Assembling an Engine… any tips?

[GregO]

Whats the point of the cerakote?

Piston coatings should be applied by a company that specializes in that process.
There is merit in professionally applied skirt and dome coatings. Most coatings are for race engines on the ragged edge and the coatings have trickled down to the consumer market.
Wiseco has their ArmorGlide skirt coating and anodized domes.
You’ll be money ahead by just using the pistons as is.

Sponsored

 

[bauern]

Shit, hopefully they all have arrows then.

The piston should have an arrow on from the factory.

 

[bauern]

Bough this bearing kit from MMR: https://www.modularmotorsportsracing.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1132

I assume you're going to check the clearance with the new bearings. Just for an FYI, Ford uses three grades of bearing shells, 1,2,&3 marked on the back of each shell. A 1/1 combo would be for a large crank journal/small main dia. and 3/3 the opposite. By my rough calculation, there is about .002" clearance between a 1/1 and a 3/3 combo so each half shell change up or down is about .0005".
I don't know to which Ford shell combo aftermarket bearings correspond.

 

[Jackson1320]

Piston coatings should be applied by a company that specializes in that process.
There is merit in professionally applied skirt and dome coatings. Most coatings are for race engines on the ragged edge and the coatings have trickled down to the consumer market.
Wiseco has their ArmorGlide skirt coating and anodized domes.
You’ll be money ahead by just using the pistons as is.

well of course he would be money ahead. if you don't spend the money. that doesn't mean that he'll end up with a better engine the coating is super easy to apply and almost every piston manufacturer has some kind of coating even your factory pistons have skirt coatings. If you want to pay a company to mask off your pistons, sandblast them, wash them, and coat them just like you can do at home go for it. they don't do anything you can't.

 

[tdstuart]

I assume you're going to check the clearance with the new bearings. Just for an FYI, Ford uses three grades of bearing shells, 1,2,&3 marked on the back of each shell. A 1/1 combo would be for a large crank journal/small main dia. and 3/3 the opposite. By my rough calculation, there is about .002" clearance between a 1/1 and a 3/3 combo so each half shell change up or down is about .0005".
I don't know to which Ford shell combo aftermarket bearings correspond.

Haha so I shouldn't just trust that they will work.

Ya I will check the clearance. Just no idea what the clearance should be. Is plastigauge the best way to check them? And how much do I torque the bolts down, I assume I don't torque it til they stretch?

Also looks like all my bearings are marked with a 2 from my limited pictures, but am having someone at the house check.

 

[tdstuart]

well of course he would be money ahead. if you don't spend the money. that doesn't mean that he'll end up with a better engine the coating is super easy to apply and almost every piston manufacturer has some kind of coating even your factory pistons have skirt coatings. If you want to pay a company to mask off your pistons, sandblast them, wash them, and coat them just like you can do at home go for it. they don't do anything you can't.

What would be the benefit of the coating for me? Does it just help the life of the piston?

 

[Jackson1320]

Whats the point of the cerakote?

the coating on top and bottom are for thermal protection the pistons are not forged so keeping the pistons cool is a good idea. on the skirt it protects the piston and bore if they ever come in contact.

 

[GregO]

What would be the benefit of the coating for me? Does it just help the life of the piston?

If you’re keeping the oil jets and you’re not spraying the motor with Nitrous then it’s money and time wasted. The oil jets do a superb job at cooling the underside of the piston and lubricating the cylinder walls.
If you were installing new pistons and they were factory coated then you’ve got some cool bragging rights at your next park and talk event !

Action Jackson is doing a superb job attempting to spend and waste your money for you.

 

[bauern]

Haha so I shouldn't just trust that they will work.

Ya I will check the clearance. Just no idea what the clearance should be. Is plastigauge the best way to check them? And how much do I torque the bolts down, I assume I don't torque it til they stretch?

Also looks like all my bearings are marked with a 2 from my limited pictures, but am having someone at the house check.

Service manual clearance:

Main bearing journal-to-main bearing clearance​

0.0010 –0.0018 in ( .025 –.045 mm)

Mains: (1-10 are the outside bolts)

1. Tighten the vertical main bearing cap fasteners.
   Torque :
   Stage 1: 1 through 20: 177 lb.in (20 Nm)
   Stage 2: 1 through 10: 30 lb.ft (40 Nm)
   Stage 3: 11 through 20 : 48 lb.ft (65 Nm)
   Stage 4: 1 through 20: 90°

 

[tdstuart]

Service manual clearance:

Main bearing journal-to-main bearing clearance​

0.0010 –0.0018 in ( .025 –.045 mm)

Mains: (1-10 are the outside bolts)

1. Tighten the vertical main bearing cap fasteners.
   Torque :
   Stage 1: 1 through 20: 177 lb.in (20 Nm)
   Stage 2: 1 through 10: 30 lb.ft (40 Nm)
   Stage 3: 11 through 20 : 48 lb.ft (65 Nm)
   Stage 4: 1 through 20: 90°

So are you saying I will need to stretch the bolts to measure bearing clearance?

 

[WildHorse]

a quick couple passes with the hone and oil will do.

What degree crosshatch do you recommend ? Also how would you measure the bore ? Top/bottom ? Top/middle/bottom ? what about piston to wall clearance ? You just subtract the various points of the bore from the piston diameter ? Thanks.

 

[Mustangmatty]

Like a ring compressor when putting the piston in?

I didn't know that it mattered if

you should us the first one maybe the second but as a beginner not the third

I would recommend #1.

I got this style when I assembled my 331 stoker in my foxbody - easy to use.

Best thing about it was once I was done with it I was able to make 4.030” hamburger patties.

 

[WildHorse]

Jackson is doing a superb job attempting to spend and waste your money for you

+1

 

[K4fxd]

So are you saying I will need to stretch the bolts to measure bearing clearance?

I'm going to assume you don't have any proper measuring tools.

Best thing to do if you are going to assemble it yourself is to use plasti gauge. It should be close enough.

Yes you would need to put the crank in the block then add the plasti gauge then torque the main caps. Then take them back apart, measure the plastic. If the clearance is in range clean the crank and bearings and assemble with assembly lube. Do the same for each rod journal.

 

[Jackson1320]

If you’re keeping the oil jets and you’re not spraying the motor with Nitrous then it’s money and time wasted. The oil jets do a superb job at cooling the underside of the piston and lubricating the cylinder walls.
If you were installing new pistons and they were factory coated then you’ve got some cool bragging rights at your next park and talk event !

Action Jackson is doing a superb job attempting to spend and waste your money for you.

How many coyotes have you built? yeah that's what I thought

Sponsored