Hello,
The purpose of this thread is to document my engine "build." As the older cars like mine are getting a bunch of miles on them, and a lot of us are interested in forced induction, I thought this might be informative for a lot of DIY'ers. There seems to be a bunch of folks that have power aspirations in the 400-450WHP range. This seems to be a sweet spot as far as driveability, drivetrain longevity, and also money invested in the engine to do so reliably. Beyond this power level, IMO, it gets really expensive with sleeving the block, aftermarket connecting rods, aftermarket main caps, aftermarket optimized cams, etc.
I've never rebuilt an engine before but wanted to learn (gotta learn sometime). Instead of shipping the car off, I'd like to tear it down myself, do the short block assembly (after the block is bored, honed, and decked, and the rotating assembly is balanced), and final engine assembly. I don't think I'm going to tackle the heads myself though. I will just ship those off to be reworked. Doing this won't save much money, but will save some. But I'll learn a lot (I already have in my reading and asking a bunch of questions) and I get to buy more tools :smile:
This isn't something that should be tackled by a lot of folks. But, if you're somewhat mechanically inclined, have patience, have some time where you're not in a rush, and ask questions when you're unsure, then you can probably do this too. Having said that, I hope I don't screw mine up and it works in the end :biggrin: I certainly don't know everything and I will be asking a lot of questions in this thread. A lot of our NSX experts have already answered a lot of my questions in other threads, I'll try to link to those when the time comes. Hopefully this will help others....
This will follow along the lines of Tuan's (gsrboy) epic engine removal thread here:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128469
SOS has also done a nice pictorial of the rough steps they do when performing an engine build here and in past NSXCA magazines:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1498484#post1498484
So, this is what I've got:
I have a '92 3.0L M/T NSX with ~130k miles. The engine runs great, doesn't burn oil or leak it (minor weeping though), but it is time for TB/WP, hoses, harmonic balancer, main seals, etc...
And this is where I plan to be:
I want ~450WHP, so this is the perfect time to upgrade the common weak link in this engine to accomodate it (OEM cast pistons). To get the 450WHP, I will be making a custom turbocharged setup. I'm designing it now, but this will come later after I get the new engine broken in and learn how to work the AEM EMS. And if I have enough money to finish all of it :redface:
This is my current inventory of parts:
- All new OEM stuff purchased from the great guys at Acura of Augusta:
Hoses
Engine gasket kit
TB/WP, timing belt tensioner
Harmonic balancer
Vehicle speed sensor
It's highly recommended you check inventory before taking things apart! I didn't have much wait time, but others have in the past for the OEM parts.
- Stuff from SOS:
90.5mm 10.2:1CR Wiseco pistons with xylan skirt coating and ceramic coated domes
'97+ LMA conversion
MLS standard thickness head gaskets
ARP head studs
Walbro fuel pump
RPS twin carbon clutch (overkill - SOS sport clutch may be better suited)
- Dali's Billet Steel Oil Pump Gear
http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1078
- OEM Denso-rebuilt starter from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C5SGJU/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
- Autowave's Series 2 AEM EMS with dual UEGO O2 sensors
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150818
- A bunch of stuff purchased from Summit, like dial bore indicator, plastigage, engine block cleaning kits, Clevite77 bearing guard, 90.5mm bore billet piston ring compressor, piston ring filer and pliers, etc.
- Also have a bunch of shop rags, brushes, degreasers, zip-loc bags, and dedicated camera/computer to take a bunch of pics as it's pulled apart!
By limiting the power to ~500 crank HP, I don't need to sleeve the engine, do a bore using deck plates, do a main bore, don't need main caps, etc. Also going to keep the OEM cams, maybe keep the OEM valves, but upgrade or replace the springs/seats/retainers, and valve seals and guides. I'm unsure how much will be removed from my block and heads when they're decked, so I might need adjustable cam gears. I'm trying to avoid that by taking a little hit in power for not having to degree the cams and do all that timing stuff later during assembly. This will all be explained at the appropriate times in the build.
I'll also be doing a lot of other things later when it goes back together, like:
Upgrading the cooling system (aftermarket radiator, coolant temp sensor). Deleting VVIS, EGR, crankcase ventilation, and simplifying the OEM throttle body. For oil I already have Titanium Dave's baffled oil pan and temp/pressure senders/gauges. I will probably add an Accusump. Fuel pump, filter, and rail mods (ID1000 injectors will come later after break-in). Transmission works great and was rebuilt 6 years ago for snap ring fix with case, bearings, and new synchros, so I'm not touching it. Wish it had JDM short gears , but that’s a long story….
1st Step is READ!!!
The Service Manual shows how to remove/install the engine and disassemble/reassemble it. Read through this stuff, but remember - don’t ever separate ball joints!
If you want some other reading material with color pictures, our C-series engines are most familiar to the B-series. This is the book I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932494782/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details
2nd Step is More Reading and Research!!!
