dreamr's top end build up

[dreamr]

Well finally the process has begun.....I start this thread so that y'all can help and advise me as I go since some of this will be new to me. ;)

So what is the project. Some of you may be aware of the parts wandering in for my Mustang if you have watched the "Dreamr's new toys " thread for those who have no clue what I am talking about ..........here's what we will be installing over the period of the next several weeks.

76mm C&L Mass Air Sensor
C&L True Flow Air Inlet Elbow
MAC Ceramic coated 1 5/8" shorty headers
Performance Products Typhoon Intake Manifold (ported/ and "smoothed"
runners upper and lower)
PP 70 mm Throttle body and EGR spacer
Ford Racing TFI Module
Accel 24 lb Fuel Injectors
Trickflow twisted wedge heads
trickflow stage 1 camshaft
Trickflow 1.6 Roller Rockers
Ford Racing Hydraulic Roller LIfters
Ford Racing Chromeoly Pushrods
Holley Adjustable Fuel pressure regulator
Aluminum Valve Covers (polished)
All hardware is ARP
Ford Racing Double roleer timing chain
Stewart High Flow water pump
180 degree T-Stat
Upgraded Master Cylinder
Energy Suspension Motor Mounts
And of course all the gaskets above and below

Also as you can see I have spent a considerable amount of time polishing all this stuff :confused:
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1369_1.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1426_1.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1432.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1449.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1463.JPG

There are still several parts to collect, and a few just arrived that I haven't pictured above but all in all the collection stage is coming to an end and it is time to start tearing the car apart :D

As I said though I'll likely need a bit of guidance so this thread begins before I get too involved in the project. This project will be moving rather slowly as I have very limited work time as well as no real motivation to hurry what with the rainy season fast approaching.

And lastly I am sorry Nicole, but I did not do a pre-build Dyno test. Though I did drive her damn hard the day before I parked just so the seat of my pants dyno could have a last run :lol:

[dreamr]

- Up on to the ramps

- Removed hood

- Mass air and inlet assembly removed

- Battery removed

Not a lot was accomplished on day 1, but the real goals were just to get the project laid out so I could start at my leisure. In short what I really needed to do was get the hood off while I had a friend standing around in my garage. Last night began the actual tear down well a little bit of it at least but I will update this thread with that stuff after work tonight.

For keeping track of everything I am taking dozens of photo's of everything as it is torn out, all the bolts and hoses are getting tagged and bagged, and I started a chronology that details everything with lots of MS paint diagrams to help with putting it all back together.

Please offer any advice if you see I am missing stuff as we get going........

Anyway more later, but here is the final shot for sunday nights work
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1510.JPG

[J]

This is going to be fun.

[dreamr]

This is going to be fun.

Lets hope I still think that the deeper I get......



A new box was delivered just a bit ago......as well as one Saturday that I had not got around to adding in. 'tis mostly accessories but we are getting there.....
Looks like we got the.......................
Stewart Highflow water pump
Mr Gasket 180 T-stat
Some vacuum line
Breslin Locking header bolts
Thread Sealer
RTV
Adjustable pushrod
Gasket scraper
Thread chaser taps
Fuel line disconnector thingy.....I hate my plastic ones
Fuel pressure gauge
Vacuum Gauge
I also picked up all the fluids locally
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1537_l.JPG
And that is all till the next 2 boxes arrive.

Soo what am I still missing :confused:
I have a few things on the way
PCV set
plugs
master cylinder
oil level sensor &gasket
head alignment dowels
.....I think that is all right now.


I'll post up later with Day 2's work, but it seems I have to go to a school meeting here shortly.

[dreamr]

Day 2 10-16

- Fan and water pump pulley removed

- Fan shroud and overflow tank removed

- Belt removed

- Smog lines removed

- TB and EGR spacer removed

- IAC removed for polishing

- Removed Upper intake Manifold

- Removed Alternator

- Removed serpentine tensioner arm

- Removed distributor cap and spark plug wires

- Drained radiator and removed the hoses


So finally I get around to adding Sundays work to the mix.....I have not done anything during the last couple of days

Notes in regard to this section......well I wish I could afford to add an e-fan to the mix!!!!!

