TLicense Engine Build

[colsoop]

The usual fantastic attention to detail, subscribed and looking forward to updates

[TLicense]

At last I've been able to finish off the bottom end today ready for it to go off to the balancers on Monday.

The company I'm using is called Vibration Free. The chap who works there has been balancing bits and bobs up for me for over 10 years now, he knows his stuff and has written several pieces on the theory and practicalities of the balancing process.

Anyway, after talking with Steve, he recommended balancing the crank from the dampener right through to the clutch plate as an assembled unit. We spoke about balancing each component individually, but he didn't think it was worth it. I'm happy to go with his recommendation so set about assembling the rotating assembly:-

 

I started off by installing the two woodruff keys into the crank nose. For those that don't know, a woodruff key is a semi-circular shaped piece of metal used for radially locating components on shafts. It looks like this:-

As I mentioned there are two and they're used to locate the crankshaft timing pulley and the crankshaft pulley and they go here:-

 

 

Next fit the crankshaft timing pulley:-

 

The flange should face the rear of the block:-

 

 

Next fit the timing belt guide. The lip on this should face the front of the block:-

 

 

 

I then fitted the crankshaft pulley. With the age of most cars nowadays, it's worth fitting a new one. I replaced mine maybe 2 or 3 years ago so it's in pretty good condition anyway. It's been covered loads before on how these fail, but I took a couple of pics showing the pulley on it's own and the rubber coupling between the inner and outer bits that eventually fail. Here's the crankshaft pulley:-

 

 

This is a view of the front, the screwdriver tip is showing the rubber coupling:-

 

 

And from the rear:-

 

 

Anyway, I slid this onto the crank:-

 

 

 

I then loosely fitted the crankshaft pulley bolt. You can't torque it up yet as you've got nothing to resist against. We'll do that in a bit. For reference you'll need a 22mm socket to do this up:-

 

[TLicense]

I then turned my attention to the back end of the crankshaft.

I'm using the RPS flywheel that came off my car. Yes it does rattle, but I prefer the way it revs.

For reference I measured the stock and the RPS flywheels.

 

Stock flywheel = 14.3 Kg

RPS billet flywheel = 7.1 Kg

 

So about half the weight, no wonder it makes such a noticeable difference!

 

Anyway, here's the RPS clutch. I gave it a good clean beforehand as it had about 30,000 miles worth of clutch dust and crud on it! Pay special attention to making sure the mating face (where the bolts holes are) are particularly clean:-

 

 

I'm not worried about the slight surface corrosion on the mating faces, that'll clear up very quickly when the clutch is engaged a few times:-

 

 

Here's the mating face on the crankshaft. Again make sure that it's meticulously clean:-

 

 

 

Install the flywheel using new bolts (note the thread retaining compound on the tip of the bolt):-

 

 

It's worth noting that you'll need a "star drive" socket for this, a hex won't do it, but then that's the case for most of the bolts in the engine:-

 

 

Install the bolts until the flywheel pulls up. Then rotate the crankshaft until one bolt is at the 12 o'clock position. Tighten this bolt to 25 Nm. Then rotate the flywheel 180 degrees and tighten the opposing bolt to 25 Nm. Then rotate the flywheel so that you tighten the next clockwise bolt to the first bolt and do this bolt up. Repeat the process until all the bolts are done up to 25 Nm, then go around again doing the bolts up to 49 Nm. (A hint for doing this is to get a friend to hold the crankshaft in place by simply fitting a socket attached to a breaker bar onto the crankshaft pulley to "resist" your tightening action on the flywheel)

 

 

 

Once you've done that, rotate the flywheel once again until 1 bolt is at the 12 oclock position and mark the bolt head again at the 12 oclock position:-

 

 

Then tighten the bolts 90 degree's using the sequence above.

 

That's the flywheel sorted!

 

Now you've got the flywheel on it's possible to torque up the crankshaft pulley bolt. Now this is a real pain as it needs to be done up to 324 Nm, which in simple terms is a lot! In fact I was quite lucky as I've the largest torque wrench I've got only goes up to 330 Nm! You may need to borrow one as they're pretty pricey when they get to that size. Also it'll be difficult to get someone to resist this at the other end of the crankshaft, so I made up a plate to lock the flywheel into place against the engine stand. I basically measured the distance and diameter of a hole on the flywheel and one of mounting bosses of the engine stand. It's a bit rough and ready, but it did the job!:-

 

 

All done up:-

 

[Wez]

Nice work Tony

[DannoSupra]

Very nice work indeed.. will help me a lot when rebuilding mine soon! Top Job

[TLicense]

I then needed to fit the clutch plate, but ran into a problem. There wasn't enough space between the block and my engine stand to fit it. So I would have to fit it with the crankshaft removed from the block.

