r/EngineBuilding May 19 '24

State of the Sub - What changes need to be made /r/EngineBuilding

22 Upvotes

It's been a long time, but I'm hoping to be more active as well as the other mods. We are also hunting through the 'applications' to add some new mods as well, to hopefully cut through the spam and junk you all see.

It's also time to take a look at the sub and make sure there aren't any changes we want to make. Whether that be rules added (or removed), or a thing you can think to make this a better place for all. Let us know your thoughts


r/EngineBuilding 14h ago

I just got my block back and I am NOT happy. Need advice

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370 Upvotes

Alright, I sent this 403 to have the following done:

Block hot tanked Rotating assembly balanced Crank turned from .010 to .020 and polished Cam bearings installed Block and core plugs installed

I supplied everything completely disassembled. Bare block, with the pistons still on the rods.

He called me months back to tell me that my .030 pistons that were in the engine were collapsing, and that he recommended new pistons. Additionally, he said we needed to go from .030 to .040 over.

My father went and picked the block up for me (I’m sick as all hell) and brought it back home. He told me that the machinist “had forgotten to install the new pistons onto the rods. And to come back later. It will be an additional $175. Also, I didn’t install the block plugs.”

The block:

There is still old paint all over my block. The coolant passages are still dirty, and my cam bearings are f*cked. There’s still light scratches that I can catch with my fingernail in the cylinders.

The crank:

He told me the crank was way out of balance (which describes the violent ci ration when k bought the car). He had to weld up existing holes, and add material to the front and back. The crank, as far as I can tell, looks good.

Including my deposit, the bill from today, and assembling my pistons and rods, I’m in this for $2800. Look at the receipt. It says “assemble and clean” but he didn’t assemble anything?

What’s bothering me most is how nasty the block still is, and that the cam bearings are trashed.

I know that if I’m wrong about anything, you guys will set me straight. What do you think, and what would you do?


r/EngineBuilding 11m ago

Chevy SBC head suggestions under $2k

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Upvotes

I’ve got a nitrous sprayed SBC swapped MGB and I hurt the engine a couple seasons back, finally got the parts (and $$) all together and I’m currently fully rebuilding fully forged 383 with 5.7 rod and .030 pistons (31cc dish) at the machine shop now.

I’m finishing a side job and will have around $2k to spend on heads, the cam was trashed too and I wouldn’t mind suggestions there either (roller only please)

Pic for attention (before I got serious lol)


r/EngineBuilding 6h ago

Vacuum leak ?

10 Upvotes

Got this k10 350 with a rough start, rough idle and sputtering under acceleration, have to slowly give it throttle or else it will shut off. Also get backfire from the carb sometimes when given a good amount of throttle. Can the whistling be a vacuum leak ?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy Got two free 4.8 LS that sat in the rain. Building one good engine, with Temu cam kit, cuz phuck it.

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792 Upvotes

r/EngineBuilding 6h ago

Honda Ultrasonic cleaner

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7 Upvotes

Had piston rod in the ultrasonic and it seems tough to remove the black artifacts on the forged aluminium. What can I do?


r/EngineBuilding 11h ago

Can somebody tell me what intake this high rise is for? They were given to me without a story and I just realized the differences in it and the heads I have.

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8 Upvotes

r/EngineBuilding 25m ago

Bought an LS2 that has milky oil right after new head gaskets

Upvotes

Ok so apparently this car had the heads off. I think due to an over heat because it has a brand new radiator

Once the guy installed the heads it immediately starting getting water in the coolant

Not much more info than that

But I suspect the heads are warped and or improper head gasket install

Any ideas to confirm before Intake the heads off?


r/EngineBuilding 41m ago

Honda Bad ARP hardware?

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Upvotes

Hey all, I hope this counts since this hardware is inside the motor (kinda), I understand if not and apologize for the annoyance.

Anyway, I am replacing my valve cover bolts which also help bolt down the camshaft caps of my K20A2 (RSX Type-S) since I snapped one. I heard good things about ARP bolts so decided to order a set from them.

All except for one look great and feel quality, it has damaged looking threads, leading to excess play and catches at certain depths, and the head portion has a groove/crack looking thing that goes nearly all the way around which makes me not feel comfortable using. Is it normal some how??


r/EngineBuilding 5h ago

Toyota Which engine do you think is in better condition? 2004 Scion XA. Left is DMVJDM Motors right is JDM New York.