All in all this was a rather light load for a sunday evening. I spent most of the time cleaning the parts which will be re-used and labeling every damn wire, hose, or vacuum line that I disconnected. I am sure I would have no problem doing this part without the labels, but then again why risk it. In addition I have taken numerous pictures for later reference and drawn a few hose routing diagrams in MS paint as well. My one note here is that I should get some more vacuum line to replace all of the old.

Next I did find one thing that made me a little nervous. The air charge is pre-warmed via radiator fluid circulating through the EGR spacer. The gasket here was basically gone......meaning there was fluid in the upper intake. Not much, just enough to make it damp. Some of this may also have been oil from the pcv system, but I think a good portion of the dampness came from coolant leaking in. Obviously not much as I have not had to add any coolant in nearly a year of service......I suppose I am concerned because I do not know if this may have had any adverse effects on the engine internals. The bottom end has 170K on it though compression and cylinder balance tests have all been great. Wish me luck when I pop them heads off in a while. I have to wait at least a year for a short block....preferably 2

Now since I am bored I think I'll go drain all the fluids .........heres the day end picture.............well almost
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1535.JPG

[dreamr]

DAY 3 10-18

- Removed radiator and upper/lower hoses

- Removed smog pump

- Drain Oil

- Romove Alternator Bracket

- Remove Water neck
It was very goopey in there

- Remove PS pump and bracket

- Remove Water Pump

Just a few things got accomplished tonight, seems I had from 6-8:30 to work on it while making dinner for the kid. I figured I may as well update the thread however...in a way I am kinda doing this to see what I get done and when for future reference.....lol
Nice diary you provide here for us Rick

Everything here went smooth with no concerns. the only thingy slightly abnormal was how goopy the t-stat was, but I know I need to flush the radiator.

In addition I found that many of my heater/radiator hoses were close to dead so I picked up some new Good Year hoses, a new cap and rotor, and a new smog pump as mine was toast. (I hate emissions testing!!!!!!!)

Anyway, here is a shot of new parts and one of the current project......sure is getting to be a lot of room in there.
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1542F.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/data/3453/100_1552f.JPG

[Nicoleb3x3]

pretty much just as much work it took when I did my swap!

[dreamr]

pretty much just as much work it took when I did my swap!

Yeah there's a lot of nuts and bolts, but it hasn't gotten to the hard stuff yet......well at least the areas that I have not torn down in the past on a couple identical engines. As soo as we start disconecting the fuel system and removing the heads, cam etc.....I'm on new ground


First though look at all that grease I need to get rid of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is amazing just how many leaks that engine had. It wasn't driping, but the crud was "re-enforcing" the nonexistant gaskets.........

I have a few more small things to do and remove before I start cleaning and painting. Then the upper intake and heads come off.

The engine and a lot of random stuff are going black.....gloss below flat on plastic...

I just wish I could find a close color match paint for the engine bay. The stock touch-up just glares at you do to the age of the other paint, and it will look bad when looking at fenders and surrounding areas. Gloss Black would almost be better........ It's hard to decide.....since I have yet to decide if a slight color change will happen when I paint the car itself. I really want to match it to the color of my truck.....then maaco the truck whatever color in the future. Maybe I'll just do a few touch ups and clean it up really well.

[dreamr]

Hmm I kinda ignored this project til Staurday, but here is Saturdays update...

DAY 4-5

Removed timing indicator and Smog bracket

Removed battery cable & tranny line bracket

Removed passenger side wire bracket

Began the long arduos task of degreasing all the lines, brackets, block, wires, and etc in the front half of the motor.

re-wrapped wiring harnesses and replaced some witing

primered and began painting the front of the block

Removed header

Removed chassis X Brace for painting

Removed hard heater lines from lower intake

Removed fuel system wiring harnesses

Soo much cleaning!!!!

Painted all front dress bracketry

Finished polishing last valve cover, IAC, tensioner arm, power steering shroud, and water neck

Greasy block and ....well everything
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/greasyblock.JPG

The front end looking a bit cleaner
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/dayend.JPG

And of course all the newly painted bracketry and polished items.....I still have more to do, but we'll get to that later.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/100_1589.JPG


Now for my questions... Some of which are pretty newbie like:D

Radiator......How to I get it really clean inside?

