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It is time to turn the key

3K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  Gunns 
#1 ·
As most of you know the EA has been off the road for 3 weeks after the oil pump let go and destroyed my engine.
After rebuilding the engine from ground up, tonight it is time to turn the key and see if it roars to life.
The rebuild consisted of:
Block machined & blue printed, ACL light weight 30thou over sized pistons, rods xrayed shot pined & weigthed with pistons, crank reground and balanced, ACL race series bearings, New timing chain, timing guides & tensioner, New oil & water pump. VRS race series gasket set.
Up top: EL head, New seals, seats, hardend springs, bronzed guides, match ported & polished. Wade 1004/1112 113 cam. rockers xrayed and cleaned up, tappets rebuilt (tappet kit).

Big thanks to Eugen at Flowcraft for doing all the head work at short notice.

Now just hope all goes well.
 
#3 ·
Good stuff mate, bet ya cant wait. Hope all goes well.
 
#6 ·
Well the key has been turned and after a couple of coughs and spluters she roared to life and it all looks sounds and runs good. No leaks all the lines seen to be in order. So now 1500km of non thrashing (nothing above 4000rpm) and just to make sure it is run correctly. Then off to the dyno to see what outcome I get for all the hard work and torment. It might make the dyno day on the 18th Sep. I want mid to high 140's and and I'll be very happy.
Next Mod diff, then boost!
 
#13 ·
Sounds very good mate. ;)

Actually, the bottom end sounds very familar. :p (it's 'almost' the same spec as mine!)

You should be able to achieve mid-high 140 rwkw easily. I'm getting 148 (shootout mode), and I'm still using an almost stock EA head with a Wade 1004 110 cam.

What manifold are you using with it?

Also, just be aware that it MIGHT not bed in completely after 1500km. So if you do make it to the dyno day, you may not be making peak power yet. Mine took almost 20,000 to fully loosen up...


Cheers,
Dave
 
#14 ·
Oh, also, out of interest, do you know how much the block had to be decked to get it square.

mine had about 90 thou taken off.

I have a theory that this might be why the ea's blow so many head gaskets, as I'm aware of a dozen or so engines that needed a similar amount taken off to get square...
 
#15 ·
Engines don't take 20,000'ks to 'loosen' up.
All engines suffer the most wear in the first 50k's of running, it is this period which is most important. The next 500k's are the engine is still wearing moderately, but is less crucial as the first 50k's.
By 1000k's, an engine has loosened up as much as it ever needs to for producing full power.
Engines producing more power after 10,000-20,000k's is a myth.

In the first 50k's, do several full throttle power runs from 1500rpm to 4500rpm, in 3rd gear. It is a good idea to 'load' the engine, but don't thrash it in lower gears.

Don't leave the running in oil in longer than a few hundred k's.

Rick.
 
#16 ·
Thanatos: The block ha 60thou taken off it is get it to square. A lot of people I have talked to have the same opinion that the block not being square contributes to them blowning head gaskets. I am just running the MPFI inlet. But thinking about BBM. Just got to wait for my bank account to come out of cardiac arrest.

Soxx: I plan to drop the running in oil at 500Km, I have been told the prity much to the letter exactly what you have just said about running in engines. So I must be on the right path.
 
#17 ·
Soxx said:
Engines don't take 20,000'ks to 'loosen' up.
All engines suffer the most wear in the first 50k's of running, it is this period which is most important. The next 500k's are the engine is still wearing moderately, but is less crucial as the first 50k's.
By 1000k's, an engine has loosened up as much as it ever needs to for producing full power.
Engines producing more power after 10,000-20,000k's is a myth.
Sorry, but mine did. Simple as that.

I agree with everything else you said (about the most wear happening in the first 50ks, etc. And also about loading the engine up.) And there was a time when I would have agreed with you about the 10,000 - 20,000kms thing being a myth, that is, until my engine.

Up until about 14,000kms ish, my engine COULD NOT be turned over by hand, after this it got easier to turn by hand (hence my use of the term 'loosen up').
It was around this time that the power seemed to improve gradually, with the only 'mods' being the regular oil change.


Gunns said:
I am just running the MPFI inlet. But thinking about BBM
Did you have the manifold ported to match the head?
If so, how much did it set you back (if you don't mind me asking!)?