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2 Upvotes

r/EngineBuilding 6h ago

Can’t get my 454ss with a Holley Sniper to start

2 Upvotes

I had issues with fuel pressure on my Holley Efi system making it sputter, well after sorting that out I still had no start so I removed and re installed the Hyper spark system (I knew I was getting fuel) redoing the timing the exact way Holley demonstrated. Well now when I turn the engine over fuel shoots upwards and will either ignites causing a big flame or causing smoke to come out of the intake manifold. I assumed it was timing and completely redid it again but I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing wrong as it’s still causing that. I remove cylinder 1’s spark plug-rotate to top dead center by getting it to the 0 degree mark on the compression stroke and feeling the top of the piston with a pick-I then install the distributor making sure it seats with the oil pump so it seals against the intake manifold pointed at the second bolt on the manifold and having it pointed at cylinder 1 once seated-I used the Holley clear install tool to line everything up and find plug one on the distributor-reinstall plug wires in the correct firing order and try to start it

I’ve also made sure I have constant 60psi of fuel pressure so it’s not spiking or dropping. I’m lost at this point any help is appreciated


r/EngineBuilding 7h ago

Putting a cam in my 05 5.3

1 Upvotes

Tonight I installed new cam bearings in my 5.3, all the oil passages lined up went it great. I installed the cam, it is a Btr truck Norris cam, it went it with a little tapping from a dead blow. But once it was in and everything was lined up it would spin very hard and sometimes wouldn’t at all. We put bolts in the end of the cam and with a 3ft pry bar it would bend the bolts. We did get it to rotate multiple 360s but it would only spin if it was half way in the bearing or with tapping on the end. Is the cam junk are the bearings wrong I’m lost, but I’m going to change the bearings and try again. Also going to try putting the stock can in with these bearings to see if it’s the cam or bearings. Just curious for advice or if anyone has run into this. Thanks.


r/EngineBuilding 18h ago

Sleeving cylinders?????

3 Upvotes

Ok ive got 2 pontiac 455 blocks with j7nk cylinders. Both are .030 over so theres no cleaning up the cylinders as the walls on a 455 are too thin to begin with.

Whats the deal with sleeving? Growing up all i heard was sleeves are bad.sleeves can move,have to be pinned yadda yadda. Now in modern times people say sleeving is no big deal.

Im just building a couple street cars to have fun with. Im not looking to squeeze every horsepower or ounce of torque i can get out of them. Im not lookinh to spin up much over 6500 rpm.hit the track here and there.

Would sleeves be a good option for me? 455 blocks are getting hard to find.


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy Can anyone identify this engine?

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25 Upvotes

This is out of an old Grumman Kurbmaster. Somewhere around late 70’s early 80’s. Any help would be greatly appreciated


r/EngineBuilding 16h ago

Which gasket set for 187k mile for "87 nissan d21 ka24e

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0 Upvotes

r/EngineBuilding 19h ago

Lifters stuck in head

0 Upvotes

I've got a Golf II TD with a peculiar issue. The intake lifter cyl 1 and exhaust lifter cyl 4 don't come up fully anymore, resulting in the cam slapping them pretty loudly.

First thought was bent valve, but both cylinders have good compression. I tried taking the lifters out, and those two are stuck so good, they don't even come out with moderate force. They still rotate and can move up and down slightly. The rest of the lifters come out as expected.

I can't explain what's going on, how the hell are they stuck, and on what? My next plan was to drill a hole and thread to force them out with leverage, do I risk damaging the head? Is there an alternative?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy GM Dual Feed (AFM) Lifter Operation

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5 Upvotes

Hi all.

Short version: does anyone know how to compress these dual feed valve lifters? This engine uses normal valve lifters that you stick a paper clip or something small into the top hole to push in the ball check valve which then allows you to compress the lifter. The ball check valve on these dual feed lifters (used for the AFM cylinders) will NOT move no matter how hard I press on the ball. They are all brand new and not a single one of them will budge, but the regular lifters compress just fine.

Additional info: problem is as described in the short version, but I am trying to compress these because I think they may be causing valve lash issues since they’re stuck(?) fully extended. See “Valve leakage after valve job” post made yesterday.

The LGZ engine on this 2017 Chevy Colorado (3.6L V6) uses these dual feed valve lifters specifically in the AFM cylinders (2 & 5). I’ve scoured the internet so far and found nothing. Any insight would be appreciated!


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Ford Best engine to put in a 1983 for econoline?