The first step should have raised a bunch of further questions, like, detailed instructions for piston ring gapping, rotating assembly balancing, what do I really need to replace or machine, etc? That’s where doing a bunch of internet searches comes in. You should also start searching for machine shops where you can take your block and rotating parts to do machining and balancing. Admittedly, I don’t have this figured out yet. There’s two local places I need to interview tomorrow on my day off, but at worse case, you can always box and ship everything out to known trusted shops.
I also did a baseline dyno on a local Dynojet. I expect to get this thing running and broken-in and ready to dyno in the Spring under similar weather conditions. I’m not concerned with absolute power numbers since all dynos are different – just relative numbers to make before/after comparisons. This isn’t necessary. Just thought it would be fun since I’ve never had it on a dyno and wanted to get an idea of A/F ratios. I’m glad it didn’t blow up:
3rd Step is Preparation!!!
After you’ve read and have a good idea on what you’ll need to do, then start deciding what you want to buy and basically how much you want to spend. Start stockpiling parts beforehand so you possibly won’t have to wait a long time when you need something. The basic ones have been listed previously. Now you need tools, a clean, organized, well-lit place to work on this stuff, rags, degreasers, etc.
You also need a method to lift the car and drop the engine, and an engine stand. I don’t have space or the money for my dream two-post asymmetric lift, so I bought this engine lift to support the engine/transaxle/subframe while it’s lowered down onto dollies, and then lift the rear of the car to roll this stuff out:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200305213_200305213
Then, I bought this engine stand to support the engine for cleaning and teardown:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200313359_200313359
Unfortunately, I waited almost two weeks for the engine stand to arrive at my local store, and then noticed some fitup problems with it. Some freak thing I guess. Ordered a replacement last night…. It’s OK since I’m waiting for my Series 2 AEM EMS from Autowave to arrive. Mike is putting his calibration for their shop NSX with intake/headers/exhaust on it. With the dual UEGO O2 sensor feedback it should be good to putt around in for a few days over Thanksgiving! I’d like to get the EMS installed and running over break before tearing the car apart. Just to learn the AEMTuner software and play around with some things.
Plan is to take the car apart right after Thanksgiving. Stay tuned... I’ve put a lot of thought into exactly how to get the car up safely in the air and remove all this stuff. Should be interesting to see if it works! I’ll take plenty of pictures.
Dave
The purpose of this thread is to document my engine "build." As the older cars like mine are getting a bunch of miles on them, and a lot of us are interested in forced induction, I thought this might be informative for a lot of DIY'ers. There seems to be a bunch of folks that have power aspirations in the 400-450WHP range. This seems to be a sweet spot as far as driveability, drivetrain longevity, and also money invested in the engine to do so reliably. Beyond this power level, IMO, it gets really expensive with sleeving the block, aftermarket connecting rods, aftermarket main caps, aftermarket optimized cams, etc.
I've never rebuilt an engine before but wanted to learn (gotta learn sometime). Instead of shipping the car off, I'd like to tear it down myself, do the short block assembly (after the block is bored, honed, and decked, and the rotating assembly is balanced), and final engine assembly. I don't think I'm going to tackle the heads myself though. I will just ship those off to be reworked. Doing this won't save much money, but will save some. But I'll learn a lot (I already have in my reading and asking a bunch of questions) and I get to buy more tools :smile:
This isn't something that should be tackled by a lot of folks. But, if you're somewhat mechanically inclined, have patience, have some time where you're not in a rush, and ask questions when you're unsure, then you can probably do this too. Having said that, I hope I don't screw mine up and it works in the end :biggrin: I certainly don't know everything and I will be asking a lot of questions in this thread. A lot of our NSX experts have already answered a lot of my questions in other threads, I'll try to link to those when the time comes. Hopefully this will help others....
This will follow along the lines of Tuan's (gsrboy) epic engine removal thread here:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128469
SOS has also done a nice pictorial of the rough steps they do when performing an engine build here and in past NSXCA magazines:
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1498484#post1498484
So, this is what I've got:
I have a '92 3.0L M/T NSX with ~130k miles. The engine runs great, doesn't burn oil or leak it (minor weeping though), but it is time for TB/WP, hoses, harmonic balancer, main seals, etc...
And this is where I plan to be:
I want ~450WHP, so this is the perfect time to upgrade the common weak link in this engine to accomodate it (OEM cast pistons). To get the 450WHP, I will be making a custom turbocharged setup. I'm designing it now, but this will come later after I get the new engine broken in and learn how to work the AEM EMS. And if I have enough money to finish all of it :redface:
This is my current inventory of parts:
- All new OEM stuff purchased from the great guys at Acura of Augusta:
Hoses
Engine gasket kit
TB/WP, timing belt tensioner
Harmonic balancer
Vehicle speed sensor
It's highly recommended you check inventory before taking things apart! I didn't have much wait time, but others have in the past for the OEM parts.