When transporting the block to and from the balancers, I didn't want to support the crankshaft on just the crankshaft pulley and the flywheel so I made a wooden frame up that would support the crankshaft on the main bearing journals. To make sure that the journals didn't get scuffed, I fitted some sticky backed neoprene to my frame. I then removed the rotating assembly from the cylinder block and sat it on my frame and then cable-tied it so that it wouldn't come loose in the back of my car:-

 

 

 

As you can see I also fitted the clutch plate. This is done by aligning the dowels on the flywheel to the holes on the clutch plate, then doing up the 6 bolts. The order for doing them up is quite odd. The best way to do it is to choose one of the bolts. Label this bolt up as no.1. Miss out the next clockwise bolt, and label the next one no.2. Miss out the next clockwise bolt and label the next one no.3. Miss out the next clockwise bolt and label the no.1 bolt also as no.4. Miss out the next bolt (again!) and label the no.2 bolt also as no.5. Label the next clockwise bolt as no.6, and miss out the next. Label the next bole as no.7, miss out the next bolt and then label the next clockwise bolt as no.8.

Then go around and tighten the bolts in the order that you've labeled them initially to 10 Nm on the first pass, then once they're all tightened to that, do them up to 19 Nm.

 

 

Sorry I didn't get any clearer pics of that process, but if anyone is struggling to see what I'm talking about I'll do a drawing and scan it in or something.

 

I'm also taking the pistons and con-rods to the balancers. They'll need to know which pistons are going to go with which cylinder but as I mentioned before, the machine shop honed each bore to suit a particular piston so that was sorted. Then it was just a case of labeling each con-rod to suit a particular crankshaft con-rod journal, which I'll go into how to work out tomorrow.

[ellis]

This is great to follow for those with slightly less technical knowledge - loving it. Thanks for doing this mate - greatly appreciated!!

[Alex]

Excellent write up so far

[Andy-No-Knee]

Automotive art!!!

 

Way above my ability but I'm mesmerised!

[paul mac]

really interested to hear how it gets on at the balancers

[scotty supra]

aa

Edited August 13, 2009 by scotty supra (see edit history)

[merckx]

really interested to hear how it gets on at the balancers

Some pics showing how they balance it would be good.

 

I could read stuff like this all day long, great pics.

[dangerous brain]

You know what I have always been completely in awe of all this stuff but in reality its actually just like a day at work. I have all the kit like this at work and on a daily basis have used most of it. I used to strip gas turbine engines and repair and rebuild them so why is it that I doubt my ability to do jobs like this? Oh yes I work to procedures that are fully documented and most of the time fully pictured up. I doubt my abilities when I don't have some sort of proper guide and dimensions to go by. So a borewashed engine? How long was it running tens and below?

[TLicense]

Many thanks for the comments guys.

Brian you're absolutely right, the problem I have is I only get couple of hour bites at it at a go so everything takes me an age.

Anyone who has some degree of engineering knowledge (ie can wield a spanner in a purposeful manner!) can do this, as it's literally a case of bolting / unbolting items in a particular order. However that doesn't mean that everyone should do it as some people just don't have the right mindset.

Having the correct tools, a suitable work area and I would say most of all patience to think what you're doing through and the ability stick to your plan (ie don't bodge!) are essential.

I work through using the Toyota workshop manual as a guide. Sometimes I have to divert from it where I've used alternative components, which is where it get's a little trickier.

 

One of the reasons why I write these up is to show everyone that it's not impossible to do these things. It's really not as much of a black art as people are led to believe.

[TLicense]

Some pics showing how they balance it would be good.

 

I could read stuff like this all day long, great pics.

 

I'm dropping everything off there today. I'll ask if he'll be willing to take some photo's and do a bit of a write-up.

 

Some good information on balancing written by Steve Smith who runs vibration free can be found here:-

http://www.vibrationfree.co.uk/Racecar%20Engineering%20march%20article.pdf

and here:-

http://www.vibrationfree.co.uk/Good%20vibrations.pdf

[Kranz]

Loving the attention to detail!!

 

I wrote a guide for blueprinting a Rover V8 a while back. Although the measurements and specs aren't right for the 2JZ the processes and procedures to follow are the same.

 

I also produced a set of build sheets to measure, record and calculate all required measurements at each strip and build. Don't know if they are any good for anyone else though?

EngineBuild.doc

[miko_supra]

Nice write up!

[TLicense]

Time for an update on this.

 

Unfortunately Steve and the guys at vibrationfree were pretty flat chat so couldn't spend the time to do a write up for us. That said I think the links I posted generally explain the balancing process, if anyone wants more information, then please feel free to pm me, or obviously contact vibrationfree for more info.

