Engine Rebuild

Intel486 · 12-17-03, 07:08

Well, I guess my engine doesn't like a 100 shot too much... or as much as I was spraying it... haha!

Well, it's time for me to do a rebuild. I'm going forged.

What I'm looking for is what parts do I need for a rebuild other than the obvious stuff. I'm need to know what seals I need to get, what bearings, what bolts need to be replaced, etc.

The major components I know... i.e. Crank, Rods, Pistons, Rings, etc.

Also, if anyone can suggest good companies for any parts, then that would be great. So far the only thing I know I want are Manley H-beams. I have to see if the billet crank I found can work and if so, then I've found the crank I want to use.

IndigoGTI · 12-18-03, 08:35

Since you're going to tear the motor down and rebuild, I'd go ahead and replace the fasteners. ARP makes great parts to replace your rod bolts, head bolts/studs, bearing cap bolts, and intake manifold bolts.

You might also want to consider getting the whole rotating assembly balanced, it can free up a few extra ponies and will increase the life of the engine. Have you thought about going with a hotter cam (if you haven't already)?

Polishing the ports in the heads will be good for power, but don't go too big on the ports, you may increase volume but port velocity will drop and could actually decrease horsepower.

SickOfItAll · 12-18-03, 04:09

First question: Are you planning on doing the rebuild yourself, or sending it to a shop?

Avalanche · 12-18-03, 04:25

There is really no striaght forward answer. What exactly are you going to do? Why do you need the rebuild, what parts are bad? Exactly what engine, how many miles? I'm of the opinion that a nice crate motor is almost always the way to go, especially with the extensive selection and how cheap they are when all things are considered.

SickOfItAll · 12-18-03, 04:33

Either way, this could be a VERY long thread;

Since you've already decided on your rods, let's take a look at pistons. Are you FI? Do you plan on spraying more? You need to decide what CR you want, if you want coated pistons or not, how much of an overbore you need (any cylinder wall damage?), etc. Brand is kind of secondary to that stuff. CP makes pistons I like, but ask some Ford guys - I'm not much on them. Rnigs aren't something you'll need to worry about, unless you're building it yourself - they're functional, yes, but there's not a whole lot you can change about them. Let the shop deal with that.

Make sure the crank is straight! Easy for any machine shop to do, and they can straighten. One of those little things that can make a difference if it's not done.

Also make sure your rods are weight matched - I don't know anything about the brand you're looking at, but you might have to get a few grams shaved off one or more of them. You'll want about a 2-3 gram difference in weight across the board, at most.

Speaking of rods, what material were you planning on going with? I'd avoid titanium or aluminum. While nice because they reduce rotating mass by quite a bit, they're problematic in that they also stretch over time. Unless you plan on rebuilding every year or so, I'd avoid aluminum or titanium rods.

As far as head work, LISTEN TO YOUR HEAD BUILDER. Tell him your power goals and how you plan to achieve those goals (NA or FI, spraying, etc.) The ultimate decision is his, and be sure you go with a reputable shop. Don't let somebody practice on your head - bad headwork is a major limiting factor. Like the poster above, you're looking for port velocity, not volume. Bigger is not always better.

Do some research on some Ford boards - I don't know any off the top of my head, but I do know they're out there.

Intel486 · 12-18-03, 06:54

Thanks for all this great information.

Here's what's going on w/ why I'm planning on building a forged block. I've damaged something inside of the engine and I'm not sure what. Pulling the heads on my engine is a PITA so I figured I might as well build myself a forged block and take care of these problems right now and get myself a stronger engine.

As far as how much work I'll be doing myself and letting a shop do is not know yet. I will not be dealing with rebuilding the heads myself. I might even consider just using thse current heads for a little while if I HAVE to and getting some of the heads w/ cams from SHM. A friend of mine said he will help me build the bottom of the block and that we can do that work ourselves. He said the hard part about these engines is setting the cam timing.

The engine will eventually get supercharged w/ maybe a small shot of nitrous. Stock compression is 9.0 and I'm thinking about taking it down to 8.5 because of the plans of going FI.