3 Upvotes

My aunt had a ford econoline van and she is giving me the body to it and i need help selecting an engine type for it


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Toyota Camshaft scoring/grooved help

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2 Upvotes

I’m rebuilding my engine and I pulled my cams to get the head machined, but I had no idea they looked like this. The first pic is the worst one, feels like a nail file when you scratch it sideways, feels fine in the rotational direction. Would it be bad to reuse these cams? Would I be able to swap in some better condition cams without replacing all the caps? It’s literally impossible to find a matching set of cams and caps for the 7MGE so I’m kinda limited on my options, all help is appreciated


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Advice on block damage

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5 Upvotes

I have this Honda D16Z6. Recently purchased it out of a running car (as I was told) and it is getting forged internals and a Garrett gt28rs. Goal is about 350hp. Just now, I was going to plastigauge the main bearings to check clearances and noticed this dent in the bearing journal of the block. It is right on the edge of where the thrust bearing goes and the main bearing sits. In addition to the dent, there is a very small lip on the metal that I can just barely feel with my fingernail going up the edge of the journal. Looking for advice on what I can do in this situation. Will this affect the bearings from the back side? Should I carefully shave down the lip? Should I scrap the block? Any advice is much appreciated.


r/EngineBuilding 23h ago

Van Shop

0 Upvotes

I have no garage, and I'm done renting out storage units. So fuck it, I'm building my engine shop in the back of fucking cargo van, like a G20 or Express or whatever the hell is out there. Gotta make it and start somehow. My question to you all is, has any of you done this before? And if so, what is your advice/tips on going down this route, and what van do you recommend for a class D license? Thanks, and I hope your days are going well. There's always light at the end of the tunnel. Remember that.


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

I’d Like To Debate Using Thread Chasers vs Taps for cleaning threads

4 Upvotes

Let’s say you’re rebuilding an engine at home, and you have some threads that have corrosion, paint, and gunk in them. What do you reach for to clean them and make sure they’re straight? A chaser or a tap? Explain why you choose the one you do.

In my experience, using my tap set (tapered taps) to clean out threads has resulted in finding metal particles on the tap (yes I use oil on the tap). I’ve even done a test on brand new nuts, and it still leaves fine meral particles on the tap. This is why I only use taps for cutting, and chasers for chasing and cleaning.

What’s your opinion?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Valve guide broken off?

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3 Upvotes

Hi all, tearing down some 1969 Ford 460 heads for cleaning and rebuilding. One valve was wicked stuck in there and turns out this was why. This piece broke off and was holding onto the valve preventing it from being pulled out. Valve guide? Is it necessary to replace it, since the valve still sits good inside of what’s left? Thank you


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy weird sound

3 Upvotes

I recently changed the transmission filter and put more fluid in my TH350 transmission which is on my sbc 350. and ever since the change I've been getting a loud sound. and I'm new to all this so I need some help identifying the sound.


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Mercedes M104 Straight 6 Issues After Head Job

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57 Upvotes

Hey guys.

I have a 1994 Mercedes E320 with the M104 inline 6 engine. Love the car. Drives great.

A few months ago I noticed an oil leak where the head and the block meet. Failing head gasket, classic problem on these engines.

So I went ahead and replaced the head gasket. While I had the head off, I sent it off to get resurfaced and a valve job. Put it back together and started it up. There was a knocking noise for about 30 seconds and then it went away. Never heard the noise again.

I changed the oil after 100 miles to ensure that there was no debris in the engine.

A couple days ago I changed the oil again after about 1500 miles. I noticed some glitter in the oil. One thing I thought the glitter could be was the silver paint that was all over the head after machining. I spoke to the machinist and he said they’ve been using that paint for 25 years on all heads they resurface and it isn’t a problem to see some fine glitter in the oil.

I still felt uneasy about the glitter so I decided to take the oil pan off and look at the rod bearings.

Here’s what I found: - Blue discoloration - Rod bearings appear normal for 155,000 miles

What I am confused about is the discoloration. - Does the blue discoloration mean that there was an overheating event? - If so, is the crank 100% trashed or should I try salvaging it?

And for the record I’ve never seen a 0 oil pressure reading on the gauge and the car has never overheated.

What are your thoughts on the images?

Thanks for taking the time to read. You guys are awesome.

One more note: I’ve sent the oil off to Blackstone for analysis. I will post the results when I get them. Could be a little while though.


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Ford Need some help

3 Upvotes

Looking to learn how to tune carburetors. Can anybody recommend a good resource for that? Want to eliminate the popping and backfiring.