Top list of rookie engine building mistakes

Hi guys

As I embark on building my 283 for my first real build I'm concerned about making some rookie mistakes. So I did some searching on the H.A.M.B. and ran in to all sorts of potential pitfalls. So I was wondering if we could have a thread where the experienced builders supply a list of potential problem areas us rookie builders seem to do.

We all spend a great deal of time and money on these engines and we all want and expect them to run well. What are your thoughts on this and what are your reasons?

Thanks

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

I ruined an engine assembly once by bad installation of thrust bearings. OT engine where the thrust bearings were seperate from the main bearings.

I'm very interested in others'd input here as I'm thinking I starting a build in the near future.

 

Pistons in the right direction, rings too, rod caps, main caps, don't nick the crank with the rods bolts, bearing shells in right...

 

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it also. So far I was caught in the trap of thinking about a cam that was too big, after reading here that would be a poor mistake for a 283......as well as other engines. Lots of people seem to over cam engines it seems but I'm still trying to understand that.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

While not on building an engine but related. Don't try to save time and bolt the torque converter to the flex plate before bolting the transmission to the engine. I found that one out the hard way.




Sent via Illinois Bell Telephone Company's Car Radiotelephone

 

Not putting the retaining clip on the oil pump drive shaft is a mistake that will catch up with you sooner or later, might take ten years but sooner or later you'll hear that sickening clunk when you pull the distributor out.

 

Two things same area, I forgot oil galley plugs on one 350, no big damage just a lot of work to fix.
And on another I didn't brush out oil galleys after hot tanking and run debris through bearings, lots of work and money to fix that one.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Oh yeah, and I didn't do it my boss did, and he had more than enough experience to know better.... Forgot to put the plugs in the back of the block before putting the rear plate on. That was a mess of an oil leak!

 

These are just frickn great so far. Boy, the things I have yet to learn.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

X3 on making sure all unused oil / water ports are plugged upon start up. I built a 300 Ford once and forgot to put one oil plug in that was tucked up under the lifter cover. Of course that motor caught within about the first 15 deg's of engine cranking and promptly sprayed 6 quarts of new oil onto the drivers side inner fender in 1.4 seconds flat. No damage, but a huge mess and waste of good and expensive break in oil.

 

Not engine assy related, but was fun.... When I worked in a GM garage, my fellow mechanic just installed his first ever engine, and understandably nervous (first time jitters). As he was ready to start it up, I sneakily slid under the passenger side of the truck and when he started it up, I began making a rhythmic tapping on the oil pan with a hammer. He let out a "what the &^%" and shut it of and came out with a big worried looked on his face. After he caught his breath, he thought it was funny too.

 

Run a tap through everything that has threads. Especially head bolt holes.

 

After assembly I couldn't get my 327 to turn at all. One of the plugs on the rear of the engine was sticking out too far and by sheer luck? the end of the plug went perfectly into a balance hole in the flywheel. Took a while to figure it out.

 

Don't Forget to put the plug in the oil galley under the rear main cap-sbc
don't forget to put an oil pump gasket on a Buick V6.
pre oil and mash rope rear main oil seals, hammer handle works great.
wrong bearings on a none-fillet cut crank.
Not magnfluxing stock 400 rods......
pre-oil the engine using a blank distributor and shaft (take off the advance plate) run it with a drill.
pre-soak hydraulic lifters
Use VR-1 oil (has Zddp) for flat tappets.
Don't forget the fuel pump eccentric on the cam.
Don't use an excessive amount of RTV on the intake manifold, what squishes out, also squishes into the engine and can plug your oil pump screen.
Use a threaded rod or long bolt to install your cam so you don't nick the bearings.
Use cam break-in lube on all metal to metal contact points in the valve train.
torque to specs, every bolt...

 

Don't waste your time with the front and rear intake gaskets on a Chevy small block. Just build them up with a quality RTV sealant drop on the intake and give them plenty of time to dry.




Sent via Illinois Bell Telephone Company's Car Radiotelephone

 

iMHO
Take your time
Read the instructions with the parts purchased, first
If unsure ask
If possible get an engine stand, easier and safer
Don't start the engine thinking"I'll fit the ??? Later or tighten etc later
Prime the carbie
do not prime the oil filter (air pushing oil out of a filter is slow)
Charge the battery
Get ignition/timing right so it starts 1st time


H.A.M.B. App from an °[••]°

 

I asked a friend one time and he said he always uses a check list to remember stuff. I've never built a complete engine, but I try to make a lists for things that require extensive steps and cost a lot of money.

Funny, the guy reading the instructions is always kidded for NOT knowing what he's doing. Yet, every time I don't read the instructions first, I get bit on the ass.

 

Make sure rod and main caps are on the right direction, Check and recheck everything, If you think something doesn't feel right going together,It's probally not, You don't have to be a rookie to make a mistake, Believe me I KNOW!!,,Take your time,, Tim Jones

 

These ain't Legos that just snap together right out of the box.

For every car or bike engine I've worked on the factory shop manual for the engine I'm working on has had info that I might never have figured out on my own. Yeah, once in a while the factory will have to issue a service bulletin to correct a problem, but the vast majority of it is sound. The older ones often had several pages of theory at the beginning of each section. The info in those sections has helped me out of a LOT of binds over the years. Way more than any episode of "American Idol" or even most episodes of "Justified."