 

But anyway, the guys balanced the crank pulley, crankshaft, con-rods, pistons, flywheel and clutch assembly. I've not many pics of where they've removed material, so I'll grab some more when I next do some work and post them up.

 

With all the balancing done, it's time to actually start putting the thing back together.

 

Start off with the oil squirters:-

You can see here the ball that closes the squirter under low-pressure:-

 

The squirters are bolted onto these spotfaced area's on the block. You can clearly see where the casting has been machined, this is part of the machining that needs to be done when converting an NA block to full TT spec:-

 

 

The squirters get bolted into place using a 5mm allen socket. It should be tightened to 8.8Nm.:-

 

Here's them all fitted:-

 

Next fit the upper main bearings. Remember the upper bearings have the slots in them, and ensure you align the tabs on the bearing to the recess in the block:-

 

Now fit the 2 upper thrust washers. The ones with the tabs are the lower ones. Also remember that the grooves go to the outside:-

 

Before fitting the crankshaft, I generously added assembly lube to the bearing faces. (It's the red stuff you can see in the pics), once you've given all the bearings a good coating, install the crankshaft.

 

Now fit all of the lower bearings into the main caps, and the lower thrust washers to the number 4 main cap, and then fit them using the same procedure as used when checking the oil clearances. I bought and used new bolts as the old ones had been done up and undone quite a few times and I'd noticed that each time they stretched a fair bit (The paint marks ended up further and further round!). Remember the torque for these bolts is 44Nm +90 degree's in the sequence described earlier.:-

 

 

[SteveR]

Pretty

 

Stupid question probably, but I'll ask anyway Tony. How do you come to know all this stuff?

[SimonB]

Pretty

 

Stupid question probably, but I'll ask anyway Tony. How do you come to know all this stuff?

 

Because he has the Toyota engine manual... Seriously though, building an engine may seem like an impossibly hard technical thing, but if you take your time, read up (hence the Toyota manual), pay attention to the details and not skip things, and have a clean build area and the correct tools it's not that big a deal. It's just nuts and bolts at the end of the day.

 

What Tony does is do everything right, even if it takes more effort and time, and that's the key.

[TLicense]

The next step is to install the pistons, but before we fit them, we need to check the piston ring end gaps.

 

To do this, take the piston ring:-

 

Fit it into the bore of the cylinder, and use a piston to push it down the cylinder a little. CP recommend 0.25" - 0.5". If installing stock Toyota pistons / rings the manual says to push them down 105mm. As I'm going with CP rings, I went with the 0.5".:-

 

Now take the piston out and using a feeler gauge, measure the ring end gap.

CP state for a turbocharged engine to use the following gaps:-

 

Top compression ring = Bore dia (inches) x 0.0065 - 0.007

2nd compression ring = Bore dia (inches) x 0.007 - 0.008

Oil rings = Min 0.015".

 

 

If the ring gap is less than required, you're going to need to file the ends. To do this you need a piston ring gap filer, which is essentially a diamond encrusted cutting wheel mounted on a jig for holding the piston ring flat and that also keeps the ends parallel:-

 

When grinding the ring, make sure that you're grinding towards the centre of the ring. This makes sure that there are fewer (if any) burrs that will be protruding out to the cylinder wall.

Grind the piston ring very slowly and sneak up on your target value, don't grind it back too much. If you do, then unless the ring is the right size for a different piston then it'll be scrap. Once all the different rings have been ground, and you've removed and burrs with a small file then you're ready to assemble the piston / con-rod assembly.

 

I like to make things as fool-proof as possible, and as the pistons have to fit in a particular orientation I marked an arrow pointing to the front on each piston. You can tell which way is the front by looking at the relief for the valves. The inlet valves are a larger diameter than the inlets, so the pistons should have the larger cut-outs to the right hand side of the block when looking from the front. Here's the piston all marked up:-

You can see the difference in the valve reliefs. Inlet:-

Exhaust:-

 

You can also see in this pic the material removed on the pistons by the balancers. When I dropped the pistons off, they mentioned that this additional material is specifically added on, so that it can be removed as required to bring all the pistons to the weight of the lightest one in the set:-

 

 

You can also see in the above pics that I fitted one of the snap-rings to each piston too. I found the easiest way to do this was to push the part of the ring furthest away from the gap into the hole using my thumb, and then using the end of a plastic handle of a tiny screw driver chasing the end of the ring into until it clipped in. Be careful not to ping the ring out across the room or into your eyes!

 

 

 

Once you've got one snap ring in, apply a liberal coating of assembly lube to the gudgeon pin for the particular piston you're fitting. The balancer should have matched the pins to the pistons.

