Building Chevy 4.3 liter V6 - 1994 with balance shaft
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
Actual project status: | Actual project status: | ||
| + | 2016-JAN-21: Engine tear-down done. The crank and the rotating assembly has to go tomorrow. | ||
2015-DEC-28: Loose brainstorming - trying to formulate what I want it to become. | 2015-DEC-28: Loose brainstorming - trying to formulate what I want it to become. | ||
| Line 27: | Line 28: | ||
- Blueprint | - Blueprint | ||
| − | - Up compression to 9.8:1 to use pump gas at a minimum of 95 ROZ (that is our minimum rating in Europe) | + | - Up compression to 9.8:1 up to 10.5:1 to use pump gas at a minimum of 95 ROZ (that is our minimum rating in Europe) |
- Rods | - Rods | ||
- Pistons and rings | - Pistons and rings | ||
| − | - Valves and seats (not too sure about increasing the size - have to figure that) | + | - Valves and seats (not too sure about increasing the size - have to figure that, as I will have more lift anyways.) |
| − | + | - Ignition | |
| + | - Evtl. required TBI upgrade (chip) | ||
Loose order of questions: | Loose order of questions: | ||
| − | - Increase valve size yes or no? (Will depend on the heads) | + | - Increase valve size yes or no? (Will depend on the heads - may have to flow them at various lifts to see what happens.) |
Loose order of things to-do: | Loose order of things to-do: | ||
- Disassemble and clean | - Disassemble and clean | ||
| − | - Crack checking | + | - Crack checking block and heads and crank |
- Figure what exact heads are on the engine | - Figure what exact heads are on the engine | ||
- Flow them | - Flow them | ||
- cc them | - cc them | ||
| + | - calculate compression of the original engine etc. | ||
| + | - cc the ports | ||
| + | - measure, note, measure, note... | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | == 2016-JAN-21 TEARDOWN == | ||
| + | Teardown has started. The major challenge was to get the engine from where it was sitting at a friends warehouse to the garage where I work part-time for the teardown into handy pieces. All the work which can be done by myself will be done at my place where I have a room for such work. | ||
| + | As it lays in a basement it is a bit of a hassle to get the engine there. For the further work I will always handle the disassembled engine (handy size and weight of parts). The final assembly will again be done in the garage which is outfitted for engine assembly. A properly drained engine will be worth gold once you start to tear it down. There is no mess, else an engine stand is mandatory with a large pan underneath. | ||
| + | |||
| + | No surprises once I had it on the bench. The first thing I did was spray all bolts that I saw with a penetration oil, then went for lunch. Removed all stuff from the TBI, sensors, ignition coil TPI, EGR and other stuff. Removed all the small vacuum lines, the large ones, the supports for the various stuff on top, unplug all sensors and then remove the complete wiring from the top of the engine. | ||
| + | |||
| + | I have some 100 re-sealable plastic bags handy, tags that can be tied to pieces and an indelible EDDING pencil. I store the stuff as I go and I clean up the worst of dirt and oil before bagging and labeling things. It may seem silly but I also add special observations on the bags such as location of specific fasteners or pieces, clips and such. What seems obvious now ("Ahh - You know where you have removed that support from") may not be so obvious in 6 months when it is assembly time. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The next step is storing in cardboard boxes for transport. At my place in due time I will pick a couple of bags and start rebuilding stuff or make a list of what to order. During the process I have kinda three piles of stuff: Fine to be re-used / Rebuild or order / Trash. Once nearing completion I want an inventory of only Fine to be re-used and Trash as that means I have all parts ready for final assembly. | ||
| + | |||
| + | TBI | ||
| + | Next is the TBI, carefully remove all plugs and sensors. It's easier to remove them as long as the TBI is still attached to the intake manifold. Then remove the 3 bolts of which 2 are special ones and detach the TBI body from the manifold. | ||
| + | |||
| + | MANIFOLD | ||
| + | Loosen all bolts from the intake manifold and detach the remaining supports for various stuff, pre-clean and label. Then remove all the intake manifold bolts. A couple of light taps at the corners were enough to crack it loose despite the block having rusted quite a bit. All sheet-metal supports have rusted, some even rusted away completely. Remove the manifold, pre-clean and store. (Will be checked, cleaned, ported and finally painted in the process.) | ||
| + | |||
| + | STUFF ON THE BLOCK | ||
