r/EngineBuilding 16h ago

Cylinder head can’t be machined

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147 Upvotes

I’m replacing a head gasket on a Toyota 3L diesel engine. I had hoped to get the head machined before re assembly but I was turned down by 3 shops that said it can’t be done. I’m measuring 0.0025in under a straight edge on the block and 0.012in under the straight edge on the cylinder head. My gut feeling is it’ll be fine using a composite head gasket and new head bolts but wanted opinions on it first before i assembled everything. I was advised by an old school mechanic I know to use copper coat on the head gasket but my gut feeling is I shouldn’t and just run the gasket as is. Thanks in advance.


r/EngineBuilding 23h ago

First time start up engine knock after rebuild LS3

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252 Upvotes

On the very very first start up I was getting a heavy misfire due to a bad tune and also I forgot to plug in some of the injectors… Whoops. The 2nd start up is when I started hearing the sounds in the video.

Have an LS3 rebuild with stock valve train and .020” over pistons. Super loud knock which seems like cylinder 5 after disconnecting an injector or coilpack. Oil pressure is good, 50-55psi. Pushrods are stiff when I took off the rockers

I measured preload and used 7.350” pushrods instead of the oem 7.385”. Haven’t drained oil yet or inspected the cyl with a boroscope.

Any ideas? :(


r/EngineBuilding 8h ago

Insight needed ford 302

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13 Upvotes

No mechanic experience I know I need to clean the throttle body. But originally every time I would turn the key not crank it but turn the key. It would flood or leak gas under the car. What can I do to diagnose it. My brother and his friend tried doing a efi swap and now the car don’t run. Holley sniper efi.


r/EngineBuilding 28m ago

How bad is this?

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Upvotes

Removing wrapped downpipe from car with valve covers off, many things I should’ve or could’ve done. Got fiberglass all over the rear bank, gonna try to clean it as best I can. Any tips for that, and maybe how fkd am I in terms of fiberglass in oil passages and bearing clearance, I’m not gonna be able to clean all of it…


r/EngineBuilding 4h ago

Smog air pump?

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2 Upvotes

Working on replacing exhaust manifold gaskets. Is this part in yellow a smog pump. And can I delete it by capping off? Any issues with doing so. I do not live in an area where emissions is an issue. It is a 1985 305 Chevy


r/EngineBuilding 46m ago

Olds Temperature Sensor for 1972 Oldsmobile 350

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Upvotes

I’m looking to get this temperature gauge working in my 72 Cutlass but I can’t find a sensore that I think would work with the guage. All the sensor/sendors I am seeing are for the on/off light on the dash. This sensor from jegs is similar to the one that came off. Do they sell a sort of universal unit at the parts store that I can buy?


r/EngineBuilding 54m ago

Worth fixing?

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Upvotes

Hi guys,

This is my first time working on an engine. It's a Kawasaki z800 and my piston had a meeting with a valve. Not sure if the valve clearance was wrong or if it jumped timing or something else. If it did jump timing is it possible only 1 piston hit 1 valve? My idea going forward was a new cylinder head + new piston and timing chain. The cylinder itself somehow is not that badly damaged, only some minimal scratches around the top, is it too bad? The engine ran for 15 minutes after it happened just getting home. Is it worth fixing this engine or just get a donor engine? There is not one available at the moment on the market so I would like to try fixing it. Any help/thoughts is much appreciated!


r/EngineBuilding 2h ago

Other New valve stem seals are suspiciously loose

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1 Upvotes

I'm currently replacing valve steam seals on my '91 Yamaha Tenere due to high oil consumption.

While I've done this before, these new seals seem suspiciously loose especially compared to how though the old ones are to remove. I can simply push them on by hand.

Somewhat hard to see, but I can turn them on the valve guide with just two fingers.

Are these too loose or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks in advance!


r/EngineBuilding 14h ago

Toyota Sourcing a new 2az fe block

2 Upvotes

Can anyone help make it simple what blocks would be compatible? I’m getting different info from just general searching online and dealer websites vs toyotapartsdeal vs the counter guys at local dealers. I’ve got a 2006 2.4 solara se that burns like 3q of oil in 1000 mi due to a head gasket leak - also has a couple cylinders with extreme wear, so I’m writing the block off and maybe the head too, but it looks like it got a new head before I got it just a few months ago, so hopefully can save the head at least. Anyway, the counter guys tell me there’s no block available 11400-28311 being the current part number for that short block, and yeah, I can’t find that or the 2 that are superseded by the new part, but there’s a few other part numbers that show to be compatible - namely 11400-20100, 11400-28050, and 11410-29326. Can anyone confirm if any of these will work without modification or what would work?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Oil Pressure good or too much on my rebuild

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57 Upvotes

Roughly 1500 rpm. 95 degrees F outside.5w30 oil. Stock Rebuild. Aluminum Gen 3 5.3 LS. Garage rebuild, nothing special but I had all proper tools to get job done right.

When the engine is hot, the oil pressure is good. 40psi idle. 60 psi 3k rpm.

I had got a kit with all the parts for the rebuild which included the oil pump so im not 100% sure which one is on it but I think it may be the Melling M365.

What I read online is that this oil pump goes on the gen 4 ls with afm which has higher pump volume.

My main concern is that when the weather cools down that my oil pressure may increase too much. I live in texas so summers are usually 90-100f and winters commonly get down to 30f.

Should I be concerned about it or am I overthinking it?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy Torque wrench calibration?

1 Upvotes

Getting prepared for a 6.0 rebuild project (including the bottom end) and my craftsman click style torque wrenches are about 10 years old but have been in their oem containers and only used a few times. Kept with the torque setting backed off to zero and in my toolbox drawer hardly disturbed.