- Stuff from SOS:
90.5mm 10.2:1CR Wiseco pistons with xylan skirt coating and ceramic coated domes
'97+ LMA conversion
MLS standard thickness head gaskets
ARP head studs
Walbro fuel pump
RPS twin carbon clutch (overkill - SOS sport clutch may be better suited)
- Dali's Billet Steel Oil Pump Gear
http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1078
- OEM Denso-rebuilt starter from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C5SGJU/ref=oh_o03_s00_i00_details
- Autowave's Series 2 AEM EMS with dual UEGO O2 sensors
http://nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150818
- A bunch of stuff purchased from Summit, like dial bore indicator, plastigage, engine block cleaning kits, Clevite77 bearing guard, 90.5mm bore billet piston ring compressor, piston ring filer and pliers, etc.
- Also have a bunch of shop rags, brushes, degreasers, zip-loc bags, and dedicated camera/computer to take a bunch of pics as it's pulled apart!
By limiting the power to ~500 crank HP, I don't need to sleeve the engine, do a bore using deck plates, do a main bore, don't need main caps, etc. Also going to keep the OEM cams, maybe keep the OEM valves, but upgrade or replace the springs/seats/retainers, and valve seals and guides. I'm unsure how much will be removed from my block and heads when they're decked, so I might need adjustable cam gears. I'm trying to avoid that by taking a little hit in power for not having to degree the cams and do all that timing stuff later during assembly. This will all be explained at the appropriate times in the build.
I'll also be doing a lot of other things later when it goes back together, like:
Upgrading the cooling system (aftermarket radiator, coolant temp sensor). Deleting VVIS, EGR, crankcase ventilation, and simplifying the OEM throttle body. For oil I already have Titanium Dave's baffled oil pan and temp/pressure senders/gauges. I will probably add an Accusump. Fuel pump, filter, and rail mods (ID1000 injectors will come later after break-in). Transmission works great and was rebuilt 6 years ago for snap ring fix with case, bearings, and new synchros, so I'm not touching it. Wish it had JDM short gears , but that’s a long story….
1st Step is READ!!!
The Service Manual shows how to remove/install the engine and disassemble/reassemble it. Read through this stuff, but remember - don’t ever separate ball joints!
If you want some other reading material with color pictures, our C-series engines are most familiar to the B-series. This is the book I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932494782/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details
2nd Step is More Reading and Research!!!
The first step should have raised a bunch of further questions, like, detailed instructions for piston ring gapping, rotating assembly balancing, what do I really need to replace or machine, etc? That’s where doing a bunch of internet searches comes in. You should also start searching for machine shops where you can take your block and rotating parts to do machining and balancing. Admittedly, I don’t have this figured out yet. There’s two local places I need to interview tomorrow on my day off, but at worse case, you can always box and ship everything out to known trusted shops.
I also did a baseline dyno on a local Dynojet. I expect to get this thing running and broken-in and ready to dyno in the Spring under similar weather conditions. I’m not concerned with absolute power numbers since all dynos are different – just relative numbers to make before/after comparisons. This isn’t necessary. Just thought it would be fun since I’ve never had it on a dyno and wanted to get an idea of A/F ratios. I’m glad it didn’t blow up:
3rd Step is Preparation!!!
After you’ve read and have a good idea on what you’ll need to do, then start deciding what you want to buy and basically how much you want to spend. Start stockpiling parts beforehand so you possibly won’t have to wait a long time when you need something. The basic ones have been listed previously. Now you need tools, a clean, organized, well-lit place to work on this stuff, rags, degreasers, etc.
You also need a method to lift the car and drop the engine, and an engine stand. I don’t have space or the money for my dream two-post asymmetric lift, so I bought this engine lift to support the engine/transaxle/subframe while it’s lowered down onto dollies, and then lift the rear of the car to roll this stuff out:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200305213_200305213
Then, I bought this engine stand to support the engine for cleaning and teardown:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200313359_200313359
Unfortunately, I waited almost two weeks for the engine stand to arrive at my local store, and then noticed some fitup problems with it. Some freak thing I guess. Ordered a replacement last night…. It’s OK since I’m waiting for my Series 2 AEM EMS from Autowave to arrive. Mike is putting his calibration for their shop NSX with intake/headers/exhaust on it. With the dual UEGO O2 sensor feedback it should be good to putt around in for a few days over Thanksgiving! I’d like to get the EMS installed and running over break before tearing the car apart. Just to learn the AEMTuner software and play around with some things.
Plan is to take the car apart right after Thanksgiving. Stay tuned... I’ve put a lot of thought into exactly how to get the car up safely in the air and remove all this stuff. Should be interesting to see if it works! I’ll take plenty of pictures.
Dave