I'm going to need to check on the overbore. There's a chance I can get a Mustang Gt block to work on. It came out of a stang that threw a rod. I need to inspect it still for cylinder wall damage and magnaflux it to check for hairline cracks. If it's fine, then I'll be building on it. If not, then I'll be looking for a block.

I've been on the F-150 boards but they for the most part don't know their head from their foot about rebuilding a 4.6l motor. So, I'm about to start scoping out the mustang boards mainly because it seems I'm about to build a mustang with an F-150 bodykit.

NozeBleedSpeed · 12-18-03, 08:11

Intel, I have Manley rods,Diamond or CP pistons,rings bearings,cranks, head bolts,etc. I can get you either a 4.6 or 5.4 that is balanced and blueprinted by a Ford Mod Motor Engineer. Short block,long block or built heads. I also have an OEM Lightning motor w/blower and 4R100 tranny and I have a built 5.0 that was going in a Ranger still on the stand. We tune everything by EEC reflashing. BOP is the first and original PCM recalibration service.
Give me a call if I can help you. My number is here:
www.blueovalperformance.com

geekysteve · 12-18-03, 08:32

I have used (and had great luck (i.e. no failures in 100+ engine builds)) Lunati Cranks, Ross Pistons, Crower Rods, Manley Valves, Lunati cams & springs and Fel-pro gasket sets with ARP fasteners.

But, I like Nozebleed's idea better - just buy something that's already finished...odds are it'll be cheaper in the long run (machine work is pricey unless you can do it yourself) and probably less trouble.

Unless you've built a few motors before, it could be tricky trying to build your own motor to withstand NOS and forced induction. All of a sudden things like ring gaps, rod ratios, bearing preload, etc. become *extremely* important...

Scottwax · 12-18-03, 09:39

Believe me, I feel your pain! I wasn't even spraying...bad harmonic balancer and my engine let loose at 6500 rpm! Notice the LT1 pink rod that is twisted 90 degrees and the destroyed side skirts on the forged 11:1s.

Four of the cam lobes were in the oil pan!

I agree with Nozebleed also. An already built engine with a warranty is probably the best way to go. Less downtime too.

Intel486 · 12-18-03, 11:46

Thanks for all the help. So many options now. Still gotta get on the mustang boards and see what they suggest. The truck isn't running well though. It idles really rough right now. I may pull #8 soon to see what it looks like. Hope it isn't smashed again.

The thing that annoys me is I don't know what's wrong. I don't care if it's something really bad like a chipped piston or something. Just wish I knew what was wrong. Guess I'll find that out when I break this engine down.

I'm gonna give BOP a call then and see what their prices are like.

NozeBleedSpeed · 12-19-03, 04:43

Intel,if it runs but idles rough,pull your coil packs and check all of your plugs. Broken rods usually vent the block. You may have just launched a plug out of the threads. Thats a common problem on mod heads. Factory 4.6 rods arent as prone to breaking as the longer 5.4. You may just have head problem. If you ran leann,you could have melted pistons or valves. You really need to investigate more before you spend money that you may not need to.

Intel486 · 12-19-03, 09:58

Quote:

Originally posted by NozeBleedSpeed
Intel,if it runs but idles rough,pull your coil packs and check all of your plugs. Broken rods usually vent the block. You may have just launched a plug out of the threads. Thats a common problem on mod heads. Factory 4.6 rods arent as prone to breaking as the longer 5.4. You may just have head problem. If you ran leann,you could have melted pistons or valves. You really need to investigate more before you spend money that you may not need to.

I already pulled the plugs once and this is what they looked like. The middle one came outta cylinder #8. http://ftw.truckmoxie.com/mygallery....23&album=28196

The truck idles rough and has a burping kind of noise that comes out of the intake every once in awhile. I can also hear what sounds like a miss in the exhaust at idle. It doesn't sound smooth anymore.

A friend was over last night and we were listening to the truck. I took up to WOT at like 20. It downshifts, take off for a second and then then it starts making this metal clanking noise. I backed off right when it started that. It's been idling rougher now... awesome...

When I call BOP is there anyone I Should ask for?