Harmonic balancer........ Do i need to take this off to remove the timing cover? How?

TDC........The Head instructions tell me to set the engine at cylinder #1 TDC on the compression stroke.....How? and How to tell where it is at?

[91GT347]

Put your balancer on 0.Your rotor should point at #1 too.
Just have the radiator flushed out is all I know about that.

[dreamr]

Day 5 or 6 or something.....

Again not a whole lot got accomplished, but in truth what I am really doing is a hell ot of cleaning and detailing and painting. But you'll see all that when I actually start getting the engine back together. Though I suppose you can see the freshly painted block and K-Member in the last photo....

So what has got done?

- Disconnected fuel system

- Removed the smog thermactor crossover pipe from the rear of the heads

- Removed crank pulley

- Removed harmonic balancer

- Removed timing cover

- Removed lower intake

Like I said not a lot, but then again I only have a couple hours in the evenings of free time so...........it's slow.

That damn crank pulley was the worst thing to get off with all the lock tite I used when I installed the underdrive units :fire: Then as I asked above how do i get the dampner off........well it would have helped if I would have noticed that not only was there a bolt in there that I had removed but also a washer :o . No wonder my bolt puller wasn't working before I posted up on here...

All in all though it is getting close to stripped down.

Below are a few pictures, but I have questions for the 1st one. You can see the timing gears and chain here. The dots on the sprockets were hard to see in the photo so I highlighted them in ms paint. So is this TDC? A ford engine goes (see below) correct? I know look in my book, but I can't find it right now.
4 8
3 7
2 6
1 5
it would appear that both valves are closed on cylinder 1 as i have it listed above. the rotor is pointing to the #1 wire, and the dots lign up.....

Picture #2 shows a very very nasty coolant passage in my driver side head eww. oh well at least I got a new radiator , water pump, and heads. The only remaining sludge will be in the block and should be minimal and easy to flush out.

and of course #3 is the day end photo.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/TDC_Question.JPG

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/nasty_coolant_passage.JPG

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/day_end.JPG

[dreamr]

come now there must be someone on this forum who can answer my questions.....



edit:
I missed your post at first 91gt331 but thank you ..

[dreamr]

Alrighty then....the heads are finally off.....hehe time to start installing new stuff :D

It would have been a lot easier though if i would have disconnected the ground strap from the driver head before lifting the head off of the car. :rolleyes:

I was pleased to see why I love a ford pushrod engine. 170k and I can still see the factory crosshatch on all 6 of the cylinders I can see (the other 2 pistons are at top).... I was worried since I cannot afford to go into the bottom end yet. they are smooth as glass with no visible wear marks.. A bit dirty thanks to me forgetting about that ground strip, but thats what shop vacs are for right.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/cylinder_wall_2.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/cylinder_wall.JPG

Now I do have another question. Most of the pistons look like the ones in the above. However #6 ( below) is very "glazed" looking. Why the difference, and what would cause this. I believe looking at the deck that I had a couple small headgasket leaks on the driver side....is that the cause?
Should I clean it up with some sandpaper?
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/nasty_pistons.JPG

All in all though look at all the cleaning I exposed for myself :rolleyes: I wonder how far I can clean down the tranny tunnel.......

And lastly should I clean out the lifter valley....ya know make it pretty and clean, or just make sure there are no particles and leave it with it's "coating"?

P.s. ignore the fram filter, I flushed the engine before I started this, and threw a cheap filter on after word to protect the bung......kinda crushed the filter though oops
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/bare_block.JPG

For the next couple days I am just cleaning and painting. Saturday should see the beginnings as I had to solicit help for the motor mount and oil pan gasket project.

[91GT347]

1) I believe looking at the deck that I had a couple small headgasket leaks on the driver side....is that the cause? Probably.It wasnt smoking was it ?
2)Should I clean it up with some sandpaper? Do what you can,but that can be tough to clean.
3) And lastly should I clean out the lifter valley ? No need. Just keep the debris out.

