Assemble Engine- Helpful Reminders

[jeepxj3]

Next week should be doing the final assembly of my engine.
What are all the 'HINTS' and reminders for during assembly?

-weld oil pump pick up tube to oil pump
-make sure oil pump sits flat against block
-chamfer oil holes in bearings
-line up oil holes of bearings
-assembly lube on all bearing surfaces
-stagger ring gaps
-soak lifters in oil
-check underside of piston to rod balance pad clearance
-grey moly lube on cam lobes and lifter faces
-head bolts to 110 pounds, #11 bolt to 100 pounds PLUS sealant
-measure push rod lengths and preload
-pre-lube prime engine with drill
-use break in oil
-cam break in procedure, then change oil, drive and change oil at 500 miles

Any other helpful hints to remember during assemble?

[SilverXJ]

-weld oil pump pick up tube to oil pump

Make sure you set the pickup to pan clearance prior to welding.

-make sure oil pump sits flat against block

I assume you have seen my oil pump checks in the FAQ forum. If not, check it out. Also, don't forget to check oil pan to pump clearance.

-chamfer oil holes in bearings
-line up oil holes of bearings

Cam bearings? Good idea there. Rod bearings can benefit from it too although not necessary, but just a little on those. Don't use any abrasive for that as it could embed in the bearing material. No sanding rolls or stones. I used an exacto knife on the cam bearings. Haven't tried it on the rods though. When I did the u-shapped holes in the rod bearings I used a small burr bit on a dremel. If you are talking about lining the holes up with on the cam bearings, have you installed cam bearings before?

-stagger ring gaps

Yes, but some piston manufactures have a certain way to stagger them.

-check underside of piston to rod balance pad clearance

Don't forget to check girdle to rod big end if using the girdle.

-head bolts to 110 pounds, #11 bolt to 100 pounds PLUS sealant

Don't forget the torque is in steps and in a sequence.

-grey moly lube on cam lobes and lifter faces

Once this is done and the lifters are installed try to rotate the engine as little as possible to avoid wiping off the lube. What I do is save the oil pan for last and prior to putting the pan on put some more grey lube on the cam lobes.

Also:
-CLEAN! Make sure everything is clean as possible. If the machine shop hasn't done it already start with soap and water. Then the bores with acetone followed by transmission fluid. And when not working on the engine cover it up with something clean.
-Do not rush assembly, do not do it when you are tired.
-Don't leave bolts or washers sitting on the engine block after the head and/or oil pan is on. I once dropped a washer into the engine after I had the oil pan on. Luckily it landed on the oil pump and I got it out with a magnetic pickup.
-Use lint free rags.
-Make sure all bolt holes are clean. Use a thread chaser and not a tap to clean them if necessary.
-Make sure you have a good torque wrench that is calibrated. Keep in mind that the torque wrench isn't accurate at the first 20%(iirc) of its scale. Just because its lowest setting is 10 ft lbs doesn't mean it is accurate there. Also, don't go below the lowest setting. I have seen a couple people that think they can just turn it down past its setting to get a lower reading. It doesn't work. One person found out the hard way by breaking several cam shaft bolts on a 4.7L HO V8 WJ engine. He still didn't grasp the point I was trying to make.
-Use a torque spec on every bolt that has one. You can get away on not using them on things like oil pan and valve cover, but all internal engine bolts I recommend it.
-Check the engine mount brackets to see if the bolt snugs up w/o bottoming out. Some years the bolts will bottom out before tightening.
-Use RTV sparingly. On the RMS is the only internal part than needs it. On the oil pan gasket you have the two spots at the front of the block that intersect the timing cover and at the rear. If you have a newer Felpro oil pan gasket there will be two spots at the rear main bearing cap that has two square recesses. Older gaskets had pieces that filled that hole. Newer ones you must fill with RTV. I also use a light coat of RTV on the water pump and timing chain cover.
-Degree the cam in if possible.
-Check every clearance if possible. Don't forget crankshaft endplay. Also, record the clearances if you need to diagnose something later.
-Check your harmonic balance for wear.
-Install the balancer with a balancer installer. Advanced Auto had a good kit you can rent. Do not hammer it on of draw it on with the crank bolt.
-Check manifold gasket to port alingment. Some gaskets can hang over into the exhaust/intake ports. Same for the throttle body if you are using a larger than stock one.

Engine install tips:
-When mating the engine to the transmission I have found the easiest method to get the top two bolts is to leave the engine bushings out first. Lower the engine to the transmission and install the two outer bolts. Then lower the engine so the engine side brackets are resting on the frame side brackets. Install the top two bolts. Then install the engine mount bushings.
-Remove the CPS sensor from the bell housing so you don't knock it with the CPS reluctor wheel.
-Make sure the torque converter is seated in the crankshaft completely and you can spin the converter prior to installing the flexplate to torque converter bolts. Binding that up can result in transmission oil pump damage and thrust bearing damage.

Prior to the first firing make sure everything is ready to go. You want the engine to fire as soon as possible to begin the cam breakin:
-Purge the fuel rail of air. I use a fuel pressure checker with a bleed valve. Turn the key to on position so the fuel pump primes. Bleed the rail. Do this until you don't see any air coming out of the line.
-Check coolant hose clamps. After I let it sit over night i go over them again.
-Make sure the cooling system is full. I usually let the vehicle sit on jack stands in the front as high as possible over night. Then top off the coolant in the morning.
-Make sure the battery has a full charge.
-Check all sensor and accessory plugs. CPS, MAP, TPS, cam, IAC, IAT, cooling fan, alternator, coil, etc.
-Check all engine ground points
-Check all vacuum lines.
-Check the throttle linkage
-Make sure the cam sensor drive/ distributor is indexed correctly.
-Check the plug gap and plug wire order.
-Check the oil filter. Make sure it isn't orange.

Cam breakin
-If it doesn't start with in 3 tries find out why
-I like to jumper the electric fan so its constantly running to help cool the header/manifold.
-watch the time
-Make sure you have oil pressure and watch it. It should stay pretty high.
-Follow the cam manufacture's breakin procedure. Usually 20-30 minutes at 2000 rpm. Occasionally blip the throttle to bring the engine rpm up to 3000 to splash the oil in different places.
-Watch the coolant temp. It might get a bit hot, which is normal. Just a bit above 210*.
-Listen to the engine. If it starts to sound funny you may have a problem.
-Relax. Its going to be a long 20-30 minutes.

[jeepxj3]

Thanks, that is just what I was looking for. All the little nitty gritty.

[dott]

You mentioned break-in oil. Make sure the specs say it has a lot of zinc (ZDDP) and phosphorus. 1300-1400ppm is good, more is better.

I'm an Amsoil dealer and here is one specially formulated for break in. iIt has about 2000 ppm.
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/m ... e=BRKQT-EA

The racing oils have around 1500ppm.

And here is a good article about zinc and phosphorus additives.
http://www.amsoil.com/techservicesbulle ... Tappet.pdf

Diesel engine oils usually have hi levels of ZDDP as well.