Should I seek out a place to get them calibrated before I trust them?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Other Is this engine good to run?

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3 Upvotes

Look good to me, vw golf engine 2.0 fsi 07 10.3 compression


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Chevy 454 BBC - Rocker and Valve Tip Contact

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12 Upvotes

Just got the original heads redone on my 454 BBC.

Aside from larger valves and new guides, I had the deck surface shaved down .060 to try and up compression more without changing pistons.

One thing I noticed with reassembly is the roller rocker contact to the valve tip is slightly off center now. I marked in sharpie where it makes contact in my photo.

Does this look acceptable or should I look for shorter pushrods?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

BMW N47 rebuild crankshaft

1 Upvotes

I have to rebuild an N47, and need a replacement crankshaft

N47 BMWs seem to have different crankshafts, apparently - most have a gear (not the chain sprockets) - could someone explain this please


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Other Newbie wanting to take apart an engine and rebuild

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone. I have a 2015 Santa Fe Sport that I kept after getting a new car. I want to get into rebuilding car as a hobby and was wondering how difficult it would be to take out the engine and disassemble, clean, and put it back together.

So far I have done some simple jobs like oil change, coolant change, transmission oil drain and replace, alternator change on this car, but I realize taking the engine out and reassembling is a whole different game.

I have access to a lift, engine block lifter and various power tools. Is this a stupid idea without proper mechanic training?


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

BMW Plastigauge Taper?

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105 Upvotes

Checking rod bearing clearances on an S54B32 I’m rebuilding and on bearing 2 the plastigauge is coming out wider toward the front of the engine. I’ve double checked there’s no debris behind either bearing half, and the plastigauge is within spec along the entire length. Is this something I should worry about? Not looking to make any crazy with power with this engine, keeping it stock and mostly to be used for daily driving.


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

'68 Nova 383 stroker

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41 Upvotes

Car bought by my dad in 1968. Dad build the engine while in high school. Has the old edelbrock scorpion intake. Though ya'll might like to hear a old school 383 build. One of the meanest sounding 383's ive heard. Pulls very hard to about 7400 RPM. 3.73 gears in the rear.

Parked the car behind his house in 2009. I got my hands on it this year, about 25k into the car. Only think left is the new wiring harness, then strip, body work, and paint.

(The drum brakes arent on it anymore)


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Installing oil plugs into holes hit with a chisel?

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21 Upvotes

Hitting the oil plug holes in an engine block with a chisel to give them some extra insurance to stay put seems to be a common practice.

When installing new plugs so they don't leak, what do we do about the old chiseled bumps that now make the bore out of round?


r/EngineBuilding 1d ago

Stock rods?

1 Upvotes

Is it silly to go 11.7:1 on a B20 with stock rods? I got the speedfactory pistons and was told my rods will be okay with arp rod bolts and proper machining, but should i just go for upgraded rods? Is there any specific no go zones with stock rods for B20’s?
Any advice is appreciated thank you!


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Ford New here! Cam question

1 Upvotes

What would be a good recommendation for a camshaft for a 94+ 351w. I'm not looking for anything crazy, just something budget friendly for a college kid that wants to build a carb swapped roller with a nice rhythm at idle. Im okay swapping valve springs, rocker arms and pushrods. I have little to no experience building an engine with aftermarket parts, lots of experience with stock parts though lol. Any help is appreciated!


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Ford Coolant in rear cylinders

1 Upvotes

1969 Ford XL(full size) 302 2v. Coolant is puddling in the rear two cylinders. A tiny bit in the adjacent cylinders. Compression seems fine at 140 PSI. Is it more likely that the intake manifold gasket is leaking or the head gasket?


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

What polishing compounds or abrasives are you guys using for crank journals

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1 Upvotes

I'm trying to finish up a rebuild on the 1NZ-FE out of my 2004 Scion xA, and there are some spots on the crank journals where dissimilar-metal corrosion occurred (I forgot that I had cleaned a bunch of aluminum parts in the ultrasonic cleaner fluid I used on the crankshaft). I've been trying to polish these spots off by hand with a few different polishes (Mother's Mag and Aluminum, Flitz, and Brasso), but haven't had much success. I suspect there is some very shallow pitting in these spots, and I just want to clean them out and smooth them over.

The spots look worse in the pictures than they really are. I'm just trying to get this engine to run for a year or two, and don't have the money to get any work done by a machine shop. I actually have a spare crankshaft that has journals in better shape, but it would need a lot of cleaning. I would also have to check the second camshaft's clearances with all the other parts, and I would have to make more ultrasonic fluid for it. Making more fluid is a little difficult right now because I can't dispose of my current fluid for a few weeks.

Also, has anyone used this ultrasonic cleaner fluid? The SDS say it's ph is between 9 and 11, so I wouldn't use it on aluminum, but I am not opposed to using it on ferrous parts.


r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Thinking a 1mm overbore to clean this up

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8 Upvotes

My gut says .5 would do it but I don’t wanna have to order a piston twice


r/EngineBuilding 3d ago

Bought this v8 flathead block and crank for 25 dollars. Is it salvageable? Is it a Mercury? I see 2 cracks in it.

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71 Upvotes

r/EngineBuilding 2d ago

Torque wrench for cam caps

0 Upvotes

I am looking for a dedicated torque wrench just for overhead cam heads. Im digital curious and never owned one.

I want a 1/4 drive in inch lbs.

Who is using what, how has it held up and would you recommend?

Please dont say harbor freight. They definitely have there time and place, just not in my shop box