[dreamr]

1) I believe looking at the deck that I had a couple small headgasket leaks on the driver side....is that the cause? Probably.It wasnt smoking was it ?
2)Should I clean it up with some sandpaper? Do what you can,but that can be tough to clean.
3) And lastly should I clean out the lifter valley ? No need. Just keep the debris out.


Cool thanks for the feed back.

The car never seemed to really smoke, but the exhaust has been swwet smelling since I bought it. I think it was just leaking a itty bitty bit in a couple places. Like all the other gaskets they were in bad shape...

[dreamr]

Well I got impatient today. I ran out of stuff to paint with the timing cover so....I jumped in and changed the oil pan gasket and motor mounts. Realistically it was a very easy job though a bit time consuming.

Lifting the engine was quite easy after disconecting the tranny mount and the motor mounts. I placed a jack under a block of wood at the front of the bellhousing and lifted her up as high as I could. Then I ran a safety strap from my rafters to the block.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/safety_strap.JPG

Then of course spent an hour cleaning and happily painting.

I was a bit daunted by the oil pan gasket as I have repeatedly been told that I would have to either drop the K-member or take the engine clear up....

....not true. it is actually quite easy to access in the car with the engine lifted a few inches and the motor mounts out of the way.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/oil_pan_access.JPG

Hopefully this gasket will end my oil leak issues!!!!! It is a felpro steel core silicone coated gasket ......for 55 bucks it had better not leak:mad:

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/new_gasket.JPG

[dreamr]

Tightened tranny and motor mounts

Change oil pan sensor gasket

Pulled lifters

Pulled old camshaft

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/17_out_with_the_cam.JPG

Installed TF cam (I used soooooooo much assembly goop:o )

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/18_in_with_the_cam.JPG

Installed new lifters

Machined cam thrust plate (need to get the clearances back into spec, and counter sink the screw holes)

Installed new timing set

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/19_new_timing_set_and_lifters.JPG

Installed timing cover

Torqued oil pan

Installed water pump

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/20_timing_cover_and_water_pump.JPG

Connected steering rag joint

Installed master cylinder

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/new_master_cylinder.JPG

Installed harmonic balancer

Installed timing indicator and smog bracket

Mounted wiring brackets (under engine)

Installed Chassis X-Brace

[dreamr]

Hmm so after I am done carving my Jac o' Lantern it's time to test fit the heads....I think I have it all figured, but aid me.....


My questions

Piston to valve clearance checks
-silly putty on piston turn engine and measure valve mark if any
-do I check all valves, And do I have to have all the geometry checked and set on the valetrain first?

Pushrod length check
-seems easy enough any tips?

Lifter pre load
-how do I measure this. It is mentioned in my Chilton's, but not in my Trick Flow info

Rocker lash and geometry
-Part of this is in the pushrod, but how tight do I crank it down?????

[dreamr]

Well now where am I on this project?

Last night I did all the test fitting as mentioned above.

The spark plugs cleared the headers fair, but man they seem long compared to my stockers. They protrude into the chamber about the same distance as the stock plugs in the stock heads, but they seem long to me... Below is a picture or two.....hehe look at them pretty valves..:D

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/21_header_fitting.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/22_valves.JPG

Tonight I got the heads installed and torqued down....well for the first time. I did have to re-use one stock stud as the ARP bolts would not help me mounting a bracket. Folowing the head install of course came the valvetrain. I got everything installed and adjusted......everything sure seems simpler as I am doing it than when I am thinking of doing it in th future :rolleyes:

It would appear that the kit did have adequate length pushrods. Below are a couple pictures (top) showing the roller tip position at full close, and one
(#2) showing a valve at full open. It is not perfectly centered on the valve stem, but it is pretty dang close,,,, Last pic is just heads and valvetrain installed.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/drive_rocker_full_close.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/pass_rocker_full_open.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/23_valvetrain_up_2.JPG

Then since I was still feeling frisky I went ahead and installed the headers using my very nifty new Britax header bolts....
*Note* the valve covers are just sitting there to keep crap out of the heads

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/24_headers_installed.JPG
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/25_days_end.JPG

[dreamr]

:D I took today off as it is the Samhain Sabbat, but then I found myself in the garage anyway :D

I did not do much though...
- checked all the torque settings from last night
- installed wiring to rear of head and thermactor crossover pipe
- A little touch up painting and cleaning
- and lastly tore down the old lowerr intake and set up the new lower.