Cleanliness. Especially cylinder wall cleanliness. To prevent a sad smoky post about "my rings haven't seated" 6 month from now.
Note there are at least 3 bulletins here warning about the difficulty cleaning abrasive blasted parts. http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ContentData.aspx?Contentid=82

Round holes and straight shafts with proper clearance, determined by measuring, will result in rotation or sliding without binding when trial assembled. For engines whose rods and wrist pins are press fitted it is a lot better to have a slip fit pin made for checking.
Check everything twice. I measure size, roundness, straightness, clearance, etc of parts that come from machine shops I trust.

If a bunch of new parts come in the mail In anything but a re-ring type rebuild A trial assembly to check how it all fits together will often save time and a bunch of money overall.

I think understanding (measuring) how the cam is installed relative to the crank is important. That includes confirming the TDC mark on the damper matches where the #1 piston is.

J.O. Almen is the guy who kind of discovered shot peening, and a bunch of other stuff too back in the 30s and 40s. He said - "The strength of most highly loaded bolts and studs is determined by the man with the wrench and not by the designer, the metallurgist, or by the manufacturing processes."
http://www.shotpeener.com/library/pdf/1944000.pdf

 

I may have missed seeing this one, but it doesn't hurt to tack weld the oil pick-up tube to the oil pump. Especially on a GM engine, found more than one floating in the oil pan.

 

Before removing main caps and rod caps make sure they are numbered.they MUST go back on the same way they came off.

 

Unrealistic expectations of how you're actually going to use the engine.
Not having enough money to use quality parts and cheaping out where you shouldnt.
Being in too big of a hurry.
Good Luck!

 

Size your carb to the engine and the internals. Since you're building the engine, you know what's in it and can best determine a carb size from that. Granted, it can be changed later, but it's always best to start off with the right stuff from the gate.

Mike

 

Forgetting to install Woodruff key on camshaft.. and wondering WTF engine wont start. Been there done it.

 

When you torque a bolt/nut make sure you make the torque wrench click twice, don't pull it fast just a nice steady pull. After you do something look at it and make sure it is done for sure and then move on to the next thing.
After you torque each main cap make sure the crank turns free. After you torque each rod cap make sure you can slide it side to side (end clearance direction).
Make sure you get the rear main seal in the correct direction.
When I was crewing on a top fuel car I remember the firs time I had to do the bottom end under pressure, my crew chief told me after you torque each rod / main double check it and then put a check mark in your mind. It gives you great piece of mind after the pan is bolted on and you go to light the engine. JC

 

Lets see......I have forgot to torque the rod bolts..got a phone call in the middle of the process and put the oil pan on. Remembered while laying under the car installing the headers. Forgot a fuel pump eccentric, forgot the valley splash pan on an F.E. once. Can I build an engine for you?

 

Too much cam and carb and cam without springs up grade.

 

rods backwards on the pistons so the chamfer is facing the inside instead of the outside of the rod pairs..small block chevy dont put too long of a bolt in the front right of the block so it jams into the fuel pump pushrod.
I havent done either but seem like easy mistakes to make.

I once bought a rebuilt, never started, v6 engine for an OT car that would not build oil pressure. Pulled the intake and found the missing pipe plug when it shot a stream of oil a few feet in the air during crank over!

 

Don't over use sealers! Like mentioned before, excess RTV will find its way into the oil pan. I use Permatex high tac spray. It doesn't glue the gasket, it is tacky... easy to remove later on. Most factory built motors don't use anything to assist sealing other than the gaskets alone, should tell you something. A small dab of RTV where intake and oil pan side and end gaskets join is all it needs. Put a thin film of bearing grease on seals so they aren't dry where they contact whatever they are sealing against (crank, balancer etc.)

Look at EVERY bearing before installing it !!! I have had mis-boxed bearings before. Look at the back side and make sure they are the correct side.

If you have the block cleaned and prepped at a machine shop and cam bearings installed, take them the cam you will be using to make sure the cam slides in properly... I have had to take the rotating assembly back apart a couple of times and take the block back because the cam would not go in the block.

This can't be stressed enough. Get out a bucket with dishwashing liquid in it, get a set of block cleaning brushes and clean the crap out of it !!! Blow it dry, use a white paper towel to wipe down the cylinders. If there is anything coming off onto the paper towel, wash it again. Once it is clean, spray the block down with WD-40 to prevent flash rust. You can clean the outside of the block for painting after you assemble it. (I know, a lot of people paint them before assembly but if you find something wrong and it has to go back to the machine shop, there goes the paint !!)

If you are building the motor and you know it is going to be some time before startup while you finish the car... DO NOT USE LUBRAPLATE to assembly the motor. In fact, don't use it at all. It tends to get sticky after sitting. I use nothing but engine assembly lube that Melling, Federal Mogul, Crane and several other companies sell. I use ATF on the piston rings.... burns off fast and allows the rings to start sealing pretty quickly. The skirts will get plenty of lube once the engine fires.

Also mentioned before.... when torquing fasteners, use a steady pull on the torque wrench and let it click once! You don't want to go real slow, but you don't want to go fast either. If you have to stop and reset the wrench angle, if it clicks as soon as you try to turn it, loosen it and do it again.... it ain't right !

Try to assemble the motor in this order...

Lay all of your parts and tools out on a table or workbench, saves a lot of steps.
Crank
Cam
Timing chain and gears
Pistons/rods
Timing cover
Oil pan
Head/s
(this is where I paint unless the intake and v/c get painted too)
Lifters and valvetrain

Depends on the engine, the lifters will go in at different times (Y block, they go in first) and other items may have to be assembled in a different order but you are building a SBC.

 

Clean and orderly. Organizing is done during disassembly. Take pictures, notes, everything bagged and tagged, especially fasteners and small parts. You will not remember where everything goes. Keep everything together, otherwise you will not remember where everything is.

Of course, all leftover parts go in the scrap bin.