The reason why I ask, is you said that the head was match ported to the manifold. But the ports on the EF head are bigger than an EA mpi manifold...


Cheers,
Dave
 
#18 ·
Thanatos said:
Sorry, but mine did. Simple as that.
Don't be sorry, and it's not quite that simple.
I agree with everything else you said (about the most wear happening in the first 50ks, etc. And also about loading the engine up.) And there was a time when I would have agreed with you about the 10,000 - 20,000kms thing being a myth, that is, until my engine.

Up until about 14,000kms ish, my engine COULD NOT be turned over by hand, after this it got easier to turn by hand (hence my use of the term 'loosen up').
It was around this time that the power seemed to improve gradually, with the only 'mods' being the regular oil change.
If your engine really was as tight as you say it was, it likely had a serious problem.
New engines are simply no that tight.
If what you're saying is true, then your machinist either didn't have enough bearing clearance, or piston to bore clearance.
Either way, your engine is now probably worse for wear. I doubt it was the piston to bore clearances which were tight as the engine would have run extremely hot, grabbed, and locked up.
If it were the bearing clearances which were too tight, it is likely that your bearings are now stuffed. I'm surprised you haven't spun a bearing.

Rick.
 
#19 ·
You could be right. However, i've seen quite a few reco'd engines that were that tight (from a number of different engine builders). Perhaps I exagerated slightly, obviously the engine COULD be turned over by hand (for finding tdc, etc.) it just felt very, very 'tight'...

I'll tell you right away that my engine has NO problems. I did a compression test last week, and all values came back perfect. It is one of a few of the sweetest revving ohc sixes i've been in. Ask one of the many people who have been impressed by it...

The engine did run hot, but only for a few hundred kms or so. and even then, most people didn't notice, it's just that i knew the car so well. This, to me, seems perfectly normal...


Cheers,
Dave
 
#22 ·
Thanatos said:
You could be right. However, i've seen quite a few reco'd engines that were that tight (from a number of different engine builders). Perhaps I exagerated slightly, obviously the engine COULD be turned over by hand (for finding tdc, etc.) it just felt very, very 'tight'...
Ok, sure they are tighter before they are run, I've probably built nearly 100 engines in my time, though after a couple of hundred k's they spin much more feely, and after 1000k's, they are as free as they'll ever get.
I'll tell you right away that my engine has NO problems. I did a compression test last week, and all values came back perfect. It is one of a few of the sweetest revving ohc sixes i've been in. Ask one of the many people who have been impressed by it...
That's good.
The engine did run hot, but only for a few hundred kms or so. and even then, most people didn't notice, it's just that i knew the car so well. This, to me, seems perfectly normal...
To me too, though it would have been interesting to see dyno runs, as IME engines don't produce any more power after 500k's or so.

What does commonly happen, is that if an engine has been rebuilt and run in warmer weather and then has hit 10,000k's as it is moving into a colder time of year, the car will certainly feel like it's gained power. And sure enough, it has, but this is due to the colder weather, not any loosening of the engine.

It's happened to me several times.

Rick.
 
#23 ·
Soxx said:
What does commonly happen, is that if an engine has been rebuilt and run in warmer weather and then has hit 10,000k's as it is moving into a colder time of year, the car will certainly feel like it's gained power. And sure enough, it has, but this is due to the colder weather, not any loosening of the engine.
That's a good point, and one that I didn't think of. From memory, it a september that my engine was done, so you would imagine it would only be getting hotter... (then again, i can't remember what the weather was like on EACH DAY the runs were done)

Maybe my engine's just freaky... Or maybe that 10-20000km myth is based on some sort of reality, but it only happens occasionaly. either way it's got me stumped.


Cheers,
Dave
 
#24 ·
mm rebuild.

how nice would that be :)
good work :)
 
#25 ·
gunns where are these guys located?????
would a acl race rebuild kit be suitable for high boost applications piston wise??
 
#26 ·
If you are looking at a high boost setup acl race rebuild wont do it. Go have a chat to the guys at P.E.T in Thomastown. They have done a 10sec XF, EL, and a lot of 9 sec VL's.

For high boost applications to want to lower compresson.
I went a set of Fedreal Moguals deep dish 20thou (low comp), pistons on my Forced induction setup. Because they have a higher silicon content then the acl's there for should be more forgiving and run cooler.
 
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