The ACT sensor was an issue though. First I could not get it out without the impact, then I found it very very gummy. Called Shucks and they had one in stock, thugh it was a cheap neihoff plastic one vs. Motorcraft metal. This was installed though the actual sensor does not extend all the way in to the air passage as it does on the stock intake. (The runners are much thicker on the new one)

Why does Accel always make their crap yellow? Blue would typically indicate 24 lb injectors yellow/orange for 19 lb on a ford, but no Accel makes all their injectors yellow :rolleyes: Gads I hate the color yellow! Almost as much as orange!

Also another note on the PP intake. The threads all had to be re-tapped, and the pcv hole does not have a shelf to hold the crankcase filter basket as the stock intake did. Hopefully it will stay in place untill the oil can glue it in. The instruction recommended using "pipe dope" on all of the sensors. I have no idea what that is unless it's that yummy green stuff I am not allowed to put in my pipe any more, so I used the ARP thread sealer.....figured what the hell...

If no one has any advice that requires me to wait to install the intake I will do so after Samhain activities have desisted.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/lower_intake_set_-up.JPG

[Nicoleb3x3]

looks awesome, I'm jealous!

[crimsonblack]

Wow... she's lookin' beautiful!!!

[dreamr]

Thanks for the kind words folks, it is hard to get anything done when you have to work and raise a child :confused:


But really I think it is time that I changed the way I list things. See I have been saying what I have done, now it is time to start looking at what I need to do still:D
- finish organizing the wire if possible :eek:
- Install new radiator
- radiator hoses
- Drill passenger side valve cover for oil fill neck
- Install fan and fan shroud
- connect headers to h-Pipe
- fill all the fluids
- pre lube valvetrain and secure valve covers
- Bolt down air intake assembly
- plug in the battery and start up

then of course we get into that stage................

I am getting there slowly
below are a few pics of things as they have progresed. Note that in the last photo I was just mocking stuff up to check how all the vacuum and wire lengths would be. This is now a big assembly in the trunk to bolt down later.:p:

Also all that shiny aluminum doesn't look all that shiny with my dirty greasy hand prints all over it.....I'll finish the detail of the engine bay after I have it running good and finsih this thread off with a glow ;)

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/lower_intak_installed.JPG

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/accessories_installed.JPG

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/mock-up.JPG

[dreamr]

Well it did start....

After a bit of tuning it even ran fairly well :D
TPS @.98
Fpressure @ 40 PSI
Base timing @12
Idle at 950

ohh and i also added a air compressor line dryer to the pcv line. Figured why let all that oil back into the intake.

I ran it for the twenty minutes recommended with the idle set just under 2 k, shut it down, changed the oil and filter, then fired it back up. There appear to be no leaks.....

Now my concerns
Valvetrain noise. It scared the hell out of me when I first started the car, but once the oil pressure came back up it quieted down a lot. There is still a moderately significant chatter to it. Honestly I think I need to pop the valve covers after a drive or two and re-adjust the rockers. I want to drive it to work at least once to let the new parts kinda settle in. Then I can re-check head and intake torque when I adjust the valvetrain.

As to general runnability. Once I tuned it a bit as listed above it started to idle fair. It still has high and low spots in the cycle though. In addition it has a tendency to vary rpm slightly every minute or so.....In general it ran fairly good, but needs some more fine tuning. With the FPR at 38psi it seemed a bit better, and the exhaust was clear. at 40 psi I can see the exhaust, but it seems more responsive to the touch.

The cam ties into the above I think, but it does have a nice blubblubblub sound to it......:p:

Here are a few pictures after it was all back together.....

It still sits on tramps though waiting for me to do the final checks and a bit more tuning before driving.

http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/30_done_1.jpg
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/32_done_3.jpg
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3453/31_done_2.jpg