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View Full Version : HOW TO: assemble a 2.3 stroker motor



trinydex
10-08-2007, 11:54 AM
http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=220313


A few different people asked me to post pics of my engine build so here they are. This was my second 4G63 build. I built a 2.4l 6 bolt for my Talon about a year and a half ago. I don't claim to be a expert, infact it amazes me that i can build a engine that runs :lol:

Here's how the whole thing started out. I was offered a awesome deal on a 03 EVO with a spun #1 rod bearing. After scrambling to find a truck and trailer the car came home on July 28th.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300177.jpg

Engine out on the 30th. Block to the machine shop on the 31st. Notice the dirt. The car had been sitting in a machine shed since Feb 05.
The ugly, one piece crank and rod bearing {thumbdwn}

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300322.jpg
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_EVO2.jpg

While I was waiting on parts decided to clean out the engine bay while there was no engine/trans in the way. I covered all the hoses and pipes with plastic bags to keep water from getting where it shouldn't be:cool:

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300197.jpg

Decided to go with a stroker, if I have to rebuild a engine might as well have some fun :D Parts started showing up by Aug 2nd.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/S4300190.jpg

Block back from the machine shop on the 3rd. The bores were in pretty good shape so i had the block decked, honed and hot tanked.
First thing to do, give the block a bath. I used foaming engine bay cleaner and simple green along with a assortment of brushes. After i cleaned the block i wiped it down with clean motor oil to prevent rust, and covered it with a bag when i wasn't working on it.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300198.jpg

Clean block and all parts. Every things ready to go. Wiseco 8.5:1 2.3L pistons, Eagle rods, New mitsu 2.4L crank, Mitsu Engine Gasket kit, ACl bearings, and ARp head studs. Before starting I numbered all pistons and rods 1-4 so i knew what went where and to keep all my measurements strait. I also wrote the cylinder numbers on top of the block to eliminate and possibility of error.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300205.jpg

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300216.jpg

I wanted to measure all clearances. however I'm too cheap to buy a proper bore gauge (I'm a DSM'r), so I became quite good at using a snap gauge. I took at least 3 measurements of every thing and averaged them out. I also used plasti gauge, but I'll show that later. Before i measured all clearances i cleaned the surfaces to be measured with brake cleaner and clan rag.

Measuring bore with snap gauge.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300246.jpg

Taking measurement from snap gauge with micrometer (I'm actually measuring a snap gauge used for the crank main bore, but its the same idea).

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300218.jpg

Measuring the piston Diameter with the mic. This pic is of a piston rod combo because I forgot to take a pic before I assembled the pistons and rods. :updown: Difference between the 2 measurements is the piston to wall clearance. I had numbers of .0020".

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300247.jpg

Next I bolted the crank cradle to the block and torqued to spec. So I could measure the crank main bores in the same way, as the cylinder bores.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300217.jpg

To measure the main and rod bearings i used a ball bearing and a small piece of fuel line attached to the mic so that i could get a true reading of the bearing thickness. With out the ball bearing the curve of the bearing gives a inaccurate reading, as the mic has a flat end that is unable to sit on the bearings curved surface. o get the total thickness of the bearings I multiplied the thickness by 2 since it sits on both sides of the crank.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300323.jpg

Measuring the crank main journals. The difference between the main bore and the bearing thickness X2 plus the main journals is the main bearing clearance. I got numbers rite around .0016"

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300327.jpg

Since i wanted to plasti gauge the bearing clearances as well I removed the main bearing cradle and installed main bearings (after cleaning them), in both the block and the cradle. I then re-installed the crank. I put a piece of plasti gauge on the top of each main journal. Then re-installed the main cradle and bearings, and torqued the main bolts to spec. This compresses the plasti gauge between the crank and bearings. Once all the bolts have been torqued to spec I removed them, and the cradle. The piece of plasti gauge is now a smashed piece of wax stuck to the crank and bearing. Using the supplied measuring table with the plasti gauge I measured the clearance to get .002-.003" on all 5 bearings. This is pretty close to what i got with the snap gauge and mic, as well as what I wanted, so I was happy with that. :) After i was done with this I cleaned the plasti gauge off the crank and bearings with WD40 and a rag.

Bearings installed in block.
http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300222.jpg

Cradle bolted down with plasti gauge.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300224.jpg

What it looks like after I removed the cradle and top bearings.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300225.jpg

Measuring the plasti gauge.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300226.jpg

Next i installed the crank into the block, but in hind sight I should have measured the rod to crank clearances first. It would have been much easier to do with the crank out of the block. I measured the rod bearing clearances much the same as the mains.

After bolting the rod caps on and torquing to spec I measured the bore diameter with the snap gauge, just like the main bores. Then i measured the bearing thickness the same way as the main bearings. I found my clearances just like the mains. Rod race diameter minus bearing thickness X 2 + rod journal diameter. My clearances were all about .0020", what I wanted :)

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300323.jpg

Measuring the rod journals, just like the mains.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300325.jpg

Just like the mains I plasti gauged the rod bearings. Install the clean bearings in the rod and rod cap. Bolt them to the crank with a piece of plasti gauge and torque to spec. All of them showed .0020" with the plasti gauge, so I was satisfied.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300242.jpg

Something the got me all worked up just before i started the build was Eagle has a sticker on the inside of the rod box that says their rods are to be used with 6 bolt (89-92) rod bearings. Well by the time I saw this I had already ordered all my parts and I ordered 7 bolt rod bearings, I figured i was building a 7 bolt engine with 7 bolt bearings. So when I noticed this sticker I called all the local parts stores looking for 6 bolt bearings. NAPA got me Cleviete 77 6 bolt bearings by the next morning. After all the calling around and worrying I had the wrong bearings, it turn out the 7 bolt bearings work just fine. The 6 bolt bearings are 23.5mm wide vs. 7 bolts 21.1mm. The thickness are the same. Since i was building this engine due to a spun rod bearing I was happy about the extra 2.4mm of surface area offered by the 6 bolt bearings. However the 6 bolt bearings didn't fit in the rods {thumbdwn} . The tang is too wide for the slot in the rod, and its on the edge of the bearing, which causes the bearing to sit off center in the rod. It was recommended by another member on here to file the tang down to make it fit. But I didn't feel real comfortable doing that, and i preferred to use the coated ACL bearings vs. the Cleveites. So I ended up using the 7 bolt bearings I origionally had :updown: . This pic shows the difference between the 6 bolt (left) and 7 bolt (right) bearings.

http://www.socalevo.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10991/normal_S4300239.jpg

Alright next up was filing the rings. Each manufacture has different recommendations for ring gap. After talking with a few different people I decided on .017 for a top gap and .020" for the bottom ring. Wiseco's web site has a good bit of technical info about their rings and recommended gaps. I filed the rings one cylinder at a time, keeping the rings with their respective piston in the box. I filed the top rings first and the bottom second. I installed the bottom ring on one piston to use as a gauge for pushing each ring the same distance into the bore and to keep them flat in the bore. The ring sits on the top of the block and doesn't allow the piston to go any farther into the cylinder than the ring.