6G Celicas Forums

Hey 6gc,

I have spent the last few weeks stressing over all the measuring that goes into rebuilding a bottom end. I think there is a post somewhere earlier in this thread where I said that the bottom end is going to be easier than the head.... I was wrong...so wrong



I started by miking out the crankshaft and checking a few things like thrust clearance and runout with my trusty dial gauge. Easy stuff. Plastigauge was also an invaluable tool here.


Then I moved to checking the cylinders. This is where 95% of my head scratching occurred. First my original bore gauge wasn't accurate enough and I got numbers that made it seem as though my pistons were press fit into the block. I needed something that could measure tenths, so I borrowed a mitutoyo and went to town. Luckily my numbers made more sense the second time. However the problem I still have is that I'm not sure if the specifications listed in my FSM apply to a used block, or if they are targets for a brand new block. I'm getting a 2 thou piston-wall clearance, which is plenty tight, but the manual calls for a max of 1.6 thou. My machine shop assures me that my numbers are fantastic, but I cant help but worry.


I got sick of sweating in my garage so I moved everything into the beautifully air-conditioned kitchen


Finally I took apart my turbo and exhaust manifold in preparation for a ceramic coating at Jethot

My biggest obstacle at the moment is the fact that all the places I need to work with end up closing by the time I get out of work. So I can't take my bottom end in for machining for another week. Likewise ordering things like a hybrid clutch is a pain unless you can call in during their work hours. All of this makes it hard to streamline the logistics of a project like this. I might just take a sick day to bust everything out.

Anyway, I'm gonna buy lots of good stuff tomorrow so expect an update soon

This post has been edited by enderswift: Sep 10, 2014 - 7:40 AM

when in doubt, kitchen
this is looking good! do you think that your going to have this up and running by the time we have the spring meet?







or perhaps the fall meet this year.

One word... Wow.

Thanks! Its a tedious labor of love




I've given deadlines before, and they've all gone out the window haha. If I'm lucky I should be boosted by the fall meet

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jul 26, 2012 - 10:26 PM

You know I have an inconvenient work schedule but I'm willing to drive up and lend a hand if you happen to be swapping it in the first half of the week instead of a weekend.

I might just turn the swap into a mini chicago meet haha

Do it.

1. Luke- Celica and 3S-GTE
2. Chris/Stacy- Knowledge and expertise, with the occasional Hulking of the rear motor mount
3. Daniel/Brigette- Wasps.

Do it.

1. Luke- Celica and 3S-GTE
2. Chris/Stacy- Knowledge and expertise, with the occasional Hulking of the rear motor mount
3. Daniel/Brigette- Wasps.
4. zach- there to play in the car (pretend that im driving it) and stealing the hood latch from the GT-4 front clip

I think you guys would fall asleep long before the motor got installed. I take my sweet time with EVERYTHING; If you haven't noticed

quick update:

Finally ordered my hybrid fx300 clutch from clutchmasters. $495 shipped felt kinda steep especially since an ACT was only $50 more, but the glowing forum reviews sealed the deal. Apparently the fx300 is almost like stock in terms of how it feels, but can hold up to 350 hp. This is great since I honestly just want my celi to be on par with the local sti's and evo's. No insane power levels for me. Nevertheless I was also hard pressed to find negative reviews talking about cracked pressure plates or destroyed springs (unlike SPEC). Finally the clutchmasters kit allows me to simply replace the clutch disc when I switch to my e15x transmission later on. So the combination of all those things motivated the purchase.

On another note, I decided to change my original ceramic coating plans. JetHot wanted $425 plus $90 shipping both ways to coat my exhaust manifold and turbine housing (outside only). Frankly I cant justify paying that much for what is arguably a glorified paint job. That's why I did some research and found a local coater (Lo-Ko performance coatings) with good reviews that will do it for $160 with a 3 year warranty. I'll be the guinea pig for everyone here, but I have a good feeling about the place after meeting the owner.

A few other small things were done on the side:
1. I bought my piston rings from the UK, http://www.tcbparts.co.uk/ This is a great store, they have all the obscure st205 parts you could ever want plus the customer service is top notch.