| + | Then I got rid of the engine mounts, lateral sensors of the block on the accessible side. Depending on how you disassemble you may also remove the other sides stuff such as the other mount, oil level dipstick and such. | ||
| + | |||
| + | HEADS | ||
| + | The 1994 engine has solid plastic covers with three retainer bolts. These are very special bolts, apart from that no surprises. As they have a rubber seal they crack loose when hit with the flat hand on one side. Now we have access to all the rockers. To just pull the heads (I will tear them down later at my place - for now it is just to get handy pieces) No need to remove all the stuff such as rockers, retainers, valves... | ||
| + | I have switched to an air tool (as I have access to it) but it would be possible by hand as well. Loosen all the retainer nuts on the rocker arms. Leave them tightened a couple of threads on the studs so the rockers stay with their respective valves. I would recommend this as well for repairs. No need to take them all off, because when reusing them you have to keep them in the exact location from where they came. They break in to their respective pushrod and valvestem. Once loos you can simple lift them a bit and turn a couple degrees to free the pushrods. | ||
| + | |||
| + | I took a 10 x 30 cm piece of cardboard and folded it in half. Then punched 6 holes x 2 into it where to stick the pushrods. Marked it accordingly (cylinder head left or right from front to rear and up and down, where down is in the lifter valley. (Oh - the 10 x 30 cm makes about 4 x 12 inches.) | ||
| + | |||
| + | Still with the air tool (you will need a decent 1/2" wrench at least 40 cm (18") long to crack them open, and following the tightening order (I know, not necessary for disassembly - but still...) loosen them. As I had the engine on the bench and laying to one side I left the two outer (exhaust side) bolts in by a couple of threads to keep the heads on the block should they come off while removing all the bolts. No need to have them nick my bench, feet or floor. | ||
| + | Then tapped them with a plastic hammer (a bigger size now) on the four corners a little bit with one hand on them and I felt them separate quite nicely. Once you are positive that they still sit on the centering pins, remove the two remaining bolts and lift them off. | ||
| + | |||
| + | And now the other side - same, same. | ||
| + | |||
| + | FLEXPLATE | ||
| + | Six bolts (air tool again), then wiggle it off or use an appropriate puller. Just make sure, the engine is supported in a way, that the flex plate is not bearing any load of the block. | ||
| + | |||
| + | OIL PAN | ||
| + | The oil pan has four larger bolts in the corners, three special studs(bolts) on one side and a couple normal bolts for the rest. Two metal inlays serve as washers on the full length of the oil pan. In order to remove them I had to unbolt and remove the attachment for the remote oil filter hose from the oil pump outlet outside of the block. (This is a 4x4 version VIN Z engine). Tap it with your flat hand it should break loose quite easily. When removing pull it up slowly and gently. It will get stuck on the oil pump pick up which is nested through the slush guards inside the oil pan. It will need a bit of gentle movement fore and aft to clear the pick-up screen. And now we're at the crankcase. | ||
| + | |||
| + | CRANK AND CRANKCASE STUFF | ||
| + | The first thing to note is that the 1994 VIN Z engine has two bold mains. That means the main caps have only two bolts a piece. The next oddity I noted is with the numbering of mains and the rods. The mains have an arrow pointing forward and all different casting numbers but no specific locator or identification. So I will see where to add one with my machine shop. The next thing was the rods as I found the letters F-F, J-J, G-G stamped on them. Seems they are paired. Will see tomorrow what the logic is. As I want to keep them exactly in location I will number them as well to keep the sets properly together. | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''TIPS AND TRICKS''' | ||
| + | Drain the engine oil with engine hot. Or maybe place the engine close to a heat source or at the sun to heat up while draining. Maybe even a couple of days. Especially the water will still pool. By placing the engine at different angles you may drain most of it. Once the heads are off Some coolant may drain when turning the engine over from the passages in the back between block and heads and from the two located between the first and last and the middle cylinders. It is so much easier without the mess of oil and water. | ||
| + | Spray all bolts with penetration oil and let it soak. Re-spray after 30 minutes and best is to go for lunch. | ||
| + | Spray the gasket edges e.g. TBI, Thermostat, sensors, head-gasket as well. | ||
Your Privacy Choices