankfully I’ve got a wife at home that would beat me senseless if I broke her new motor on day one.

The idle is incredibly smooth, even with a bumpier cam. I credit my superior engine building skills….naaaah. It’s the massive 12 counter-weight crankshaft. At seventy-some odd pounds, it really smoothes out the idle.

There is a bit of valve train (rocker) noise but nothing alarming. From what I’ve read it’s fairly common.

A few items of note.
The radiator was replace about a year and half ago, it’s a Modine 2 row. The water pump is a new (not rebuilt) standard flow pump. The thermostat is a 180Deg. Stant Super-Stat. At idle the engine temperature was just under 200deg.F. Prestone anti-freeze was used, 50/50 mix.

The oil pump is a Melling Hi-Volume pump. Oil pressure at idle with a warm engine is approx. 35psi. Pressure at 1800rpm is right at 60 psi. Oil is 5w-30. I won’t change over to synthetic oil until I get few thousand miles on the motor.


Here’s the final pic.


After I get 500-1000 miles on the motor I’ll get it Dyno’d and post he results.

audiobliss

Awesome! Don't forget to record the dyno pull!

Frank Z

Yeah, I'll take my cam-corder.

Demiurge

*groan*

hahahaha

disneyjoe7

Looking good, I may have used a slightly larger cam but I understand you need a torquer in the mountains.

disneyjoe7

Frank Z wrote:

Installed, started, and a near coronary.


At first I thought it was rod knock, but quickly ruled that out. It just didn’t sound like it. It sounded mechanical in nature, almost like a collapsed lifter but the sound was definitely coming from the oil pan. This was confirmed using the traditional mechanics stethoscope (aka – large craftsman screwdriver handle against the ear)

I drained the oil, dropped the pan and inspected the bottom end. Nothing loose, no obvious signs of internal damage, no spare parts in the oil pan. After pulling the coil wire, I had Deb crank the motor while I eye-balled the goings on.

GOTTCHA! Seems that the girdle was not spaced quite far enough away from the main journal bearing caps. When the engine was running one of the connecting rod bolts would barely, and I mean barely nick the girdle after it passed BDC. I promptly pulled the bolts off, added a second spacer (washer) at each bearing cap bolt, put the pan back on, refilled with oil..

Great story thanks for the laughs.

Frank Z

Spent a few hours in the garage today and installed a new APN manifold.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3870295459207846118&hl=en

disneyjoe7

Is that an intake manifold?