2. Purchased ct20 rebuild kit from www.gpopshop.com, I've heard good things about these guys so I'm going to try them out by using their kit and sending the turbo rotating assembly in for balancing

3. Purchased a 6g gt engine harness to serve as a donor for extending my 3s harness

4. Ordered some heat foil for the intercooler. I plan to hold off on installing the gt4 body panels so heat will be a big issue for a while.

Things are going to get interesting again as soon as all of this stuff starts showing up at my doorstep. If I'm lucky I'll get my engine block to the machine shop for some work this week. I promise my next update will have pictures

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 2, 2012 - 9:02 PM

Hello 6gc,

I have another update to share with you, I'm tired so I wont be very detailed this time.


Finally found time to visit the machine shop So I got the block ready. It's always surprising to see how small these things are


I made sure to pack and label everything for them


With the bottom end out for machining, I turned my attention to the intercooler. It looked like it was in really good shape so I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend time cleaning it out. Its a good thing I did though, because a ton of black crud dissolved out when I filled it with simple green extreme.


After that I applied some heat foil to complement my other heat control efforts.


With the intercooler cleaned up, I went after the intake manifold. Total pita to clean this thing.


I think the result was well worth the effort


Cleaned out the throttle body, IAC, and all lines. A process that took 3 hours. Also took the time to apply loctite everywhere.


My new 'hose from hell' arrived from the UK. Hopefully I wont have to struggle with replacing it any time soon


The new hybrid clutch also showed up. Build quality is fantastic


Here is my turbo rebuild kit. Debating on whether or not to send the rotating part of the cartridge out for balancing after rebuilding.


My incredibly expensive oem piston ring set arrived as well. I looked all over and only one place stocked these, So of course I had to pay out the nose for them. $200 gone forever

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 22, 2012 - 10:20 AM

The heat wrap job you done on the bottom of the top mount looks amazing

Thanks bud, it was a lot of work just making the template for it so I'm glad people think it came out nice

I second that! ^

another day, another update:

Picked up my bottom end from the machinist


The block was in really good shape going into the machine shop so I only had them do a ball hone to refresh the walls, a light deck to remove a little warp, and a basic hot tank.


The flywheel was cut per the clutchmasters specifications


Crank was polished in preparation for new bearings


I was excited to have my parts back so I spent the evening painting the block cast iron grey


Final assembly is just around the corner

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 3, 2012 - 9:39 PM

yayyy!

Well-oriented build, that.

Thanks guys,

It's been a busy day but I have something to show for it (sorry for the cell pics)


All new bearings were pressed into their corresponding mains, taking care to avoid scratching through the coated layers. A healthy slathering of assembly lube is cheap insurance against a rough first start


The newly polished crankshaft was finally back home among a set of ARP main studs. All torque specs were followed to avoid damaging anything.


Next the piston-rod assemblies were put together. Installing the wristpin c-clips was a total pain and I ended up doing it inside of a ziploc bag in case any of them tried flying off again. I also spent a long time installing all of the piston rings. They have to be installed from the bottom-most ring up, have to be checked for match marks, and then oriented properly so none of the rings gaps line up. Doing all that is one thing, making sure none of it shifts around while being inserted into the cylinder is another Needless to say I checked and re-checked a bunch of times before I felt confident about my work.


It was about this point where I really started to enjoy the rebuild. Things are quickly coming together and looking good. The installation of the oil and water pumps are perfect examples of this.


The ARP headstuds were threaded into the block in preparation for the cylinder head. The studs were expensive, but well worth the peace of mind.


Another shot of the bottom end right before the cylinder head was installed. I didn't want to leave it exposed like this for too long and risk getting some dirt trapped in there.


So the cylinder head was thrown on in short order



its nice to be at a point in this project where things are starting to come together

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jan 14, 2013 - 7:51 PM

Looks good!



Now get it in the car.

Not yet. Need to lose my mind over all the small details first.


Got my exhaust stuff back from ceramic coating:





I'm so glad I didn't go with JetHot because the quality of this coating is absolutely flawless. They coated the inside and outside of the manifold, as well as the outside of the turbine housing, for only $150! $300 less than jethot. Plus they offer a great warranty

the place is called LO-KO in chicago illinois:

http://www.lo-ko.com/



This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 9, 2012 - 6:55 PM

Looking good!