Getting my car running again

[rayall01]

Well people, I finally got some money together to start rebuilding my engine. Monetary restraints have got me doing it on the cheap. Got a set of pistons, wrist pins, rings, and bearings from a highly rated seller on ebay. Got a slightly used HKS 2.0 mm stopper, and a set of arp undercut studs from my stepson, who tried to rebuild his engine, and failed. Got a set of blue silicone radiator hoses, and a Gates Racing timing belt from ebay as well. Got a rebuild gasket set, from another ebay high rated seller. Got the thermostat housing from my guy George, at Toyota of Keene, as well as a new set of dowel pins for the block.

Don't have the money to have it machined, so I'm doing it myself. How you ask? Lots of hard labor, sandpaper, and a lapping block I made, and a nice one inch wide level, about four feet long. Got some pictures, but I didn't decide to chronicle this until I was already almost through with flattening the block, so I don't have any nice pics of the full extent of the gasket damage.

I'll be updating this as I go along, so for now, enjoy my rusty pics!:aigo:

 

[rayall01]

OK photos part 2!

 

[rayall01]

OK photos part three! And P.S. sorry about the file size, I'll work on that for the next shots.

 

[FlipSupra8]

is it a stock rebuild??

 

[rayall01]

is it a stock rebuild??

Yeah, Except for the gasket, and the shimmed wastegate, and my 3 inch hardpipes, and 3 inch full exhaust.

 

[FlipSupra8]

cool im also in a process of doing a stock rebuild..."im trying at least" lol...do u mind me pming you asking some questions?....i have an engine right now..i wanna do a stock rebuild just so i can feel good about it....it has a bhg ..the previous owner installed a MHG w/o machineing ither the head or block...so ill be taking out the engine since ill be repainting the car...so i might as well rebuild it..

 

[rayall01]

cool im also in a process of doing a stock rebuild..."im trying at least" lol...do u mind me pming you asking some questions?....i have an engine right now..i wanna do a stock rebuild just so i can feel good about it....it has a bhg ..the previous owner installed a MHG w/o machineing ither the head or block...so ill be taking out the engine since ill be repainting the car...so i might as well rebuild it..

PM me all you want. Happy to help if I can.

 

[Guyana00]

I'm looking at picking up a gte cheap and building it over the summer and wanted to do a stock rebuild. I was wondering where everyone else gets their parts other than ebay.

The reason I ask is because there are a bunch of options for aftermarket or high hp builds. I would like to just rebuild to pretty much stock spec and do some BPU's later on.

The seller tells me two of the cylinders have low compression and the other four are ok. I'm looking into a full rebuild since the engine will be out. The easiest thing would be if it is the headgasket only. I'm thinking just machine work and a MHG. In this case I don't have to do the rebuild, but I'm thinking that I want to anyways. Let me know what sources you have. I'm currently checking out toyota for the gasket kit (minus the HG). Our vendors, eBay, and of course, classifieds section

 

[rayall01]

I'm looking at picking up a gte cheap and building it over the summer and wanted to do a stock rebuild. I was wondering where everyone else gets their parts other than ebay.

The reason I ask is because there are a bunch of options for aftermarket or high hp builds. I would like to just rebuild to pretty much stock spec and do some BPU's later on.

The seller tells me two of the cylinders have low compression and the other four are ok. I'm looking into a full rebuild since the engine will be out. The easiest thing would be if it is the headgasket only. I'm thinking just machine work and a MHG. In this case I don't have to do the rebuild, but I'm thinking that I want to anyways. Let me know what sources you have. I'm currently checking out toyota for the gasket kit (minus the HG). Our vendors, eBay, and of course, classifieds section

I'll tell you what, I have been very happy with most of the stuff I got off ebay. As long as you check the seller ratings, you should be good. You can find almost anything you want or need, and the price is usually lower than anywhere else as well. I can't really say anything about the other places to buy from, as I haven't dealt with too many yet.

 

[FlipSupra8]

what was ur total?...does that seller still have stuf up?..are u honing ur cylinders??.....lmk how sanding the block urself goes...cuz i def. have no money for machine shop

 

[rayall01]

what was ur total?...does that seller still have stuf up?..are u honing ur cylinders??.....lmk how sanding the block urself goes...cuz i def. have no money for machine shop

let's see, The stuff I got on ebay totaled 321.00 shipped. I payed 25.00 for the thermostat housing, and 1.80 for the new dowel pins. As for sanding the block, and head, it's a lot of work! First, you need a 4 ft long level. the wider the better. mine is only an inch wide, and you can get into trouble if you're not careful. get good sandpaper. I'm using 3M sandblaster brand. 60 grit for the majority of the cutting, then up from there. clean the block fully before you start. you also need a good spray adhesive, available at any hdwe store. essentially, you spray glue on one face of the level. (P.S. it must be a perfectly smooth face), then place the sandpaper on it, aligning one edge with the edge of the level. take a razorblade, and cut the excess clean with the other edge. place the remaining paper directly behind the first, and butt them together clean. NO overlap. continue on like that until it's covered almost all the way. check the block with a straight edge to see how it's warped. every one I've seen has been lower in the middle than the ends. place the level on the block lengthwise and start sanding. move straight back and forth, and side to side. vary your stroke with diagonal, circular, and figure 8 motions, while keeping even pressure on the tool. you can use water, or a very light oil for lubrication, and to keep the sandpaper from clogging. Keep checking as you go along to see how much warpage remains. you've gotta get the block perfectly flat, as well as remove any damage from the old gasket. well enough for this lesson. PM me, I'll give you my #, you can call me for the rest.

 

[rayall01]

what was ur total?...does that seller still have stuf up?..are u honing ur cylinders??.....lmk how sanding the block urself goes...cuz i def. have no money for machine shop

Oh, and yes, I'm honing my cylinders.

 

[rayall01]

Block is finally decked, and cylinders are honed. Now all I have to do is find a way to clean it in my house!

 

[rayall01]

OK, I foolishly forgot to take a picture of the head before I started decking it, so this pic is after about an hour of sanding. I guess most of you have seen a freshly removed head, so you can imagine what it looked like before I started working on it.

 

[FlipSupra8]

nice update ..how hard was it?

 

[Guyana00]

It looks good so far, I don't mean to put your work down, and I'm not, but machine work isn't as expensive as you think. It will be more accurately done as well. Looking forward to seeing how this goes though.

I do suggest the machine work if you're using the MHG you have, either that or use a cometic, but for the price of the cometic you could have the machine work done. The good thing is it's out of the car.

 

[rayall01]

nice update ..how hard was it?

Very hard. The block cuts very slowly, so it takes a long time to clean it. The head is soft so it cuts fast, but it takes more physical effort to move the sandpaper across, because it cuts so deep on each pass.

 

[rayall01]

It looks good so far, I don't mean to put your work down, and I'm not, but machine work isn't as expensive as you think. It will be more accurately done as well. Looking forward to seeing how this goes though.

I do suggest the machine work if you're using the MHG you have, either that or use a cometic, but for the price of the cometic you could have the machine work done. The good thing is it's out of the car.

Well, it's more expensive than $2.08, which is all I have. Unless of course, you would like to donate!:icon_bigg

 

[rayall01]

Head's decked! Got both the head, and block to below .0005 inches warp. It's probably better than that, as that's the smallest feeler gauge I have.

 

[rayall01]

Just a picture of my new parts.