 

Then take the con-rod that you matched to the particular crankshaft journal of the cylinder you are assembling the piston - con-rod and connect it to the piston by pushing the gudgeon pin through the hole in the piston, through the con-rod little end and as far as it will go (up to the snap-ring on the other side of the piston). A good portion of the assembly lube will be wiped off the pin as it pushes through the hole in the piston. Wipe off any excess.:-

You can see I labelled up the con-rod caps to the particular con-rods:-

 

 

 

Now using the same method as before, fit the snap ring to this side of the piston.

 

Here's a pic of the ring half in:-

 

OK, with that done, we can move onto installing the piston rings.

Start with the oil expander ring. This ring goes into the bottom groove. It'll spin around when it's in there, but with the piston orientation arrow pointing to the 3 oclock position, you want the gap on the expander ring to about somewhere between the 5 and 7 oclock position.

 

Next fit the bottom oil ring. The gap should be aligned to the 2 oclock position.:-

[Wez]

Nice work Tony, lovely clear pics

[TLicense]

Then the upper oil ring with the gap to the 10 oclock position:-

 

Now the compression rings are a lot stronger than the oil rings, so you're going to need a piston ring installer:-

 

 

Carefully fit the 2nd compression ring. This has a hook on the outside of the ring, which should face towards the bottom of the piston. Hopefully you can just make it out in this pic:-

 

The gap goes to the 12 oclock position.:-

 

Lastly fit the Top compression ring. This has a chamfered inner edge that should face the top of the piston:-

The gap should face the 6 oclock position:-

 

And that's the piston rings done!:-

 

Next split the con-rod cap from the con-rod and fit the con-rod bearing, once again note the bearing tab.:-

 

Before you can slide the piston into the cylinder bores, you need to compress the piston rings with a ring compressor. Fit it loosely, checking that the rings gaps are oriented correctly as the compressor goes on - it's hopefully the last time you'll ever see them!

At the bottom of the compressor there should be some little tabs. These will stop the compressor from slipping into the cylinder bores. Make sure they are towards the bottom of the piston:-

Then using the key, tighten the compressor until the rings are fully compressed. Make sure that none of oil rings have slipped out of their grooves otherwise you could damage them / the piston:-

 

Now apply MP grease (usually supplied with the pistons) to the con-rod bolts and under the head of the bolt:-

Then fit the bolts and the lower shell of the "big end" bearing to the con-rod cap:-

 

Now, the exciting bit, of fitting the pistons.

Start off by rotating the crankshaft so the con-rod pin is at the bottom of it's stroke, and then liberally apply more assembly lube to the pin:-

 

Then carefully slide the piston into the block. I lent the engine over to 45 degrees whilst doing this. That way i could (when not holding a camera!) hold the con-rod off the cylinder bores as it was sliding into the bore.:-

 

Push the piston down, making sure the con-rod doesn't jam on the crankshaft, until the ring compressor bottom out on the block deck.:-

I gently tapped the compressor down onto the block to ensure it was fully pushed against the block.

 

Then using the end of a plastic mallet, push the piston down into the bore, checking that the ring compressor it pushed fully up to the deck as you do so.:-

 

As the piston gets further down hold onto the compressor to stop it from falling off and damaging anything.

Once the piston is fully down, double check for one last time the orientation of the piston:-

 

Right that's it for tonight. Tomorrow I'll show you how to correctly torque the con-rod bolts, which is a bit more involved than most would initially think!

 

Cheers

[TLicense]

Pretty

 

Stupid question probably, but I'll ask anyway Tony. How do you come to know all this stuff?

 

Because he has the Toyota engine manual... Seriously though, building an engine may seem like an impossibly hard technical thing, but if you take your time, read up (hence the Toyota manual), pay attention to the details and not skip things, and have a clean build area and the correct tools it's not that big a deal. It's just nuts and bolts at the end of the day.

 

What Tony does is do everything right, even if it takes more effort and time, and that's the key.

 

Absolutely, having the workshop manual is an absolute bare minimum requirement. Luckily throughout my working career I've been involved in an industry that does a lot of this kind of work - taking our time and making sure things are done as correctly as is possible.

The first engine I built was a an old 2.2 Cossie lump from an S1 Lotus Espirit with a guy who previously had worked for Cossie's building the F1 engines. He taught me a lot of little tricks and bits and bobs, but to be honest this is extremely straight forward in comparison, and as Simon says, if you just strictly and anally follow the technical manuals and instructions that come with the parts you order, you'll really struggle to go wrong.

 

Hope that helps!

[j_jza80]

Fantastic write up!